CFS Lac St. Denis
| CFS Lac St. Denis | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 45°56′06″N 074°18′30″W / 45.93500°N 74.30833°WCoordinates: 45°56′06″N 074°18′30″W / 45.93500°N 74.30833°W |
| Type | Radar Station |
| Code | C-2 |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by |
 Royal Canadian Air Force
|
| Site history | |
| Built | 1952 |
| Built by |
Royal Canadian Air Force
|
| In use | 1952-1986 |
Canadian Forces Station Lac St. Denis (also CFS Lac St. Denis) is a former Canadian Forces Station that was located by Lac St. Denis, 60 miles north of Montreal in the Laurentian Mountains.
The base, at 1674 feet above sea level, was 315 feet higher in elevation than the town one mile away. Lac St. Denis was midway between Morin Heights and St. Adolphe d'Howard on highway 329.
The radar station (Site C-2, callsigns Largo, Firefly and Crystal) was one of the oldest of the Pinetree Line sites. Construction had begun in 1949. During this time, there was a veil of secrecy imposed by the RCAF as to the real reason for the site. This sparked rumours and speculation among the local inhabitants, including one that the RCAF was building air defence weapons in a huge underground hangar.
An advance party arrived to open up No. 202 RCAF Radio Station Lac St. Joseph, as it was known in March 1952. It officially opened the following month, and was fully operational by July of the same year. On September 15, 1952, 1 AC&W Squadron transferred its headquarters from RCAF Station St. Hubert to Lac St. Denis. In October 1952, the site became RCAF Station Lac St. Denis while 202 RCAF Radio Station became 11 AC&W Squadron. At the same time, 1 AC&W Squadron was re-designated 1 Air Defence Control Centre and remained as such until its disbandment, as the Montreal NORAD Sector, on 15 September 1962.
The station terminated manual operations on 15 September 1962 when it was SAGE capable, and began to report to the Bangor Sector at Topsham AFS, Maine. In September 1963, 11 AC&W began reporting to the Ottawa Sector at CFB North Bay. At one time a detachment of 1 Radar and Communications School RCAF Station Clinton Ontario were training enlisted personnel as Fighter Control Operators at the station. In September 1965, a new basic trade school to train Air Defence Technicians was formed to meet the forecast trade shortage. By 1973, over 25 courses had been run with almost 500 graduates.
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