Northern Skytrails: Perspectives on the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Arctic from the Pages of the Roundel, 1949-65 Richard Goette and P
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Documents on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Security Northern Skytrails Perspectives on the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Arctic from the Pages of The Roundel, 1949-65 Richard Goette and P. Whitney Lackenbauer Documents on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Security (DCASS) ISSN 2368-4569 Series Editors: P. Whitney Lackenbauer Adam Lajeunesse Managing Editor: Ryan Dean Northern Skytrails: Perspectives on the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Arctic from the Pages of The Roundel, 1949-65 Richard Goette and P. Whitney Lackenbauer DCASS Number 10, 2017 Cover: The Roundel, vol. 1, no.1 (November 1948), front cover. Back cover: The Roundel, vol. 10, no.3 (April 1958), front cover. Centre for Military, Security and Centre on Foreign Policy and Federalism Strategic Studies St. Jerome’s University University of Calgary 290 Westmount Road N. 2500 University Dr. N.W. Waterloo, ON N2L 3G3 Calgary, AB T2N 1N4 Tel: 519.884.8110 ext. 28233 Tel: 403.220.4030 www.sju.ca/cfpf www.cmss.ucalgary.ca Arctic Institute of North America University of Calgary 2500 University Drive NW, ES-1040 Calgary, AB T2N 1N4 Tel: 403-220-7515 http://arctic.ucalgary.ca/ Copyright © the authors/editors, 2017 Permission policies are outlined on our website http://cmss.ucalgary.ca/research/arctic-document-series Northern Skytrails: Perspectives on the Royal Canadian Air Force in the Arctic from the Pages of The Roundel, 1949-65 Richard Goette, Ph.D. and P. Whitney Lackenbauer, Ph.D. Table of Contents Preface: Pioneers of the North (by Wing Commander J. G. Showler) .................... vi Foreword (by Colonel Kelvin P. Truss) .................................................................... x Editors’ Note: Leading From Above: The Royal Canadian Air Force, the Evolving Arctic Security Environment, and the Importance of History (by Whitney Lackenbauer and Richard Goette) ............................................................. xii Introduction: The Roundel and Building RCAF Arctic “Air Mindedness” during the Early Cold War (by Richard Goette) ............................................................ xviii Section 1: Northern Skytrails: The Story of the Work of the R.C.A.F. in Canada’s Arctic and Sub-Arctic ...................................................................... 1 1-1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 1 1-2. Early Sub-Arctic Operations .................................................................. 7 1-3. The RCAF in the Sub-Arctic, 1927 to 1939 ........................................ 14 1-4. The RCAF in the Sub-Arctic: 1927 to 1939 (continued) ..................... 18 1-5. The RCAF in the Sub-Arctic: 1927-1939 (continued) ......................... 23 1-6. The RCAF in the Sub-Arctic: 1927-1939 (continued) ......................... 28 1.7. Commercial Aviation In Northern Canada: 1920-1939 ....................... 30 1-8. The RCAF in the Arctic ...................................................................... 36 1-9: The RCAF in the Arctic (continued) ................................................... 42 1-10. World War II .................................................................................... 50 1-11: The Post-War Picture ........................................................................ 59 Section 2: Opening The Northern Frontier: The Second World War ............. 68 The North-West Staging Route ............................................................................. 68 2-1. Part One .............................................................................................. 68 2-2. Part Two ............................................................................................. 76 2-3. Part Three ........................................................................................... 82 2-4. Part Four ............................................................................................. 87 2-5. Part Five .............................................................................................. 93 2-6. Part Six ................................................................................................ 98 2-7. Part Seven ......................................................................................... 102 The Aleutian Campaign ....................................................................................... 108 2-8. First of Two Parts .............................................................................. 108 2-9. Second of Two Parts .......................................................................... 113 i Section 3: Postwar Operations .................................................................... 119 3-1. The Strategy of the Arctic ......................................................................... 119 3-2. Operation Deep Freeze ............................................................................. 124 3-3. Sweetbriar Diary ....................................................................................... 129 3-4. North of Fifty-Four .................................................................................. 140 3-5. R.C.A.F. Air Transport Command ........................................................... 144 3-6. 9-Year Job Ends ........................................................................................ 150 3-7. W/C Showler Awarded McKee Trophy for Arctic Survey ......................... 152 3-8. Stand-By at Churchill ............................................................................... 154 3-9. Mercy Flight ............................................................................................. 156 3-10. Arctic Airlift ............................................................................................. 157 3-11. Operation Re-Supply ................................................................................ 158 3-12. Air Transport in the Arctic ........................................................................ 159 3-13. “No Sweat” in the Arctic ........................................................................... 159 3-14. North of 74 .............................................................................................. 163 3-15. Record Arctic Airlift .................................................................................. 165 3-16. To the Top of the World by Airship ......................................................... 165 Section 4: Arctic Survival ........................................................................... 172 4-1. This is the Arctic ....................................................................................... 172 4-2. The Arctic Armourer ................................................................................ 176 4-3. Camping at Crystal City ........................................................................... 181 4-4. For the Arctic Gourmet ............................................................................ 182 Section 5: Life At Isolated Stations ............................................................. 186 5-1. So You’re Going North ............................................................................. 186 5-2. Cheechako ................................................................................................ 189 5-3. Operation “Bull Moose” ........................................................................... 191 5-4. The Roundel Visits R.C.A.F. Station Goose Bay ......................................... 193 5-5. Stations of the RCAF: Goose Bay ............................................................. 201 5-6. World’s Northernmost Curling Club ........................................................ 205 5-7. Curling on the DEW Line ........................................................................ 206 5-8. Frozen Football ......................................................................................... 206 5-9. Reflections on Fort Churchill .................................................................... 207 Section 6: Canada’s Radar Outposts ........................................................... 211 The Mid-Canada Line ......................................................................................... 211 6-1. Part One........................................................................................ 211 6-2. Part Two ....................................................................................... 217 6-3. Part Three ..................................................................................... 224 6-4. The Mid-Canada Line Today ........................................................ 232 ii 6-5. The Biggest Igloo in the Arctic .................................................................. 235 6-6. Along the Northern Rim of the Continent Men and Machines Stand Lonely Vigil on the DEW Line............................................................................. 238 6-7. Manning the DEW Line ........................................................................... 243 Further Reading ................................................................................................. 249 About the Editors ................................................................................................. 249 iii Acronyms A/C Aircraftman A.D.C.C. Air Defence Control Centre A/V/M Air Vice-Marshal AFB Air Force Base AFC Air Force Cross AFHQ Air Force Headquarters A.M.C.H.Q. Army Material Command Headquarters A.T.C. Air Transport Command B.S.A. rifle