CFS Barrington

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Canadian Forces Station Barrington, also referred to as CFS Barrington, was a Canadian Forces Station located in Stone House, Nova Scotia at Baccaro Point near the southwestern-most point of the province.

[edit] History

In 1943 the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) established a LORAN site at Baccaro Point to assist in navigation for Allied naval operations on the North Atlantic. After the war, the LORAN site was operated by the Department of Transport.

In the early years of the Cold War, the RCN sought to establish a radar site on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia; a number of sites were considered, including remote Sable Island which was ultimately rejected by 1953 due to logistical problems. The Baccaro Point site was selected as it was near the southwestern-most point of Nova Scotia at Cape Sable Island and would provide maximum coverage area.

By that time, the Pinetree Line early warning radar network was being proposed by the United States Air Force (USAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). Construction of a Pinetree Line site began at Baccaro Point in 1955 and was completed in 1957. The facility was operated by the USAF as Barrington Air Force Station, with the 627th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron reporting to Boston Air Defence Sector at Stewart AFB and Bangor Air Defence Sector at Topsham AFB.

Operation of the Baccaro Point radar station was transferred to the RCAF on June 1, 1962 and it was renamed RCAF Station Barrington. The RCAF's 23 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron reported to the Bangor Air Defence Sector of the 26th NORAD Division. The facility was renamed CFS Barrington with the unification of the Canadian Forces on February 1, 1968 and the newly established 213 Radar Squadron reported to the 21st NORAD Region at Hancock AFB.

In 1971 the Canadian Forces constructed a mobile home subdivision on Sherose Island 27 km west of the station for housing personnel and their families.

Beginning in 1983, CFS Barrington began reporting to Canada East ROCC at CFB North Bay.

The long range early warning radar became obsolete by the late 1980s and the facility was decommissioned on August 1, 1990.

The Baccaro Point site currently hosts a remotely operated Canadian Coastal Radar transmitter/receiver facility.