Suffield Experimental Station
Coordinates: 50°16′16.83″N 111°10′23.39″W / 50.2713417°N 111.1731639°W The military research facility located 5 km (3.1 mi) north of Suffield, Alberta, operated under the name of the Suffield Experimental Station from 1950 to its renaming to the Defence Research Establishment Suffield in 1967.
History
Control of the Experimental Station Suffield was transferred from the Canadian Army to the Defence Research Board (DRB) on April 30, 1947 by Order in Council PC 101/1727.[1] In the August of this year, approval was given for the construction of 60 prefabricated housing units at a site named after the Honourable J.L. Ralston. Due to delays, major construction did not complete until 1953.
The Suffield Experimental Station (SES) came into official existence when the Experimental Station Suffield was renamed in August 1950. The station was responsible for the administration and operation of the 2690 square kilometer Suffield Block. The DRB's annual report for 1951[2] listed various major construction projects in progress at station: Shopping and Recreation Centre, Transport Garage, CMHC Housing (76 homes), the Ralston School (a Recognized Federal Heritage Building), and a Fire Hall. The designs for the Central Laboratory were to be completed by December, 1951. On September 29, 1955, the Central Laboratory (Building 1) was opened by Major General William M. Creasy, Commanding General, U.S. Army Chemical Corps[3] and is now a Recognized Federal Heritage Building. In July 1967, the Suffield Experimental Station was renamed to the Defence Research Establishment Suffield (DRES).
| Chief Superintendent | Tenure |
|---|---|
| Dr. H.M. Barrett | 1947 to fall 1949 |
| Dr. E.A. Perren | fall 1949 to 1951 |
| Dr. H.M. Barrett | 1951 to 1952 |
| Dr. G.O. Langstroth | 1952 to Sept 1957 |
| Mr. A.M. Pennie | Sept 1957 to ? |
| Mr. E.H. Bobyn | September 1964[4] To 1968 |
Large Explosive Events
- A 100 ton detonation occurred on 3 August 1961[5]
- The Snowball 500 ton detonation (hemisphere form) on 17 July 1964[6] formed an 87 meter diameter crater[7]
- The Prairie Flat 500 ton detonation (spherical form)[8]
These experiments helped to understand how meteoric craters are formed and shaped
References
- ↑ D.J. Goodspeed, A History of the Defence Research Board of Canada, 1 Jan 1958
- ↑ Annual Report of the Chairman, Defence Research Board, September, 1951
- ↑ Dinosaurs to Defence - A Story of the Suffield Block
- ↑ "Edward Bobyn is director of research establishment", The Ukrainian Weekly, 7 October 1972
- ↑ Dobbie, Clyde B.; Hamilton, Stuart R. (April 1963), Electromagnetic Measurements on Canadian 100 Ton TNT Explosion, Edgerton Germeshausen and Grier Inc
- ↑ G.H.S. Jones, Complex Craters in Alluvium, Defence Research Board, 1977
- ↑ Neville J. Price, Major impacts and plate tectonics, University College London, 2000
- ↑ Hancock, Paul L.; Skinner, Brian J.; Dineley, David L. (2000), The Oxford Companion to The Earth p677, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-854039-6