May 29, 2013

FOR SALE: Two Iltis'es!


2015/03/16 1400 UPDATE: ALL GONE!

SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD SOLD



It's time to sell my fully licensed and street-legal-in-Ontario Bombardier Iltis, and the other one which could be used as an off-road vehicle/ATV if its clutch was replaced.  I just happen to have a clutch in the pile of spare parts that I'm selling with the two.  As I mentioned before, I bought a new Cold-War-Tourism vehicle; a 1999 GMC Suburban 2500 Diesel - and ultimately my tours to Cold War sites are going farther away from Ottawa, and I do not need the Iltis as I thought I would.  I expected some of the sites to be extremely remote and require an ATV or Iltis to get to them - that hasn't been the case, and the Iltis is off-road-overkill.  It's also rather cold when driving 16hrs into the back-country of Ontario, Quebec, or other areas.  It's a *very* capable vehicle, and while some have poked fun at the reliability of the Iltis - that's not the reason I'm getting rid of it.  It is simply too much of an off-road vehicle for what I need it for.  From the initial trials of the Suburban, it's extremely comfortable, has tons of cargo space, and is quite cozy.  It's also loud and smelly, but I'm totally find with that.

$5k takes both and all the parts.

I'm happy to facilitate shipping it via container if you set up the paperwork and shipping arrangements.



May 17, 2013

CFS Carp, Richardson, Almonte, and Dunrobin

Researching the sites in my own back yard, I discovered a few things about where I live that I didn't know, as always.

I thought CFS Carp was previously RCAF Station Carp - not true. 

Previous to being called CFS Carp, it was the "Experimental Army Signal Establishment" - Oh, an "establishment", I'm familiar with other establishments, and they usually do some pretty cool science!

I then found out that CFS Carp had 3 associated locations, detachments (I didn't know what a detachment was in context)

- CFS Carp Detachment Richardson
- CFS Carp Detachment Almonte
- CFS Carp Detachment Dunrobin

Well, that answers my questions regarding what those antenna farms were in Dunrobin and Almonte, but it also makes me sad to think they sealed up Richardson's little bunker.

The antenna arrays at all the sites are long gone, but I would like to understand better what these facilities were being used for.  Radio?  SIGINT?  Experimental field radio testing?  I have more questions than I have answers.


Canadian Forces Station Carp Richardson Detachment

View Larger Map



View Larger Map

CFS Carp Richardson Detachment
Courtesy The Atlas of Canada Toporama



Canadian Forces Station Carp Dunrobin Detachment

View Larger Map

CFS Carp Dunrobin Detachment
Courtesy The Atlas of Canada Toporama


Canadian Forces Station Carp Almonte Detachment

View Larger Map

CFS Carp Almonte Detachment
Courtesy The Atlas of Canada Toporama
Canadian Forces Station Carp:

View Larger Map

CFS Carp





Full Name:    Canadian Forces Station Carp
Preceeding Unit(s):
    701 Comm Sqn
    Experimental Army Signal Establishment
Information:
In its first Canadian Forces Organization Order 1.16, dated 27 May 1968, the Experimental Army Signal Establishment was redesignated as Canadian Forces Station Carp. On 14 September 1970 the stations consisted of a receiver site at Carp and a transmitter site at Richardson, Ontario, reporting to Canadian Forces Communication Command. CFS Carp was to provide the administration, security and housekeeping services needed to maintain a constant state of operational readiness for all sites under its command; most importantly, the communication facilities at Carp, Richardson, Almonte and Dunrobin. It also administered support services to terminal stations at Renfrew, Arnprior, Carleton Place, Smith Falls and Kemptville. The NATO Satellite Ground Terminal and some elements of the Canadian Emergency Measures Organization at Carp also fell under its operational command. On 1 July 1971 CFS Carp was disbanded and reformed by amalgamating 701 Communication Squadron (formed on 1 April 1965) whereby it was given an increased operational emphasis on providing strategic communications for the Canadian Forces. CFS Carp was closed in 1994.
- http://www.rcsigs.ca/ViewUnit/59/


A two-story communications bunker was also constructed near Perth (Richardson Detachment), which was staffed exclusively by members of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS), later 701 Communications Squadron post-Unification. 
Although the bunker was never used for its intended purpose, it did serve a valuable function as a government communications station staffed by RCCS personnelNo. 1 Army Signals Troop.

Following the end of the Cold War, most of the Diefenbunkers were decommissioned, including CFS Carp and the Richardson Detachment in 1994.  Communicaitons functions were taken over by CFS Leitrim outside of Ottawa. 

<...>
 Source Material: Cobourg: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontairo" by Paul Ozorak, information supplied by the Diefenbunker Museum (2004) & information supplied by the Carp branch of the Ottawa Public Library (2011).  
- http://www.militarybruce.com/history/base-history_13.html

May 05, 2013

Site R - Raven Rock

(Credit: Wikipedia)
As I already posted a blog entry about the base(es) inside the Manzano mountains in New Mexico, and the posted the video of the base under Los Alamos, "Site R" really needed an honourable mention.  Site R is one of the first American underground in-the-mountain military bases (I believe it is *the* first) built during the Cold War.  It has been rumoured to have been closed or downsized over the years, but Osama bin Laden on Sept 11th 2001 gave the military machine the shot in the arm they were looking for, and the base has never been more active or operational!

For a very long time I've wanted to see Site R myself, in person, however they really don’t like visitors.  No really, I mean they *really* don’t like visitors.  As a foreign national I would not dare drive up to the front gate to take a picture of myself as I'd like to;  I'm sure I'd be deported and never allowed back into the US again (and that's the best case scenario). 

From Wikipedia:
On May 25, 2007, the Federal Register published a DoD policy declaring that it is unlawful for any person "entering in or on the property ... to make any photograph, sketch, picture, drawing, map or graphical representation of the Raven Rock Mountain Complex without first obtaining the necessary permission."
So, I was going to visit virtually, get as close as I could with Google and Bing satellite imagery, and share what I could "see" in this blog post.  That was the plan, until I found someone else's blog that has done a better job than I could - so here you go!

Please follow this link for all the information you'd ever want on Site R:
http://aboutcampdavid.blogspot.ca/2011/08/raven-rock-mountain-complex.html
I'd like to thank the author for making such a thorough report on the facility, and the following video was made by the same person
 

Local news article on Site R from December 2001
http://old.post-gazette.com/columnists/20011216homefrontp5.asp



Cryptome has a good view in their "Birdeye" post of Site R
http://cryptome.org/eyeball/siter-birdseye/siter-birdseye.htm
  
  Bing Maps:

Google Maps:

View Larger Map

May 02, 2013

Follow-up to The Manzano Base... Los Alamos tunnels!

In a strange twist of fate, it seems while I was blogging about the existence of Cold-War-era tunnels which contained assembly plants for nuclear weapons inside the Manzano mountains at Kirtland AFB, the local news were displaying the recently revealed Los Alamos "tunnels".  I'm unsure what the facility was "officially" called at the time.  I suspect that the Los Alamos tunnels and the Manzano tunnels, built at the same time, share many similarities - so enjoy the video, we may never see video inside the Manzano Base, so this may be as close as you get!