RCAF Station Uplands - Cold War Quick Reaction Alert Hangers and Weapons Storage Area

"A load of rocket pods destined for 428 Squadron Mk. 5s, Uplands, March 16, 1960. (DND)"
Credit: http://www.canaero.ca/subpages/Article%20content/cf-100rocketspage1_Rocket%20podsa.html

(Updating this post from a couple of years ago with new info) In the early 1950s the Cold War was in full swing, and Canadian Forces bases across Canada were outfitted with hangers suitable for fighter-interceptor aircraft to be stationed, on alert, with their air crews standing by to hop in and take off in minutes.  Nearby to these Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) hangers were munitions storage facilities. What kind of facility was dictated by what kind of ammunition would be stored.  Both conventional ammunition storage facilities and Special Ammunition Storage (SAS) facilities (for the AIR-2 Genie nuclear air-to-air missile (well, rocket)) were built.  I have no evidence that the AIR-2 Genie was ever located at CFB Uplands, since the nearby munitions storage facility was not designed to store nuclear ammunition.  Also, the RCAF 410 and 428 squadrons, which were based out of Uplands, flying the CF-100 Canuck then CF-101 Voodoo, were retired in 1961 and 1964, before the AIR-2 Genie was delivered in 1965.

When 410 and 428 squadron ceased operations at the Uplands base, did DND move out of the hangers completely? Have the hangers been shuffled from department to department until today?  From the outside the hangers look to be in remarkably good shape, even the domestic building between the two hangers, where the fighter pilots would have hung out on alert looks to be in good shape.  Many similar domestic buildings have been destroyed, at other bases, so it's nice to see that one is still intact.

Also, the National Historic Sites Directorate has recognised the importance of preserving the CFB Bagotville QRA and as of 2007 it is designated a National Historic Site of Canada under the Historic Sites and Monuments Act. 
It is the only QRA hanger site to hold that designation.
http://historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=15801

atlas.gc.ca
RCAF Station Uplands QRA Hangers - Blue

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QRA Hangers @ the former Canadian Forces Station Uplands

Domestic bldg between the QRA Hangers @ the former Canadian Forces Station Uplands

QRA Hangers @ the former Canadian Forces Station Uplands

QRA Hangers @ the former Canadian Forces Station Uplands

QRA Hangers @ the former Canadian Forces Station Uplands

QRA Hangers @ the former Canadian Forces Station Uplands

From the fantastic Bing Maps Bird's Eye imagery you can clearly see the pair of earth covered magazines at the munitions storage facility just East of the QRA hangers, are almost identical to those I photographed by the runway at the former CFB North Bay aerodrome.  Conventional munitions for the CF-100 and CF-101 would have been stored in these very same bunkers back in the 1950s-1960s.  The five bay building is a mystery to me, and looks newer than the others; it doesn't seem terribly structurally secure from the outside, but does have berms in front of the five garage-sized doors on both sides.  The building with a pass-through looks like an assembly or workshop area to load/unload munitions through all seasons and under cover.

The building is still actively in use by the Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa), as stated on their web page.

North-ish Facing - Bird's Eye - Bing Maps

West-ish Facing - Bird's Eye - Bing Maps

South-ish Facing - Bird's Eye - Bing Maps

East-ish Facing - Bird's Eye - Bing Maps

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Further reading:
The following web site shows images taken in April 2006 at the QRA in Comox with CF-188M fighters from 441 Squadron, Cold Lake.
http://www.hazersflightline.com/amalgamdart.htm

Follow-up on the crash of CF-101 Voodoo #17480 in March of 1968

RCAF 425 Squadron

As luck would have it, a friend of mine's father was a navigator for the CF-101 Voodoo with the RCAF back in the day, at exactly the time that #17480 crashed.  From what I understand, #17480 crashed on approach in March of 1968 while attempting to land from the North on the runway at Val D'Or.  #17480 was flying with the RCAF 425 Squadron "Les Alouettes", the first French Canadian squadron, that flew CF-101 Voodoos out of Bagotville (and now fly CF-18s).  They have the motto "Je Te Plumerai".  The accident report cites the pilot losing sight of the horizon as the cause for the crash.  The plane crashed before getting to the runway.  There were no survivors, both crew were killed, and no armed AIR-2 missiles were on-board at the time.

Thank you BD for your honourable service to the men and women of Canada.  Especially with remembrance day coming up, we all remember the service you did for your country, your countrymen, and the sacrifices you made to your family.  May we all be as selfless as you.

I'm not sure where the #17480 Voodoo crashed, but it should have been somewhere North of the runway.  I assume it was lined up with the runway but hit the dirt or trees prior to making it to the runway.  From driving around the site, there is no sign of where the plane might have crashed - but it has been 44 years and I presume the site was cleaned up very well after the accident.  In 1968 Val D'Or was under it's own administration and was no longer being administered by RCAF Station Senneterre, so I know there will be some information in the Historical Narrative of the base at Val D'Or at the National Archives.


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The loss of CF-101 Voodoo #17480 in March of 1968

CF-101 Voodoos on the ground at RCAF Station Val D'Or

On March 15th, 1968 the RCAF lost a CF-101B Voodoo flying with 425 Squadron, from Bagotville... or was it?
You see, CFS Val D'Or didn't have it's own planes; planes from several squadrons flew out of CFS Val D'Or on rotation, and logistical support was provided from the nearby CFS Senneterre.  So, while researching CFS Val D'Or I found mention that a CF-101 Voodoo crashed in 1968, with a tail number of 17480 (previously USAF F-101B-120-MC s/n 59-480), but some sources say Val D'Or, others Bagotville - easy, I went looking for an "authoritative" source; there are many air plane crash databases online.  Unfortunately, there's a lack of info on that one.  How... Interesting.  I can't find the names of the pilots or any details at all.  That's weird, as I can find the names of everyone else who's ever used the ejection seat.  The accident is documented as a "Category A", which I believe means a complete write off - but that was only ascertained a month after the accident.  Isn't that odd?  Maybe they had to wait for an "official" assessment, which took time for someone to do, or be flown in.  Operations out of CFS Val D'Or are at least partially shrouded in secrecy because it was one of the few sites where "Canadian" nuclear arms were stored, and those "special weapons" were meant to be used by CF-101 Voodoos.  Nuclear accidents are very well documented, as far as I can tell, whenever they happen and no matter how minor, so I don't really expect that there was a nuke-armed-crash, at Val D'Or, of a CF-101, armed with nuclear AIR-2 missiles... but as the base was shrouded in secrecy, it is interesting to contemplate.

I think I need to consult the Archives and Air Photo Library again...