CFS Ramore and GATR Site

Ramore Air Station was built by the USAF, then passed to the Canadians as RCAF Station Ramore, and was decommissioned as CFS Ramore in 1974. It was a sprawling base with 3 gravel runways, several rifle ranges, helipads, at least two private lakes for recreation, and two hilltops to locate radio gear, radar equipment, as well as Diesel generators. The Candian Forces continue to use the property for training off and on, and in 2005 they used it for Exercise Polar Bear, a training exercise in the snow
( http://www.legionmagazine.com/en/index.php/2005/05/polar-bear-school/ ) The buildings that made up the base, the generator building at the top of the mountain, and even the foundations of the radomes are in good shape compared to other Pinetree Line stations.

Slideshow of my latest CFS Ramore pictures from August 2013


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I mentioned previously that along with the Pinetree Line radar sites there were supporting facilities; air fields were created, mini-radar stations built to fill in the gaps in coverage, and powerful radio transmitters were built to communicate with overflying NORAD fighter interceptors.  Well, every Pinetree Line station (AFAIK), in the early 60s, had their radio transmitters/receivers upgraded.  They went from two separate buildings by the base (say within ~1-2 Km, and on the station's grounds) to one remotely located a bit farther away (say ~3-30Km).  The upgraded transceivers were more powerful than the previous gear, and they didn't want interference from the Radar, or visa-versa.

While looking for the location of the CFS Ramore GATR site I found two hints on the internet:

Hint #1

Narrative Report
RCAF Station Ramore, Ont.
2 Oct 61 to 31 May 62

"19 Mar 62
The GATR site located north-west of the station 17 miles distant by
road, was accepted from the contractor this date."

Source: National Archives of Canada

Meaning, the contractor finished the work and officially handed the keys on that day to DND.  They'd been working on the facility for about two years .

Hint #2

"I was stationed at Ramore from Jan '65 to Jul '71. Worked at the GATR site, which was located just off the Watabeag road."
-Rick Lean,
 Hanover, Ontario

Source: http://highway11.ca/content/Ramore-Original-Comments.htm

By contacting Mike Milinkovic, I found out exactly where the CFS Ramore GATR was located.  From the satellite pictures it was very difficult to discern the location. Usually there is a bare patch measuring 400'x1000' where the antenna farm would have been.  In this case, the foliage had all grown back, leaving only a difference in the shade of green between the old growth and new growth.  I assume the location hasn't been maintained since CFS Ramore shut down in 1974, which explains how much he area's trees have grown.  The site is West of CFS Ramore, connected at one time by telephone cable along a cleared line that you can still see cut along the concession boundaries, is where the site stood.


(Location here: http://binged.it/15pivQU)

(Thanks to Thomas Page of the Online Air Defense Radar Museum for finding the hints above and trying to find the location with his resources too!) 


View Larger Map

Slideshow of my pictures of the CFS Ramore GATR Site

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Painting the Iltis

Which colour, or color?

Iltises the world over come in a multitude of different colours... all of them green or khaki, none of them the same.  I had no idea how many different military greens, olive drabs, and khakis there were until I tried to get "the right" colour for my Iltis.

German Roots

The original VW Iltis (aka the Type 183) was painted using the German colour standards.  The initial customer for the Iltis in the German military was the Bundeswehr (the "Federal Defence Force")  The colour they were painted before 1984 was RAL 6014 (olive green) and after 1984 as part of the NATO colour scheme they adopted RAL 6031 as a replacement, often used with brown and black to make the appropriate NATO camo pattern.

Type 181 for illustration purposes
http://vw181.skynetblogs.be/archive/2007/05/09/ral-numbers.html

Canadian

The Canadian Bombardier Iltis, to the best of my knoledge, was painted by Bombardier using either a solid NATO green colour or NATO camo pattern.  It is unclear to me if there were different runs of Iltis'es which might have come from the factory already camo painted, or if they were all produced in solid green and later painted at the depot.  The American colour coding scheme is standardized in FS595 "Federal Standard 595C - Colors Used in Government Procurement" revision C is the latest.  

Using that standard, I believe the Canadian military Iltises were painted FS 34094.
http://www.fed-std-595.com/FS-595-Paint-Spec.html 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Standard_595

http://hedgehoghollow.com/buzz/Colour_Guide/army_clr.html

What did I buy?

Right colour, wrong vehicle

Through a strange twist of fate, I purchased American Coatings paint in 34052, which is WWII United States Marine Corp Lusterless Forrest Green... it looks *very* close to the original Iltis paint, and in the opinion of the expert from whom I bought the paint, looks like a weathered version of the original.  True or not, I went with it.  Now I plan to paint the entire Iltis in 34052.  The initial eight rims which I had sandblasted and painted professionally look absolutely fantastic.

 

Willy's Acres

My 1985 Iltis - Current Paint

In you're looking for paint, Willy's Acres is a leading paint vendor and supplier of parts to many hobby restoration enthusiasts across Canada.  Not always the cheapest, but very friendly and capable of helping you repair your Jeep, Iltis, Tank or Artillery... 
Not kidding!