St. Anthony, NF

1998 - General History - Ren L'Ecuyer


Construction began in 1951. St. Anthony was one of 11 sites started at that time. The St. Anthony AC&W Squadron opened in 1956 and closed in 1968. A road from the site to the town of St. Anthony was provided and maintained by the radar station. The St. Anthony station was part of the 64th Air Division whose mission was to maintain a constant radar watch of the north eastern approaches to the continent and to intercept and identify any unknown aircraft within these approaches and if necessary, destroy aggressors. There were approximately 150 GI's and 13 civilians working at the site. All of the operations buildings were connected by corridors. You could enter one building and walk through all of them without having to go outside again. The main operations building was built first with additional buildings and two more satellite dishes added later. The population of St. Anthony was approximately 3,000 in 1998.

-- Ren L'Ecuyer