January 19, 2013

Aerial Imagery of all Canadian Cold War Gap Filler Annexes

In the 1960s the Canadian government undertook a project to erect small remotely operated radar sites, then cancelled it when the project became too expensive and the government was undergoing budgetary cutbacks (more here from my previous post about Gap Filler Annexes)

Lac St. Marie GFA
Summer 2012
Some of the sites never left the drawing board, but some were 95% complete by the time the project was cancelled.  Most were somewhere in the middle.  Some of the sites, the most remote ones, are likely still as they were around 1964 when the project was dropped, and I hope to get to all of them and see what's left (if anything).  Below are the coordinates, and embedded Google Map and Bing Maps imagery that is currently available.  Since they are embedded and dynamic, as Microsoft or Google update their imagery these images can only get better!  (This also makes a very interesting study comparing the quality of Google vs. Microsoft satellite imagery for rural Canada...)

The sites all had access roads built, most had foundations, and from there on it's anyone's guess.  To complete the site they would have had to clear the land, spray herbicide, erect a fence, build two Steel pre-fab buildings, erect a tower, install a diesel storage tank, generators, heaters, antenna equipment, etc..  At the very least I expect to find a concrete slab at the end of a dirt access road at each of these sites.  If you cannot see the site where the arrow is, the site is a "best guess" and the GFA was in the "neighbourhood".  I have found many of the GFAs East of Ontario and Quebec very hard to locate.  I suspect the land was re-purposed or otherwise re-used quicker than the remote sites in Quebec and Ontario.

(CG17 / C-16B) Atikokan GFA
50% Complete (48.79596, -91.61151)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower Erected


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(CG16 / P-69E) Nipigon GFA
10% Complete (49.022387, -88.440138)
1963 Status: No Buildings, No Tower, No Fencing


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(CG20 / C-14B) Marathon GFA
10% Complete (48.75309, -86.58150)
1963 Status: No Buildings, No Tower, No Fencing


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(CG44 / C-14C) Manitouwadge GFA
10% Complete (49.157538, -85.839583)
1963 Status: No Buildings, No Tower, No Fencing



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(CG11 / M-119B) Chapleau GFA
50% Complete ~(47.87550, -83.44022) incorrect location (updated 2013.07)

1963 Status: Buildings, Tower Erected




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(CG27 / P-66C) Batchewana GFA
10% Complete (47.07520, -84.38212)
1963 Status: No Buildings, No Tower, No Fencing


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(CG10 / M-119D) Oba GFA
50% Complete (48.980541,-83.945099)
1963 Status: Buildings Erected


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(CG9 / P-66E) Elliot Lake GFA
90% Complete (46.38732, -82.6201)
1963 Status: Fencing, Buildings Erected (No Tower)


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(CG19 / M-119C) Biscotasing GFA
50% COmplete (47.25855, -82.1225)
1963 Status: Buildings Erected


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(CG3 / C-9B) Tobermory GFA
90% Complete (45.22439, -81.63837)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower, Fencing Erected


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(CG26 / C-4F) Lucknow GFA
10% Complete (43.961111, -81.547500) aprox
1963 Status: Tower Erected (No Fencing, No Buildings)


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(CG14 / C-10D) Timmins GFA
90% Complete (48.53673, -81.54171)
1963 Status: Fencing, Buildings Erected (No Tower)


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(CG25 / P-20E) Sparta GFA
10% Complete (42.725000, -81.103333)
1963 Status: Tower Erected (No Fencing, No Buildings)


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(CG5 / C-4D) Formosa GFA
90% Complete (43.930556, -81.006667)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower Erected


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(CG15 / C-10B) Belleterre GFA
90% Complete (47.35685, -78.68173)
1963 Status: Fencing, Buildings Erected (No Tower)


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(CG8 / C-3C) Algonquin Park GFA
90% complete (45.564167, -78.561111)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower, Fencing Erected


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(CG18 / C-3A) Westport GFA
50% Complete (44.73373, -76.42168)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower Erected


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(CG7 / C-2D) Lac St. Marie GFA
90% Complete (45.93706, -75.85090)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower, Fencing Erected


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(CG12 / C-1D) La Tuque GFA
50% Complete (47.20664, -73.20682)
1963 Status: Buildings Erected


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(CG2 / C-2E) Nicolet GFA
90% Complete (46.136944, -72.658333)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower, Fencing Erected


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(CG13 / C-5B) Todd Mountain GFA
50% Complete (46.54185, -66.70140)
1963 Status: Fencing, Buildings Erected (No Tower)


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(CG4 / M-102B) St. Joseph GFA
95% Complete (44.263611, -66.115556)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower, Fencing Erected


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(CG6 / C-5A) Scotch Settlement GFA
95% Complete (45.72682, -65.77479)
1963 Status: Buildings, Tower, Fencing Erected


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(CG22 / C-11F) Bridgetown GFA
10% Complete (44.861111, -65.348611)
1963 Status: Tower Erected (No Fencing, No Buildings)


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(CG30 / C-11D) Summerville Centre GFA
10% Complete (45.978333, -64.841667)
1963 Status: Fencing Erected, (No Buildings, No Tower)


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