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North American Defence

North American Defence. To protect against direct Soviet air attacks, the United States reached an agreement to build three lines of radar stations across Canada between 1950-1957

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North American Defence

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  1. North American Defence • To protect against direct Soviet air attacks, the United States reached an agreement to build three lines of radar stations across Canada between 1950-1957 • The Pinetree Line, Mid-Canada Line, and Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) were designed to give the USA time to launch a counterattack if Soviet long-range bombers were attacking over the North Pole

  2. North American Defence (cont.)

  3. North American Defence (cont.) • These radar stations were manned by American military personnel on Canadian soil • Many Canadians feared this also compromised Canada’s autonomy, but most accepted this as the price of better security against a Soviet attack

  4. North American Defence (cont.) • The development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) meant nuclear missiles launched from the USSR could reach North American cities within 30 minutes

  5. North American Defence (cont.) • In 1957, NORAD was created to counter possible Soviet attacks on North America • It included joint fighter forces, missile bases and radar stations all controlled by a central command station built in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado

  6. Civil Defence Canadians prepared for nuclear war by: • Building bomb shelters • Teaching students to “duck and cover” • Formulating the TOCSIN B evacuation plan • Building the Diefenbunker

  7. Civil Defence (cont.) • In reality, the best deterrent against a nuclear attack was the threat of all-out nuclear war

  8. Mutually Assured Destruction • Both the USSR and the United States would come to follow a policy of Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD), where the threat of nuclear war assured that neither side would fire the first shot

  9. Avro Arrow • Avro Arrow (CF-105), was an advanced, supersonic, twin-engined, all-weather interceptor jet aircraft developed by Canadian A.V. Roe in 1949 • The Avro Arrow was designed to counter the threat of Soviet bombers over the demanding Canadian North

  10. Avro Arrow (cont.) • In October 1958, the new Conservative government attempted to sell the aircraft to the USA, just when the Americans were promoting BOMARC MISSILES and when the USSR’s launch of an ICBM was raising doubts about the priority of the Soviet bomber threat

  11. Avro Arrow (cont.) • The attempts to sell the Avro Arrow failed, and the project was controversially cancelled in 1959

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