CFB North Bay - NORAD and The Underground Complex

NORAD and The Underground Complex

The Underground Complex is the most extraordinary military installation ever built in Canada.

During the Cold War, Canada was in an unenviable geographic position, situated directly between the Soviet Union and United States, the Cold War's primary adversaries. If the war turned 'hot', the country would become a major nuclear battleground—Soviet nuclear weapon-armed bombers would attack through Canadian airspace to destroy their American targets, while American interceptors would swarm the airspace to shoot them down.

In effect, Canada was by default the frontline for the air defence of the North American continent. On 12 September 1957, Canada and the United States formed the North American Air Defence Command (NORAD), an organization unifying the countries' air defences into a single, coordinated, fast-reacting network. The NORAD Agreement was officially signed by both nations on 12 May 1958. The name was altered to North American Aerospace Defense Command, 12 May 1981, to more accurately reflect the extent of command's responsibilities, in space over North America as well as in the Earth's atmosphere.

By virtue of Canada's frontline position, the Canadian air defence command and control centre would be the most important piece of the NORAD 'pie' -- its early warning of and reaction to a Soviet air attack, and survival in nuclear war were paramount for the survival of the U.S.-Canadian portion of the North American continent. Ergo planners opted to locate the centre underground to minimize the possibility of destruction by a nuclear attack, the only subterranean regional air defence command and control centre in NORAD.

Following a cross-Canada survey of possible sites, North Bay was selected:

1. An air force base existed, eliminating the need to build one.
2. The City of North Bay was a rail, highway and telecommunications hub of the country.
3. The geology comprised a 2.6 billion year old rock formation altered 1.5 billion years ago by the Grenville Metamorphic Event into granite, one of the hardest rock types on the planet, excellent armour against a nuclear strike.
4. Trout Lake, on the eastern edge of the city, was an abundant source of water needed to cool the complex.