Curator’s Comment
We have scoured the Internet and other resources to find documents, articles, and websites pertaining to the DEWLine.
If you are aware of other DEWLine documents, or you have some of your own, we’d be delighted to add them to our resource library. Contact us for more information.
Historical & Background Documents:
A History of the Dew Line, 1946-1964 Full Release
Official document. Declassified. 77 pages, 10.7 MB. Appears to be a photocopy of the original document.
The DEWLine – A Brief Introduction
Excellent overview of the DEWLine, why it came about, and details about the the structure of the Line. By Museum team member, Paul Kelley. 12 pages, 190 KB.
Coming Over the Pole
Unclassified document. 4 pages, 255 KB. By Dr. Gary E. Weir, Chief Historian, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, Pathfinder Sept Oct 2008.
Annotated Bibliography: Distant Early Warning (DEW) System, Alaska
Official document. 218 pages, 1.9 MB. The document was prepared for the United States Air Force (USAF), 611th Civil Engineer Squadron (611 CES) operating out of Elmendorf Air Force Base in Anchorage, Alaska by Tania Metcalf, Research Associate for the Center for Environmental Management of Military Lands (CEMML) based at Colorado State University (CSU) in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line: A Bibliography and Documentary Resource List
Official report. 115 pages, 1.7 MB. This research compendium provides a list of relevant sources on the DEW Line and Cold War continental defence. It focuses on primary sources available in Canada, and a systematic survey of published sources from Canada and the United States.
Distant Early Warning Line Radars: The Quest for Automatic Signal Detection
Technical document. 24 pages, 4.2 MB. By F. Robert Naka and William W. Ward. A discussion paper on technical aspects of the DEWLine equipment and the alarm system (that didn’t work!).
DEWLine Training Manual – Introduction to the DEW Line
WECO (Western Electric Company) document – 1957. 23 pages, 24 MB. Basic introduction to the Arctic and the DEWLine.
Distant Early Warning (DEW) System: Operations Handbook
Historical document. 15 pages, 9.7 MB. By Capt. Pamela G. Rooney. Excellent overview. The text from this document can be found in the “Operations” section of this website.
Research Collections relating to the DEW Line in the western Arctic
with Recommendations for Future Work
May 2002 document by David Neufeld, Yukon & Western Arctic Historian. 24 pages, 3.9 MB.
SEARCHING THE SKIES: THE LEGACY OF THE UNITED STATES COLD WAR DEFENSE RADAR PROGRAM
Official report. June 1997. 192 pages, 26.2 MB. This Study Was Prepared for United States Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command by David F. Winkler.
WECO – The DEWLine Story
WECO (Western Electric Company) publicity brochure, 1958. 27 pages, 10.5 MB.
The DEWLINE CHRONICLES: A History by Lynden T. (Bucky) Harris
Personal memoir by a noted DEWLine historian. 19 pages, 223 KB.
TO DETECT, TO DETER, TO DEFEND: THE DISTANT EARLY WARNING (DEW) LINE AND EARLY COLD WAR DEFENSE POLICY, 1953-1957
PhD dissertation by James Isemann. 363 pages, 2.9 MB. This doctoral thesis is an account of the DEW Line’s conception, implementation, and position in Eisenhower’s New Look and deterrent strategy.
The Incomplete Shield: The Distant Early Warning Line and the Struggle for Effective Continental Air Defense, 1950-1960
Master of Arts dissertation by Samuel Edward Twitchell. 56 pages, 1 MB. In the early days of the Cold War, the United States, faced with the need to protect its long northern border against the prospect of Soviet long-range bombers equipped with nuclear weapons, built a chain of radar stations, called the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, along the northern coast of North America.
Published Articles:
Air Force Magazine Article – 2004
“A Line in the Ice” by Peter Grier. 6 pages 618 KB.
Sentry of the North
Article published in the National Geographic 1958. 19 pages, 6.4 MB.
Commemorating the Cold War in Canada: Considering the DEW Line
Magazine article. 9 pages, 3.6 MB. By noted Parks Canada historian, David Neufeld.
Project 572
1953 article from WE Magazine (Western Electric) referring to the construction of the Line. 8 pages, 10.7 MB.
The DEW Line
Article published on American Heritage.com website. 9 pages, 200 KB. Features photos from Brian Jeffrey, the DEWLineMuseum.com curator.
DEW Line and White Alice
Magazine article, 1959. 4 pages, 2.7 MB.
Trigger for Atomic Holocaust
Article – 1997. 4 pages, 80KB. By David Neufeld, retired Parks Canada historian.
History and the Current Status of the Russian Early-Warning System
Article. 40 pages, 718 KB. By Pavel Podvig, Center for Arms Control, Energy and Environmental Studies, Moscow, Institute of Physics and Technology, Moscow, Russia. This article presents an overview of the history of development and the current status of the Soviet and Russian early-warning system, which was built to provide the Soviet strategic forces with information about a missile attack in an event of a nuclear conflict with the United States.
DEWLine Clean-up & Environmental Considerations:
Abandoned Military Site Remediation Protocol-2008
Official government (INAC) document. 90 pages, 812 KB. Volume 1, Main Report. The primary objectives of this document are to provide sufficient background information to understand the environmental issues present at these sites, and to describe the guiding principles for their assessment and remediation.
BAR-1 Distant Early Warning (DEW) Auxiliary Station, Komakuk Beach, Yukon Territory
A comprehensive look at the BAR-1 DEWLine station by David Neufeld, Yukon Historian. 30 pages, 180KB.
CAM-D Environmental Site Assessment – Cleanup Report
Official site cleanup report. 588 pages, 27 Mb. Lots of site photos.
FOX-C Environmental Site Assessment – Cleanup Report
Official site cleanup report. 384 pages, 18 Mb. Lots of site photos.
Contaminated Sites in Nunavut 2007
Government (INAC) discussion paper. 16 pages, 315 KB. Regarding the remediation of abandoned military and other contaminated sites.
DEW Line Clean Up (DLCU) Lessons Learned
Visual presentation. 24 pages, 8.9 MB. Details of what is involved in a typical site cleanup.
Overview of Contaminated Sites Program Nunavut Region
Visual presentation. 29 pages, 4.2 MB. The Contaminated Sites Program (CSP) is committed to managing contaminated sites in a cost effective and consistent manner, to reduce and eliminate, where possible, risk to human and environmental health and liability associated with contaminated sites.
Landfill Remediation at Former Military Radar Sites
Government (INAC) slide show – 2004. 38 pages, 6.9 MB.
Ditched drums and all
Magazine article – 2002. 3 pages, 90KB. By K. L. Capozza, published in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
Relevant Internet Websites
Click on the bold title to visit the website.
Larry Wilson’s Omnibus DEWLine website. “THE” website for information on both the DEWLine and the North Warning System (NWS). Extremely comprehensive website with more than 150 pages and over 1400 photos.
DEWLine Adventures. Brian (Simon) Jeffrey’s (the museum’s curator) personal DEWLine website. The story of his adventures in the coldest part of the Cold War during his 3 years on the Line.
Markham S. Cheever’s Construction Era Photos. Markham Cheever was the Superintendent of Construction for the entire DEWLine project. Photos cover the pre-operational days of the Line and visually document the Line’s construction.
Global Warning: The Arctic’s Abandoned DEW Line Station. Web Urbanist article.
Distant Early Warning Line. Wikipedia page.
List of DEW Line Sites. Wikipedia page.
The Distant Early Warning Line and the Canadian Battle for Public Perception. Canadian Military Journal.
FOX-C (Ekalugad Fiord) Remediation Project. INAC Remediation report. Our curator, Brian (Simon) Jeffrey served as Acting Station Chief at this site.
CAM-D (Simpson Lake) Remediation Project. INAC Remediation report. Our curator, Brian (Simon) Jeffrey served as a Radician on this site for 5-months.
Abandoned DYE-2 Photos. A visual photo tour of the abandoned site.
BAR-1 DEW Line Archive. Created by David Neufeld. This is a comprehensive image archive for one of the DEW (Distant Early Warning) radar stations that operated in the Yukon Territory, Canada. The archive includes photographs, blueprints, and articles.
Willy Victor Group. Site dedicated to the men who flew modified Constellation aircraft known as WV-2’s that were essentially flying DEWLine stations that extended both the western and eastern ends of the physical DEWLine.
CFS Alert. Photos and information about the most northly inhabited place on earth. Even colder than the DEWLine.
The Diefenbunker, Canada’s Cold War Museum. Built around the same time as the DEWLine, the Diefenbunker would have served as the seat of government in case of nuclear war. Was deactivated in 1994 and is now a museum.
Dave’s Cold War Canada. Dave Peters is a long-time volunteer and former Board member at the Diefenbunker (above). He worked in the Diefenbunker during the operational years and has tons of interesting information about the Cold War.