Bell, Ronald L.: my Air Force recollections (November 26, 2007)

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Rank: Brigadier General.

Interviewee: Bell, Ronald L., b. 1933

An interview/narrative of Brigadier General Ron Bell's experiences whilst serving with the Royal Canadian Air Force. Interview took place on October 26, 2007.

ABSTRACT: Brigadier-General Ron Bell Interview by Val Rundans October 26, 2007 at Bell residence in Oak Bay, BC Digital recording length 1:16:21 Map of recording 0:00:38 biographical info 0:01:30 boarding schools 6 to 18 yrs old- Christ’s Hospital 0:03:08 1954 RCAF enlistment- 1955-1958 interceptor navigator St Hubert QC 0:04:03 training Winnipeg 0:05:10 intercept system before SAGE 0:06:20 squadron numbers 9 regular 0 auxiliary 4 Europe 0:06:55 European role same as in North America- airborne intercept guided by GCI 0:07:40 2 separate commands 0:08:22 ranks- change to US type army ranks in 1968 0:09:21promoted pilot officer- assigned squadrons 0:10:00 type of system prior to 1955 0:13:00 scramble process 0:13:38 GCI full network Pinetree & Mid Canada radar surveillance system like a belt 0:14:37 perception of Soviet threat 0:15:17 intercepting US bombers SAC lots of interaction 0:16:10 international op before 1957-too much based on personalities-impromptu-needed more structure 0:18:13 how significant change in 1957? Didn’t feel operationally- more at higher echelon- daily job- young bucks- jumping in airplanes- too many getting killed 0:19:36 American F-89 “Hog”- nuclear weapon made that airplane 0:20:08 CF-100 rockets- tended to barrel off in all directions- need for 400 to 500 yard range to be effective 0:20:40 lead collision tactic 0:22:21 CF-100 weapons obsolete but airframe wonderful-continued in electronic warfare training 0:23:00 Avro Arrow- not 1 to 1 CF-100 replacement- supposed to be huge step forward-shear power to overcome numbers 0:24:00 saw Arrow and Jetliner in Malton 0:26:34 operational effect-just a disappointment- did not affect operations- political football 0:28:30 F-101 Voodoo experience- shaking control column to prevent overpowering- excellent intercept aircraft- 2 monstrous jet engines- exiting to fly- quite capable with nuclear weapon- Genie 0:30:51 infrared rockets- escape maneuver to escape blast- 0:31:54 not aware of any actual intercepts of Soviet aircraft with CF-100 – soviets not patrolling off Alaskan coast- too far 0:33:10 polar threat- Mercator projection- distances quite close 0:33:57 DEW line like a fence 0:35:17 Americans had their own control in Alaska 0:35:30 5 squadrons Voodoos- same coverage no- faster-less need- same job fewer planes- economics 0:36:20 what are Americans using? F-102- F-106- very good only saw few 0:38:55 personal contact with Americans- flying back and forth between bases- cross training- US crews in Canadian squadrons to understand Canadian ways of doing things- Canadians in US but US moving to single seat aircraft- air national guard- amazing system 0:41:23 SAGE 0:44:27 Voodoos visiting Dow AFB- usually social- seal friendship- clam bake- low pass- frighten everyone 0:46:21 one NORAD region in Canada 0:47:00 US Regions 0:48:00 Cdns hand off Bears to Americans on east coast after Cuban missile crisis 0:48:20 deputy commander Alaskan NORAD region- normal radar system 250 miles beyond Alaskan coast- working with American more closely in ground jobs not in ait- trained at Tyndale- no US squadron work till command in Alaska- 1st Cdn General posted to Alaska- Cdns should be more involved- should not just be a sprinkling of Cdns 0:52:23 exchange of personnel in Colorado Springs and North Bay 0:53:07 Cdns involved because of NORAD 0:53:23 back to 1957-63 period- no big shakeup in personnel- just disappointment- emotional connection to Arrow- BOMARC couldn’t do what we could do- political game to justify cancellation of Arrow- no this is not fair- perception- other reasons 0:56:06 don’t think planning disrupted 0:56:48 back to Alaska- 60 intercepts of Soviet bombers- 0:57:14 BearH- cruise missiles- 1000 mile standoff- my job- intercept and id & track any Soviet Union aircraft- AWACs see out 300 to 500 miles beyond coastline- F-15s with tankers from SAC- “package” would fly out- based on intelligence- 1st AWACs then tankers then F-15s- info back to Elmendorf- see pickups 1000 miles away- unknown intelligence means –very sophisticated- not told about 1:02:00 show colours in international air space- always bears- turboprop- subsonic- low level sometimes- in pairs one high at 29000 ft one low at 3000 ft- we’d hit them high and low at the same time – simultaneous intercepts- no nukes- no need 1:04:51 back to Voodoos with nukes- most effective w/ Genie and nuke- never flew live- 1:06:28 special sites- special procedures- practice- Americans and a few highly trained and secure Canadians- US qualms 1:07:25 discussion of Cuban Missile Crisis 1:10:20 back to Alaska- everything we did went back to Colorado Springs and North Bay- President could intrude- interfere with operators- too much info handed around 1:12:10 back to Voodoos- info passed down differently? CF-100 like Battle of Britain- telephones- 1966 w/SAGE didn’t need 4 or 5 pieces of equipment- on screens- previously ladies writing backwards on boards- computerization at same time as SAGE- rather mad to do it ourselves- R&D enormous- support enormous 1:15:26 rode on American’s tails- SAGE would have never been developed w/o Americans- reasonably integrated system.

Interviewer: Rundans, Val

In Collection:
Contributor Subject Language Keyword Date created Relation
  • Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews.
  • Title of paper: "The Point of the Arrow is Sovereignty: Continuities and Discontinuities in the Integration of North American Air Defence".
Resource type Rights statement Extent
  • 1 sound recording (MP3)
Geographic coverage Coordinates
  • 38.83388, -104.82136
  • 39.76, -98.5
  • 60.10867, -113.64258
Additional physical characteristics
  • Original sound recording (DVF) also available.
Physical repository Collection
  • Canadian Military Oral History Collection
Provider Genre Archival item identifier
  • BR_753
Fonds title Fonds identifier Is referenced by Date digitized
  • October 26, 2007
Technical note
  • Digital sound recording in .mp3 format at 56 kbps and 22 kHz. Recorded in digital format by interviewer, technical and cataloguing metadata provided by JF and JP. Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2007. Migration metadata by KD and MT.
Rights
  • This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca
DOI

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