P - mountain, Pingarssuit, N-32, communications station and air defense command site, 76,23N - 68,44W, activated in 1952, and deactivated in 1985

It was aiming at Hall Beach, and Cape Dyer, 612 nautical miles to the south. Other experiments were carried out with ionospheric and tropospheric scatter of VHF and UHF transmissions.

P - mountain, or should we say Pingarssuit mountain, that's the name in Inuit. it's the highest reachable mountain, in the nearby of Thule air base. i was there for the first time, very early in 1981. We should make PMI on the wind measuring divice, called GMD-20, or the "bird"

It was a special place, to go up there on regular bases, it was necessary to have a special training, and a stamp on your drivers licence, just to drive up there. But always the trip worth, the food, and life at the main base seems sometime trivial so it was a releaf for the soul and body to be at the mountain, the food was exellent. We could'nt figure out how they managed to keep their weight?

Cape Dyer, and Hall beach, Canada, is the other end of the big arrays at P-mountain. i found some words on a page, dealing with the story of Cape Dyer: Vertical (north to south) drops included the 100KW AN/FRC-101, a 515 nautical mile tropo scatter FM link between Hall Beach Canada and Thule AB Greenland, and the 612 nautical mile 10KW AN/FRC-47 CW drop between Cape Dyer Canada and Thule AB. These shots were among the longest single-hop tropospheric scatter shots used anywhere.

I worked on part of the system designated "612 nautical mile 100KW AN/FRC-47 drop between Cape Dyer Canada and P - Mountain, Thule AB.". I worked at Thule circa 1960-61 shortly after the system was installed. The official name of that link was project "DEWDROP". The link went in late because equipment was lost. The GE transmitters were being flown to Thule from the lower 48. The plane developed engine problems, and some equipment was dumped overboard. The system was 24 channels of Lenkurt Electric carrier. Most of the channels were unusuable most of the time because of severe fading not correctable by space diversity 'combining'. Originally, Americans supported the system. Later, Danish nationals were employed as technicans.

Dave Hayes

This relates to the "Dew Drop" system between Cape Dyer and Thule. Comments (above) regarding Danish personnel refer only to the site at Thule. Cape Dyer Dew Drop terminal was operated by Canadian contractor personnel. What is not mentioned is that there was a submarine cable communications system from Cornerbrook in Newfoundland via Cape Dyer to Thule. This and the Dew Drop provided the two communications routes to Thule BMEWS. The submarine cable suffered breaks at Cape Dyer due to iceberg activity in the fjord. Subsequently the Cornerbrook and Thule sections were spliced in deep water bypassing Cape Dyer. The cable still suffered frequent breaks, due to ice activity at the Thule end, and trawlers at the Cornerbrook end. The cable was abandoned after establishment of the satellite link from Sunnyvale to Thule.

Mike Bullough

Goose Air Base & Resolution Island 1971 - 1973

Cape Dyer, Hall Beach, Cambridge Bay, Lady Franklin Point 1973 - 1978

My Name is James R Holder and I was a Ground Radar Repairman stationed at “P” Mountain before it was activated in1952, Two of us were transferred (Volunteered) from The Ground Electronics Depot in Argentia, Newfoundland in 1952. We were assigned to work with the installation team from the Air Force’s Rome, New York, Electronics Depot.

Our job began with checking and sealing the screws that held down the splines sealing what would become the floor of the bubble covering the FPS-3 system. We worked with the team from unpacking the equipment through turnover to the Squadron. When we went active in 1952 there were only three of us.

The head of the Radar Maintenance activity was a Staff Sergeant (I think his name was Thompson) who covered the day shift, An A2C named Fisher who covered the shift from midnight until the day shift arrived, and myself A3C that covered the swing shift. The first use of the completed system was done before the activation of the site.

Staff Sergeant Thompson acting as a senior controller, and myself managing the maintenance end (Cold Startup and later shutdown). We had a request to help find a wayward C124. Sergeant Thompson guided the rescue aircraft to the C124 which took over and led the C124 to the Fjord landing strip commonly called the airfield.

I was there for a total of eleven months before my overseas tour was up and I was rotated back to Keesler AFB to become an instructor. I passed on that job and ended up at San Clemente Island in the 670^th AC&W squadron.

I hope this helps to fill in the early times.