Our Past is your Present!

The 2442 Aircraft Control & Warning Unit (Reserve) Vancouver was formed on April 1, 1950, to train personnel in radar operations for the new radar station then under construction, and to train the personnel in all aspects of aircraft control and warning. Training was carried out in quarters provided in the Reserve Centre on Hastings Street, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

On November 1, 1951, 2442 AC&WU was re-designated as 2442 Aircraft Control & Warning Unit (Auxiliary), and on December 1, 1953, the unit became a squadron. In the fall of 1951, the squadron moved to a building converted for it at RCAF Station Sea Island, and with the addition of up-to-date training equipment the work became both life-like and interesting. The number of personnel was enlarged and the unit prepared for the emergency that has not come in its lifetime. In the event of war or national emergency, they would have become Guardians of the Skies working from the completed "Pinetree" radar sites. They provided a strong reserve of trained manpower in a time when the Korean War was still on and the Cold War threatening to become warmer.

In the summer of 1955, the squadron entered its most active period with intensive training in radar control and the techniques of intercepting enemy aircraft. Summer training in the annual two-week camp was carried out at both USAF and RCAF radar sites. During this period the unit badge was returned from England after being inspected and authorized by Her Majesty the Queen. 2442 AC&W Squadron adopted the mythical Coast Indigenous "Sisiutl" as its emblem, and the motto "Curatores Caeli", Guardians of the Sky. The Sisiutl is reputed to be able to bring down the Thunderbird with a glance from its eye.

The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. Run by North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) (after its creation), over half were staffed by United States Air Force personnel with the balance operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The line was the first coordinated system for early detection of a Soviet bomber attack on North America, but before the early 1950s radar technology quickly became outdated and the line was in full operation only for a short time.

2442 AC&W Squadron was another victim of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, a system of large computers and associated networking equipment that coordinated data from many radar sites. Consequently, it was disbanded on March 31, 1961.