The Arctic's Forgotten Shield: How the DEW Line Guarded the North
In short: Explore the forgotten history of the Distant Early Warning Line, a massive Cold War radar network designed to detect Soviet threats. This video examines how this infrastructure transformed the Canadian landscape and served as a vital deterrent during a period of global tension.
Initiated in the early 1950s following an MIT study on North American vulnerability, the Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line was built to detect approaching Soviet aircraft and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Construction began in the spring of 1955 and was completed in just two years, establishing over 60 manned radar installations across the 69th parallel from Alaska to Baffin Island.
The network served as a crucial communication link for the U.S. and Canada, featuring distinctive radar domes designed by Buckminster Fuller. While it provided a vital warning system until it was replaced by the North Warning System in 1985, the DEW Line's history has largely been erased, leaving behind permanent physical alterations to the Arctic landscape.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: The Distant Early Warning Line and Forgotten History
- Also: Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) | Britannica
- Also: "The Distant Early Warning Line: Geographies, Infrastructures, and Envi" by Jordan Steingard
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