Spring Thaw (19620125-19620418)

Name: Spring Thaw (Exercise)

Date: April 28 - 29, 1962

Location(s): Airspace over Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, south of the Mid Canada Line.

Purpose: To test and exercise SAC’s capacity to perform the “EWO,” to provide a mass penetration of the 29th NORAD Region, in order to evaluate said region, and to exercise forward tanker bases at Namao, Cold Lake, Churchill, Harmon, and Frobisher.

Notes: There were differences in opinion between the Department of National Defence and the Department of Transportation regarding how to approach large-scale exercises. Differences included what information each party should be privy to and what other departments should be regularly looped in.

More documents from this exercise are available in the archive.