Please, please no night caching, out of respect for nearby residents and replace the hide back the found it.
This is the radar antenna that marks Clinton as Canada's "Home of Radar!"
The radar antenna that sits at this location was given to the town in 1967 by service personnel. This antenna specifically is from a system developed during the Cold War to detect incoming Soviet aircraft and missiles. This antenna was once housed inside the radome, a golfball-like structure that is still visible today if you drive a few kilometers south on Highway 4 to Vanastra, east side of the highway.
Back in 1972, the base closed and was sold. A contest was held to rename the area/base and a local Clinton resident won with their submission of “Vanastra.”
In the middle of WWII in 1941, government officials scoped out the area around Clinton on a secret mission: this would be the first radar training school in North America. A location that would be remote, that a base would be safe and secret. They settled on this area just south of Clinton (now known as Vanastra) . Huron County’s flat land and shoreline resembled southeast England where aerial fighting was occurring.
The base was constructed very fast. Taking from May to September of 1941, roads and over forty buildings were built so that the Royal Air Force Radio School could open that year. The base had housing, a fire station, a school, a hospital, a theatre, churches, and sports facilities. Radar equipment from England began arriving in July. The school opened in 1941 and the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) took over in 1943.
RCAF Clinton trained both radar technicians and operators.
The purpose of the base remained top secret and even citizens of Clinton weren’t sure what was happening there. They were confused how it could be an air base without planes or a runway! It wasn’t until after the war that the secret was shared.
The school continued to be active during the Cold War. Over the 30 years that the school operated, around 150,000 people graduated from there.
Don't forget Top Secret Radar - Virtual Reward 4.0 https://coord.info/GCAJFQM