Description

"The view from 45,000 feet — including memories of live fire exercises at Cold Lake, Alberta, and of worrying whether the various targets Maclagan helped track down might be Soviet Tu 95 “Bear” long-range bombers — makes for an engaging read."

— Literary Review of Canada

A story of the Cold War in Canada remembered by RCAF jet interceptor flier Scott Maclagan.

In the 1950s, thanks to geography Canada played a major role in the Cold War. Long-range US bombers armed with nuclear bombs regularly flew north over Canada, ready to continue on-wards to Moscow and other Soviet targets. Meanwhile Soviet bombers regularly headed towards North America.

Scott Maclagan spent the Cold War in CF-100 jet interceptors, flying over Canada. The mission was to be ready for a Soviet attack – and to monitor all unknown aircraft spotted on radar.

In this book, the only published account of the experiences of a Cold War flier over Canada, Scott recounts his recruitment by the air force, the early training which graduated only two of a hundred young men, and his many adventures flying as a navigator in the two-man Canadian-built jet CF-100. He and his pilot partner were in line to fly the famed Avro Arrow which was to replace the CF-100. Ironically, as Scott tells in this memoir, he was able to denounce the decision to cancel the Arrow shortly after when he came face to face with Prime Minister John Diefenbaker.

Scott Maclagan is a gifted story-teller, with perceptive, revealing and often entertaining accounts of his experiences in the air force. Photos from his collection and from his buddies complement this readable and enjoyable memoir.