Caribou Air Force Station
Caribou Air Force Station was the first of five, United States Air Force, Air Material Command (AMC) installations that were constructed during the period of 1951 – 1953. Each of the five installations was built specifically to provide operational storage of the nuclear stockpile, and to provide a specified number of weapons to their adjacent Strategic Air Command (SAC) bases. The first four installations were built and occupied by 1953. The fifth installation, although completed in 1953, would not be utilized until 1955. The first installation, code named “Site Easy” was originally known as the “North River Depot”. It was constructed between 1951-1952, and operations began in 1952. Funds were provided in 1951 to the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP), for the planning and construction of an ordnance storage site in the vicinity of a new Strategic Air Command Base. The AFSWP was directed to utilize the services of the Corps of Engineers, Department of Army, for planning and construction, and was made responsible for monitoring such work, and for operational security measures during these phases. The original directive to the AFSWP stipulated that upon completion of construction the installation would be turned over to Headquarters, Air Material Command for operational responsibilities.
Caribou Air Force Station
Building No. 233 (‘S’ Structure) was constructed in 1956. This assembly building was known as the Surveillance Building. Constructed of reinforced concrete columns and concrete block on a reinforced concrete foundation, the building had three sections, each of which had a flat roof. The central section was a long, double-height structure with two overhead doors on both the eastern and western elevations. A simple metal overhang sheltered the western doors. Attached to the southern side of the building was a one-story structure with an overhead door on the eastern elevation, two large doors on the southern elevation, and a single door on the western elevation. The interior of this double-height central section of the building consisted of a center section that was 19 feet in width. In the center of this section at the eastern elevation of the building, was an outside door that led to an office area. The office was 8 feet-4 inches in length by 19 feet in width. Two doors were located at each end of the office. These doors opened to the south bay and North Bay within the central section of the structure. The back wall of the office was solid concrete block. On the other side of the back wall of the office were two rooms. Each room was approximately 13 feet-3 inches in length by 9 feet-3 inches in width. From the eastern elevation, the southern room was the calibration room. It had a single door that opened to the southern bay. The calibration room had four 6- foot work benches. The northern room was a supply room. The supply room had two workbenches and bins for the storage of hardware, etc. It had a door that opened at the back of the room into a corridor. This corridor was 8 feet in width by 19 feet in length. The corridor connected the southern and northern bays of the structure. Doors at the back of the corridor lead to two more rooms.