CFS Shelburne
The Cold War SOSUS shore terminal included some of the old installation and land located in the community of Lower Sandy Point, approximately 14 km (8.7 mi) south of the town of Shelburne, on Government Point at the southern tip of a peninsula separating Shelburne Harbour from Jordan Bay.
Located at the mouth of the Roseway River, this station consisted of a deepwater pier and associated shore facilities, including barracks and residences.
HMCS Shelburne was closed in 1946 as part of the RCN's post–World War II budget cuts and force draw-down.
Approximately 200 acres (0.81 km2) of the Sandy Point property was purchased by the Government of Nova Scotia in 1948 for construction of the "Nova Scotia School for Boys" – a modern penal facility to replace the "Halifax Industrial School for Boys", a penal facility that had closed in 1947.
[2] Throughout the winter of 1942 during the months following the Attack on Pearl Harbor, the Royal Canadian Air Force constructed a seaplane base in Sandy Point, immediately south of HMCS Shelburne.
It was intended for operational use by the United States Navy for conducting anti-submarine patrols off southern Nova Scotia for the shipping lanes to Boston and the Gulf of Maine as part of the Battle of the Atlantic.
The USN decided against using the facility prior to its completion, thus it was commissioned as RCAF Station Shelburne and opened in June 1942 as a training base that saw occasional operational use.
The research and development phase of SOSUS ended with success and it began to be operationally deployed in 1952, beginning with the creation of 6 arrays in the North Atlantic basin.
The concept and rapid deployment of the system grew out of the World War II anti-submarine experience and the danger of snorkeling submarines.
Research and development 1949 through 1950 showed passive sonar exploiting low frequencies and the deep sound channel could be effective for long range acoustic detection.
The first NAVFAC built under the "Caesar Program" was commissioned in September 1954 at Ramey Air Force Base, Puerto Rico.
[1][5] HMCS Shelburne would undergo numerous changes during the remainder of the 1950s and through the 1960s as the World War II–era quonset huts were replaced with modern facilities.
The reunification of Germany and dissolution of the Soviet Union led to the end of the Cold War, resulting in numerous defense budget cutbacks in NATO nations, including Canada and the United States.
This period also coincided with numerous technological changes that made remote operation of sensor systems such as SOSUS possible from further distances.
Ocean Produce International Ltd. is today reviewing the potential for re-purposing and re-development of its 8-acre property at Government Point, which could include high volume saltwater wells and potential wind-turbines at the entrance to Shelburne Harbour and at the tip of the peninsula between the harbour and Jordan Bay.
Several of the buildings at the Lower Sandy Point road location (the former NAVFAC) have been transformed into the Shelburne Film Production Centre, which opened on 9 July 2000.
It was listed for sale by the SWSDA for $5 million and sold in 2008 to Seacoast Entertainment Arts Inc. for development as a film production studio.
