Distant Early Warning: Aviation Adventures in the High Arctic During Construction of the DEW Radar Line. This item is unavailable.Distant Early Warning: Aviation Adventures in the High Arctic During Construction of the DEW Radar Line

Distant Early Warning was Don McVicar’s second original book to be entirely self-published and printed upon demand.

In the early 1950s, the Cold War was flaming hot. The threat of Soviet bombers laden with atomic bombs flying over the North Pole was very real. The Canadian and American governments decided to construct a Distant Early Warning Radar Line across the high Arctic to alert North American defenses in time to shoot down these enemy aircraft.
The Lure of the Arctic can be powerful, and Don McVicar had experienced it more than most during the war during his service as a Captain/Navigator of the Royal Air Force Ferry Command. Such was McVicar’s zeal to get the Montreal-based airline he'd founded after the war, World-Wide Airways, into the DEW Line project, he had no other option but to pay 100% interest on his first C-46! The purchase of several other C-46s and DC-3s, workhorses of the air, was necessary. But it’s not just McVicar's story; the men who flew heavily-loaded aircraft into almost-invisible ice strips for the defense of North America deserve to remembered and appreciated. Keeping those airplanes flying in subzero Arctic temperatures was an insanely challenging task, as was repairing the inevitable crashes hundreds of miles away from home base. There were triumphs, and there were tragedies, and all are told with McVicar’s trademark gusto and attention to detail.

Distant Early Warning went out of print with the passing of Don McVicar in 1997; as a Kindle book it was brought back to the world by Words On Wings Press in February 2024, and now it’s back in physical form for all to enjoy!