Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to search

Biography & Autobiography Military

Cold War Over Canada

My true-life adventures and disasters flying jet interceptors for the Royal Canadian Air Force

by (author) E. Scott Maclagan

Publisher
James Lorimer & Company Ltd., Publishers
Initial publish date
Oct 2023
Category
Military, Historical, Cold War, Political, General, General, 20th Century, Aviation, Russia & the Former Soviet Union, Canada
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781459417649
    Publish Date
    Sep 2023
    List Price
    $34.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781459417991
    Publish Date
    Oct 2023
    List Price
    $29.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459418011
    Publish Date
    Oct 2023
    List Price
    $29.95

Add it to your shelf

Where to buy it

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.

About the author

SCOTT MACLAGAN joined the RCAF as an Aircrew Trainee (Flight Cadet) on September 2, 1955 at age 20. He graduated as a Flying Officer - Navigator, (Airborne Interception) in Winnipeg on October 26, 1956. He flew all weather interceptors during the Cold War until Friday February 13th, 1959 - a week before the CF-105 Arrow cancellation. After a long career in the insurance business, he now lives with his wife of 65 years, Marilyn, in Orillia ON.

E. Scott Maclagan's profile page

Editorial Reviews

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.

Other titles by