Photo Record
Images
Metadata
Catalog Number |
2023.6.27 |
Object Name |
Photograph |
Place |
Dixie/Mississauga/Ontario/Canada |
Date |
c. 1960 |
Description |
A black and white photograph of two workers in overalls positioning a plastic radome, or nose, for a CF-104 Starfighter on a grinding machine. At the bottom of the photo there is a logo for the photography studio Herb Nott and Co. Ltd. On the reverse, there is a letter addressed from George Stanley & Company in Toronto to Brunswick of Canada Limited in Dixie, Mississauga. The note reads: "Plastic radome for CF-104 Starfighter is positioned on grinding equipment at Brunswick of Canada's Dixie plant. The process finishes the resin and fiberglass nose cones to close tolerances needed to maintain high fidelity performance of the aircraft's radar equipment. Brunswick has $500,000 contract for production of the radomes by new filament winding process." |
History |
The Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company of Canada was established by John Brunswick in 1845 in Cincinnati. In 1959 the company purchased land from Bruce Pallett; land at Lot 7, Concession 1, SDS on Dundas Street. They built 200,000 square feet of office and manufacturing plant space at this location to make pleasure boats through the Winner Boat Company in New Jersey. They also made things like radar domes for aircraft. In an article in The Weekly in December of 1960, they describe Brunswick and the project of creating plastic randomes in Dixie, writing: "Brunswick of Canada has been awarded a $500,000 contract for the production of plastic radomes for the CF-104 Starfighter at Dixie, R. H. Bennett, president of the comapny announced." The article goes on to say that "Brunswick Canada's Plastics Department was organized primarily to produce gun laying radomes for the CF-100. It has manufactured several hundred of these as well as different types of search and navigation randomes. It also developed and built prototype nose cones for the CF-105 Arrow. The Filament Winding process will build nose cones for the Star-fighter by winding plastic-soaked fiberglas thread on six-feet-long moulds. The process will ensure the exact combination of glass and resin needed to maintain the high-fidelity performance of the latest radar equiptment." Brunswick closed their Dixie location, which was called Mercury Marine, in 1997. |
References |
Hicks, Kathleen. "Brunswick Canada - 1959." In Dixie: Orchards to Industry. The Friends of Mississauaga Library System, 2006. 192-195. Veillette, Patrick. "Know Your Radome, An Important Structure, Part 1", Aviation Week Network, 2023. Retrieved from: https://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/safety-ops-regulation/know-your-radome-important-structure-part-1 "Will Make Nose Cone At Dixie." The Weekly. Page 1. December 1, 1960. |
Site |
Brunswick Canada Ltd. |
Search Terms |
Brunswick Canada Ltd. Dixie |
Relation |
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