Suffield Experimental Station

The military research facility located 5 km north of Suffield, Alberta, operated under the name of the Suffield Experimental Station from 1950 to its renaming to the Defence Research Establishment Suffield in 1967.

History
Control of the Experimental Station Suffield was transferred from the Canadian Army to the Defence Research Board (DRB) on April 30, 1947 by Order in Council PC 101/1727. In the August of this year, approval was given for the construction of 60 prefabricated housing units at a site named after the Honourable J.L. Ralston. Due to delays, major construction did not complete until 1953.

The Suffield Experimental Station (SES) came into official existence when the Experimental Station Suffield was renamed in August 1950. The station was responsible for the administration and operation of the 2690 square kilometer Suffield Block. The DRB's annual report for 1951 listed various major construction projects in progress at station: Shopping and Recreation Centre, Transport Garage, CMHC Housing (76 homes), the Ralston School (a Recognized Federal Heritage Building), and a Fire Hall. The designs for the Central Laboratory were to be completed by December, 1951. On September 29, 1955, the Central Laboratory (Building 1) was opened by Major General William M. Creasy, Commanding General, U.S. Army Chemical Corps and is now a Recognized Federal Heritage Building. In July 1967, the Suffield Experimental Station was renamed to the Defence Research Establishment Suffield (DRES).

Large Explosive Events

 * A 100 ton detonation occurred on 3 August 1961
 * The Snowball 500 ton detonation (hemisphere form) on 17 July 1964 formed a 87 meter diameter crater
 * The Prairie Flat 500 ton detonation (spherical form)

These experiments helped to understand how meteoric craters are formed and shaped