Editing Loring Air Force Base (section)

=====Weapons Storage Area=====
[[File:LORING AFB WSA 67.jpg|thumb|210px|Weapons Storage Area in 1967]]
{{Main|Caribou Air Force Station}}
The Nuclear Weapons Storage Area at Loring once operated as a separate, top secret facility. Originally called the '''North River Depot''', the remote area to the northeast of Loring's property was the first U.S. operational site specifically constructed for the storage, assembly, and testing of atomic weapons.<ref name="HAER-WSA">{{Cite web |url=https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/master/pnp/habshaer/me/me0300/me0311/data/me0311data.pdf |title=Loring Air Force Base, Weapons Storage Area |author=Earth Tech, Inc. |date=1994 |website=[[Historic American Engineering Record]] |publisher=Library of Congress |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=8 November 2020}}</ref>

In 1951, the Department of Defense (DOD) allocated funds for the construction of an ordnance storage site at Loring AFB. The designs called for a self-sufficient "maximum security storage area for the most advanced weapons of mankind". The mission of the facility would be the protection and maintenance of the weapons used by SAC. The facility was in the northeast corner of the base, and construction began on 4 August 1951. In addition to 28 storage igloos and other weapons storage structures, the facility included weapons maintenance buildings, barracks, recreational facilities, a warehouse, and offices.<ref name="HAER-WSA" />

A parallel series of four fences, one of which was electrified, surrounded the heart of the storage area. This area was nicknamed the "Q" Area, which denoted the Department of Energy's [[Q clearance]] required to have access to Restricted Data.<ref name="HAER-WSA" />

In June 1962, the [[United States Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] released its custody and ownership of the weapons to the Air Force. The personnel and property of the later named '''Caribou Air Force Station''' were absorbed into the adjacent Loring Air Force Base.<ref name="HAER-WSA" />