Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Frobisher Bay:
Frobisher Bay Air Base was established in 1942 by the United States Army Air Corps. An 8600 ft airfield was constructed for their use. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s the base was used by the both the United States and Canada for transportation purposes.
A radar station was built by the United States at Frobisher Bay in 1953 and when he DEW Line was being constructed across the high arctic, Frobisher Bay was a refueling and staging point for aircraft.
The base was closed in 1963 and converted into a civilian airport, originally named the Frobisher Bay Airport. The USAF also departed the airport.
In 1971, a one officer, four-man naval air detachment was posted to Frobisher Bay for arctic patrols.
This name of the town was changed to Iqaluit in 1987 and the airport itself was re-named Iqaluit Airport.
Although the airport no longer a military establishment, it does see the occasional military jet. On 14 August 1996, an RCAF CF-18 Hornet left the runway during takeoff, slid down an embankment and ruptured a fuel pipeline beside the runway.
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- Frobisher Bay, 1971. Photo: Sentinel magazine.
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- Frobisher Bay, members of the RCN Detachment, 1971. Photo: Sentinel magazine.
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- Location of the former NRS Frobisher Bay Administration Building. Photo: Google Maps.
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- Iqaluit Airport. Photo: Google Maps.
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