This sitemap links to all the articles currently posted on MilitaryBruce.com.
Pages
- A Short History of Abandoned and Downsized Canadian Military BasesPrior to the passage of Bill C-243, The Canadian Forces Reorganization Act in Canada, the Navy, Army and Air Force operated as separate entities: the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Army. For those who don't know the story, between 1964 and 1968, the three service branches were merged into a single entity, "The Canadian Armed Forces", unified under a single Chief of Defence Staff and a single Defence Staff. The Army, Navy and Air Force would now be elements of the Canadian Armed Forces and were no longer individual entities. Navy and Army pilots became a thing of the past in Canada, as did the RCAF Marine (patrol boat) Squadrons. On 16 August 2011, National Defence Minister Peter McKay announced that the former names of the service branches had been restored and once again the service branches would be known as the Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Canadian Air Force and Canadian Army, although this was "in name only", as they remained a part of the tri-service Canadian Forces and not separate entities. On 8 July 2013, National Defence Minister Peter McKay announced the restoration of traditional titles to a number of Canadian Army corps, shoulder titles for members of these corps will be restored. The intent is also to restore historical rank names for non-commissioned members, the traditional and internationally recognized convention of army insignia of stars and crowns for officers, and gorget patches for colonels and general officers. The army has also renamed its area commands, now calling them divisions and noting the links to units that fought in the First or Second World Wars. Land Force Quebec Area will be referred to as 2nd Canadian Division, Land Force Western Area as 3rd Canadian Division, Land Force Central Area as 4th Canadian Division, and Land Force Atlantic Area as 5th Canadian Division. Army bases across the country adopted new names reflecting the new Canadian Divisions such as: CFB Petawawa has been re-named Garrison Petawawa; CFB Gagetown was re-named 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown; CFB Edmonton was re-named Edmonton Garrison. When some bases close, the military pulls up stumps and moves out completely, as with RCAF Station Aylmer. Other times, the base simply downsizes, as with 12 Wing Shearwater or even if the base has officially closed, a small presence remains, as with CFB Gimli's Royal Canadian Air Cadet Gliding School, or a small portion of the former base is sectioned off and still operates as a military establishment, as with Wolseley Barracks. Therefore, I have arranged this the abandoned bases as follows: Abandoned Bases Closed Bases That Still Have A Military Presence I have also put the three former radar defence lines, the Pinetree, Mid-Canada and Distant Early Warning Lines in their own separate categories.
- Abandoned ArmouriesNot all communities have a full size base in the area, but years ago, even the smallest communities had an armoury or drill shed at which the local Militia trained. Some were large ornate buildings, and some were smaller that barn, but all served their purpose. In some cases, the buildings outlived their usefulness as a military facility, and others closed when the local militia unit disbanded. PLEASE NOTE: This is not meant to be a complete list of abandoned armouries across Canada, but simply a sampling. If you notice that an abandoned armoury in your city or town is missing, please contact me and I will add it. If you can forward some information and photos, that would be appreciated too. A full list of armouries across Canada can be found at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_armouries_in_Canada. Some of the former amouries that dot the country are:
- ALBERTALCol W.C. Craig Armoury: Opened in 1940 in Vermillion, Alberta. Closed in 1965. The former armoury is now a Legion Hall and also used by local cadets and the rifle club. Source Material: information supplied by Bob Maggs, resident of Vermillion (2004).
- ONTARIO
Aurora Armoury: Built in 1874 as a drill shed for the 12th Battalion of Infantry, also known as the York Rangers. The regiment amalgamated with the Queen's Rangers, 1st American Regiment on 15 December 1936, becoming the Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment). The Armoury originally had dark wooden exterior wall, but in 1941, the exterior was covered with white painted lumber siding. This wood siding was eventually covered over with white vinyl siding. By 2012, the 138 year old armoury was deemed insufficient for the Queen's York Rangers, now an armoured reconnaissance regiment. The regiment moved to a new armoury on Industrial Parkway South, the John Graves Simcoe Armoury, a little over a mile to the south-east of the old armoury. The historic Aurora Armoury, one of the oldest purpose built armouries still in existence, can still be found on Larmont Street. It has been completely restored and now houses the Aurora Campus of the Canadian Food and Wine Institute at Niagara College. Source material: https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/12/30/the-aurora-armory-part-classroom-part-event-space-part-kitchen-brings-the-right-ingredients-to-aurora.html, http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/community-stories_histoires-de-chez-nous/a-community-storybook_le-parcours-d-une-communaute/story/1874-drill-shed-12th-battalion, http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/community-stories_histoires-de-chez-nous/a-community-storybook_le-parcours-d-une-communaute/story/live-at-the-armoury, https://www.yorkregion.com/news-story/9677656-residents-can-get-a-sneak-peek-at-renovated-aurora-armoury-during-open-house.
Burlington Street Armoury (Hamilton):
Cobourg Armoury: Opened in 1904 as the home of the Cobourg Heavy Battery and the Northumberland Battalion of Infantry. The armoury was built in the Baronial style, with a low-pitched gable roof. During World War II, the armoury was the HQ for the 14th Field Artillery, the 347th Field and the 36th Field. After the War, the 33rd Medium Regiment was stationed at the armoury. Summer recruit courses were held from 1957 - 1964. The armoury was declared surplus and closed on 1 April 1970, ending 103 years of artillery in Cobourg. It is now the Couburg Police station. Source Material: Cobourg: Early Days and Modern Times by John Spilsbury and the personal recollections of the author (2012).
Collingwood Armoury: Formerly home of at Troop of "B" Company, The Grey & Simcoe Foresters.
Denison Armoury (North York): The original Denison Armoury, named after Lieutenant-Colonel George Taylor Denison, opened in 1961 at the corner of Dufferin Street and Highway 401, originally housing 5 Column, 134 Company, RCASC. The reorganization of the Canadian Forces in 1965 saw the formation of two Service Battalions in the Toronto area, each taking elements from 5 Column RCASC: 4 Ordnance Battalion RCOC, 4 Technical Regiment RCEME, 2 Provost Company C Pro C, 13 and 26 Medical Companies, and elements of Pay, Dental, and the CWAC. 1st Toronto Service Battalion was lodged at the Denison Armoury in North York, the former home of 5 Column RCASC, under the command of LCol Bruce J. Legge. It consisted of 134 Company RCASC, 12 Ordnance Company, 45 Technical Squadron, and 2 Company C Pro C. 13 Medical Company was relocated to Owen Sound. 2 Toronto Service Battalion was originally lodged at Falaise Armoury, but moved to Moss Park Armoury when it first opened in 1966. 1 Service Battalion merged with 2 Service Battalion in 1970, and become 25 (Toronto) Service Battalion in 1975. The armoury also served as the home to the Governor General's Horse Guards, the most senior reserve regiment in Canada, and the only Household Cavalry regiment of Canada's three Household units. The Dennison Armoury closed in 2002 when a new armoury, also named Dennison Armoury, opened on a small plot of vacant land at the former CFB Toronto. The former armoury was torn down in 2003 and today, not the slightest trace remains. The property is now an empty field. Source Material: Denison Armoury - Wikipedia, George Taylor Denison III - Wikipedia, personal recollections of the author (2003).
Dundas Armoury: The armoury opened on 1 November 1900, replacing the previous drill shed on King Street, built in the wake of the Fenian Raids on 1866. The armoury was built in the Baronial style, with a low-pitched gable roof. The new armoury was originally clad in wood siding and came complete with a rifle range in the basement. It served as the home of the 77th Wentworth Regiment, which was re-named The Wentworth Regiment in 1920. A fire damaged the armoury a few years later. After being repaired, the building was bricked over. During WWI, soldiers with the 129th Regiment, CEF, trained at the armoury before proceeding to further training at Camp Borden. An addition was also added to the armoury during WWI. On 15 December 1936, Headquarters and "C" Companies of The Wentworth Regiment amalgamated with the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry at the James Street Armoury in Hamilton. "A" and "B" companies remained at the Dundas Armoury, becoming an Artillery Regiment, the 102nd (Wentworth) Field Battery. The 102nd was put on active service in on 24 May 1940 and re-designated as the 41st Light Anti-Aircraft Battery and the 102nd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, both of which served throughout Europe. With the end of the war in 1945, the 102nd reverted to reserve status and for the next 25 years continued their function of providing fully trained and equipped troops to augment the regular army and for home defence. The 102nd (Wentworth) Field Battery stood down on 31 March 1970 and the armoury closed. Shortly afterwards, the building was taken over by the Dundas Lions Club for use as a recreation centre and meeting hall. The building was renovated in the early 1970s and an addition was added in 2005. The former armoury is used heavily by the community for many things such as meetings, dinners, seniors activities. It's also used for weekly drill training for the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets Corps Dundas Source material: Doug Foster, Dundas Lions Club.
Durham Armoury: Opened in the Town of Durham at the corner of Elgin St North and George Street East in 1910 to house the 31st Grey Battalion and later, with the outbreak of World War I, the 147th Grey Battalion. After the war ended, the armoury was used as a social hall for returning veterans, but by the late 1920's, the armoury had fallen into disuse and neglect. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the armoury was re-activated as a recruiting and training establishment. The Grey & Simcoe Foresters, a battalion formed in 1936 with the amalgamation of the 147th Grey Battalion and the Simcoe Foresters from the Town of Barrie, took over the armoury and the surrounding land for a training area. When the war ended, the armoury remained an active part of the post-war militia. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the armoury was re-activated as a recruiting and training establishment. The Grey & Simcoe Foresters, a battalion formed in 1936 with the amalgamation of the 147th Grey Battalion and the Simcoe Foresters from the Town of Barrie, took over the armoury and the surrounding land for a training area. When the war ended, the armoury remained an active part of the post-war militia, housing a Troop of "A" Company, The Grey & Simcoe Foresters. The former Durham Armoury is now a chiropractic clinic and the land once used as the training area is now the Durham Conservation Area. Source Material: History of the Town of Durham 1842-1994 by the Durham Historical Society (1994).
HMCS HUNTER (Windsor): Originally built in 1929 as the Martin Marketorium, the building became the home of HMCS HUNTER Naval Reserve Division in 1944. Post-Unification, the armoury also became the home of 21 (Windsor) Service Battalion, though they would later re-locate to the Major F.A. Tilston, VC, Armoury. The armoury closed in February 2015. A formal march-out parade was held on a snowy day on 14 February 2015. A new armoury was commissioned for HMCS HUNTER at 90 Mill Street in Windsor on 3 May 2015, coinciding with the Battle of the Atlantic Parade. Source Material: www.internationalmetropolis.com/2008/04/15/hmcs-hunter, The Windsor Star 15 February 2015- http://blogs.windsorstar.com/news/hmcs-hunter-lowers-flag-for-last-time-at-downtown-base and the personal recollections of the authour (2014).
Listowel Armoury: Opened in 1914 as the home of the 100th (R) Field Battery, R.C.A. The armoury is now the home of the Listowel Agricultural Society. Sources: http://www.regimentalrogue.com/blog/index.blog/2339256/listowel-armoury.
London Armoury: Opened at the corner of Dundas and Waterloo streets on 1 February 1905, the armories replaced a former drill shed and an earlier garrison building that had existed going back to the time of the Rebellion of 1837. The armoury was designed by David Ewart, who designed many of the armouries constructed in Canada around this time, and was built by the firm of Sullivan and Langdon, for a cost of about $135,000. The armoury was built in the Baronial style, with a low-pitched gable roof. It features two massive, three-storey, crenelated towers at the entranceway, smaller corner towers, octagonal chimneys, and large, arched windows, similar to others built during this period, such as the now demolished University Avenue Armouries in Toronto. Both the 1st Hussars, now an armoured unit, and the 7th Fusiliers, now 4th Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, occupied the armoury. The armoury closed in 1978. After standing vacant for many years, Donald Wharton had succeeded in converting the armoury into a hotel. The shell was maintained, but the interior was gutted and a high-rise tower was constructed in the centre of the building. The armoury re-opened as the Wharton Hotel in 1986. In succeeding years, the hotel became the Sheraton Armouries Hotel and finally the Delta London Armouries Hotel. Source Material: "Delta London Armouries Hotel is a unique destination, Look Local Magazine & information supplied by the London Public Library.
Major F.A. Tilston, VC, Armoury (The Windsor Armoury): The original Major F.A. Tilston Armoury opened in 1900 near the corner of University Ave West & Ouellette Ave in downtown Windsor. The armoury was originally named the Windsor Armoury, but this was later changed to honour WWII Victoria Cross winner Frederick Albert Tilston. The armoury is a two-storey, red brick Baronial style building with a three-storey tower is centrally-located. After one hindered years of use, the armoury was much too small for its tenants - The Windsor Regiment, The Essex & Kent Scottish Regiment, and the 21 Service Battalion. The armoury had originally been built to house one infantry unit, and was never intended to also house the vehicles that a mechanized unit would require. In 2003, The Department of National Defence and the City of Windsor entered into a unique arrangement: a joint training facility for use by both the Army Reserves and the Windsor Police. The new armoury, located on the corner of Sandwich Street and Ojibway Parkway, opened in June 2004. On 16 October 2004, The Windsor Regiment, The Essex & Kent Scottish Regiment, the 21 Service Battalion and the Windsor Police Service held an official march-out parade from the old Tilston Armoury to the new Major F.A. Tilston, VC, Armoury and Police Training Centre, formally closing the door on over 100 years of army presence in downtown Windsor. In 2011, the University of Windsor announced that it will relocate its Music and Visual Arts programs to the Armouries building. In 2015, renovations on the former armoury began to convert the existing 46,400 square foot building into a 66,000 square foot home for the combined programs in of the School of Music, the School of Visual Arts and the new Film Production Program. The building was officially opened to students in January 2018, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony held on 22 March 2018. A second floor was added, along with a smaller third floor, providing space for building services A full basement was also dug under the entire building. A partial demolition of the southern end of the building allowed for the addition of a 140-seat performance hall. The amouries also features classrooms, seminar and meeting and study rooms, computer facilities, practice studios, art and architecture studios, and offices. During the official ribbon-cutting ceremony, which was attended by a representative from the Essex & Kent Scottish Regiment, the main foyer was named Veterans Hall. Source Material: information supplied by Capt. Brian Chaney, Officer Commanding, 22 MP Platoon (2004), information supplied by the Windsor Police Service - www.police.windsor.on.ca, Windorite web site - http://windsorite.ca/2015/08/roof-comes-off-armouries-as-construction-progresses (2015), http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/windsor/uwindsor-s-60m-downtown-creative-arts-school-officially-opens-1.4588562 & The Department of National Defence news release 12 June 2001.
Midland Armoury: Opened in 1954, the armoury housed the 166 Light Anit-Aricraft Battery (166 LAA Bty) re-located from Windsor to Midland in February 1949. In October 1954, 166 LAA Bty was obsorbed into the The Grey & Simcoe Foresters, becoming troop of a Troop of "C" Company, based in Orillia.
Mulcaster Street Armoury (Barrie): Opened in Barrie in 1888 at the corner of Mulcaster Street and Collier Street as the home for The Simcoe Foresters of Barrie. With the outbreak of war in 1914, it had become apparent that the Mulcaster Street Armoury was inadequate for the Forester's needs. A new Armoury was constructed at Queen's Park, the former site an armoury once occupied by Simcoe Foresters predecessor, No. 1 Rifle Company of Simcoe County. The Barrie Armoury opened in 1916 and the main contingent of the Simcoe Foresters moved to the Armoury, although the Mulcaster Street Armoury would continue to be used as a satellite location until 1946 when the Battalion would finally depart. The building was taken over by the Board of Works. From 1995 to 2007, the armoury served as the constituency office of Joe Tascona, Progressive Conservative Member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly for the riding of Barrie - Simcoe - Bradford, in addition to the Grey & Simcoe Foresters Museum The Grey & Simcoe Foresters still occupy the Barrie Armoury. Today, only the G&SF Museum remains, expanded to include the entire armoury as it's display space. Source Material: "The Armoury / Farmers Market" Building - "36 Mulcaster Street" supplied by Heritage Barrie (2003), information supplied by LCol Lorne Williams, Honoury Lieutenant Colonel, Grey & Simcoe Foresters (2003) and the personal recollections of the author (2002-2016).
Niagara Falls Armoury: Opened in 1911 in Niagara Falls, the armoury was one of 11 armouries built during the period of expansion of the Canadian militia, and served as a recruiting and training centre during World War I. Built in the Baronial Gothic Revival style, the armoury is constructed of red brick with a stone foundation, stone sills, window surrounds, decorative shields, a triple Tudorbethan gothic arch and projecting surround at the front entrance. From 15 December 1914 until 31 August 1918, the Ukrainian and other European immigrants as "enemy aliens". The Nagara Falls Armoury would eventually be home to a company of the Lincoln & Welland Regiment and the 56th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA). The armoury closed on 21 November 1999 and was transferred to the Canada Lands Corporation. It's now the home of the Niagara Military Museum. Source Material: "The Garrison" newspaper from December 15, 1999, https://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9870&pid=0.
Orillia Armoury: Opened on West Street North on 18 September 1913 at a cost of $30, 000. The main floor contained a drill Hall, six rooms for storage, and a caretaker's residence. The basement contained two furnaces, lavatories and a shooting gallery. The upper floor held the men’s quarters, plus one room for officers and one for sergeants. The armoury housed the 76th Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force from October 1915 until the Battalion deployed to Europe in April 1916. C company, 157th (Simcoe Foresters) Battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force then took over the armoury, with the 177th (Simcoe Foresters) Battalion housed at the curling rink. In order to train for the trench warfare the soldiers would face in Europe, a trench system was dug on the north-west corner of the armoury property. In 1936, the Grey Regiment and The Simcoe Foresters amalgamated and the Orillia company was designated "C" Company, The Grey & Simcoe Foresters. The Orillia Armoury closed in 1968. Georgian College took over the armoury to house their Orillia campus, but by 1973, the college had outgrown the building. Three portables were added to the campus and the administrative offices were located on Mississauga Street in downtown Orillia, but this still wasn't enough. The former armoury was sold again renovated into apartments, the Georgian Apartments. Sources: https://www.orilliamatters.com/postcard-memories/grand-old-building-constructed-in-1913-had-a-price-tag-of-30000.
Oro Township Drill Shed: In 1866-67 a drill-shed was erected in East Oro by the Oro Company, 35th Battalion, the Simcoe Foresters. At this time when the Fenian Raids were alarming the country, eight company drill-sheds where built in Simcoe County. This building served Oro Company until the turn of the century and was demolished around 1918. All that remains is a memorial cairn.
Paisley Armoury:
Picton Armoury: The Picton Armoury was built in 1913, as the home for the 16th Prince Edward Regiment (16 PER), a local militia unit with origins dating back to 1863. On 12 March 1920, 16 PER was amalgamated with the 49th Regiment Hastings Rifles to form The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment (H&PER), also known as the "Hasty Ps," with Companies in Picton, Belleville and Peterborough. During both World Wars the Armoury served as a recruiting depot, drill hall and home base/training camp for local militia unit, the Hasty P’s. For years after, the Armoury continued to be a vibrant building in this community, hosting community dances, badminton tournaments, and even served as a school in the 1950s, when the town’s school was destroyed by a fire. Following the Militia Reorganization of 1965, the Picton Company was reduced to nil strength, and the armoury closed. Personnel moved to the regimental HQ in Belleville. After the H&PER left the armoury, it was severely neglected for years, falling into disrepair. Over those years, the former armoury was used for a variety of community functions. In September 2017, the building was fully restored. commercial multi-use space that includes retail, office, and public-use facilities Today, the former Picton Armoury is a commercial multi-use space that includes retail, office, and public-use facilities, with community-based events, art exhibits, office space and even a gym, utilizing the building. Sources: https://wellingtontimes.ca/renaissance, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hastings_and_Prince_Edward_Regiment, https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMEW0N_Picton_Armoury_Picton_ON, https://www.countylive.ca/county-celebrates-local-heritage-advocates/.
University Avenue Armoury (Toronto): University Avenue Armouries, the home of several Toronto Regiments such as the Queen's Own Rifles, 48th Highlanders, Governor General's Horse Guards, 29th Field Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery and a Medium Artillery Regiment and the centre of Militia activities in Toronto from 1891 until it was demolished in 1963. An office tower now stands on the site of the armouries.
Walkerton Armoury: Opened in 1907.
Wallis House Armoury: Former home of 28 (Ottawa) Service Battalion and 763 (Ottawa) Communication Regiment. Wallis house was built in 1883, in the Byward Market area of Ottawa, as one of Ottawa's first modern hospitals. In 1924, the hospital closed and the building served as a seminary, veteran housing and an armoury. The building was converted into loft condominiums, with cathedral ceilings, wide hallways, and soaring windows characterize each unit, which boasts a New York-style loft feeling. One and two-bedroom units feature exposed brick walls, exposed ducts, fireplaces, hardwood flooring, and open concept living, with many units featuring 2 storeys for trendy loft living. Source Material: Doug Perrault, Ottawa Resident (2004), https://www.condodork.com/en/ottawa/wallis-house-589-rideau-st.
Wingham Armoury: Opened in August 1914, the red brick building, measuring 44-feet by 90-feet, was the first of this style armoury in south-western Ontario. The interior featured hardwood flooring in the drill hall area, with rooms for stores, rifles and other military equipment. The second floor contained the officers’ and NCO messes. An 8-foot by 60-foot rifle range and furnace room were in the basement. Throughout the armoury were polished brass fittings and electric lights. In November 1915, the Huron and Bruce regiments made use of the Wingham Armoury for recruiting drives for the newly authorized 160th (Bruce) and 161st (Huron) Battalions for service overseas. In February 1916, the armoury was used as a makeshift detention centre, in what became known as the “Wingham Spy Caper.” Adolfe Schatte, the German-born bandmaster of the Wingham Citizens’ Band, was found in possession of papers written in German and several metal tubes by a local police constable. Schatte was arrested on suspicion of espionage, but was later released, when the Dominion Police determined the papers were musical scores and the tubes were music stands. when a local constable found Adolfe Schatte in the possession of strange . Schatte, the German-born bandmaster of the Wingham Citizens’ Band, was seized and detained in the Wingham Armoury on the suspicion of espionage. In the spring of 1919, the Wingham Armoury was used by the Wingham Soldiers’ Aid Commission for a banquet to honour the returning soldiers. The armoury was also used for social functions by various other community groups in the Wingham area. During the interwar years, the armoury was used by local militia units, like B Company of the Huron Regimen and a squadron of the 9th Greys Horse, a cavalry unit, in the 1920s. In 1936, the 99th Field Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery made use of the armoury. In September 1939, the armoury again became a war recruiting centre, and the following year, a 65-foot by 9-foot brick drill shed was added to the armoury’s north side. In 1946, the armoury became the Regimental Headquarters for the 21st Field Regiment, of which the 99th Field Battery was a part. Three other 21 Field Regiment batteries were located in Goderich, Listowel, Walkerton. The 99th battery was designated as an anti-tank unit armed with two 25-pounder anti-tank guns stored in the armoury’s gun shed. The 99th Battery remained in this role until 1957, when it reverted to a field artillery battery, and was re-equipped with two 105-millimetre howitzers., both of which became a common sight outside the armoury on Monday night training exercises. In 1954, two Canadian Women’s Army Corps members were recruited to manage the Quartermaster stores. Reductions in Canada's militia forces led to the disbandment of the 99th Battery in February 1970. The future of the amoury remained in doubt until 1974, when it saw use as a Senior Citizens drop-in centre. The following year the Wingham Police Force also moved into the armory, with ownership of it being officially transferred to the Town of Wingham. When the Wingham Police Service was disbanded on 21 February 2019, in favour of policing by the Ontario Provincial Police, the armoury sat vacant for next two years. Its heritage designation was also revoked. In April 2021, the 108-year-old armoury was demolished. The roof trusses were salvaged, and are being offered for sale for future construction projects. Sources: http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/2339258/wingham-armoury, https://globalnews.ca/news/4983708/wingham-police-disbands, https://www.toronto.com/community-story/9188525-honouring-the-wingham-police-after-140-years-of-service, YATES: Demolition of Wingham Armoury an ‘incalculable cultural loss’ | Clinton News Record.
Chatham Armoury, now occupied by RBC Dominion Securities and Four Diamond Catering , http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/2338706/chatham-armoury/ Waltford Armoury, (Drill Hall), now a fire hall, http://regimentalrogue.tripod.com/blog/index.blog/2338263/watford-armoury-drill-hall/ Hillside Armoury in Westmount has been vacated by 34 CER, after ~45 years http://aroundwestmount.com/events-past-2-3/ https://army.ca/forums/index.php?topic=111568.25 http://www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/place-lieu.aspx?id=9870&pid=0 Falaise Barracks on Lakeshore Blvd in Toronto.
- ALBERTA
- Abandoned Bases
Please note: Major cities such as Toronto, Ottawa, Halifax, Vancouver and Victoria had numerous small establishments that contained anywhere from single buildings, some leased, to multi-building establishments outside of the main bases for a variety of functions such as administrative, residential, supply, communications or coastal defence. I would like to profile all of them here eventually, but for now I am mainly concentrating on major establishments.
RCAF Flying Training Schools in the 1950s. 
Ottawa area military establishments: (Top) Rockcliffe, LETE, No. 1 Army Signals TX Station, NRS Navan; (Bottom) Uplands, Leitrim, NRS Gloucester. - ALBERTA
Canadian Forces Base Calgary (Harvey Barracks):
Originally established as Sarcee Camp in 1910 as a militia training camp. The government leased a parcel of land form the Sarcee Indian Reservation near the future site of Currie Barracks for the camp and training area. The 50th battalion of the Canadian Expeditionary Force was raised and trained at Sarcee Camp, which grew enormously during the First World War.
During World War II, Sarcee Camp was used extensively for infantry training, conducted by A16 Canadian Infantry Training Centre, which also utilized neighbouring Currie Barracks.
Sarcee Camp remained open at the end of the war as a militia training camp, but in 1957, it became a permanent force (Regular Force) camp, at which time it was re-named Sarcee Barracks.
In 1958, The Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians), an armoured corps regiment, relocated to Sarcee Barracks from Currie Barracks, remaining until transferring to Germany in 1965. Another armoured corps regiment, the Fort Garry Horse, replaced them the following year, remaining until their conversion to a reserve regiment in 1970.
Sarcee also served as a Regional Medical Equipment Depot from May 1960 until closed during a round of DND budget cuts in 1994.
As a result of the Unification in 1968, Sarcee Barracks and Currie Barracks were merged into one base to become Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Calgary, although the names Sarcee and Currie continued to be used.
Sarcee Barracks was re-named Harvey Barracks in 1981, in honour of wartime commander of No. 13 Militia District, Brigadier F.M.W. Harvey. The same year, the Sarcee Training Area was returned to the Tsuu T'ina First Nation, although the Army continued to lease part of the training area from 1985-1996.
In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, Harvey Barracks closed on 21 June 1997, with Currie Barracks closing the following February. The units occupying Harvey Barracks, 1 CMBG and The Lord Strathcona's Horse, relocated to CFB Edmonton's Grieshbach Barracks.
In August 1998, members of the Tsuu T’ina First Nation moved into the vacant PMQs due to the shortage of homes on the reservation. The PMQs area was given the name Black Bear Crossing. All other military buildings were eventually demolished, leaving only the abandoned roadways.
By 2006, a controversy ensued when the band council ordered the homes vacated due to a Health Canada warning of possible asbestos contamination. Most of the residents were relocated, but some residents stayed until they were formally evicted. By 2009, the last of the PMQs were demolished and the last remnants of Harvey Barracks vanished.
The Grey Eagle Casino now occupies the north east corner of the former Harvey Barracks.
Source Material: information supplied by Captain D. Sweeney, Deputy Commanding Officer, Area Support Unit Calgary (1999), information supplied by Carol Stokes, Archivist, The City of Calgary (1999), information supplied by Ken Craig, Volunteer Researcher, Museum of the Regiments, Calgary Alberta (1999), "The Politics of Contested Space: Military Property Development in Calgary" - a thesis paper by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, University of Calgary, Department of History, Faculty of Graduate Studies (1999), DND press release from November 1998, information supplied by Terri Griffin (2002), information supplied by Ian Gray, Calgary resident (2003), information supplied by June Flegg, Historian, Saskatoon Public Library (2000), Calgary Forces Base Studio Centre web site - http://www.cfbstudios.com, Canada Lands Corporation Web site - http://www.clc.ca, information supplied by the Tsuu T'ina Police Service (2004), "The Battle for Black Bear Crossing" Fast Forward Weekly, October 30, 2008, the personal recollections of the author (2004) “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & "The Garrison" newspaper from March 1995 and Sept 1999.
Canadian Forces Base Edmonton (Griesbach Barracks):
Note: Edmonton Garrison, originally CFB Edmonton, was created by the amalgamation of RCAF Station Namao and Canadian Army's Griesbach Barracks. The Namao site, now called CFB Edmonton (Steele Barracks), remains open today as the home of the Western Canada's Army.
Established in 1950 as Griesbach Barracks, the base had its beginnings as an ordnance depot, later becoming the home of the Western Command Headquarters.
No. 14 Service Prison and Detention Barracks opened in 1958 at Griesbach. The prison closed briefly from 1968 until 1975. Also in 1958, the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry re-located to Griesbach from Currie Barracks.
As a result of the Unification, RCAF Station Namao was combined with the Army's Griesbach Barracks to form CFB Edmonton on 1 April 1966, falling under control of Air Transport Command.
The Canadian Airborne Regiment was formed at Griesbach in 1968. Two years later, the Canadian Parachute Training Centre re-located to Griesbach from RCAF Station Rivers. Also in 1970, the 1st Battalion, PPCLI re-located to Griesbach in 1970 from Work Point Barracks
In May 1970, 28 Canadian Forces Supply Depot re-located to Griesbach from CFB Shilo. Two months later, the depot was re-designated the Canadian Forces Parachute Maintenance Depot (CFPMD). The Canadian Airborne Centre was also established at Griesbach. However, the Canadian Airborne Regiment re-located to CFB Petawawa in 1977.
Land Force Western Area Headquarters was formed at Griesbach on 1 September 1991, replacing the former Prairie and Pacific Militia Districts.
In 1995, with the disbandment of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, the three feeder units that once provided soldiers to the Airborne, the PPCLI, the Royal Canadian Regiment and the Royal 22nd Regiments (the VanDoos), each established parachute companies. The PPCLI established a Parachute Company at Griesbach Barracks.
In 1996, 1 PPCLI re-located to CFB Namao from CFB Calgary. The CFPMD re-located along with the Canadian Parachute Centre to 8 Wing Trenton in September 1996.
In 1996, corresponding with the move of 3 PPCLI to Griesbach, this parachute company was designated as A Company, 3 PPCLI. Also around this time, CFB Edmonton was re-named Edmonton Garrison.
By the mid 1990s, the city had grown up around Griesbach and Department of National Defence cutbacks lead to questioning the necessity of maintaining two Army bases in the Edmonton area. CFB Edmonton (Namao), formerly an RCAF base, had been transferred to the Army in 1994.
Ultimately, DND decided to consolidate all military operations at the Namao site, now known as Steele Barracks.
Griesbach Barracks closed in 2000. The site, including the 750 PMQs, were transferred to the Canada Lands Corporation in 2002, who have since transformed the former base into "The Village at Griesbach", a residential community modeled in a village concept.
On 28 September 2001, the Canadian Forces Service Prison & Detention Barracks at Griesbach Barracks closed, having been replaced by a new facility at the Namao site.
Around 17 buildings, along with all the former PMQs on the north-side of the base, were retained in the immediate years after closure, and incorporated into the new Village at Griesbach community. As the property was redeveloped over the next two decades, most of these buildings were demolished. Only the PMQs and the base gym remain today.
The Royal Canadian Artillery Band remained at Griesbach until September 2004, when they re-located to CFB Edmonton's Steele Barracks. Land Force Western Area Headquarters also remained, housed in the former high school until 2014, when it too re-located to CFB Edmonton's Steele Barracks. The high school stood until 2020, when it was demolished.
Although the original MGen Griesbach Public School building has been demolished, the school name lives on at a new school building, which was built beside the old building site.
The Edmonton Police Service opened the William Griesbach Training Centre, a recruit training facility, in the former base gym.
In December 2017, 3rd Canadian Division (formerly LFWA HQ) moved into to a new 8,159 square metre building at Steele Barracks, one that also houses 1 Area Support Group Headquarters, the Joint Task Force West, and 3rd Canadian Division Support Group.
The Dianne and Irving Kipnes Centre for Veterans opened 9 November 2005 on a five-acre site just off Castledowns Road and 153rd Avenue, on the northwest corner of the former Canadian Forces Base Griesbach.
The urban renewal underway on the former Canadian Forces Base Griesbach is part of a larger story being written as the Canadian military sells its surplus bases across the country. So far, a dozen such 1940s to 1960s-era surplus bases have been involved in an effort to convert them into well-planned subdivisions and entirely new communities. Its just one of the many advantages of the so-called peace dividend that flowed from the end of the cold war.
In September 2015, a monument commemorating the Royal Canadian Air Force was dedicated at Griesbach. The 10 metre sculpture representing a “star burst” formation, an aerobatic maneuver performed at military air shows, was constructed along with plaques describing Edmonton's Air Force history, which dates back almost 100 years.
In November 2021, the ATCO Veterans Village opened just to the east of the Griesbach property, at 152A Avenue NW and 94A Street. The project, an initiative by the Homes for Heroes Foundation, provides housing for homeless veterans, along with support services to help them get their lives back on track.
The Veterans Village features 20 housing units, 18 standard units and two accessible units, all less than 300 square feet in size. The homes are arranged in an inward facing barracks-style format to facilitate peer support and a sense of community.
This is the second Veterans Village project, with the first one located in Calgary. The Homes for Heroes Foundation will be opening at third Veterans Village in Kingston in 2022, and has plans for another in Winnipeg.
Source Material: information supplied by Jenelle Turpin, Communications Officer - Council Services, City of Edmonton (1999), information supplied by Charles Denis, Manager Customer Services, Canadian Forces Housing Authority (2004), the CFB Edmonton web site - www.cfbedmonton.hstone.com, DND press releases from February 1994 and November 1998, 440 Squadron history web site - http://www.440sqn.com/frames.htm., "The Garrison" newspaper from March 1995, 1 Air Movements Squadron web site - http://www.mts.net/~rburke1/About%20Us.htm, Canadian Forces Parachute Maintenance Depot web site - http://www.8wing.trenton.dnd.ca/cfpmd/pmdhist.htm, the personal recollections of the author (2004), Real Estate Weekly web site - www.rewedmonton.ca/content_view2?CONTENT_ID=1205 & pamphlet printed by Studio High Techniques of Toronto (1998), "New Headquarters Building for Land Force Western Area", Canadian Forces web site - http://www.forces.gc.ca/en/news/article.page?doc=minister-nicholson-announces-opening-of-new-headquarters-at-3rd-canadian-division-support-base-3-cdsb-edmonton/hgq87xx8, "Yeg is Home" web site – http://yegishome.ca/news/2004/04/01/new-life-on-the-old-griesbach-barracks, the Village at Griesbach web site – www.villageatgriesbach.com, information provided by Marvin Neumann, Director of Real Estate, Canada Lands Company (2015), "Royal Canadian Air Force monument unveiled in west Edmonton neighbourhood of Griesbach", https://edmontonjournal.com/news/local-news/new-headquarters-building-for-3rd-canadian-division-was-a-long-time-coming, Edmonton Sun, 20 September 2015, First 20 tenants expected to move into Edmonton's ACTO Veterans Village | Edmonton Journal, Affordable housing for veterans opens in north Edmonton | CTV News, and the personal recollections of the author (2004) .
Canadian Forces Base Penhold:
Originally established 11 miles southeast of Red Deer, Alberta in 1940 as a RCAF Manning Depot.The Royal Air Force took over the property and formed No. 36 Service Flying Training School on 28 September 1941 as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Relief Landing Fields were constructed near Innisifail & Blackfalds.
The station consisted of 7 hangars and 31 other buildings including barracks, service buildings, administrative buildings and six hard surfaced runways.
The station was returned to the RCAF closed on 3 November 1944, along with both relief landing fields.
No. 2 Technical Signals Unit, an instrument repair unit, stood-up at the station the following day, remaining unit it was disbanded in September 1945. The station was taken over by the Department of Transport and many of the buildings were demolished or moved off site. Surplus Lancaster bombers were stored in the hangars to await disposal.
The post-war growth of the RCAF resulted in many WWII stations being re-activated, along with RCAF Detachment Innisfail. The station re-opened in late 1951 as RCAF Station Penhold and became home to No. 4 Flying Training School, a NATO Flying Training School. Several new buildings were constructed, including 243 private married quarters, collectively called Mynarski Park, in memory of Andrew Mynarski, VC, the Second World War air gunner who had lost his life trying to rescue his crewmate in a burning Lancaster.
In the early 1960s, additional married quarters were built in Red Deer in a complex known as Vista Village.
The first NATO trainees arrived from Calgary in May 1953, consisting of 22 RCAF trainees, 10 Royal Air Force, 6 French Air Force, 7 Italians and 5 Royal Netherlands Air Force.
The base school was dedicated as Andersons of Craigmyle School in memory of three Red Deer brothers who died in active service with the RCAF, also during the Second World War. A curling rink was built in 1958, a new and larger control tower in 1961 and a new outdoor swimming pool in 1964.
The NATO flying training program ended in the spring of 1959, but air training with the Harvards continued until 1965 primarily for the RCAF but also for the Royal Canadian Navy and pilots from around the world.
By the late 1950s, the threat of a nuclear war had become so great that the Canadian government decided to construct a secret underground bunker to house the major elements of the government in the event of an emergency. Most Provincial Governments followed suit by building their own bunkers.
The Alberta Government chose RCAF Station Penhold for the site of their bunker. A 77,000 square foot bunker, opened in 1964, was secretly constructed just outside the station along Township Road 372 near Highway 2A. It was staffed by the Penhold Signal Troop, of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, who were re-designated as 743 Communication Squadron in 1966. The bunker also housed the Provincial Warning Centre. .
All Government bunkers had a remote communications bunker, located some distance away. This second bunker, usually a single story structure, was staffed exclusively by communications personnel. Penhold's remote communications bunker (17,000 square feet) was constructed several miles south of the station, on the west side of Range Road 282, north of Township Road 362.
43 Radar Squadron opened a Pinetree Line long-range radar station in February 1964, at a site 14 miles east of RCAF Station Penhold, who provided support to the facility. The squadron had actually opened 2 years earlier and operated out of a hangar at Penhold until the new site opened. Most radar personnel lived at the newly constructed Vista Village PMQ area in Red Deer until the mid 1970s.
In May 1965, flying operations ceased at RCAF Station Penhold and Air Defence Command assumed control of the Station. Penhold's airfield was taken over by the city of Red Deer in 1965 and operated as the Red Deer Regional Airport, remaining so today. Some of the buildings were also taken over by the RCMP around this time.
In the summer of 1966, Regional Air Cadet Glider Training School opened at Penhold. Flying training was conducted at both Penhold and the former RCAF Detachment Innisfail. The name was later changed to the Penhold Cadet Summer Training Centre
As a result of the Unification, the Station was re-named CFB Penhold in 1966.
By 1973, the CF Junior Leadership School and the FPS-27 Radar School had opened at the base. The schools remained at the base until disbanded on 23 June 1986.
In the early 1980s, the Air Cadet School began making use again of the former RCAF Detachment Netook as an alternate airfield to the Gliding School at Innisfail. By 1986, the Gliding School moved permanently to Netook.
In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. Radar equipment at many Canadian Forces Stations was replaced with a new automated system. As a result of this and overall reductions in Canada's Air Force, 43 Radar Squadron disbanded on 1 August 1986 and the radar site was closed.
CFB Penhold was downsized to a Detachment of CFB Edmonton in 1990.
In June 1994, the Air Force Junior Leadership School re-located to CFB Borden and was re-named the Air Command Professional Development Training Centre.
In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, Detachment Penhold closed in 1995. The former base is now the community of Harvard Park.
The communications facility was automated and the personnel responsible for running it were transferred to CFB Edmonton. The bunker was closed in 1993 and sold to a private developer in 1995, only to be bought back by the Federal Government and demolished in June 2001 after it was humored that a chapter of the Hells Angels was an expressing interest in acquiring it.
The airfield is now the Red Deer Regional Airport. Most of the original buildings remain in use, including all six hangars, the combined mess, several barracks the firehall, the transportation building and the PMQ homes. The former Penhold School however, now sits vacant.
Remaining behind was the Penhold Cadet Summer Training Centre. With a permanent staff of 114 members, the centre carried on the tradition of training airmen and women at Penhold. The former base headquarters building was used as the HQ for the cadet school. Other buildings were used as classrooms, an infirmary, a warehouse, a giant hangar for indoor sports, and roughly 90 acres of maintained grounds with space to conduct outdoor survival training.
On 15 August 2014, the Penhold Air Cadet Summer Training Centre closed when the Harvard Park Business Centre decided not to re-new the lease, ending 48 years of Air Cadet training and the last remnants of the RCAF at Penhold.
The end of summer graduation parade served as the official send-off for the training centre. Lieutenant- Colonel Allen Gregory Dengis, the Commanding Officer of the Air Cadet Summer Training Camp, delivered his final farewell to the cadets; “Today marks the departure for all of you. I want you to take the friendships, camaraderie and the lessons learned and keep them with you for the rest of your lives.” He named them the “The generation of future leaders of Canada” and thanked them “for being a part of the history of the Cadet Training Program.“
It is noteworthy that last RCAF Harvard to be flown in an operational mission flew at the Penhold base. It was later given to the Red Deer Flying Club for restoration and maintenance and is currently mounted at the entrance to the Red Deer Regional Airport.
Nothing remains at either the radar site, nor the remote communications bunker site, except for the roads leading to them.
The former RCAF Detachment Innisfail was sold and is now operates as the Innisfail Aerodrome.
Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Blackfalds. The barracks, garage/hangar with control tower and the turf runways are long gone.
Source Material: DND press releases from May 1989 & February 1994, the Air Cadets Glider Training web site - http://www.mts.net/~rgspra/hist.html, "Bunkers, Bunkers Everywhere" by Paul Ozorak, information supplied by Janet Mawson, local resident of Penhold, Alberta (2001), Sea, Army & Air Cadets web page - http://www.cadets.dnd.ca/intro_e.asp, information provided by the Innisfail Flying Club (2004), information provided by, Judy Carleton, President of the Blackfalds Historical Society (2005), the personal recollections of the author (2004), the Pinetree Line web site - www.pinetreeline.org, "Sentinel" Magazine from April 1968, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak and "Penhold Air Cadet Summer Training Ends at Harvard Park, 22 August 2014 - Harvard Park Web site: http://harvardpark.ca.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Innisfail:Opened in 1941 as the No.1 Relief Landing Field for No. 36 SFTS at Penhold. The aerodrome closed in 1944, along with No. 36 SFTS and it was later sold
In 1960, the Innisfail Flying Club was established at the airfield.
Military flying training returned to the former RCAF Detachment Innisfail when a Regional Air Cadet Gliding School was established at RCAF Station Penhold in the summer of 1966. Flying training was conducted at both Penhold and Innisfail.
In the early 1980s, the Air Cadet Gliding School began making use of the former RCAF Detachment Netook as an alternate airfield to the Gliding School at Innisfail. By 1986, the Gliding School moved permanently to Netook.
The Innisfail aerodrome remains today and is still used by the Innisfail Flying Club, the Central Alberta Gliding and Soaring Club and Alberta Skydive Central.
All the original runways remain, but only runway 34/16 is still in use. An old water cistern also remains, but none of the RCAF buildings. A new club house/terminal building was officially opened on 10 June 1984.
Source Material: information provided by the Innisfail Flying Club (2004), “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & the personal recollections of the author (2004).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Edmonton:
Opened on 5 July 1940 at the Blatchford Field Airport as No. 2 Air Observer School (2 AOS), part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with World War I flying ace Capt W.R. "Wop" May installed as the civilian manager of the station.
By November 1940, No. 16 Elementary Flying Training School also opened at the aerodrome, remaining until it closed in 1942.
After the closure of No. 2 AOS on 14 July 1944, the station was re-named RCAF Station Edmonton and become the home to Northwest Air Command Headquarters. The station closed in May 1945, but this would be short-lived as it re-opened in October 1946.
Units posted to RCAF Station Edmonton at this time were the Northwest Air Command Composite Flight, 435 Transport Squadron, 418 Tactical Bomber Squadron (Auxiliary), 453 Transport Squadron, the RCAF Winter Experimental Establishment, No. 10 Construction & Maintenance Unit, No. 2 Trade & Advancement Board and RCAF Det Grand Prairie. Later a B-29 Bomber Detachment of the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) and a Survival Training School would occupy space at RCAF Station Edmonton.
1 Air Movements Squadron formed on 1 October 1947 at the station. The Squadron was re-designated 1 Air Movements Unit on 1 April 1951 and assigned to Air Transport Command.
As RCAF Station Edmonton grew in the post-war years, so did the surrounding civilian community. It became apparent that flying activities were becoming hazardous at Blatchford Field when a USAAF transport aircraft crashed into a row of homes shortly after take-off. As a result, the RCAF decided to vacate Blatchford Field and concentrate its activities at the nearby RCAF Station Namao.
RCAF Station Edmonton closed 1 October 1955 and the station's units re-located to RCAF Station Namao. The aerodrome reverted to a civilian airport, the Blatchford Field Airport. 418 "City of Edmonton" Squadron remained at the airport until 1957 when it too departed for Namao.
The airport, now known as the Edmonton City Centre Airport, became the home to small charters, private and corporate aircraft, training, military, industrial and medevac flights. Most commercial passenger traffic moved to the Edmonton International Airport in the mid-1990s.
Two of the BCATP-era hangars remain at the airport, designated Provincial Heritage Resource in 2000. One of the hangars is the only remaining double width / double depth BCATP hangar left in Canada, is occupied by 180 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, 504 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron & the Alberta Aviation Museum, who work to preserve the memory of the BCATP and the RCAF in Edmonton.
In 2009, Edmonton city council decided on a phased closure of the airport to allow a massive development of housing and commercial real estate starting in 2014. Runway 16/34 was closed to air traffic in August 2010.
In 2012, the Edmonton Flying Club launched a won a court battle that allowed the club to seek an injunction against the Edmonton Airports Authority to evict it from the airport, where it's been located since 1927. The Edmonton Flying Club had a lease with the city good until 2028, but this was all apparently in vain.
The airport officially ceased operations by 30 November 2013 after 84 years of operations. A Cessna 172 was the last aircraft to leave the airfield. Plans for a pair of RCAF CF-18 fighter jets were scheduled to make a touch-and-go landing as a ceremonial last takeoff, but the plans were scrapped due to bad weather.
The museum and some non-aviation institutions will remain. Some land will be transferred to the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology and the rest will be converted to a primarily residential development.
In 2017, it was announced that Hangar #11 would be demolished as part of the re-development of the airport property, despite being on the Top 10 List of Endangered Historic Places in Canada.
Source Material: information supplied by Jenelle Turpin, Communications Officer - Council Services, City of Edmonton, the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm (1999), Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, the personal recollections of the author (2004), History of Canadian Airports by T. M. McGrath, Fate Of Edmonton Muni May Go To Vote - Canadian Aviator Magazine - www.canadianaviatormagazine.com, Edmonton Journal, 12 September 2013 - http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/09/12/close-final-city-centre-airport-runway-nov-30-report-recommends, www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-historic-places-endangered-1.4153875 & the CFB Edmonton web site - www.cfbedmonton.hstone.com.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Lincoln Park:
Originally established on the southern section of Currie Barracks in 1935 by the RCAF, where an unpaved landing strip had been built for their use. By 1939, No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron had moved to Currie Barracks from RCAF Station Sea Island, and No. 3 (Bomber) Squadron from RCAF Station Ottawa (Rockcliffe). The airmen were forced to share the only barrack block with the Lord Strathcona's Horse, which created problems as the Strathconas awoke to the sound of a bugler every morning at 0500 hours.
On 28 October 1940, a portion of Currie Barracks became No. 3 Service Flying Training School, part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Relief Landing Fields were constructed near Shapard and Gladys.
No. 3 SFTS closed on 28 September 1945 and the hangars, the airfield and everything south of it was sectioned off and became No. 10 Repair Depot (with a Detachment in Moose Jaw). In 1947, the station then became No. 25 Air Material Base Calgary, but was later re-named Royal Canadian Air Force Station Lincoln Park.
In 1953, Permanent Married Quarters were built for the Airforce personnel, who prior to that all lived in rented or purchased housing with in the City. The single personnel lived in barracks on the base.
Both RCAF Detachments Gladys and Shepard were abandoned. From 1958-1970, the abandoned runways at RCAF Detachment Shepard were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing under the name Calgary International Raceway. An industrial complex now occupies the site of the former aerodrome.
Nothing remains of the Gladys aerodrome.
During this period, Lincoln Park served as construction headquarters, a repair depot and NATO pilot refresher-training centre, who by this time had paved runways on which to land.
A primary tenant at the station was Canadian Pacific Airlines (Repair Division), who were a prime contractor for aircraft overhaul for Western Canada.
129 Acceptance and Ferry Flight Detachment, a detachment of No. 6 Repair Depot at RCAF Station Trenton, and a very busy Detachment with usually about 12 Pilots, and six Flight Engineers accumulating many hours of flying time on aircraft from Chipmunk, T-34 Noresman, to Lancasters and Albatross, and Single and Twin Engine Jet aircraft. Most flights were out of RCAF Station Station Calgary, due to the short runways at Lincoln Park.
403 "City of Calgary". Squadron was re-formed at Linclon Park as a Fighter Bomber Squadron (Auxiliary) in 1948, remaining until it disbanded in 1964. NATO pilot training continued until 1958, after which the airfield was used only as an emergency landing strip.
In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, RCAF Station Lincoln Park closed in 1964.
The buildings north of the airfield and the Lincoln Park PMQs became part of Currie Barracks. The reminder of the property was sold to the city of Calgary.
Mount Royal University now occupies the part of the property where the airfield was once located, as it has done since 1972, when it was known as Mount Royal College.
On 28 October 2000, the 60th anniversary of the establishment of No. 3 Service Flying Training School, University held a plaque dedication ceremony to honour the men and women who served at the war-time school.
Very little remains of the former RCAF Station Lincoln Park today.
Four of the six original hangars on the north-side of the former airfield, which became part of Currie Barracks, have already been demolished and the remaining two are slated for demolition in 2014.
The six maintenance hangars south of the former airfield, once used as a part of the Repair Depot, were occupied for many years by the ATCO Industrial Complex. These hangars were demolished in 2011.
All that remains of the airfield is the taxi-way beside where the north-side hangars used to stand. Some of the rowhouse PMQs were moved onto one of the former runways at the north end of the property sometime after the airfield's closure and remain there today, extensively renovated.
The Lincoln Park PMQ area has been re-developed into the "Garrison Green" residential community, modeled on an old "village style". Some of the former PMQ homes remain, extensively renovated, along with new homes built by the developer. The developer established a park named "Peacekeeper Park", which includes a memorial dedicated to Canadian Peacekeepers who distinguished themselves and to those who died in the service of their country.
One notable veteran of No. 3 SFTS was William Roy Irwin (1898-1969), a WWI Royal Flying Corps officer and winner of the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. Irwin volunteered for service, once again, with the RCAF, on 9 July 1940. Originally posted to No. 11 SFTS in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, he assumed command of No. 3 on 14 May 1943.
No. 3 SFTS was repeatedly awarded the Air Minister's Efficiency Pennant under his direction and on 1 January 1944, Irwin was made a Member of the British Empire. He retired from service as a Group Captain in July 1945.
Source Material: information supplied by Captain D. Sweeney, Deputy Commanding Officer, Area Support Unit Calgary (1998), information supplied by Sherry Eastholm, Manager, Sidney (B.C.) Museum (1999), information supplied by June Flegg, Historian, Saskatoon Public Library (2000), History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm, Wings Over Alberty web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm, information supplied by Hunter Wight, Executive Director, Public Affairs and Development, Mount Royal College (2001), information supplied by Deb Bramson, Mount Royal College (2001), the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm, Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, the personal recollections of the author (2004), the Legion Magazine July-August 2015 & information supplied by Carol Stokes, Archivist, The City of Calgary (1999).
42 Radar Squadron Cold Lake:
Established south of Cold Lake on 1 August 1954 as the Cold Lake Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron (AC&W), home of 42 Radar Squadron Cold Lake.
The Squadron was technically not part of the Pinetree Line, but instead it was used to provide radar control of CF-100 aircraft and as a radio transmission centre. The squadron was renamed simply 42 Radar Squadron in October 1962 and was equipped with the Semi-Automated Ground Environment (SAGE) system as part of the 28th NORAD Region.
As a result of Department of National Defence (DND) budget reductions, the site occupied by 42 Radar Squadron closed in 1992.
42 Radar Squadron re-located to 4 Wing Cold Lake and the squadron's radar equipment was moved to the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range. The former station sat abandoned and neglected until 1998, when the Cold Lake Air Force Museum opened.
Today, all of the station's five buildings (with the catwalk that joined them), plus the guardhouse and pumphouse remain. The former operations building contains displays profiling the Air Force, RCAF Station/CFB Cold Lake and 42 Radar Squadron, including a full-size Hight Finder Radar unit.
The other buildings feature The Oil & Gas Interpretive Centre, Alberta Heritage Museum and the Aboriginal Museum. None of the three radar towers remain today.
Source material: 42 Radar Squadron Cold Lake web site - http://www.4wing.coldlake.dnd.ca/42.html, personal recollections of the author (2004), Cold Lake Air Force Museum - www.coldlakeairforcemuseum.com/main & information supplied by Captain Leah Wilson, Wing Public Affairs Officer, 4 Wing Cold Lake (1999).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Airdrie:
Opened north of Calgary in 1940 as the No. 1 Relief landing Field for No. 3 SFTS in Calgary. The Detachment featured the standard triangle pattern runway, along with several buildings including administration and barracks buildings and two large wooden hangars. Student pilots at No. 37 SFTS would spend the last three weeks of their air training course with the Advanced Training Unit at RCAF Detachment Airdrie, where bombing training was conducted.
RCAF Detachment Airdrie closed in 1945.
Student pilots and crop-dusters continued to use the crumbling runways into the 1950s.
In 1954, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. In 1957, the RCAF buildings were converted into commercial facilities.
Today the former detachment operates as the Airdrie Airport and industrial complex. The Airdrie Country Club of the Air operated at the airport from the early 1970s until the mid 1980s, when the club disbanded. In the spring of 2005, the club was resurrected and continues to promote general aviation in the Calgary area.
A significant portion of the former Detachment remains today. A number of the maintenance sheds remain, some in use, some not. One of the former barracks is used as the office for Airdrie Mini Self Storage and the remaining hangar is occupied by the Alberta Pallet Company, a wood products manufacturing company. A neighbouring farmer purchased the bombing control tower, which is still standing today.
The original runways remain but are abandoned, with only one of the three is still intact, along with the taxi-way. The other two are broken up and only the outlines can be seen. A new runway was built in 2002 down the middle of the original triangle airfield.
The Airdrie Regional Airshow is held at the airport every 2 years.
Source Material: information supplied by Captain D. Sweeney, Deputy Commanding Officer, Area Support Unit Calgary (1998), "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, Airdrie Flying Club web site - http://www.airdrieflyingclub.ca/story02.htm & the personal recollections of the author (2004)
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Claresholm:
Opened west of Claresholm on 9 June 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 15 Service Flying Training School, with Relief Landings Fields at Woodhouse & Pultney. No. 2 Flight Instructor School also operated at the Aerodrome from April-September 1942, when it re-located to Vulcan. No. 15 SFTS closed on 30 May 1945 and the station, although not abandoned, was left with only a small caretaker staff.
RCAF Detachments Woodhouse & Pultney were abandoned.
The post-war growth of the RCAF resulted in many WWII stations being re-activated. RCAF Station Claresholm re-opened in 1951 as a NATO pilot training centre run by No. 3 Flying Training School. The school was so busy that airfields at former RCAF stations at Fort MacLeod and Lethbridge.
As busy as the school was, the school would be short-lived. Claresholm closed again in 1958, this time for good. No. 3 FTS re-located to RCAF Station Gimli.
From 1958-1961, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing.
The former station is now the Claresholm Industrial Airport. All that remains are some of the station's former buildings, including the fire hall, maintenance garages and four post-war PMQ houses.
As well, 6 of the original 7 hangars remain:
Hanger #1: owned by Environmental Rescue Equipment, a fire fighting company that are contracted to the Alberta Government.
Hanger #2: owned by Rick Holdings and is currently for sale.
Hanger #3: owned by Grant Lobban. The hangar burned down on 20 December 2014 and all that remains is the concrete pad and apron.
Hanger #4: owned by Ptarmigan Real Estate Ltd. It is currently being restored. – 5 year project.
Hanger #5: owned by ESIP Holdings Ltd., making concrete panels for the construction industry
Hanger #6: owned by Bruce Hagel and leased to a firm that provides material to the construction Industry
Hanger #7: also owned by Bruce Hagel. It is currently vacant.Trus Joist MacMillan Ltd, an engineered lumber products company, formerly occupied three of the hangars, but have moved elsewhere.
The majority of the property contains only empty fields and abandoned roadways, but some new buildings are popping up on site. Only one runway remains in use; the other five were abandoned years ago.
All that remains of RCAF Detachment Woodhouse is one runway, consisting of severely deteriorated asphalt, and the hangar pad. The other runways were removed for farming. Township Road 122 now cuts across the southern portion of the former triangle runway outline.
A memorial cairn was placed at the airport and a Harvard airplane stands in Centennial Park in Claresholm as a monument to the men and women who served at RCAF Station Claresholm and No. 15 SFTS.
Source Material: Town of Claresholm web site - http://www.town.claresholm.ab.ca/communityprofile.htm#HISTORY, "Canada Flight Supplement 1999", "Portage La Prairie - Fifty Years of Flying Training: 1940-1990" by Major G.E.I. Greavette, CD, Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, information supplied by Brian Waddell, owner of the property once occupied by RCAF Detachment Woodhouse, information provided by Keith Armstrong (2015), the personal recollections of the author (2004) & "The Plan" by James Williams.
No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School (High River):
The aerodrome north of High River was originally opened in 1921 by the Canadian Air Force, predecessor to the RCAF, as the High River Air Station. With the creation of the RCAF in 1924, the station was re-named RCAF Station High River. The station was utilized for parachute training and new aircraft testing.
In 1931, RCAF Station High River closed and the aerodrome became a storage depot. Flying activities were limited to the Calgary Aero Club.
The outbreak of World War II lead to the creation of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and the establishment of No. 5 EFTS near Lethbridge in 1940, but the school re-located to High River in June 1941. Originally the WWI Bessemer hangars were used until a new hangar was built, along with drill halls, offices and barracks, with new asphalt runways replacing the grass ones. Later in the war, a second one built. A Relief Landing Field was also constructed at Frank's Lake.
No. 5 EFTS closed on 15 Dec 1944, having graduated 97 classes of airmen, and so did RCAF Detachment Frank's Lake. The Calgary Flying Club remained at the aerodrome until the late 1940s, when the club re-located to McCall Field in Calgary.
Only one hangar remains, now occupied by Willow Creek Homes, a builder of modular homes as does the old cistern. All that remains of the airfield is the faint outline of the runways.
Nothing remains of the Frank Lake Detachment.
A new airport was established south of High River. The station auditorium was moved into High River and is still used today.
In August 2002, monuments were erected at both the airport and in downtown High River as a tribute to the men and women who served at No. 5 EFTS.
On 1 October 2016, representatives from the High River Legion Branch #71 and Nanton's Bomber Command Museum of Canada erected a new historical sign dedicated to High River's Royal Canadian Air Force training station.
A notable veteran of No. 5 EFTS was John Ender "Jock" Palmer (1896-1964). Palmer, a Distinguished Conduct Medal winning WWI Royal Flying Corps veteran, volunteered for service in WWII with the RCAF. Originally employed as a civilian instructor, he was later commissioned as an officer. Spending most of the war at No. 5, he served as an instructor, chief instructor and then Commanding Officer.
In addition to his military and civilian flying career, "Jock" Palmer also founded Lethbridge radio station CJOC-AM in 1926. After several frequency changes, CJOC moved to the FM band, 106.7-FM, under the call letters CJRX-FM, on 19 January 2000. It's currently branded as 106.7 Rock.
Another Lethbridge radio station, 94.1 CJOC, assumed the call letters after going on the air on 3 July 2007, but has nothing to do with the original CJOC.
Hailed as the "Grandfather of Alberta Aviation," he was posthumously inducted to the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame in 1988.
Source Material: information supplied by Regena R. Johnson, Airport Landfill / Road Closure Coordinator (2001), information supplied by Melissa Chamber, local resident of High River (2000), Lancaster Museum web site - http://www.lancastermuseum.ca/highriver.html, the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm, the personal recollections of the author (2004), The Calgary Flying Club - http://www.calgaryflyingclub.com/clubhistory_1940-1945.asp," High River's former air force training base memorialized," High River Times, 7 October 2016, The Legion Magazine July/August 2015, CJRX-FM - Wikipedia & information supplied by Norm Lund, local resident of High River (2001).
Read the book "Life and legends: A History of the Town of High River", By Lillian Knupp for more information.
No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School (Lethbridge):
See entry in “Closed bases that still have a military presence“.
No. 31 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened 13 kms east of De Winton, Alberta under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as a Royal Air Force school on 18 June 1941, with a Relief Landing Fields at Gladys (grass runways) and Shepard (asphalt). The school closed on 25 September 1944, as did RCAF Detachments Gladys and Shepard.
For several years, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing.
The former school is still listed as a private aerodrome, the South Calgary Airport, although there are no aviation activities currently operating at the site. Two of the runways are severely deteriorated and overgrown with grass, while the third runway and tarmac only partially maintained for use by Alberta Motor Association as a driver training centre for private and commercial drivers.
The Calgary Ultra-light Flying Club used one runway for "touch & go" training for student pilots for a period, but does not currently use the airfield.
Except for the pump-house, no buildings remain in their wartime position on the property. Most of the building foundations do remain however, including both hangar pads.
The former administration building, garage and guardhouse were moved and patched together to create a private residence on the property. As well, the original windsock, flag pole, gunnery backstop and water reservoir also remain.
On 15 June 2016, close to 200 people gathered at the DeWinton airfield to commemorate the 75th anniversary of No. 31 Elementary Flying Training School, during which a bronze plaque commemorating the school was unveiled.
Guests at the ceremony included Flight Lieutenant James Andrews from the Royal Air Force; Dr. Stéphane Gouvrement, a historian and honorary colonel of 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron; Susan Cowan, the daughter of one of the school’s commanding officers and Squadron Leader Rae Churchill, a former Second World War instructor at RCAF Station Bowden.
As for RCAF Detachment Shepard, the abandoned runways at were used as as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing, known as the Shepard Raceways, from 1958 - 1970 and then the Calgary International Raceway in the mid 1970s.
The former north-south runway was used as drag race strip until it closed around 1983, when the construction of Deerfoot Trail cut across the old runway. The Alberta Motor Association then used the runway as a driver training facility.
The SE-NW runway and east-west runways were torn up in the early 1970s with construction of Shepard landfill.
Today, nothing remains of the Shepard Detachment. In the early 2000s, the property was redeveloped into an industrial complex. A "Flying J" truck stop now occupies part of the property where the airfield used to be.
Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Gladys.
Source Material: "Canada Flight Supplement 1999", David Harris, local resident of De Winton (July 2001) as posted on "As You Were - War Years: News", the Calgary Ultra-light Flying Club web site - http://www.cufc.ca, July 2001 Edition - http://www.angelfire.com/trek/rcaf/ammq0107.html, information supplied by Jesse Knight, property owner DeWinton Aerodrome (2004), information supplied by Rick Lang, Operations Manager, Alberta Motor Association (2004), information provided by Tim Harris, local resident of De Winton (2004), information provided by Francois Arseneault, History & Heritage Committee, Army Cadet League of Canada (2007), the personal recollections of the author (2004), Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm and the RCAF web site - http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/article-template-standard.page?doc=no-31-elementary-flying-training-school-commemorated/irhk4jm8.
No. 32 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened north-east of Bowden, Alberta under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan on 12 July 1941. A Relief Landing Field was also constructed at nearby Netook, which featured grass runways. The school closed on 8 September 1944, as did RCAF Detachment Netook.
No. 1 Surplus Holing Unit was established 1 May 1945 at the Bowden Aerodrome to store surplus was equipment awaiting disposal. After the unit shut down, the property was used as a reform school and then became its present day facility, a Federal Prison: Bowden Institution.
Nothing remains from the war-time school today.
Source Material: Netook Air Cadet Gliding School web site - http://www.netook.aircadets.ca/history.php3, the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm & "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore & the personal recollections of the author(2004).
Netook Gliding Centre:
Opened as a Relief Landing Field for No. 32 EFTS at Bowden, where student pilots used turf runways for flying training. RCAF Detachment Netook closed in 1944 along with No. 32 EFTS.
In the early 1980s, the Air Force made a return of sorts to the former RCAF Detachment Netook when the Royal Canadian Air Cadets began using the site as an alternate airfield to the Gliding School at Innisfail.
By 1986, the Gliding School moved permanently to Netook where the Netook Gliding Centre carries on the tradition of training airmen and women of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. In 1990, the Air Cadet League bought the Netook Airfield, cementing the return of the Air Force to Netook.
Besides the grass airfield, all that remains of the WWII school today is one shed/hangar, currently used as an office and storage building for the air cadets. A new steel sided hanger also sits on the property.
Source Material: Netook Air Cadet Gliding Centre web site - http://www.cadets.net/pra/netookgc, the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm, "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore & the personal recollections of the author (2004).
No. 36 Elementary Flying Training School / No. 3 Air Observer School / No. 2 Flight Instructors School:
Opened by the Royal Air Force north of the Village of Pearce on 30 March 1942 as No. 36 Elementary Flying Training School, part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Like most BCATP stations, the aerodrome has three, 3100 foot hard surfaced runways set in a triangular pattern.
No. 36 EFTS had a brief existence as it closed on 14 August 1942.
No. 3 Air Observer School of Regina, Saskatchewan, opened a Detachment at the aerodrome on 12 September 1942. The school operated at the Pearce aerodrome until 6 June 1943 when both the Pearce and Regina schools closed.
Then No. 2 Flying Instructors School, originally from Vulcan, re-located to Pearce on 3 May 1943. The school closed on 20 January 1945.
A detachment of No. 10 Repair Depot in Calgary was established at the aerodrome, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. Many WWII bombers met their final fate at the Peace Depot, including 140 or so Lancasters that were sent to Pearce from the storage depot at Scoudouc, New Brunswick, because the drier air was less corrosive on the aircraft.
The Depot closed in 1960.
For several years, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing.
Today, very little remains of the former air station; only some foundations, the crumbling airfield and the old cistern, now used for manure storage. The former station is now a farm, known as "The Airport Dairy". A monument was erected at the site, using a chunk of concrete from one of the hangars, as a tribute to the men and women who served at the wartime school.
The Village of Pearce no longer exists either. Gone are the General Store, two grain elevators and Pearce School District School House #1686. A memorial to the old schoolhouse sits on the Pearce Road, just north of the former Village.
Source Material: "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm, Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, the personal recollections of the author (2004), The Lancaster Museum web site - http://www.lancastermuseum.ca/bcatpalberta.html &
No. 7 Service Flying Training School:
Opened near the west end of Fort MacLeod under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan on 9 December 1940, with Relief Landing Fields at Granum and Standoff, but the Pearce Aerodrome was initially used instead of the latter.
The School closed on 17 November 1944, as did the RCAF Detachments Granum and Standoff.
After the war, the station briefly became No. 1 Repair Equipment and Maintenance Unit until it re-located to Lethbridge. No. 101 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite, under the control of RCAF Station Lincoln Park, stood-up, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal.
No. 101 REMS operated until 31 March 1961, when it closed and the RCAF left Fort MacLeod.
For several years, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing.
Today, the aerodrome is the Fort Macleod airport. One can still see the abandoned original triangle-pattern airfield, but it is rapidly crumbling. A new 3000 foot runway was build across the top of the triangle.
Many of the World War II-era buildings remain including four hangars, an administration building, one of the barracks (currently a private residence), the drill hall and the old water cistern. Two of the hangars are occupied by Albicanlis Lumber and the former HQ building is now a recreation hall, used by 2309 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.
Falcan Industries and an auto scrap yard also occupy part of the property, as does a new home development, "Airfield Properties", that sits in the centre of the former airfield.
A monument was erected in Memorial Park in Fort MacLeod as a tribute to the men and women who served at the wartime school.
The abandoned airfield also remains at RCAF Detachment Granum, but the property is now used for farming. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Standoff, which had turf runways.
Source Material: "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm, Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, the personal recollections of the author (2004), “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & "Canada Flight Supplement 1999.
No. 19 Service Flying Training School & No. 2 Flight Instructor School:
Opened under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, aerodrome south-west of Vulcan (located at Section 10, Township 16, Range 25, west of the 4th meridian) was originally the site for two different schools during World War II.
The first was No. 2 Flight Instructor School (2 FIS), which opened on 3 August 1942. All flying training schools had one or two relief landing fields located nearby.
The relief field, usually consisting of either grass or asphalt runways, one hangar, maintenance facilities and barracks for overnight stays, allowed pilot trainees to conduct circuit training on landing and taking-off in their airplanes. Some also served as sub-unit training schools. Vulcan’s Relief Landing Fields constructed near Ensign (asphalt runways) & Champion (turf runways).
A total of 750 students graduated from 2 FIS before it re-located to Pearce, Alberta on 3 May 1943.
The same day, No. 19 Service Flying Training School opened at the aerodrome. By the time the school closed on 29 March 1945, a total of 860 pilots had earned their wings. RCAF Detachments Ensign and Champion also ceased operations.
The station's last Commanding Officer, B.C. Andrews AFC, said to the final graduating class, "The RCAF has been the backbone of a great air training plan which in the space of a few short years has changed the course of world history. The enemy is well aware that the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan has accomplished a tremendous achievement. The aims and objects to provide personnel to maintain air supremacy in every theatre of war has been accomplished. Every member of this great service can be rightfully proud of their participation."
No. 103 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite was established at the aerodrome, but later No. 10 Repair Depot stood-up, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. Many WWII bombers met their final fate at the Vulcan Depot, which finally closed in the late 1950s.
For a period the site operated as the Vulcan Industrial Airport, but sat abandoned for many years. Six of the original seven hangars remain, but only two remained use for storage of heavy equipment and farm machinery. The empty fire station, the gunnery backstop, the cistern, part of the transport building and the abandoned & crumbling airfield also remain. Cattle grazed where most of the buildings once stood.
On 15 July 2000, a reunion of former staff and students was held at the Vulcan Airfield. A commemorative monument, built using a portion of the foundation from the guardhouse, was dedicated on the site as a tribute to the service men and women of No. 19 SFTS and No. 2 FIS.
Some windows and doors from the Vulcan hangars are now being used at the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Manitoba.
In September 2010, several vintage airplanes landed on the abandoned runways at the former RCAF Station Vulcan for the first time in more than 60 years as part of the Bomber Command Museum of Canada’s weekend-long Salute to the Flight Instructors.
The British Commonwealth’s Air Training Plan’s steering committee sought to turn one out of three Southern Alberta airports into a national historic sites, with Vulcan being one of them.
In 2011, the aerodrome re-opened as the Vulcan/Kirkcaldy Aerodrome, operated by Wheatland Industries. The remaining 6 hangars were restored and the years of debris was cleared from the runways and taxiways.
Vertical Extreme Skydiving currently operates out of the aerodrome. One of the former runways was resurfaced for their use.
In 2015, Vulcan became the main Headquarters for the Southern Alberta Gliding Centre of the Air Cadet Gliding Program.
Some of the original windows and doors from the Vulcan hangars are now being used at the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum in Brandon, Manitoba.
All that remains of RCAF Detachment Ensign today is the entrance road and the hangar pad, now used as part of a farm operation. The outline of the runways was still visible around 2013, but has now been ploughed under.
Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Champion.
Source material: information supplied by Marge Weber, Town of Vulcan (2002), the personal recollections of the author (2004), "Stay Out Of Those Hangars - Little Boys and Big Bombers" by Elgin Keith Jones CD, The Vulcan Advocate - http://www.vulcanadvocate.com (2003 & 2010), Vulcan Air Base web site - http://vulcanairbase.com/index.htm, Vertical Extreme Skydiving web site - http://verticalextremeskydiving.com/about.htmll, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak and the Lancaster Museum web site - www.lancastermuseum.com/lancaster.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Ensign:
Opened in 1942 as a Relief Landing Field for the BCATP school at Vulcan. The Detachment was abandoned after the War.
All that remains of RCAF Detachment Ensign today is the entrance road and the hangar pad, now used as part of a farm operation. The outline of the runways was still visible around 2013, but has now been ploughed under. A white garage on the property might be a former RCAF building
Source material: Places to Fly web site - http://www.copanational.org/PlacesToFly, Google Maps and “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak.
No. 34 Service Flying Training School:
Originally a dirt airstrip that opened in 1912 outside Medicine Hat, the Royal Air Force assumed control of the aerodrome and opened a flying school on 8 April 1941, part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
The school also had Relief Landing Fields along the Holsom County Road (paved runways) & in the District of Whitla (grass runways). The RCAF would later take control of the school. Most of the time, the No. 2 relief field didn't contain too many buildings, fewer than the No. 1 relief field, but Whitla had a barracks, garage & control tower combo, administration building and guard hut.
The school closed on 17 November 1944, as did RCAF Detachments Holsom & Whitla.
No. 102 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite was established initially, but then No. 10 Surplus Equipment Holding Unit stood-up in its place, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal.
The aerodrome was transferred to the Town of Medicine Hat in 1947 and is now the Medicine Hat Municipal Airport. Only two of the original six runways remain in use, one expanded to 5000 ft.
The former fire hall, now used as a meeting hall, also remains, along with one hangar pad and the old German Merchant Navy prisoner of war barracks with their old tar paper covered outer walls and some German graffiti on the inside walls.
A monument was erected at the airport as a tribute to the men and women who served at the wartime school.
Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Whitla, which was returned to farming.
RCAF Detachment Holsom's runway was ploughed under for farming as well, but a few chunks of asphalt can still be seen.
Source Material: the City of Medicine Hat web site - http://www.city.medicine-hat.ab.ca/, the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm, "Canada Flight Supplement 1999", the personal recollections of the author (2004), “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & information provided by Cuyler J. Green, Airport Superintendent, Medicine Hat Airport.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Calgary:
Originally opened at McCall Field in Calgary, named in honour of World War I Hero Captain Fred McCall, by the Royal Air Force on 22 October 1941. McCall Field had originally been established in 1938 for Trans Canada Airlines (TCA).
Designated as No. 37 Service Flying Training School, it featured the usual amenities found at at BCATP station, including barracks, administration buildings, drill hall, mess halls, stores, lecture halls, medical facilities and hangars, including an arch-style reminiscent of the Royal Flying Corps hangars from World War I.
Relief Landing Fields was also constructed at Airdrie and Inverlake. The school was later taken over by the RCAF. Additionally, a detachment of the United States Army Air Corps occupied space at the airport from 1941-1944 as part of the Alaska Staging Route.
Student pilots at No. 37 SFTS would spend the last three weeks of their air training course with the Advanced Training Unit at RCAF Detachment Airdrie, where bombing training was conducted.
No. 37 SFTS closed on 10 March 1944, as did RCAF Detachments Airdrie and Inverlake, but unlike at most BCATP stations, the RCAF formed a new training school, No. 2 Aircrew Graduates Training School.
The airfield was turned over to the federal Department of Transportation and reverted to a civilian airport in July 1949, making use of some of the RCAF buildings. Not long afterwards, the RCAF leased back some of the buildings for use by various RCAF reserve squadrons, including 403 (Fighter Bomber) Squadron (Auxiliary), 4010 Medial Unit (Auxiliary), 3053 Technical Training Unit (Auxiliary) and 2403 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron (Auxiliary).
The RCAF side of the airport was designated RCAF Station Calgary and the units were placed under the command of 30 Wing (Auxiliary). In 1957, 403 Squadron was re-designated as an air transport unit, 403 "City of Calgary" (Transport) Squadron (Auxiliary).
A new terminal was built on the civilian side in 1956, replacing the outdated original terminal. The airport became known as the Calgary International Airport in 1966.
RCAF Station Calgary closed in 1964, the victim of massive cutbacks in the RCAF, with 403 Squadron also standing-down. It was re-activated in 1968 at Camp Petawawa as a Tactical Helicopter Squadron.
Only one of the five World War II era hangars remain today, along with the TCA hangar, and the Calgary Aerospace Museum occupies the former drill hall. As well, one of the original arch-style hangars, built in 1938 for Trans Canada Airlines, the predecessor of Air Canada, also remains.
The former RCAF Detachment Airdrie is now the Airdrie Airport. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Inverlake today.
Source material: the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm & Canadian Racer web site - www.motorsportcentral.com, information supplied by Bill Watson, Manager of the Calgary Aerospace Museum (2004), “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & the personal recollections of the author (2004).
No. 8 Bombing & Gunnery School:
See entry in “Closed bases that still have a military presence“.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Grande Prairie:
Originally opened as a civilian airport in 1928, it was taken over by the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941, along with units of the U.S. Army Air Corps.
The aerodrome facilities were expanded and the grass strip runway was paved over and two new runways were built.
After WWII, the airport was transferred to the federal Department of Transportation.
On 1 February 1997, control of the airport was transferred to the City of Grande Prairie. Nothing remains from the military days.
Sources: Grande Prairie Airport web site - http://grandeprairieairport.com/airport-information-101/history-2.
RCAF No. 11 Equipment Depot (No. 11 Supply Depot):
Opened September 1940 in Calgary. Closed November 1951
What is left of No. 11 Supply Depot can be found located between Bonnybrook Road SE, Ogden Road SE, 34 Avenue SE and the railway tracks.
Source Material: http://jfchalifoux.com/bases_stations_calgary_to_cold_lake.htm
No. 2 Wireless School:
Opened by the Royal Canadian Air Force on 16 September 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan on the grounds of Alberta Provincial Institute of Technology and Art (PITA). No. 2 Wireless School would eventually become one of the biggest wireless training schools in the British Commonwealth, graduating thousands of radio operators.
The school also utilized the RCAF Detachment Shepard for air training.
The school closed on 14 April 1945 and the Provincial Institute of Technology and Art re-opened. Many war veterans attended the school as part of their return to civilian life.
No. 2 Wireless School's temporary buildings were demolished years ago, but the historic PITA building does remain. The school was re-named the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in 1965.
Source material: the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm
No. 4 Initial Training School:
Established at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
No. 130 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre / No. A-20 Royal Canadian Army Service Corps Advanced Training Centre:
See "Closed bases that still have a military presence".
No. 131 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:With the outbreak of World War II, the Non-permanent Active Militia found itself in need of new training camps to train recruits. In 1940, the Camrose Fairgrounds were taken over for use as a Basic Training Centre.
The old grandstand was demolished and over a dozen buildings sprung up. The old Camrose Normal School building, vacated the year before, was taken over as the camp’s Headquarters. The Training Centre officially opened 9 October 1940.
About ten H-Shaped huts were built, as were mess quarters, a medical building and a storehouse.
When the war ended, the fairgrounds and all the camp's buildings were returned to the city.
Some of the former camp's H-huts were sold and moved off site as homes. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch 57 bought one for use as its meeting hall at .
Several of the camp's old buildings do remain on the site, such as the old drill hall, which is now part of the Camrose Community Centre and is used by the local Air Cadet Squadron and Army Cadet Corps.
Source Material: information provided by the Camrose Canadian newspaper (2003), https://3068armycadets.ca, & information supplied by Penny Kinnee, City Clerk's Office, City of Camrose (2003).
No. 133 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:
Opened on 28 January 1942 at the Wetaskiwin Fair Grounds as an Infantry Training Centre. The school closed in August 1945 and the camp was converted to a Sortation unit, tasked with the process of releasing returning members from the RCAF.
The camp itself finally closed in January 1946 when the Sortation Unit relocated to Calgary.
All that remains today is the drill hall, now part of the Wetaskiwin Civic Centre.
Source Material: "Siding 16: The History of Wetaskiwin, 1930 to 1960" by A. Bert Reynolds & the personal recollections of the author (2004).
No. 2 Special Wireless Station Grande Prairie:
Opened in 1942 as No. 2 Special Wireless Station. The station was originally supposed to be a part of Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization, but instead was operated by Air Force Headquarters.
The station was deemed surplus and closed in 1947.
Source Material: Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization web site - www.tscm.com.cse.html & information supplied by Mary Nutting, Archival Assistant, Grande Prairie (2002).
No. 2 Canadian Women's Army Corps Training Centre:
Opened in 1942 on the grounds of the Vermilion School of Agriculture, which closed for the duration of the war. Lady Eaton of the Eaton's Department Store, served as the Commanding Officer of the training centre. Every six weeks, 500 young ladies would commence a new training course.
No. 2 CWACTC closed in 1944 and the school returned to its pre-war use.
Today, the former agriculture school is known as Lakeland College. Only the drill hall, now the Auto Mechanic building, and the former Officers' Barracks, now Alumni Hall, remain today.
Source Material: the personal recollections of Bob Maggs, local resident of Vermillion (2004) & the personal recollections of the author (2004).
- BRITISH COLUMBIACanadian Forces Station Ladner: (Vancouver Wireless Station) (Royal Canadian Air Force Station Boundary Bay) Originally opened on 10 April 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as Royal Canadian Air Force Station Boundary Bay, the home of No. 18 Elementary Flying Training School. A Relief Landing Field was constructed near Langley. No. 18 EFTS had a brief existence as it closed on 25 May 1942, making way for three Home Defense Units fighter squadrons to defend the Greater Vancouver Area: No.133 (F) Squadron, No.132 (F) Squadron, (Kittyhawk) and No 14 (F) Squadron. The aerodrome was taken over by No. 5 Operational Training unit from 1 April 1944 until 31 October 1945, with a detachment at Abbotsford. The RCAF abandoned the aerodrome itself closed in 1946. In it's heyday, the station had a population of 4000 personnel. In 1949 the site was re-activated as the Vancouver Wireless Station, run by the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals and utilizing the old RCAF buildings. The station acted as a radio station in Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization. The Operations site, a large 3 story concrete building, was built in the middle of the abandoned airfield, surrounded by a large antenna field between runways 01-19 & 12-30. The Vancouver Wireless Station had facilities much like other post-war bases, including singles quarters, 150 permanent married quarters, dining halls and messes, a Medical Inspection Room, administration building, gymnasium with a sport field with 2 ball diamonds and tennis courts, a chapel, woodworking and automotive shops, a grocery store (later CANEX), engineering & transport sections and a firehall. Most of these facilities were located on a property directly north of the airfield. With the Unification, the name of the station was changed to Canadian Forces Station Ladner. CFS Ladner closed on 15 July 1971 and its area of responsibility was taken over by CFS Masset. From 1971-1983, the abandoned runways were used for a variety of uses including race cars, model aircraft flying and driver training. By the mid 1970s, Vancouver Airport was becoming so congested that a reliever airfield became necessary to handle small aircraft traffic. Transport Canada began looking at options for reliever airports and after an exhaustive search, the most economical option was to re-activate the Boundary Bay. On 11 July 1983, the former RCAF station re-opened as the Boundary Bay Airport, marking the first time in 35 years that airplanes had graced the runways. Two of the three main runways (07-25 & 12-30) were re-opened, with a smaller runway being used as a taxiway. A new $1.5 million control tower opened on 4 July 1984. From 1998-2005, the Boundary Bay Driving Centre used the abandoned third runway for driving training and drag racing. This runway is now scheduled to re-open to flying activities. Today, besides the airfield, all that remains from the airport's military days are RCAF "arch-style" hangar and the Operations building used by the communications station, beside the deactivated runway on the east side of the property. In the former PMQ area, all that remains are the abandoned roadways and some foundations, which is now the North 40 Park Reserve, a passive natural park. A new air industrial park currently occupies the property. Current tenants at the airport include the Canadian Flight Centre, Flightec, Macleod Aviation, Montair Aviation, the Professional Flight Centre and the Pacific Flying Club. On 6 May 2005, 828 "Hurricane" Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron dedicated a plaque and Cenotaph honouring the men & women who served at RCAF Station Boundary Bay during World War II. The airfield also remains at the former RCAF Detachment Langley, which is now the very busy Langley Regional Airport. The Royal Canadian Air Cadets Pacific Region Gliding School operates a summer Regional Gliding Centre at the airport, carrying on the tradition of training young airmen & airwomen at Langley. Source Material: Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization web site - www.tscm.com.cse.html, "History of Canadian Airports" by T.M. McGrath, the Boundary Bay Airport web site - http://www.czbb.com & the Vancouver Wireless Station web site - http://www.troywoodintarsia.com/vws/vws.htm.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Sea Island: Established beside the Vancouver Airport on 22 July 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 8 Elementary Flying Training School. Originally RCAF pilots had grass runways on which to land, but these were eventually replaced by a Congo Mat (Steel Mesh Mat) runway. No. 13 Operational Training Squadron was also established at the aerodrome in 1940, but its stay was brief as it re-located to RCAF Station Patricia Bay in November 1940. No. 8 EFTS re-located to Boundary Bay and became part of No. 18 EFTS in January 1942. The aerodrome became was home to No. 22 Service and Repair Depot from 1944-45. The station remained open after World War II and was re-named RCAF Station Sea Island. 442 Squadron was re-activated as a 442 "City of Vancouver" Auxiliary Fighter Squadron at Sea Island 15 April 1946, but was later re-designated an Auxiliary Transport Squadron. 123 Rescue Flight and 121 Composite Flight (KU) were also formed at Sea Island. By 1948, Sea Island's runways were linked up with those of the Vancouver Airport On 1 December 1951, 442 Squadron was split in half to form 443 "City of New Westminster" Squadron. With the impending Unification in the mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, RCAF Station Sea Island closed on 31 March 1964. One of the consequences of the closure of the station was the cancellation of a contract to build four additional rooms to the station's elementary school. No. 121 KU Squadron moved to RCAF Station Comox, where in 1968, it was renamed 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron, but 442 Squadron and 443 Squadron disbanded. However, No. 11 Air Movements Unit remained at the former station for several years afterwards. The PMQ houses became part of the Army Camp at Jericho Beach until 1973, when they were sold and moved onto First Nations Reserves along the Georgia Strait. Very little remains of the former station; now known as the Vancouver International Airport. Only the footings of the old base water reservoir and the wooden pump house shack remain today. The former RCAF Recreation Centre was demolished in 2003. Source Material: 442 Squadron history web site - http://www.comox.dnd.ca/squadrons/442/442hist.htm, 440 Squadron history web site - http://www.440sqn.com/frames.htm, 19 Wing Comox web site - http://www.comox.dnd.ca, information supplied by Sherry Eastholm, Manager, Sidney (B.C.) Museum (1999), the Pinetree Line web site - http://www.pinetreeline.org/articles/resarth.html, information supplied by Doug Eastman, President, Sea Island Heritage Society (2004), the personal recollections of Vince Bissonnette, former Commanding Officer CF Detachment Jericho Beach (2004) & "Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations" by Chris Weicht.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Kitsilano: Opened during World War II, the station remained open after the war, becoming part of the post-war RCAF. RCAF Station Kitsilano was the home of No. 2 Supply Depot, No. 19 (Auxiliary) Wing, No. 9 Construction Maintenance Unit headquarters, the RCAF Rescue Coordination Centre, No. 5 Air Division Headquarters and the RCAF Police Investigation Department. No. 135 "Vancouver Squadron" Royal Canadian Air Cadets moved to the station in the 1950s. With the impending Unification in the mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, RCAF Station Kitsilano closed in 1964 and was sold to the City of Vancouver for parkland. The site is now Vanier Park, home to the Vancouver Museum, the Maritime Museum and the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre. Source Material: information supplied by Liz Wright, Archivist, City of Vancouver (2000), 135 "Vancouver Squadron" Royal Canadian Air Cadets web site - http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/9334/history.html, the Pinetree LIne web site - http://www.pinetreeline.org/rds/detail/rds99-1.html & "Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations" by Chris Weicht.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Smithers:Opened in 1941, the station initially was used as a storage & maintenance depot, training station and refueling stop for aircraft. Fighter and coastal patrol aircraft often stopped by in Smithers on the way to the larger airbase at Prince Rupert. Troops from the Canadian Army served as guards at Station Smithers. Aircraft frequently seen at Smithers include Ventura bombers and Hurricane fighters. A Relief Landing Field was constructed near Woodcock, consisting of one runway and buildings. As the war progressed, RCAF Station Smithers became quite a busy air base. Supply aircraft made regular trips to coastal defence stations along the west coast of British Columbia and U.S. Army Air Force planes made occasional stops at Smithers enroute to Alaska. A new 4400 foot asphalt runway was completed by May 1943. The station became No. 17 Staging Unit on 1 April 1945 RCAF Station Smithers closed in August 1945. The aerodrome was taken over by the Town of Smithers in 1946, but saw little use until 1953, when Canadian Airlines began regular passenger service. Today the former station is known as the Smithers Regional Airport and is served by Air Canada, Central Mountain Air and Northern Thunderbird Air, in addition several Charter companies. The airport's single runway was expanded to 7,544 ft in 2008. One WWII era hangar remains today, used today by Central Mountain Air as does an unknown building that used as a generator building by a local construction company. The Royal Canadian Air Cadets occasionally use the airport for gliding training. Air Canada and several other regional airlines and charters also operate from the airport. All that remains of Detachment Woodcock is the crumbling runway. The airfield was maintained as an emergency airfield after the war, but fell into disuse until 1969, when the Terrace Skydiving Club began using it until around 2004, when the club re-located to Beaverley Airport. Source Material: Highway 16 Magazine Web site - http://www.hiway16.com/fp/jim/smiair/smiair2.htm, Smithers Regional Airport web site - http://www.smithersairport.com/index.html, BC North Magazine - http://www.bcnorth.ca/magazine/pages/Jim/airport/airport1.htm & information supplied by Tracy Berry, Smithers Airport (2005).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Terrace: Opened in 1943, the station was part of the coastal defence network, as well as an aircraft ferry station. The RCAF closed the facility in 1945 and the airfield was transferred to the Department of Transport the following year. The aerodrome is now the Northwest Regional Airport, owned and operated by the Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society. The airfield remains, but only two of the original three runways remain in use. The gunnery backstop also remains and is being restored, but the last of the WWII hangars burned down back in the 80s. Over 100, 000 air travelers use the airport each year. Source Material: information provided by the Terrace-Kitimat Airport Society (2004), Northwest Regional Airport web site - http://yxt.ca & information provided by Carman Hendry, Northwest Regional Airport Terrace-Kitimat (2015).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Kamloops:Established at the Kamloops Airport in April 1942 as a refiling station for Air Transport Command flights to the Soviet Union. The runway was expanded to over 5000 feet and new hangars and aprons were constructed. In April 1944, the airport was renamed Fulton Field after Wing Commander John Fulton, DSO, DFC, AFC, a native of Kamloops who was first commanding officer of 419 (City Of Kamloops) Squadron. The RCAF closed the station in August 1945 and turned the airport over to the Department of Transport in August 1945, who in turn leased it the City of Kamloops in 1947. Source material: Kamloops Airport web site: www.kamloopsairport.com/history.htm.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Langley: Opened in 1941 as the Relief Landing Field for No. 18 Elementary Flying Training School at Boundary Bay. The Detachment closed in 1945. The Township of Langley aquired the airport and today, the former RCAF Detachment Langley is the very busy Langley Township Regional Airport. The Langley Airport hosts weekend Royal Canadian Air Cadet gliding training in the spring and fall, which supplements the summer program at 19 Wing Comox, the headquarters for the Regional Cadet Air Operations (Pacific) of the Air Cadet League of Canada. In this way, the tradition of training young airmen & airwomen continues at Langley. Source Material: Langley Regional Airport - www.langleyairport.bc.ca/html/c_07_a.htm, information provided by Keith Stewart (2015), History of Canadian Airports" by T.M. McGrath & the Boundary Bay Airport web site - http://www.czbb.com.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Dog Creek: Opened during WWII as a RCAF supplementary aerodrome, the home of No. 11 Staging Unit. The airfield was in the standard triangle-pattern, with double, side-by-side runways. A radio transmitter station was also set up half a mile from the aerodrome. The aerodrome was taken over by Department of Transport in 1946. Activities at the Dog Creek Airport was drastically reduced when the Williams Lake Airport opened in 1960. Most of the staff and facilities were moved to Williams Lake. The aerodrome was purchased by Circle "S" Cattle Company in 1962 and one runway remained in use by hunters and fishermen. Today the aerodrome is abandoned, and other than the rapidly crumbling runways, nothing remains from the RCAF days. Source material: JF Chalifoux Canadian Military collection - http://jfchalifoux.com/bases_stations_comox_to_goose_bay.htm & Goggle Maps (2010).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Fort St. John: A large construction program was undertaken in 1942 to connect the existing airfields with the Alaska Highway and to provide additional emergency fields and navigation aids between Edmonton and Northway, Alaska. In 1943, American contractors assumed responsibility for the completion of the work at a number of airports, including Fort St. John. The USAF constructed a completely new facility at a location east of the community, which today remains as the location of the North Peace Airport. Fort St. John opened in 1943, as a detachment of RCAF Station Fort Nelson, both part of the North West Staging Route. Fort St. John had all the normal sections and facilities that one would expect at an RCAF base in those years; A good sized hangar, barracks, Wet Canteen, Messes, combined Mess Hall, but no luxury items such as a theatre or swimming pools. The Detachment strength was approximately 320 which included a small group of Army Service Corps types that drove the ration trucks from Dawson Creek (which was the end of the rail line) to the various bases up the highway as far as Whitehorse. The station had an airport as well as Flying Control services. The runways were in an X configuration each runway being 6700’, which was a long runway in those days. RCAF Station Fort St. John remained open at the end of the war, becoming a part of the post-war RCAF. A tour at Fort St. John was the normal for isolation - 1 year single; 2 years accompanied. For married personnel, several PMQs were built at the station and additional accommodation were found in Fort St. John, but this would all be short-lived. RCAF Station Fort St. John closed in the summer of 1950. The airfield now operates as the North Peace Regional Airport. The west taxiway is now used as a drag-strip by Northern Lights Raceway. None of the RCAF or USAF buildings remain at the airport, but a former administration building was moved into town and now sits at the north side of 89th Avenue at 78A Street. A former PMQ is directly across from it, on the south side of 89th Avenue, facing onto 78A Street. Source material: North Peace Airport web site - www.fsjairport.com, information supplied by Major Phil Brown, (Retired) - http://firehouse651.com/anercafedmonton1950.htm, the RCAF Air Traffic control web site - http://67.69.104.76:84/rcaf-atc/other/other/other-41.html, northernlightsraceway.ca & “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Roads Military College: Opened 13 December 1940 as His Majesty's Canadian Ship Royal Roads, on the grounds of Hately Park near Esquimalt, the past residence of James Dunsmuir, former Premier and Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. Royal Roads served as the officer training centre for the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR) - the "Wavy Navy" as it was affectionately known. After World War II ended in 1945, Royal Roads training programs were scaled back, as the RCN no longer needed to train a large number of officers. The future of the college was in doubt until the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) expressed an interest in a training facility for their officer cadets. In 1947, Royal Roads was re-designated as the RCN-RCAF Joint Services College, but this would be short lived. In 1948, admission was opened to Army officer cadets and Royal Roads, again re-named the Canadian Services College Royal Roads, began training officer cadets from all three service branches in a two year college program. Those officers wishing to pursue a university degree eventually moved onto either Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario or le College Militaire Royal (opened in 1952) in St Jean, Quebec. It was not until 1975 that Royal Roads was given royal assent to grant university degrees. Due to Department of National Defence budget reductions in the early 1990', it was decided that only one military college was needed to meet officer-training requirements. As a result, both Royal Roads and le College Militaire Royal closed in 1995. Royal Roads is now a private university, appropriately named Royal Roads University. Source material: DND press release from February 1994 and the Royal Roads University web site - http://www.royalroads.ca.
No. 24 Elementary Flying Training School:Opened on 6 September 1943 near Abbotsford, with a Relief Landing Field near Sumas. No. 24 EFTS had a brief existence as it closed on 15 August 1944.A detachment of No. 5 Operational Training Unit, headquartered at Boundary Bay, took over the aerodrome from 15 Aug 1944 until 31 Oct 1945. RCAF Detachment Sumas was too small for No. 5's requirements and was simply abandoned. After the closure of No. 5 OTU Detachment Abbotsford, the aerodrome became No. 7 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite, later changed to Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. The unit closed 1946 and the RCAF left Abbotsford. In 1949, the abandoned aerodrome became the first racetrack for sport cars in Canada, with racing events hosted by the Sports Car Club of B.C. until 1958, when the racetrack closed. The airport was taken over by Transport Canada in 1958 and re-opened as the Abbotsford Airport. Today it hosts the annual Abbotsford International Airshow held in August. Today, the Abbotsford Airport hosts weekend Royal Canadian Air Cadet gliding training in the spring and fall, which supplements the summer program at 19 Wing Comox, the headquarters for the Regional Cadet Air Operations (Pacific) of the Air Cadet League of Canada. In this way, the tradition of training young airmen & airwomen continues at Abbotsford. All that remains of the former station are three hangars, the fire hall, which has been the home of the Abbotsford Flying Club for over fifty years, the former Equipment Stores building and a pump house for the old water reservoir. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Sumas today. Source Material: Source Material: information supplied by Sharon Jones, Airport Clerk, Abbotsford Airport (2001), information supplied by Keith Stewart (2015) & information supplied by Michael DesMazes, Local Historian (2002 & 2013).The depot remained open after the end of WWII, becoming a part of the post-was RCAF. In 1952, PMQs were built for the married personnel. The depot had total of 44 buildings, including barracks, administration buildings, a central heating plant, messes and a recreation hall. From early on in the depot's existence, the North Thompson River proved to be problematic. As with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps' No. 37 Area Ordnance Depot, north of Kamloops, rising waters would encroach close to the ammunition magazines. Dykes were built in 1945, but by June 1948, the was over-flowing the dykes. In 1955, the RCAF closed No. 15 "X" Depot, transferring the stocks to RCAF Station Namao. The depot was transferred to the Canadian Army, who made use of the facility until closing it out in October 1961.
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 15 "X" Depot: Opened in 1938 as No. 21 (Magazine) Detachment, along the North Thompson River at Rayleigh, north of Kamloops. It was re-designated as No. 15 "X" Depot in 1941.In February 1962, the vacant PMQs at the former No. 15 "X" Depot were under consideration for use by personnel at RCAF Station Kamloops (the Pinetree line station). As recorded in the station diary for 13 Feb 62, "F/L Stewart visited the former RCAF ammunition depot at Rayleigh, ten miles north of Kamloops with a view to obtaining married quarters area for possible use by RCAF Station Kamloops. He found out that the buildings were on a caretaker basis and in poor state of repair. As the buildings were not habitable and renovation costs would be too high, the project was dropped." The property became was sold to the provincial government and became Rayleigh Correctional Centre in 1973. The jail closed in September 2002 after 39 years of operation, when it was replaced by the larger Kamloops Regional Correctional Centre. In 2018, the City of Kamloops stated its support the Tk'emlups Indian Band in its bid to have land in Rayleigh added to their reserve. None of the ammunition magazines remain, and the last administrative and accommodation buildings were demolished in 2019. Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ororak, https://www.kamloopsthisweek.com/local-news/city-of-kamloops-supports-tkemlups-bid-to-add-rayleigh-land-to-reserve-4371275, https://greenmunicipalfund.ca/case-studies/former-rayleigh-correctional-site-environmental-management-and-remediation-plan.
West Coast Flying Boat Stations: Royal Canadian Air Force Station Ucluelet: Established 1 May 1940 as the home of No. 4 Bomber-Reconnaissance Squadron. No. 4 (BR) Squadron re-located to RCAF Station Tofino in August 1944. The station closed on 15 October 1944. Source Material: "Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations" by Chris Weicht.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Alliford Bay: Established 13 May 1940 as the new home of No. 6 Bomber-Reconnaissance Squadron, who re-located from RCAF Station Jericho Beach. RCAF Station Alliford Bay had the distinction of being the most isolated of all the West Coast Flying Boat Stations. In November 1942, the station swapped squadrons with RCAF Station Bella Bella - No. 6 (BR) Squadron departed and No. 9 (BR) Squadron arrived. In November 1943, the station also added No. 7 (BR) Squadron. The station closed 25 July 1945. Very little remains today. Source Material: "Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations" by Chris Weicht and “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Prince Rupert: Originally opened in April 1940, it became the home of No. 7 Bomber-Reconnaissance Squadron December 1941. The station had the usually amenities on an RCAF base, including barracks, messes, two hangars, drill hall, post office, fire hall, firing range, workshops, stores and garages. No. 7 (BR) Squadron re-located to RCAF Station Alliford Bay in April 1944. The role of the station changed to an administrative base, but this was short-lived as it closed in September 1944. The station then became No. 11 Surplus Equipment Holding Unit. The station was declared surplus on 2 July -1946 and transferred to the the Department of Transport the following year. One of the former RCAF hangar still stands on Seal Cove Road and is in use by various charter air companies, both seaplane and helicopters. Two of the ammunition magazines also remain, just down the road. The jetty is now the Canadian Coast Guard's Port Rupert Base. Source Material: "Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations" by Chris Weicht and “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Coal Harbour: Established 10 December 1940 as the home of No. 120 Bomber-Reconnaissance Squadron. The British Columbia Regiment was also posted to Coal Harbour for station defence purposes. No. 120 (BR) Squadron disbanded on 23 April 1944, and shortly afterwards, No. 6 (BR) Squadron re-located to the station from RCAF Station Alliford Bay. The station closed in August 1945. Source Material: "Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations" by Chris Weicht.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Bella Bella: Originally established in 1938 as a temporary detachment of RCAF Station Jericho Beach, reporting on weather conditions. A permanent station was established in December 1941 as the home of No. 9 Bomber-Reconnaissance Squadron. The station closed in August 1944, re-opening briefly in the spring of 1945 as a meteorological section. Source Material: "Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations" by Chris Weicht.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Smith River: Opened April 1945. Closed July 1956.
Jericho Beach Garrison:Originally opened by the Canadian Air Board in 1920 as the Jericho Beach Air Station. The site was turned over the newly formed RCAF in 1925 and re-named RCAF Station Jericho Beach, one of several Flying Boat Stations that would be established on the west coast. Also in 1925, No. 1 Signal Squadron was formed at Jericho Beach and later; No. 4 and No. 6 Bomber Reconnaissance Squadrons would be stationed at Jericho Beach. Jericho Beach also has the distinction of being the first seaplane base in Canada to have a unique element attached to it - a division of homing pigeons. Major Clarence Laclaurin began using homing pigeons aboard flying boats at Jericho in 1920. Shortly after the first hangars were completed, Major Maclauin constructed several pigeon lofts to house and train pigeons for use by aircrews. By 1928, the RCAF had 8 pigeon lofts, the largest located at being located at RCAF Station Ottawa (Rockcliffe). Defence Department cutbacks in the 1930s resulted in the elimination of all pigeon lofts, except the ones at Jericho Beach and RCAF Station Dartmouth. In 1930, RCAF Station Jericho Beach became the RCAF Centre for Seaplane and Flying Boat Training. In 1940, Jericho Beach's role changed and it became the home of No. 3 Service and Repair Depots. The seaplane squadrons moved to RCAF Station Sea Island. No. 3 is also where the RCAF possession of the Hurricane Fighters that arrived from the UK in early 1939. The airplanes were assembled and then barged to Sea Island for flight testing as Jericho had no runway, just a slip for sea planes.No. 3 Operational Training Unit was established at Jericho Beach, with a detachment at Patricia Bay in 1942, and remained until 1945 when it and No. 3 Service and Repair Depot closed. The Army's Pacific Command Headquarters moved to RCAF Station Jericho Beach from their location at Work Point Barracks in Esquimalt in 1942. Jericho Beach officially became a permanent fixture of Canada's west coast military in 1946, and control of the base was transferred to the Army. Although RCAF Station Jericho Beach ceased to exist 1 March 1947, No. 12 Group, North-West Air Command, maintained an RCAF presence. No. 12 Group was re-designated No 12 Air Defence Group in 1951 and No. 5 Air Division in 1955. In later years, the base would become the home of Pacific Command's successor, British Columbia District Headquarters (BC HQ), as well as 442 "Caribou" Squadron, 74 Comm. Group, 744 Comm. Regiment, 12 Medical Company, Canadian Forces Technical Services Detachment, Special Investigative Unit Pacific Detachment and a Recruiting Centre. In 1964, the PMQ houses connected to the now closed RCAF Station Vancouver (Sea Island) became part of the Jericho Beach. The base was downsized to a detachment of CFB Chilliwack in 1968, re-named Canadian Forces Base Chilliwack - Vancouver Detachment. Between 1968 and 1972, the detachment's size was reduced when 72 acres along the waterfront, north of Fourth Avenue, was transferred to the City of Vancouver for recreational use. Most of the former military buildings, including the four hangars that once housed the flying boats were demolished. The PMQ houses formerly belonging to RCAF Station Vancouver were sold and moved onto First Nations Reserves along Georgia Strait. In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, the Jericho Beach Detachment closed in 1996. A portion of the former Detachment was sectioned off and functions as the Jericho Beach Garrison. The former headquarters building was re-named Jericho Armoury and was occupied by 39 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters (formerly BC District HQ), the 12 Medical Company and 744 (Vancouver) Communication Regiment. Plans to re-establish a small military engineering presence on the base were made. While several of the Detachment's vacant buildings were torn down, some do remain: the former Junior Ranks barracks is now a youth hostel, the old base recreation hall is now the Jericho Arts Centre and the former Officers' mess is now the West Point Grey Community Centre. Additionally, some WWII-era buildings also remain. The Canadian Forces Housing Agency still maintains 66 PMQs (now called Residential Housing Units) for military members and will do so until January 2017, when the homes will be sold. The remainder of the former PMQ area is being re-developed into Garrison Crossing, an upscale community with a mix of new homes and renovated PMQs. In 2013, the federal government approved the sale of the 52-acre Jericho Garrison Lands. Few details were made public at the time, although a business venture will be entered with the Musqueam First Nations. The Jericho Armoury closed in 2015, ending almost a century of a military presence on the land. 39 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters, A Squadron, 39 Signal Regiment (formerly 744 Communication Regiment) and 12 Field Ambulance all re-located to The Seaforth Armoury on the southern end of Burrard Bridge. The Seaforth Armoury underwent a major $40-million renovation and expansion project to accommodate the decommissioning of Jericho. The BC Mainland Military Family Resource Centre remained at Jericho Garrison until May 2016, when it too re-located to the Seaforth Armoury. Source material: information supplied by Sergeant Sylvain Tardif, Military Police Section, Area Support Unit Chilliwack (1999), pamphlet printed by Studio High Techniques of Toronto (1998), information supplied by Sherry Eastholm, Manager, Sidney (B.C.) Museum (1999), "Sentinel" Magazine from May 1974, Pgs 12 - 15, "Jericho Beach and the West Coast Flying Boat Stations" by Chris Weicht, Heritage BC web site - http://www.heritagebc.ca/military.htm#Barrett, the personal recollections of Vince Bissonnette, former Commanding Officer CF Detachment Jericho Beach (2004), information provided by Major J.D. Barrett, Jericho Beach Garrison (2004), Garrison Crossing web site - http://www.garrisoncrossing.ca/English/Default.htm, information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (2011), information provided by Tracy Cromwell, Executive Director, Mainland BC Military Family Resource Centre (2015) & "The Garrison" newspaper from March 1995.
Gordon Head Barracks: Originally established prior to WWII as a signals station. When the war broke out, the station was converted into an army training camp, Gordon Head Barracks. Over 50 buildings including barracks, mess halls, administration buildings and a drill hall. In addition to basic military training, an Officers' Training Centre was also established. On 4 June 1940, the Royal Canadian Navy established the Gordon Head Signals Intelligence Station at the camp. A part of the Naval Service Headquarters Operational Intelligence Centre network, the W/T station was one of a network of RCN stations that monitored Japanese wireless transmissions. Part of the camp also served as a rehabilitation centre for casualties and for prisoners of war returning from the Pacific Campaign. After the war ended, the barracks were utilized to as housing for returning soldiers and their families. The camp reverted to an army camp during the Korean War. 1955, the 2nd Battalion, the Queen's Own Rifles (QOR) moved into the camp after returning from Korea, the last Canadian Army unit in Korea, staying until October 1957, when the battalion left for Germany. The property is now occupied by the University of Victoria. A memorial to the Queen's Own Rifles is situated at the Finnery Road entrance, which includes the pillars that marked the camp's main gate. Seven of the former 'huts” remain in use as office space and for storage. John Doerksen, who served with the QOR, recalls “we had a parade downtown in the park, (Beacon Hill) and a lot of people turned out and I turned over the keys. I had locked the gate here (at Gordon Head Camp) and then I turned the keys over to the mayor.” In 1959, the former camp was acquired by the British Columbia government for use as a university. Victoria College (which later became the University of Victoria) opened in 1963. Some of the old buildings and huts were used for administrative and academic functions. Seven of the former army barracks around McKenzie Road remain on campus, recognized as heritage buildings. Currently, five huts are used by UVic departments: Huts "A", formerly the RCN signals intelligence station building, and Hut "B" are used by Uvic Facilities Management Department, Hut "E" houses Can Assist, Hut "Q" is occupied by the Green Research Vehicle Research and Testing Centre and Hut R houses the UVic Industry Partnerships. “Y” Hut on McCoy Road, is now used for storage. In 2010, during the Queen’s Own Rifles’ 150th year anniversary celebrations, a plaque was unveiled at UVic commemorating their time at Gordon Head. Source Material: Historical Places - www.historicplaces.ca/en/rep-reg/image-image.aspx?id=1933#i1, Radio Communication and Signals Intelligence of the Royal Canadian Navy web site - http://jproc.ca/rrp/gordon_head.html, information provided by Tom Brent (2021) and the University of Victoria – www.uvic.ca/anniversary/history/stories/icons/index.php.
Camp Terrace: Opened in 1942 as an Army training centre. The military population quickly ballooned up to 3,500, almost nine times the size of the Town of Terrace. The Camp closed in 1945 and the property taken over by the town of Terrace, and is now a residential community. Some of the former camp buildings remain. The Officers' Mess is now the Royal Canadian Legion branch. An old H-Hut is a part of Twin River Estates. Source Material: Heritage BC web site - http://www.heritagebc.ca/military.htm.
Special Training School Commando Bay: Opened 24 March 1944 by the British Security Coordination specifically to train Chinese Canadians as secret operatives for Operation Oblivion, a part of the war in the Pacific. The camp, located on Commando Bay in the Okanagan Valley, approximately ten miles north of Penticton, trained students in wireless operation, small arms, demolition, unarmed combat, sabotage, survival techniques, propaganda and other skills of a covert operative. The camp had a short life, as it closed in September 1944. As it was a tented camp, nothing remains today. The former camp is now part of the Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park. Source Material: https://heritagebc.ca/chinese-canadian-location/commando-bay.
Camp Alberni: Opened during WWII. In November 1946, the former camp was turned over to the City of Alberni. Several former barracks buildings were sectioned off and used as housing for returning veterans and their young families. This area is now known as the Glenwood area. Source Material: the City of Alberni web site - http://www.city.port-alberni.bc.ca/fire/History/pa-pream.htm.
Camp Prince George: Opened in 1942, the camp once housed around 6000 soldiers. Located at the Prince George Exhibition Grounds, the camp featured the usual amenities of an army camp, including barracks, dining halls, administration and medical buildings, and messes and canteens for leisure and entertainment. There were rifle ranges, mortar ranges and artillery ranges for training soldiers. Troops from the 16th Infantry Brigade of the 8th Canadian Division were stationed at the camp from March 1942 - October 1943. The camp closed in 1946 and most of the buildings were either demolished or moved to new locations. Some remain in their original locations, such as the old drill hall, which is now an athletic centre. The former transportation building on 15th Avenue, was used by the British Columbia Forestry Service from the late 1940s to 1963. It was later used by the Community Arts Council, but is now vacant. Nechako Bottle Depot occupies another former camp building, moved to 1922 First Avenue. Source material: http://northernstar-online.com/blog/old-prince-george-army-base-by-mel-mcconaghy and information provided Steve Brown (2014), Heritage BC web site - http://www.heritagebc.ca/military.htm.%MCEPASTEBIN%
No. 8 Area Ordnance Depot Kamloops Detachment/No. 37 Ordnance Ammunition Depot:Opened in 1943 by the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps as No. 3 Camp Ordnance Depot. The depot was located along the South Thompson River, on Owl Road, in Kamloops. The following year, it was re-named No. 6 Advanced Ordnance Depot, then No. 7 Ordnance Ammunition Depot ion October 1946, and finally No. 37 in November 1947. Like the RCAF's No. 15 "X" Depot, No. 37 also suffered from occasional flooding due to its proximity to the South Thompson River. As early as 1945, the Army began looking for a new location for an ordnance depot. Along with alternate locations, the Army even looked at having an underground storage facility, but this plan was eventually abandoned and upgrades were made to the ammunition magazines to keep them protected from the encroaching water. No. 37 was disbanded as a unit in October 1961, and the depot became a sub-unit of No 8 Area Ordnance Depot until 1964, when the depot was close and the property sold. Today, the property is a landfill for the City of Kamloops. Two of the former RCOC buildings remain, but none of the ammunition magazines.
Muskwa Garrison:Opened in Fort Nelson, a part of the Alaska Highway project.
No. 110 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre: See Camp Vernon Army Cadet Summer Training Centre in "Current Canadian Military Bases".
His Majesty's Canadian Ship Chatham:
Ferrer Point Radar Station: Ferrer Point was built in 1941 as one of a series of radar stations established on the west coast of Canada. Others included Langara Island, Marble Island and Cape St. James, in the Queen Charlottes; Spider Island, between Vancouver Island and the Charlottes; Cape Scott, Amphitrite Point, Tofino and Patricia Bay, on Vancouver Island, and Sea Island on the mainland. Requirements for site location included that it must be high above the surface of the sea and have an unobstructed "view" of all possible approaches of attack. Sources: http://bearboat.net/Kayak/FerrerPoint.html, http://www.c-and-e-museum.org/Pinetreeline/rds/rds11-43.html.
Naval Ammunition Depot Kamloops: Opened in 1944, the bunkers served as a Naval Ammunition Depot to store bulk explosives for the western command of the Royal Canadian Navy and stocks required for the British Fleet, to meet operational and practice requirements for the Pacific Fleet. The depot originally included twenty-two bunkers, also known as magazines, administration buildings, mess halls, and officers’ living quarters. Different magazines stored different materials such as filled shells, cartridges and small arms ammunition. The magazines were built along a linear access road. A Canadian Pacific Railway rail spur was constructed for the unloading of the ammunition, which was then transported up the hill by means of a mile-long aerial tramway. Naval Ammunition Depot Kamloops had a brief 20-year life, as it was declared surplus and closed on 31 March 1964. Their area of responsibility was taken over by Naval Ammunition Depot Rocky Point in Esquimalt. Some of the munitions were also sent east to Naval Ammunition Depot Renous in New Brunswick. The former Naval Ammunition Depot Kamloops is now owned by the city. Several of the old magazines remain, located along Bunker Road at McGill Road, and were officially dedicated as National Historic sites in 2007. Source Material: City of Kamloops Planning Department & "End of an era for Rayleigh," Kamloops This Week, 22 September 2002, - www.kamloopsthisweek.com/end-of-an-era-for-rayleigh. - MANITOBAFort Osborne Barracks: Originally established as a wooden fort on what is now the west lawn of the Provincial Legislature in Winnipeg in 1873, the barracks was later named after Colonel William Osborne Smith, the first commander of the Military District No. 10 in Winnipeg. In 1917, the former campus of Manitoba Agricultural College was converted into a military convalescent hospital and two years later, the entire campus was taken over by the military and Fort Osborne Barracks re-located to this site, becoming the primary army base in Manitoba. The Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and 2 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery were stationed at the barracks. A second site was established just to the south on a 90-hectare parcel of land at the intersection of Kenaston Boulevard and Grant Avenue during World War II. This new site became known as Fort Osborne Barracks South. As a result of the Unification, Fort Osborne Barracks closed in 1968 and all operations were moved to Fort Osborne Barracks South, which merged with RCAF Station Winnipeg to form CFB Winnipeg. The property was returned to the provincial government, who utilized several of the buildings for office space. The main building became a juvenile court facility. The campus became a provincially-designated historic site in 1995. The property was sold in 1997 and redeveloped as the Asper Jewish Community Campus of Winnipeg. Roblin Hall was demolished in the early 1980s.Sources: http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/agriculturalcollege.shtml, http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Osborne_Barracks.
Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg (South) - Kapyong Barracks:Opened during World War II as Fort Osborne Barracks South, just south of the of the original Fort Osborne Barracks, this was the home of The Lord Strathcona's Horse, the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (2 PPCLI) and 2 Royal Canadian Horse Artillery. The barracks was originally situated on a 90-hectare parcel of land at the intersection of Kenaston Boulevard and Grant Avenue, consisting of over 50 buildings and warehouses. After World War II, the newly formed Prairie Command Headquarters took up residence on site and by 1957, Fort Osborne's role was to provide support services for Army units under control of Prairie Command. Around 1950, approximately 350 permanent married quarters (PMQs) were constructed for families posted to the base, some along Keanaston Boulevard and some between Fort Osborne (North), from Tuxedo Avenue and Grant Avenue. In 1967, some of Fort Osborne's barracks were utilized by the Pan American Games for housing athletes. As a result of the Unification in 1968, the original Fort Osborne Barracks closed and Fort Osborne Barracks South merged with RCAF Station Winnipeg to form CFB Winnipeg. The barracks were officially designated as CFB Winnipeg (South), although the name Fort Osborne Barracks remained in use. On 17 May 1973, Fort Osborne Barracks was re-named Kapyong Barracks, after the battle of Kapyong, fought by 2 PPCLI in Korea in 1951. The 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment was posted to Kapyong from 1984 - 1988 while 2 PPCLI was posted to Germany. The regiment returned to Kapyong after this tour. As a result of massive cutbacks to the Department of National Defence, CFB Winnipeg's Kapyong Barracks began downsizing in the mid 1990s, leaving the base with only 65 hectares. Some of the PMQs were sold to civilians at that time. The downsizing was only the beginning of the end for Kapyong Barracks, however. The withdrawal of the German Army and the closure of the German Army Training Establishment at nearby CFB Shilo in 2000 lead to the need to consolidate Defence assets in Manitoba. The Department of National Defence decided that it no longer needed to maintain two Army bases in such close proximity. As Kapyong Barracks had aging infrastructure, was small in size and was now completely surrounded by development compared to CFB Shilo's newer facilities, remote location and larger size, it became obvious which base should close. Kapyong Barracks closed in June 2004 and 2 PPCLI re-located to new facilities at CFB Shilo. A formal march-out ceremony and parade was held at the end of June 2004 to commemorate the men and women who served at Kapyong Barracks. Not long after the closure, the abandoned Kapyong Barracks found a new use as an urban "close quarter combat" training area for Winnipeg area militia troops. Of the 350-plus PMQs, about two-thirds are still rented to soldiers and their families. Local politicians have been trying to convince Ottawa to rent out some of the vacant homes at Kapyong to low-income families or recent immigrants. However, the process of disposal at Kapyong has been paralyzed by red tape and a First Nations land claim. The former base was to have been turned over to the Canada Lands Corporation for disposal, but in 2007, the Treaty 1 bands asked federal court to block the transfer of Kapyong to the Canada Lands Company, which was to organize its sale. By 2012, the fate of Kapyong was still in legal limbo, with the courts having ruled in favour of the First Nations complainants. There are obvious signs of deterioration on the 90-hectare site, including mold and peeling lead paint inside some the vacant buildings, water in the basement of at least one building and hundreds of squirrel holes outside. As of January 2013, taxpayers had spent nearly $15 million over the last eight years maintaining the vacant Kapyong Barracks site while the federal government fights a land claim for the site by Treaty One First Nations. In January 2014, the federal government filed an appeal in court to prevent a handful of First Nations groups from taking over all or part of the vacant Kapyong Barracks land. In 2015, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that his administration would no longer pursue an appeal relating to the Kapyong lands. By November 2016, the federal government announced plans to demolish the vacant Kapyong buildings, along with the roadways, parking lots, and hydro, gas and water infrastructure, citing the $15-$20 million in costs to maintain the property since 2004. Lyse Langevin, director general of infrastructure and environment for the Department of National Defence, advised that the buildings had deteriorated to such a degree that demolition was the only practical solution, something it had been prevented from doing while there was ongoing litigation. DND had no intention of using the buildings again. Demolition of the buildings began in 2017, along with around 20 PMQs to accommodate the widening of Kenaston Blvd. Around 300 other PMQs remain occupied by military families, with some undergoing renovations. In May 2017, Dennis Meeches, Chief of the Long Plain First Nation, announced some of the plans for the land once its returned to the Treaty One nations, plans which include a condo complex, single dwelling homes, office space, big box stores, a mall, a casino and a war museum to honour Kapyong's military history. In the spring of 2020, the Department of National Defence began demolition of all buildings and infrastructure. Nothing remains of Kapyong Barracks today. Source material: "The Maple Leaf" Vol 4, Nov 15 2001, DND press release from May 1989, "Sentinel" Magazine from June 1973, pg. 27, Legion Magazine January - February 2005, "The Maple Leaf" Vol 4, April 26, 2006, the Winnipeg Sun: http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/manitoba/2010/06/21/14470161.html, Te Winnipeg Free Press from 2 April 2009, CBC web site - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2012/09/17/mb-kapyong-barracks-tour.html, Winnipeg Free Press, 10 January 2013 - http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/Millions-spent-maintaining-empty-Kapyong-Barracks-during-land-claim-dispute-186402951.html, Battle over Kapyong Barracks back in court, Toronto Sun, 13 January 2014, CBC website - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/kapyong-barracks-feds-government-tear-down-1.3854930, http://globalnews.ca/news/3472609/development-of-winnipegs-kapyong-barracks-inching-ahead, https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/kapyong-coloured-memories-441753453.html, http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Osborne_Barracks, https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/how-you-can-weigh-in-on-the-future-of-the-kapyong-barracks-redevelopment-1.494540 & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
Canadian Forces Base Rivers: Long-time residents of the Rivers area will probably remember a time when the air buzzed with the sound of RCAF aircraft from an airfield south-west of Rivers. Early in the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Air Force entered into an ambitious project: the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, an astounding program that saw 130,000 personnel from Great Britain and the Commonwealth graduate from 107 training schools across Canada. One such station would be RCAF Station Rivers, situated 250 kilometres west of Winnipeg. Originally opened in November 1940 as the new home of No. 1 Air Navigation School (No. 1 ANS), originally formed at RCAF Station Trenton. One reason for locating the school near Rivers was due to the generally cloudless skies, making it ideal for astronavigation training. The school had all the amenities of an RCAF training school including hangars, a drill hall, administration buildings, a medical inspection room, mess halls, classrooms and H-hut barracks, although unlike most RCAF stations, some were 2 story H-huts. The airfield consisted of 3 runways in a triangle pattern. By February of 1941, the staff complement consisted of 56 officers and 424 airmen. The following month, the first of the Commonwealth trainees arrived in Rivers from Australia and New Zealand. In May 1942, No. 2 ANS re-located to Rivers from Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick and merged with No. 1 ANS to become No. 1 Central Navigation School (No. 1 CNS). As the war progressed, Rivers also became a training centre for Army pilots and parachutists, as well as flying instructors from the Army, RCN and RCAF. Additionally, the Air Support Signal Unit, Royal Canadian Corps of Signals and the Air Dispatch School were stationed at Rivers. By the time No. 1 CNS disbanded in August 1945, the combined total of navigators trained by both No. 1 ANS and No. 1 CNS had reached 11, 406 navigators. RCAF Station Rivers would remain open after the war, becoming part of the post-war RCAF. Over the preceding years, several new buildings would spring up at Rivers, including a central heating plant, a new arch hangar, Permanent Married Quarters and a school for dependent children. Several new units began operations at Rivers in 1947, including the Parachute School. The Canadian Parachute Training Centre, originally established at Camp Shilo in 1942, re-located to RCAF Station Rivers and merged with the Joint Air School, which had been founded at Rivers in 1947, becoming the Airborne School and making Rivers Canada's main para-training centre. The school was renamed the Canadian Joint Air Training Centre in April 1949. Also in 1947, the Army Aviation Tactical Training School was established at Rivers to provide pilot training to Army fixed-wing aviators, as well as helicopter instructor training for the Army, RCN and RCAF. No. 6 Signal Regiment, Royal Canadian Corps of Signal and the Air Support Signal Unit (later down scaled to a Troop) provided communications duties at Rivers. 444 Air Observation Post Squadron was formed on 1 October 1947, but had a brief stay at the station as it disbanded 1 April 1949. In 1948, the Joint Air Photo Interpretation School opened at RCAF Station Rivers. The school closed in 1960 and its personnel merged with the Air Photo Interpretation Centre at RCAF Station Rockcliffe, who became fully responsible for training photo-interpreters. The Basic Helicopter Training Unit (BHTU) was established at RCAF Station Rivers in August 1953, initially to train RCAF pilots, but after the closure of the helicopter school at RCN Air Station HMCS Shearwater, the Royal Canadian Navy began sending trainees to Rivers as well. In 1956, with the Royal Canadian Navy having recently acquired its first fighter jet, the F2H3 Banshee, pilots from VF 870 and VF 871 Squadrons were also sent to Rivers for training. The RCN training program at Rivers continued until the disbandment of VF 871 Squadron in 1962. Army helicopter pilots also began training at Rivers when the Army Aviation Tactical Training School (AATTS) was formed in the summer of 1961. The first helicopter employed by military forces in Canada was the RCAF's Sikorsky H-5 (S-51) in 1947. RCAF Station Rivers used the H-5 as a rotary wing trainer, but it was also used by the Royal Canadian Air Force in search and rescue roles. In December 1963, No. 1 Transport Helicopter Platoon (No. 1 THP), a unit of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, was established at RCAF Station Rivers, along with their fleet of CH-113A Voyageur transport helicopters and one CH-112 Nomad. The platoon's function was to support the Army on field exercises. No. 1 THP moved to RCAF Station St. Hubert in 1966, but also established a detachment at RCAF Station Namao. In 1968, No. 1 THP was re-designated 450 (Heavy Transport) Helicopter Squadron. 408 Tactical Fighter Squadron, whose primary functions were reconnaissance and weapons delivery, moved to Rivers in 1964 from RCAF Station Rockcliffe, and remained until disbanded on 1 April 1970. Rivers was also the home of the Airborne Section, Trials and Evaluation Establishment from 1965 to 1970. As a result of the Unification, RCAF Station Rivers was re-named CFB Rivers. The main ramps and runways 08-26 and 13-31 were resurfaced during 1969 and 1970. However, with the recent introduction of the Canadair CF-5 Freedom Fighter into service, the runways at Rivers proved to be too short to handle the new jet. precipitating the eventual demise of the base itself. With the Unification of the Forces in the mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Numerous bases across the country were downsized to detachments of other bases or declared surplus to defence needs and closed. CFB Rivers fell into the latter category and was slated for closure. All remaining training schools also wound down their operations at Rivers and either disbanded or re-located to other bases across Canada. No. 4 Fighter Training School (formerly the BHTU and the AATTS) re-located to CFB Portage La Prairie in July 1970 and the Canadian Parachute Training Centre moved to CFB Edmonton, home to the Canadian Airborne Regiment. CFB Rivers closed in September 1971, ending almost 3 decades of service to the Royal Canadian Air Force. In September 1972, the land was turned over to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development and the site became the home of the Oo-Za-We-Kwun Centre, a vocational training centre for Manitoba Indians that trained over 10, 000 people. There were four factories on the property: Edson Industries, a truck camper and trailer manufacturer, Arnold Manufacturing, who produced fiberglass furniture for restaurants, Sekine Cycle, a Japanese bicycle manufacturer and Tim-Br-Fab Industries, a producer of prefabricated homes and the only company still in business today. These industries were required to hire at least 25% First Nations employees. The Oo-Za-We-Kwun Centre closed in 1980, having trained over 10, 000 students. Sekine Cycle went into receivership in August 1981, officially shutting down the following January. Although the RCAF had departed, the Rivers Gliding School, a summer Air Cadet glider camp, was established in 1974, continuing the tradition of training young airmen and airwomen at Rivers. The Air Force would formally make a return to Rivers in 1982 with the establishment of the Canadian Forces Air Reserve National Training School, a summer training centre. Courses conducted included General Military Training 1 & 2, Admin Clerk TQ3, Common Aircraft Servicing, Common Mechanical Training, Common Basic Electrical Training for aircraft trades as well as Base Defence Force/ Aid to the Civil Power Training. The Air Reserve school was run in the old hospital building, the two story barracks and h-huts adjacent to the hospital and utilizing several ” officers' row” PMQs. The school Commandant in 1982 was Captain Al Palmer and the SWO was WO Ron Pruden. In 1983, the Commandant was Major Glen Emerson and the Station Warrant Officer was Master Warrant Officer Ron Pruden. The original intent with the enlarged training program in 1983 was to reopen a large part of the base for the Youth Temporary Employment Program, but this never came to fruition. After only 2 summers, the Air Reserve National Training School closed in August 1983, followed in 1984 by the Rivers Gliding School, which re-located to CFB Gimli, officially ending a 4 decade-long Air Force presence at Rivers. The land was put up for sale by the Federal Government. In the interim, the former station was made available for various community uses. Larry and Bonnie Friesen purchased the land and opened Hangar Farms Ltd. in 1988, a hog-farm operation, later changing the name to Aero Farms. The hangars and some of the barracks were used for livestock and equipment storage. As the years went by, many of the buildings and PMQs were either demolished or left to deteriorate and crumble. Two of the WWII-era hangars were destroyed by fire. In 2010, Aero Farms owner Larry Friesen died when he about 21 feet to his death while working on a roof of one of the hangars. The hog operation ceased in 2011 and the site sat vacant, with the remaining buildings rapidly crumbling until 2013, when 2 companies bought the property. Springland Manufacturing, a manufacturer of grain handling equipment and commercial storage bins, took over the buildings and the runways. The rest of the land is farmland. Only small parts of the old air station remain today including old supply buildings, one of the World War-era hangars, the recreation centre, the pool, the gunnery backstop, power plant, fire hall, 3 of the two-story H-huts, ruins of the messes, five permanent married quarters (PMQs) and assorted utility buildings. The old firehall has been restored and now serves as the company and engineering offices for Springland Manufacturing. The recreation centre was also restored and used for fertilizer storage, as is hangar #5, one of 2 remaining WWII-era hangars 450 Helicopter Squadron. Hangar #6, the "Arch" hangar, formerly occupied by 408 Tactical Fighter Squadron, was also cleaned up and restored for future use. The WWII hangar with the control tower was destroyed by a fire in 2014. The entire airfield remains although a reservoir sits across one of the runways. Although the runways were listed as abandoned many years ago, they continued to see occasional use by airplanes for aerial spraying and firefighting flights operated by Springland. The airfield had previously been used by Pacific Western Airlines in 1982 while the runways at the Brandon Airport were being resurfaced. Baseline Dragway also uses one of the old runways as a dragstrip. Springland Manufacturing will be expanding their operations at the Rivers site over the next few years and are re-locating many assets from their other site at the Lepp family farm north of Rivers, where the company was founded in 1985. In the early 1990s, the RCAF returned to Rivers with the help of some movie magic in the film "For The Moment", a film about an Australian pilot who comes to Manitoba to train under the BCATP, starring Russell Crowe. While most of the movie was filmed at the Brandon Airport, scenes of the actors standing outside their barracks were filmed at Rivers, requiring a fresh coat of green paint to be applied to the old buildings. Also of note in the history of Rivers is the story of the “Rivers Bell”. The "Rivers Bell" was a gift from the Royal Canadian Navy to the Canadian Joint Air Training Centre at RCAF Station Rivers in November 1951 and bell hung in the Officers’ Mess. The bell was stolen in 1955 by visiting personnel from RCAF Station Moose Jaw, who transported it back to their mess back in Moose Jaw. The Base Commander at Rivers, Group Captain Jack Sproule, was none too happy about this turn of events. To rectify the situation G/C Sproule led a “rescue party”, to retrieve their bell when visiting Moose Jaw one weekend in September 1955. The orderly officer and mess staff were tied up and a hack saw was used to cut the bell loose from the steel beam to which the bell had been attached. It was then spirited out of the mess to the nearest perimeter fence, where it was tossed to accomplices sitting in a waiting getaway car. When re-installed in the Officers' Mess at Rivers, the bell secured so well, that when RCAF Station Rivers closed in 1971, LCOL Bill Svab, who designed the "security measures", had to be consulted on its removal. The "Rivers Bell" was then re-located to the Officers’ Mess at RCAF Station Portage La Prairie, where it remains today. Another link to River's RCAF past is the Captain Kenneth Young Memorial Award, an annual award that recognizes the most proficient rural Royal Canadian Air Cadet squadron in Manitoba. The award is named after Captain Kenneth Young, a RCAF pilot who was killed in a helicopter crash at CFB Rivers (now closed) on 10 June 1970. A former air cadet himself, Captain Young was the Senior Air Cadet Liaison Officer at CFB Rivers at the time of his death. Source Material: Sentinel Magazine March 1966, pg 1, March 1967, pg 1, April 1967, pg 14, April 1968, January 1967, April 1970, pg **, 1972 & April 1973, pg 28, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum site - www.airmuseum.ca, the personal recollections of Colonel J.C. Forsyth, OBStJ, CD, Honorary Colonel, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry - 1993-2007 (1999) & Electronics Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org, the Air Cadets Glider Training web site - http://www.mts.net/~rgspra/hist.html, information supplied by Michael Turnbull, Chief Constable, Rivers Police (1999), 450 Squadron web page - www.totavia.com/terry/cyow/uplands/450sqn.htm, The Town of Rivers web sites - http://www.techplus.com/rivers, http://www.townofrivers.mb.ca/history.htm#history, History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm & Canada's Air Force At War & Peace Vol 3- by Larry Mulberry, information supplied by Larry Friesen, Owner, Hanger Farms Inc. (2003), Canadian Forces Air Navigation School history - www.cfans.com, the CF Intelligence Branch web site - http://www.intbranch.org/inthist.htm, The Brandon Sun - http://www.brandonsun.com, information provide by David Hill, FireThorne Consulting (2013), Bill Hillman web site - http://www.hillmanweb.com/rivers, information provided by Robert Frederick, Sales Manager, Springland Manufacturing (2016), information provided by MCpl Chuck Ross (2016), information provided by Greg Sigurdson, Contact Editor and Archivist, The Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum (2016), "The History of Air Navigation Training in Canada - http://www.riversdalyheritage.ca, "Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1939-1945" by F.J. Hatch & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
Canadian Forces Base Gimli: Established on 6 September 1943 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 18 Service Flying Training School, with a relief landing field at Netley. In addition, No. 1 Winter Experimental Training Flight re-located to Gimli from Kapuskasing, Ontario The School closed on 30 May 1945 and a heavy bomber school, No. 1 Pilot Conversion School briefly took its place, after which the station was put on a care and maintenance basis. RCAF Detachment Netley was abandoned at the end of the war. The RCAF made a return in the summer of 1950, when Gimli was used as a summer training camp for the RCAF Auxiliary (reserve), setting the stage for more was to come. Post-war expansion of the RCAF resulted in several WWII aerodromes being re-activated. RCAF Station Gimli re-opened on 1 December 1950 as a jet fighter training station. Several schools were formed, including No. 1 Flying Training School, as a part of the NATO Canada training program. In June 1953, No. 2 Flying Training School transferred to the newly re-opened RCAF Station Moose Jaw and No. 3 Advanced Flying School was established at Gimli. In 1964, No. 3 AFS was re-designated No. 1 Flying Training School. A school was opened in 1951 for dependents of station personnel. Named Goulding School, in honour of Group Captain Achesn Gosford Goulding, the eight room school was run by the federal government for the first year and then by the provincial government until closing along with the base in 1971.No. 1 Advanced Flying Training Unit, with their T-33 jet trainers moved to RCAF Station Gimli from Moose Jaw in December 1969.
As a result of the Unification, the Station was re-named CFB Gimli, but this would be short-lived. CFB Gimli closed on 31 August 1971 and the Advanced Flying Training Unit moved to CFB Cold Lake. In 1972, the Gimli Industrial Business Park was established at the former Air Base. Most of the station's buildings have been torn down, but some do remain, including all the hangers. Although no longer military establishment, the military did not completely abandoned Gimli. 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron based out of 17 Wing Winnipeg use the Gimli Airport when they conduct training exercises over Lake Winnipeg. As well, the Regional Gliding School (Prairie) (RGS), one of five Region Gliding Schools across Canada, carries on the tradition of training airmen and women of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets at Gimli. Originally established in 1984, the Gliding School remained at Gimli until moving to CFB Penhold in 1987. The school returned to Gimli in 1998 and remains here today. A small permanent staff remains at the site year round, but during the summer months, the military population rises to approximately 200 staff and students. All ground training is done in 1 Hanger, which is also the year-round home of the Region Air Operations Maintenance Facility. The current student barracks is the former CN Rail building. As well, Gimli Industrial Business Park hosted The National Search and Rescue Competition, SAREX 97 in September 1997. Competing at the annual skills competition were the Canadian Forces' five SAR units: Winnipeg's 435 Squadron, Trenton's 424 Squadron, Greenwood's 413 Squadron, Comox's 442 Squadron and Gander's 103 Squadron. Only runway 14-32, the taxiway and a small part of another runway remain of the original triangle pattern airfield. A new 7000 foott runway was built parallel to 14-32, but it is closed to aircraft now; instead it used as a racetrack today. CN Railway had a training centre at Gimli Industrial Park from 1977 until 1995. Current tenants of the Gimli Industrial Business Park include, the Government of Manitoba's water bomber squadron, Manitoba Hydro, the Winnipeg Skydiving Club and two pilot training schools, The Interlake International Pilot Training Centre and Interlake Aviation, who utilize the airfield. As well, the Gimli Motorsport Park conducts motorcycle and sport car racing on runway 32L, which is now closed to aircraft. The Private Married Quarters, now called the Aspen Park Condominiums, also remain but are all privately owned. Many have been refurbished with new siding. However, not everything has been maintained as it one was. The golf course was closed and is now overgrown. The Recreation Centre is now a service centre for municipal / provincial trucks, tearing out the interior features such as the gym floor, bowling alley, swimming pool and canteen. Only runway 15R/33R remains open to aircraft. Runway 15L/33L was closed in 1971, and has been used as a dragstrip since 1972 by Gimli Motorsports Park. The former RCAF Station Gimli has also become somewhat of a movie studio, with two TV movies having been filmed at the site - "My Life As a Dog" and "The Avro Arrow Story". Gimli was even made front-page news in 1983 when an Air Canada Boeing 767 ran out of fuel near Red Lake, in northern Ontario. The pilot, Captain Robert (Bob) Pearson, an experienced glider pilot, glided the airplane over 150 miles and landed safely at Gimli. Pearson had originally hoped to land at Winnipeg International Airport, but when it became apparent that they wouldn't make it that far given their rate of decent, First Officer Maurice Quintal, a former RCAF officer, suggested they attempt a landing at Gimli. Quintal had served at Gimli and knew the two parallel runways were long enough to accommodate their airplane. What he didn't know however, was that Runway 15L/33L was closed and now used by Gimli Motorsports Park. This is the runway Pearson chose to land on, realizing too late to switch to the other runway. Pearson landed the airplane with only minor damage sustained. None of the 69 passengers and crew aboard the "Gimli Glider", nor people on the ground sustained any serious injuries. Source Material: Gimli Industrial Business Park web site - http://www.rmgimli.com/ipark/index2.htm, "Sentinel" Magazine from October 1968 & November 1969, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan site - http://www.ualberta.ca/EDMONTON/CONTRIB/airmuseum/aambcatp.html & www.airmuseum.ca the 15 Wing Moose Jaw web site - www.15wing.msjw.dnd.ca/15his.htm, the RCAF Station Moose Jaw site - http://www.rcaf.com/stations/moosejaw.shtml, Town of Gimli Community Profile - http://www.communityprofiles.mb.ca/cgi-bin/csd/index.cgi?id=4618033, History of 2CFFTS web site - http://www.moosejaw.dnd.ca/2his_e.asp#to_top, pamphlet printed by Studio High Techniques of Toronto (1998), "Portage La Prairie" Fifty Years of Flying Training: 1940-1990" by Major G.E.I. Greavette, CD, DND press release from September 30, 1997, Sea, Army & Air Cadets web page - http://www.cadets.dnd.ca/intro_e.asp, information provided by the Gimli Gliding Centre (2003), the Winnipeg Sport Car Club web site - http://www.wscc.mb.ca/roadracing.php, information provided by Wayne Paton (2015) & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Netley: Opened in 1942 as a Relief Landing Field for No. 18 Service Flying Training School at Gimli. Netley had the standard triangle-pattern airfield. RCAF Detachment Netley closed in 1945. The aerodrome was briefly used by Manitoba’s first gliding association, founded by the Manitoba branch of the Air Cadet League of Canada, with cadet training beginning on 5 May 1946 and continuing for the rest of the year. The abandoned runways were used as a race track for sports cars from 1954-1958. For a period, up to the late 1980s, Netley was still being actively used by ultra-lights and crop-dusters. The property is now used for farming. All that remains of RCAF Detachment Netley today are the crumbling runways. A hangar-type stands where the WWII-era hangar would have stood, used to store farm equipment, but it doesn't appear to be of wartime vintage. Source Material: "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, "Canada Flight Supplement 1999", information provided by the Gimli Gliding Centre (2003), COPA web site - www.copanational.org/PlacesToFly/airport_view.php?pr_id=4&ap_id=323 & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station MacDonald: Opened on 10 March 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 3 Bombing & Gunnery School. The station featured the usual amenities of a RCAF base, including H-hut barracks, mess halls, a recreation centre, a 15 bed MIR hospital and a base theatre. A notable graduate of No. 3 B & GS is Pilot Officer Andrew Mynarski, VC, who graduated in December 1942. P/O Mynarski would go on to win the Victoria Cross in June 1944, at the cost of his life. The school and the station closed on 17 February 1945, due to a reduced need for pilot trainees in the RCAF. In July 1945, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry formed a new battalion, the 1st Canadian Infantry Battalion of the 2nd Canadian Infantry Regiment, for service in the Pacific theatre. The battalion was stationed at MacDonald, designated as Camp MacDonald, for training. As the war ended the following month, the battalion never deployed and on 2 September, the unit was re-designated 2nd Battalion, PPCLI. In January 1946, 2 PPCLI re-located to Camp Shilo to join the rest of the post-war regiment. The post-war expansion of the RCAF resulted in several WWII aerodromes being re-activated. Royal Canadian Air Force Station MacDonald re-opened in 1951 as the home of No. 2 Advanced Flying School and No. 1 Air Gunnery School, established to train RCAF and NATO pilots. PMQs featuring 190 units were constructed in 1951, along with a supermarket and a school for the station children. They were simple two unit metal affairs with no basements. As these were small in number, a system of points were used to access them. By 1952, the AFS was phased out and No. 2 AFS re-located to RCAF Station Portage La Prairie in October 1952. By 1954, the gunnery school was re-designated as No. 1 Pilot Weapons School until 1954. The school utilized the North American Harvard Mk.II and North American P-51 Mustang aircraft for air-to-air gunnery and air-to-ground rocket training. Also in 1954, the Harvards had been replaced by T-33 Silver Star jet fighter. In 1956, the pilot weapons school was closed and replaced with a No. 4 Advanced Flying School. Married quarters were added for station personnel and their families. RCAF Station MacDonald closed on 31 May 1959 and storage depot for Air Maintenance Command was established at the former station. RCAF Station Portage La Prairie assumed responsibility for the Detachment, which continued operating until 30 November 1963 when the Depot closed. The property was turned over to the Crown Assets Disposal Corporation who sold the property for farming. From 1965-1970, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. Since 1972, the former aerodrome has been "Airport Colony Farms", a grain and livestock farm run by a "Hutterite Colony", a German speaking Christian religious sect. Today, some of the PMQs remain, as do assorted buildings like the old recreation building, the maintenance building, transportation buildings, gunnery backstop and one of the hangars, although it is scheduled to be torn down sometime in the future. Most of the airfield was ploughed under for crops long ago, but a portion of the taxi-way and the outline of a small section of the lower runway remains visible. Source Material: "Sentinel" Magazine June 1986. Pg 6-9, the personal recollections of Harry Palmer, Photographer (2001), "Portage La Prairie - Fifty Years of Flying Training: 1940-1990" by Major Gordon Greavette, CD, information supplied by Airport Colony Farms, Ltd (2003), Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
Canadian Forces Station Churchill: Originally established in 1 August 1943 south of the town of Churchill as Naval Radio Station Churchill, a radio station in Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization. A second auxiliary location for was established for the station, but it sat unused as it was very difficult to access the site in winter. The station closed at the end of WWII, but re-opened not long afterwards, continuing operations at the National Harbours Board warehouse as a joint project of Communications Research (a civilian organization) and the Navy to develop ionospheric data for the propagation of radio signals at northern latitudes. By 1947, Churchill was a tender of HMCS Bytown in Ottawa. On 15 June 1948, DND arranged for a land transfer with the National Harbours Board for two parcels of land on the East Peninsula. In December 1950, Churchill became a fleet establishment and the name was changed to HMC Naval Radio Station Churchill, but this was again changed in July 1956 to HMCS Churchill. Due to its remote nature, the station had its own airfield, with planes constantly coming and going up north to deliver large equipment for the construction of the DEW Line stations. Churchill was part of the Supplementary Radio network and was used to aid in identifying sources of radio transmissions. In its heyday, Churchill was the largest intercept station in Canada. As a part of the Unification, the name was changed to Canadian Forces Station Churchill, but this would be short-lived. In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, CFS Churchill closed on 4 June 1968. Control transferred from the Navy to Public Works Canada. By 1971, plans were in the works to turn the operations building into a university campus, but nothing came of this proposal. Instead, the Manitoba government purchased the site from the federal Crown Assets Corporation for $20,000. In 1972, new proposals were put forth for the former station such as an educational, and research centre, a co-op store, a handicraft production and sales centre, a nursing home and a hotel bar, but nothing came of these proposals either. Today, all that remains of the former research and signals intelligence station is the abandoned operations building on Kelsey Blvd, still vacant after almost 50 years. Wat'chee Lodge, a vacation lodge teaching aboriginal culture, once occupied the former station's little used auxiliary site. Source Material: "Badges of the Canadian Navy" by LT (N) Graeme Arbuckle, Wat'chee Lodge web site - http://www.watcheelodge.mb.ca, http://www.creighton.edu/~hutchens/cr/cr020.html, the personal recollections of Ian MacPherson, former student worker at NRS Churchill (2004), the RCSigs web site - http://www.rcsigs.ca/ViewPage/History/Canadian-CESM-History/Page/7/, Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization web site - http://www.tscm.com/cse.html & the Manitoba Historical Society web site - http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/churchillnavalbase.shtml.
No. 14 Elementary Flying Training School / No. 7 Air Observers School: See Canadian Forces Base Portage La Prairie in "Closed bases that still have a military presence"
No. 19 Elementary Flying Training School: Opened under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan on 16 May 1941 north of the Town of Virden. A Relief Landing Field was constructed near Hargrave, followed by a second south of Lenore on Hwy 259, in the fall of 1943. No. 19 EFTS closed on 15 December 1944, as did RCAF Detachments Hargrave and Lenore. The former aerodrome later became home to 2 different manufacturing companies. First Walden Industries, a farm machinery manufacturer, set up a plant on the property, occupying the sole remaining hangar. After Walden Industries closed, WedgCor Inc, a manufacturer of steel buildings and aviation hangars, purchased the land and opened their own plant. With the passing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994, WedgCor closed their Virden plant. The hangar sat abandoned and crumbling until it was demolished, along with the gunnery backstop, around 2010. Very little remains of the former school today. A small, broken portion of the taxi-way and the 2 hangar pads are all that remain. The original airfield was abandoned and a new east-west runway was constructed across the original triangle field, along with a new hangar were constructed in 1999. The aerodrome is now known as the Virden/R.J. (Bob) Andrew Field Regional Aerodrome. A new industrial park, Airport Industrial Park, was built on the south-east section on the property. Tenants include a mixture of new companies coming to the region and the expansion of existing companies that have grown beyond their current location’s capacity, including Terroco Oilfield Services. All that remains of RCAF Detachment Lenore is the concrete base for the maintenance building (there was no hangar) and the roadway into Detachment. The airfield was ploughed under long ago for crops. Source Material: information supplied by Clare Cawston, Royal Canadian Legion Branch 8, Virden, Manitoba (2001), the Manitoba Historical Society - www.mhs.mb.ca, "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, information supplied by Bob Andrew, Andrew Agencies, Virden Manitoba (2003), Manitoba Oil & Gas Review (2012) - http://manitobaoil.ca/virden-continues-growing-to-meet-the-industrys-needs, Town of Virden web site - http://www.virden-wallace.mb.ca/ed6.htm & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
No. 18 Service Flying Training Schooll: See Canadian Forces Base Gimli in "Closed bases that still have a military presence".
No. 33 Service Flying Training School: Opened near the town of Carberry on 26 December 1940 by the Royal Air Force under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with Relief Landing Fields at Oberon and Petrel. No. 33 SFTS was one of the few double-sized training schools, with a double-sided airfield of six parallel runways, five hangars and the usual amenities of a BCATP school. The school closed 17 November 1944, as did the relief fields at Petrel and Oberon. The aerodrome was then used for a period as a RCAF storage and maintenance depot, No. 3 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit. The federal Department of Transport assumed control of many of the buildings, some of which were moved off-site. In 1949, the RCAF returned to the former school, establishing RCAF Detachment Carberry, a sub-unit of No. 10 Repair Depot in Calgary, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. The detachment closed in the early 1960s and the property was later sold to the Carberry Community Development Corporation. From 1955-1957, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing, after which the runways fell into disuse. Today former aerodrome is the site of McCain Foods Canada, and their world class potato processing plant. Some of the former school's buildings were incorporated into the modern production facility (the old control tower was used as an office), but all that remains now are including the drill hall and a couple of huts. The abandoned runways remained mostly intact to the end of the 20th Century, but only the taxiway along the hangarl line remains distinguishable today. All that remains of RCAF Detachment Petrel are roadways, the hangar pad and two of the asphalt runways, though severely deteriorated. The remainder of the property is used for farming. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Oberon. Incidentally, one of Carberry's most famous former residents is first World War flying hero Wilfrid Reid "Wop" May, who was awarded a DFC for his service and had a part in shooting down the legendary World War I German pilot Baron Manfred von Richthofen, the infamous "Red Baron". Source Material: Town of Carberry web site - http://www.townofcarberry.ca/War.htm, "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore, "Canada Flight Supplement 1999", the Midwest Foods Products Ltd web site - http://www.townofcarberry.ca/Midwest.htm, Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
No. 35 Elementary Flying Training School (Neepawa) & No. 26 Elementary Flying Training School: The aerodrome at Neepawa was originally opened by the Royal Air Force when No. 35 EFTS, originally founded in Moncton, re-located to Neepawa on 30 May 1942. A Relief Landing Field was built near the Village of Eden, featuring grass runways, a control tower and maintenance building housing a fire truck and refueling bowser. No. 35 EFTS closed on 30 January 1944 and No. 26 EFTS stood up in its place, run by the RCAF. No. 26 would have a short life as it too closed on 25 August 1944. The aerodrome was then used as a storage depot, No. 203 Aircraft Holding Unit, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal, and No. 21 Motor Transport Area Repair Shop. No. 5 Surplus Equipment Holding Unit stood up from December1944 until March 1946, when the RCAF abandoned the aerodrome. Today very little remains of the former school. Other than the abandoned runways, only the rifle range building remains. The control tower was destroyed in a fire many years ago and the sole remaining hangar, once occupied by Prairie Forest Products as a storage facility, burned to the ground in a fire in November 2008. The remainder of the property is occupied by Provost Signs and Knight Upholstery. Many of the buildings were torn down for material or moved following the closure of the school. The Royal Canadian Legion Branch in Neepawa is the former Sergeants' Mess. An old building, possibly the guard house, was moved into Neepawa and is now a residence. The former station is now the Neepawa Airport, although the original runways were abandoned when a new 3510 foot runway was constructed in 1994, leaving only the top portion of the original triangle, along with the original taxiway along the hangar line. The Neepawa Flying Club uses this airfield for flying light and ultralight aircraft, both for pleasure flying and crop dusting. At RCAF Detachment Eden, nothing remains and the property is now used for farming. The hangar, covered in metal sheeting, remained for many years as a farm storage building, but now appears to be gone. Source Material: information supplied by Cecil Pittman, Historian, Neepawa, Manitoba (2002), "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore, Major fire at the Prairie Forest Products processing plant in Neepawa - www.firehall.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17434, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
No. 10 Service Flying Training School: Opened under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan on 5 March 1941, four kilometers south of Dauphin, with Relief Landing Fields at North Junction & Valley River. The school closed on 25 March 1945, having graduated around 2100 men. For several years, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. The aerodrome was re-activated in the 1950s and is now the LCol W.G. (Billy) Barker, VC, Airport. Perimeter Airlines is the sole aviation tenant. Keystone Airlines used to operate out of the airport, but ceased several years ago, as did Purolator Courier, who still receive packages though Perimeter Airlines. All that remains of the former school are the gunnery backstop and two of the WWII era hangars, but only one of the hangars remains in used for aviation. Two of the three original runways also remain in use, with runway 14-32 expanded to 5000 feet. RCAF Detachments North Junction & Valley River were abandoned after the war and nothing remains of either today. Source Material: "Canada Flight Supplement 1999", "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, information supplied by Gord Love, Dauphin Airport & Town of Dauphin web site - http://www.town.dauphin.mb.ca/NWRegion/wartime.html.
No. 12 Service Flying Training School: Opened near Brandon on 10 May 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with relief landing fields at Chater and Douglas. The School consisted of five hangars and forty-two buildings and included all the usual amenities of an RCAF station, including barracks, messes, a recreation hall, hospital and an administration building. The airfield was a double-triangle runway configuration. The School closed on 30 March 1945, as did RCAF Detachment Douglas. The aerodrome became the Brandon Municipal Airport on 1 June 1948, a general aviation airport. Scheduled passenger air service also commenced that day, operated by Trans Canada Airlines, the fore-runner to Air Canada. Two of the original runways remained in use for many years, but only runway 08-26, expanded to 6500 feet to handle larger transport aircraft, remains in use today. The three inner runways were removed in 1959. Other tenants at the airport are Maple Leaf Aviation and the Brandon Flying Club. In the early 1990s, the RCAF returned to the Brandon Airport, with the help of some movie magic, in the movie "For The Moment", a film about an Australian pilot who comes to Manitoba to train under the BCATP, starring Russell Crowe. Some scenes were also filmed at the former CFB Rivers and RCAF Detachment Chater. In September 2014, the BCATP Museum unveiled a monument to commemorate about 19,000 lives lost in the Second World War serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force, along with the names of Commonwealth members who died in or near Canada. The monument includes a 91-metre granite wall with 64 granite plaques inscribed with the names of those lost. The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum opened at the Brandon Airport in 1981 in one of the two remaining hangars. The former canteen and medical buildings also remain. One H-hut was acquired from Camp Shilo and moved to the Brandon Airport, recreating part of the former flying school with the other vintage buildings; essentially a life-size diorama of the former No. 12 SFTS. The H-Hut houses the Archives, CASARA, and the Brandon Hills Model Railroad Club, while the Canteen is available for special event rentals. The medical building is awaiting funding so that it too can be restored for future use. RCAF Detachment Douglas was abandoned at the end of WWII. The last remnant of the detachment, the combined garage-control tower building, remained until at least 2011. Plans had been made to have it re-located to Brandon and restored, but it was too badly deteriorated. A replica, minus the control tower, was built and is now a part of the BCATP Museum complex. Source Material: The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum web site - www.airmuseum.ca, "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, information supplied by Stephen Hayter, Executive Director, British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum (2001-2010), "History of Canadian Airports" by T.M. McGrath, Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com, CBC News -http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/ww-ii-air-force-memorial-unveiled-at-brandon-museum-1.2762369, http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/virdenhangar.shtml & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Chater: Opened in 1941 as the No. 1 Relief Landing Field for No. 12 Service Flying Training School at Brandon. With the closure of No. 12 SFTS in March 1945, RCAF Detachment Chater became a storage depot, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. The hangar was used for many years to store aircraft for future use at the National Air Museum in Ottawa. By 1960, these aircraft were removed and transferred to RCAF Station MacDonald. From 1967-1974, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. The abandoned and crumbling airfield remains today, as does the hangar (with the control tower), which is now used to store grain and farm vehicles. A small bunker, possibly the ammo dump also remains. The land is now used for farming. The rest of the buildings were sold to the Town of Killarney. The former accommodation building was used for many years as the Killarney Hospital. In the early 1990s, the RCAF returned to RCAF Detachment Chater with the help of some movie magic, in the movie "For The Moment", a film about an Australian pilot who comes to Manitoba to train under the BCATP, starring Russell Crowe. Most of the scenes were filmed at the Brandon Airport, with some scenes filmed at Chater and the former CFB Rivers. Source Material: The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum web site - www.airmuseum.ca, "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, information supplied by Stephen Hayter, Executive Director, British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum (2001), Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
No. 17 Service Flying Training School: Opened near Souris on 8 March 1943 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with Relief Landing Fields at Hartney and Elgin. The school and the airfield closed on 30 March 1945. From 1963-1964, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. Only two runways and the taxi-way remain of the airfield. The gunnery backstop also remains, as do the roadways and the sports track, but all buildings were demolished. The site is now the Souris-Glenwood Industrial Air Park, used by Adventure Sky Diving of Winnipeg and occasionally by the Royal Canadian Air Cadets for gliding training. All that remains of RCAF Detachment Hartney is the abandoned and crumbling airfield and a Quonset hut. The barracks stood until the-mid 1980s when they burned down. The property itself is used for farming. It appears that nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Elgin. The barracks and a shed remined into the 21st Century, with the barracks being used as the property owner's house, but both are gone now. Source Material: "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, "Canada Flight Supplement 1999", information provided by Ralph Jewell, Board Member, Souris Glenwood Airport Commission (2003), information provided by Margaret Robbins, Elgin & District Historical Museum (2004), Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com, Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
No. 7 Bombing & Gunnery School: Opened near Paulson on 23 June 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with all the usual amenities. The school closed on 2 February 1945, but it briefly re-opened from 14 April until 15 September 1945. From 1959-1962, the abandoned runways at Paulson were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. All that remains today are the Officers' Mess, a small shed, moved from its original location, both now used for farm storage, the gunnery backstop, the crumbling, weed-covered runways, hangar pads, roadways and several building foundations. Some of the H-Huts were cut up and moved to Edgar Avenue in Dauphin, where they remain as residences. Source Material: information provided by the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Museum (2003), Grandville Island Publishing web site - http://www.granvilleislandpublishing.com/profile/sportscarracing/contents.shtm, Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com, http://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/sites/virdenhangar.shtml, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore.
Royal Canadian Air Force Unit Churchill: Originally opened as Fort Churchill near near the Town of Churchill by the US Army Air Force in 1942. The aerodrome was taken over by the RCAF in 1945. RCAF Unit Churchill served as a transit point for the construction of the DEW Line in 1955, with airplanes constantly coming and going from the airport to deliver supplies and equipment needed to build the early warning line. The base also provided support to the Churchill Rocket Research Range, a rocket launch site used by Canada and the United States for scientific research of the upper atmosphere. The U.S. Air Force maintained a Strategic Air Command squadron, 3949th Air Base Squadron, at Churchill. RCAF Unit Churchill closed on 1 April 1964 and the aerodrome was transferred to the Department of Transport. The United States maintained their presence at the airport and the Churchill Rocket Research Range until June 1970, when the facility was taken over by Canadian National Research Council. The last launch from the rocket range was on 28 April 1998, when the Canadian Space Agency launched a Brant Black IXB ionosphere research rocket. The last launch from the facility was a Canadian Space Agency Black Brant IXB ionosphere research rocket which took place on April 28, 1998. The rocker site is now the Churchill Northern Studies Centre, a non-profit and multi-disciplinary research facility. The airport remains in operation today as the Churchill Airport. It's 9195 foot long runway is long enough accommodate jet aircraft up to a Boeing 747 or Boeing 777. Sources: https://people.creighton.edu/~shu02225/cr/cr020.html,
No. 3 Wireless School: Opened on 17 February 1941 on the grounds of the Manitoba School for the Deaf in Winnipeg, the school trained Wireless Air Gunners as well as Ground Signal Officers. It closed on 31 December 1944 when operations were transferred to the No. 2 Wireless School at Calgary, Alberta. The Royal Canadian Air Force continued used the site for other purposes until 6 March 1945. The original 1921-era building remains standing today as part of the Canadian Mennonite University, opened in September 2000, located at 500 Shaftsbury Boulevard. Source material: https://www.cmu.ca, http://www.mhs.mb.ca.
No. 8 Repair Depot: Opened in October 1940, near Stephenson Field in St. James (now part of Winnipeg), home of No. 5 Air Observer School, as a part of the BCATP. The depot had all the usual amenities of a RCAF station, including seven huge repair hangars, a headquarters building, mess buildings, storage buildings, several workshops and garages. The base closed on 15 March 1946 and part of the property was developed into residential community known as Jameswood Place. All the depot buildings were demolished. The eastern half of the property is mostly empty, with a few baseball diamonds and soccer fields scattered throughout. Source material: http://www.mhs.mb.ca.
No. 101 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre/No. A-4 Canadian Artillery Training Centre: Opened at the Brandon Exhibition Grounds, originally as No. 101 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre on 9 October 1940, the camp converted to No. A-4 Canadian Artillery Training Centre on 15 February 1941. The camp, also known as Fort Brandon Barracks, made use of the existing Provincial Exhibition Display building and the Agriculture Extension building, along with a stately mansion across from the fairgrounds at 1129 Queens Avenue, and additional temporary wartime huts. After the war, the Exhibition Grounds and its buildings were returned to the City of Brandon. All the above-mentioned buildings remain, as does the motor transport building, located beside the stately mansion on Queens Avenue, but none of the other temporary buildings. Source Material: The Canadian Army WWII Training Establishments web site - www.canadiansoldiers.com/wwiitrain.htm, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozoark & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
Camp Hughes Transmitter Station: Opened in 1909 as Camp Sewell, a summer military training camp nine miles west of Carberry. The camp became a major year round training facility in 1916 for Military District 10, serving as a training camp for numerous cavalry, artillery and infantry regiments including: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 10th Canadian Mounted Rifles; 5th Bde. C.F.A.; 37th and 38th Batteries, C.F.A.; 44th, 45th, 46th, 53rd, 61st, and 78th Infantry Battalions. The camp was re-named Camp Hughes in 1916, in honour of Major General John Hughes, GOC. The camp trained soldiers from the 96th; 100th; 101st; 107th; 108th; 128th; 144th; 152nd; 179th; 181st; 183rd; 184th; 188th; 195th; 196th; 197th; 200th; 203rd; 209th; 210th; 212th; 214th; 217th; 221st; 222nd; 223rd; 226th; 229th; and 232nd Infantry Battalions. In 1916, the camp underwent further expansion with the construction of all the amenities of a small town: a freight sheds for hay and oats, an ordnance store and office, a Canadian Army Service Corp supply depot; a hospital, administration buildings, an armoury; an engineering office, a railway siding, two churches, a prison, a dental building, a swimming pool, a telephone system, a hospital, two theatres, a barber shop and two banks. Also in 1916, a trench system was constructed at the camp to teach trench warfare. Camp Hughes trench system, constructed to accommodate a full battalion of 1000 men at a single time, accurately replicated the scale and living arrangements of the trenches in Europe. In 1917, Camp Hughes reverted to a summer training camp in 1917 after having trained over 30 000 troops. Training was instead re-located to training camps at Shilo and Winnipeg, Many of the soldiers who trained at Camp Hughes later distinguished themselves at the battle of Vimy Ridge, in April 1917 Camp Hughes would continue to be used for training until 1934, when the camp closed. The newly formed Department of National Defence had been looking for other locations for a permanent camp since 1925, due to problems created for training by Camp Hughes proximity to the Douglas Marsh. As part of a Depression unemployment relief project, the camp's buildings were dismantled, with some of the buildings being were moved to nearby Camp Shilo, During WWII, the Camp Hughes site was used occasionally as a training area by soldiers training at Camp Shilo. In the early 1960s, the site was re-activated as a remote transmitter station for the main communications centre at CFB Shilo. A 2-story underground communications bunker was constructed at the former camp. Both the Camp Hughes and Camp Shilo bunkers were staffed by the Manitoba Signal Troop, who were later re-designated 731 Communications Squadron. By the end of the cold war in 1991, the bunker's usefulness had passed. In 1992, the Camp Hughes bunker was closed and sealed up. It was demolished in 2000 and only the roadway leading to it and some fencing remain. All that remains of Camp Hughes today are the outlines of the old World War I trench system, roadways and numerous building foundations. The majority of the Camp Hughes area, including those parcels of land currently designated as a provincial heritage site, is leased to local farmers for agricultural purposes. Camp Hughes is the only remaining Great War military training facility left in the country that still contains a visibly authentic trench and battlefield terrain from that era. Although the abandoned WWI trenches are still visible at CFB Borden, the trench training area at Borden is now heavily forested. A small cemetery, containing the graves of 6 soldiers who died while training at Camp Hughes, remains owned by the Federal Government and administered by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Source Material: Information supplied by Scott Aikens, Surveyor for the Manitoba Military Historical Society (2000), Town of Carberry web site – http://www.townofcarberry.ca/War.htm, The Military History Society of Manitoba web site – http://www.taniwha.mb.ca/MHSMb/hughes/hughes.html, the personal recollections of the author (2003), Camp Hughes Historical Assessment by William R. Gailbraith, Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba (2004), Emergency Government Facilities | DAVE'S COLD WAR CANADA and “Bunkers Bunkers Everywhere” by Paul Ozorak. - NEW BRUNSWICKRoyal Canadian Air Force Station Moncton: Originally established at the Moncton Airport in 1940, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, as RCAF Station Lakeburn. The station featured 40 buildings including a 40 bed hospital, 5 double-sized hangars, barracks, mess halls and recreation facilities. No. 8 Service Flying Training School (No. 8 SFTS) opened at the station on 23 December 1940, operating under contract by the Moncton Flying Club on behalf of the RCAF. Relief Landing Fields were constructed at Sailsbury and Scoudouc, although the later became No. 4 Repair Depot in September 1941. No. 8 SFTS moved to Weyburn, Saskatchewan in January 1944, where it remained until it closed in 1944. No. 164 Heavy Transport Squadron was formed at Lakeburn in January 1943 and one year later, the base was re-named RCAF Station Moncton, coinciding with the establishment of No. 21 Repair Depot. Both units remained at RCAF Station Moncton until 1945, when No. 164 (Heavy Transport) Squadron relocated to RCAF Station Dartmouth and No. 21 RD disbanded. No. 6 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit briefly assumed No. 21's duties before it too disbanded. With the end of the war, activity at RCAF Station Moncton was greatly reduced. The station reverted to a civilian airport, but the RCAF maintained a presence at the station. During the 1960s, No. 8 Air Movements Unit also maintained a detachment in the terminal building. No. 5 Supply Depot, located in downtown Moncton, also maintained a detachment in five of the old hangars; a detachment that would survive until the 1990s, when the Air Force finally left the Moncton Airport. The airport is now officially known as the Greater Moncton International Airport. Only one of the original seven World War II era hangars remain, utilized by Irving Oil. All other buildings are long gone. The gunnery backstop remained standing until 2003, when it was finally demolished. Only two of the original six runways (Moncton had a double-runway triangle pattern airfield) remain in use, with a third used as a taxiway. The other runways were eventually broken up. A new Terminal building was opened at the airport in 2002 by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. In 2011, a multi-government infrastructure program resulted in Moncton Airport's runway being extended by 4,350 feet to 10,500 feet. The airport was re-named the Greater Moncton Roméo LeBlanc International Airport in 2016, in honour of the former Governor General. Source material: DND press releases from May 1989 & February 1994, information supplied by John Allain Corporation of the City of Moncton (1999), information supplied by Claude Despres, Corporation of the City of Moncton (1999), "History of Aviation in the Greater Moncton Area" by Jim Kinne (1987), information supplied by Bill Soucoup, Constable, RCMP Patrol Section Codiac Regional RCMP Detachment Moncton (1999), Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, the Greater Moncton Airport Authority web site - http://www.gma.ca/english/corp/history.asp, "The History of Monction 1855-1965" by Lloyd Machum, Canadian Aviator Magazine Feb. 28, 2011, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Moncton_Rom%C3%A9o_LeBlanc_International_Airport & information supplied by Don McClure, Greater Moncton Airport Authority (2003).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Sailsbury: Opened in 1940 as a Relief Landing Field for No. 8 SFTS at Lakeburn. The Detachment closed at the end of WWII. The former RCAF Detachment Sailsbury is now owned by Irving Oil, who built a Big Stop car and truck service centre on part of the property, along with a helicopter pad. Unlike most Relief Landing Fields, there were no buildings or hangars at the Detachment and thus, nothing remains today. Source material: DND press releases from May 1989 & February 1994, information supplied by John Allain Corporation of the City of Moncton (1999), information supplied by Claude Despres, Corporation of the City of Moncton (1999), "History of Aviation in the Greater Moncton Area" by Jim Kinne (1987), information supplied by Bill Soucoup, Constable, RCMP Patrol Section Codiac Regional RCMP Detachment Moncton (1999) & information supplied by Don McClure, Greater Moncton Airport Authority (2003).
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 5 Equipment Depot - Barry Mills Detachment: Established at Barry Mills, west of Moncton, in 1942, beside the Canadian National Railways line. The Detachment remained open after WWII, finally closing in 1959. Plans were made for the Canadian Army to take over the facility as an emergency storage facility for supplies needed after a nuclear attack, but the property was ultimately sold to Price Mills. Two of the original four warehouses are still standing on Old Barry Mills Road today, along with the building foundations of some of the demolished buildings. Source Material: Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, Google Maps.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Scoudouc: Originally established in 1940 as a relief landing field for No. 8 SFTS at Lakeburn. In September 1941, the aerodrome changed its function when it became the home of No. 4 Repair Depot, which later re-located to RCAF Station Dartmouth, and No. 1 Radio Direction Finding Maintenance Unit** (No. 1 RFD MU), a top-secret maintenance unit. In 1943, No. 1 RFD MU merged with No. 1 Repair Depot's Radio Repair Section. **(during WWII, radar work was referred to as radio direction finding). In 1945, the station was re-named RCAF Station Scoudouc. A new repair depot was formed at the site, as was No. 1 Maintenance Wing and No. 101 RCAF Equipment Park. These units were short-lived however, as they disbanded on 1 November 1945. The RCAF departed and the aerodrome was abandoned. The post-war growth of the RCAF resulted in many WWII stations being re-activated and as a result, Scoudouc was re-activated in 1951 as a Detachment of RCAF Station Chatham. No. 5 Supply Depot, located in downtown Moncton, opened a section at the newly christened RCAF Detachment Scoudouc. While RCAF Station Chatham's runways were being repaired, No. 1 (Fighter) Operational Training Unit temporarily occupied space the detachment and 2 years later, the Royal Canadian Navy did the same while RCN Air Station Shearwater's airfield was being repaired. As the decade progressed, RCAF activity at the detachment was being reduced. In 1956, the now abandoned runways were being used by the Maritime Motor Transport Annual Rodeo and by 1958, 27 unoccupied buildings had been removed. With the impending Unification in the mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, RCAF Detachment Scoudouc closed on 1 January 1965. Today, the abandoned and crumbling airfield remains. From 1959 until the early 1990s, the runways were used by the Atlantic Motorcycle Competition Riders Association as a race track. The lower runway is now known as Brenan Avenue and is used for storage. The drill hall and a storage shed also remain. It appears all of the original seven hangars remain, but most have been extensively renovated for industrial use. None of the other World War II era buildings remain. The former station is now the Scoudouc Industrial Park. The park is home to 24 businesses with over 650 employed in a cross section of industries, concentrated mostly in the manufacturing sector. Source material: "History of Aviation in the Greater Moncton Area" by Jim Kinne (1987), information supplied by Claude Despres, Corporation of the City of Moncton (1999), Human Resources Development Canada - http://www.nb.hrdc-drhc.gc.ca/moncton/lmi/community.shtml#h39, the Atlantic Motorcycle Competition Riders Association web site - http://www.procycle-hdd.com/amcra/gridsheet/2000feb.html, Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, Enterprise South East web site - http://www.enterprisesoutheast.ca/scoudouc & information supplied by information supplied by Don McClure, Greater Moncton Airport Authority (2003), information supplied by Guillaume "Gomer" Chiasson. (2019). .
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Saint John: Established in 1939 at the Millidgeville Airport, near Saint John, where hangars and other buildings were built for the RCAF. As this had been a civilian airport prior to being taken over by the RCAF, the runways were laid out in a “X” pattern instead of the standard BCATP triangle pattern. No. 2 (Army Cooperation) Squadron was posted to the station until 1940. No. 118 (Coastal Artillery Co-operation) Squadron from replaced No. 2 ACS until April 1944, when the squadron was made unnecessary by army radar equipment. No 118 CAC transferred to RCAF Station Dartmouth and later disbanded. Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Saint John closed in early 1944, although a small six-member Detachment remained behind until May 1947, when the Millidgeville Airport was returned to the City of Saint John. The revived Millidgeville Airport would have a short life however, as an increase in air traffic necessitated construction of a new airport. The Millidgeville Airport closed in March 1951. The hangar from the Detachment remained for several years, standing at the corner of Woodward Avenue and McIntosh Street, and was last used by Coast Tire & Auto Service as a warehouse, but was torn down around 2010. A residential community and the M. Gerald Teed School, built in September 1963, occupy site of the former detachment. Donaldson Street runs the length of one of the former runways. A commemorative monument was erected on the grounds of M. Gerald Teed Memorial School in 2010. Source Material: New Brunswick Military Heritage Project - http://www.unb.ca/nbmhp/02_NBMHPsites.htm, New Brunswick Community College - http://www.saintjohn.nbcc.nb.ca/~Heritage/Aviation/GoneButNotForgotten.htm, information supplied by J. Brent Wilson, Senior Researcher, Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society, University if New Brunswick, Fredericton Campus (2013), Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak. & M. Gerald Teed School web site - http://mgeraldteed.nbed.nb.ca/default.htm.
Canadian Forces Station Coverdale: Established near Moncton as Naval Radio Station Coverdale in 1941, part of the Canada-United States Atlantic High Frequency Direction Finding Network. The network was responsible for coordinating radar activities during search and rescue operations in the Atlantic area. In April 1945, it was a Wren with HMCS Coverdale who intercepted a message to the German Army announcing Adolf Hitler’s death. In 1949, NRS Coverdale was re-named His Majesty's Naval Radio Station Coverdale and PMqs were built. By 1956, the station was commissioned and again re-named His Majesty's Canadian Ship Coverdale. One of Coverdale's claims to fame came in the early 1950s when a typographical error in the Moncton area phone book listed the station as "Naval Ladies Station Coverdale." As a result of the Unification, Naval Radio Station HMCS Coverdale was again re-named CFS Coverdale. The station closed in June 1971 and CFB Gander assumed CFS Coverdale's duties as the back-up control station for the Atlantic HF-DF network. The Station's personnel were eventually transferred to CFB Gander to become part of 770 Communications Research Squadron. The property was purchased by the Town of Riverview and turned into a residential community. The PMQs between Runneymeade Road and Miles Road are now private homes. The Recreation Centre in now the Coverdale Centre, a multi-use licensed, rental facility. Other buildings that remain include one of the barracks, the Chief's & Petty Officer's mess and the water tower. On 25 October 2014, a monument was unveiled along Hillsborough Road on the former station property, dedicated to the naval personnel who served at HMCS Coverdale. Source Material: "Sentinel " Magazine from July-August 1971, the RCAF Station Gander web site - www.watserv1.uwaterloo.ca/~brobinso/gander.html., New Brunswick Military Heritage Project - http://www.unb.ca/nbmhp/02_NBMHPsites.htm, the HMCS Coverdale web site - http://webhome.idirect.com/~jproc/rrp/coverdale.html, Jerry Proc web site - www.jproc.ca "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak & "Badges of the Canadian Navy" by LT (N) Graeme Arbuckle.
Canadian Forces Base Chatham: Opened in 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air training Plan as RCAF Station Chatham. Two schools were established at the station: No. 21 Elementary Flying Training School on 3 July 1941 and No. 10 Air Observer School on 21 July 1941. No. 21 EFTS remained at Chatham until 30 May 1942, when it relocated to Neepawa, Manitoba and became No. 35 EFTS. In 1942, a detachment of No. 113 bomber Squadron from RCAF Station Yarmouth was posted to Chatham to conduct anti-submarine patrols. No. 10 AOS closed 30 April 1945 and the station itself also closed shortly afterwards. Only a small storage depot remained behind. Post-war growth of the RCAF saw the re-activation of several WWII aerodromes. RCAF Station Chatham re-opened in 1949 and 2 Air Defence Control Centre (2 ADCC) was established at the site to support 421 (Fighter) Squadron and No. 1 Fighter Training School. No. 2 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron was also formed at the station, but with the formation of the Pinetree Line, the squadron transferred to No. 21 AC & W Squadron at RCAF Station St. Margarets. In 1959, RCAF Station Chatham became the home base of the newly formed RCAF Golden Hawks aerobatic team, the predecessor to today's "Snowbirds". The golden hawks would have a short stay at Chatham, as they re-located to RCAF Station Trenton in 1962. In 1961, RCAF Station Chatham ceased being a fighter training base and instead became an Initial Training Centre only. This new function continued until 1968. In 1966, RCAF Station Chatham was merged with RCAF Station St Margarets and the Royal Canadian Naval Ammunition Depot at Renous and re-named CFB Chatham. The Miramichi Municipal Airport opened in 1974, providing commercial air flights from the Chatham airfield. In 1985, change was in the wind at CFB Chatham. The base was transferred to the Army's Mobile Command, thus ending 45 years of Air force control of the base. Also in 1985, the base became the new home to the Air Defence Artillery School, originally from CFB Gagetown and 434 Tactical Fighter Squadron from CFB Baggotville. In the mid 1980s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, CFB Chatham was downsized to a Detachment of CFB Gagetown in 1989. The Air Defence Artillery School and 119 Low Level Air Defence Battery remained at Chatham, but the St Margarets detachment closed. The airfield at Chatham ceased military operations in 1990, but the Miramichi Municipal Airport continued operating the airfield. The New Brunswick Fire Protection Agency flies out of the airport during the summer months. The downsizing of CFB Chatham was only the beginning of the end for the former fighter training base. In September 1995, CF Detachment Chatham finally closed, ending 55 years as an air force base. The Air Defence Artillery School and 119 Low Level Air Defence Battery re-located to CFB Gagetown. Today, the former base is the Skypark Miramichi Industrial Park and most of it remains. The recreation centre and the base school are still used as such. The Royal Canadian Air Cadets Atlantic Region Gliding School operates a summer Regional Gliding Centre at the airport. Most of the airfield was abandoned, with only a 5900 ft section of runway 27-60 still in use. Source material: DND press release from May 1989, Sky Park Miramichi Web site - http://www.mibc.nb.ca/sky-park/current/issue/frame.html, http://www.legion.ca/english/reveille/may/, http://members.nbci.com/101RCAirCS/flying.htm, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak & "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore.
Tracadie Range: Opened in 1939 as an Artillery and Air Weapons Range firing range associated with the flying training schools in Chatham. The range consisted of more than 18,000 hectares of land and waterways near the town of Tracadie-Sheila. After World War II, the range remained open as a Detachment of RCAF Station Chatham. The range closed in 1994. Source material: New Brunswick Dept of Natural Resources - http://www.gnb.ca/0263/tracadie_range-e.aspb.
No. 2 Air Navigation School & No. 34 Operational Training Unit: The airfield at Pennfield Ridge originally opened on 21 July 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air training Plan as No. 2 Air Navigation School. The station came complete with over 40 buildings including 4 large hangers, an observation tower, barracks, drill hall, mess halls and classrooms. No. 2 ANS's time at Pennfield Ridge would be short-lived as it re-located to RCAF Station Rivers in May 1942 and merged with No. 1 ANS to become No. 1 CNS.. No. 2 ANS would later be revived at Charlottetown on 21 February 1944. On 1 June 1942, No. 34 Operational Training Unit (No. 34 OTU) was established at the station and shortly afterwards, on 22 June 1942, No.2 Operational Training Unit (No. 34 OTU) was also established, but it closed 2 months later on 20 August 1942. The station also had a radio communications section, one that also contained a Royal Canadian Naval contingent from 1941-1942. No. 34 OTU closed on 19 May 1944, but the station remained an active training station, now known as RCAF Station, Pennfield Ridge, with transportation and operational training courses, including survival training. 126 (F) Squadron & 127 (F) Squadron also had detachments at Pennfeild for a period of time. The station finally closed in 1945. The Pennfield Ridge station was then used as an auxiliary airport to the Millidgeville Airport, which was quickly becoming inadequate to serve the aviation needs of the Saint John area. After the new Saint John Airport was opened in the early 1950s, Pennfield Ridge closed as an operational airfield. One of its runways was used as a drag racing track by the New Brunwsick Drag Racing Association during the 1950s-1970s. All that remains of the former station today are the gunnery backstop, the hangar pads, the abandoned runways, four ammunition bunkers, some foundations and a few paved streets. Acadia Seaplants Limited owns the property and uses two of the runways to dry out seaweed for use in fertilizer production. The third runway remains in use for small aircraft. On 24 September 2006, the Charlotte County War Memorial Committee erected a memorial in Pennfield Provincial Park to honor the 70 men of the RCAF, RAF, RAAF, RNZAF, RCN and 6 civilians who died while training at Pennfield Ridge. Minister of Veterans Affairs Greg Thompson and Morris Harris of the Charlotte Fundy Kin Club unveiled the memorial. Source Material: Pennfield Ridge Air Base web site - http://www.geocities.com/blacksharbour/pennfield.html, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, Memorial Unveiled in Pennfield - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nbpennfi/penn8b1RollOfHonour_PennMemorial1.htm, Pennfield Ridge Air Station - http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nbpennfi/penn8b1AirStationHistory.htm, "Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1939-1945" by F.J. Hatch, Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com and information supplied by G Christian Larsen, President, Pennfield Parish Military Historical Society (2016).
Camp Utopia / A-30 Canadian Infantry Training Centre: Opened near the Village of Utopia, as an advanced infantry training centre on 1 August 1942 to the north-east of No. 2 ANS, the camp served as a training base for members of the Carleton & York Regiment and the North Shore Regiment. A-30 CITC closed on 30 April 1946, having trained over 12, 000 troops. Post-war, Camp Utopia continued to be used as a summer camp by the Carleton & York Regiment and the Royal Newfound Land Regiment. The 4th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, re-located to the camp in May 1954. The regiment occupied the H-huts and used the drill hall to store their guns, along with using some of the Married Quarters built in Pennfield and some temporary PMQs at the camp. In 1955, the majority of 4 RCHA left Camp Utopia for Germany, but "W" Battery, a light battery, remained behind to act as the Regimental Depot. In 1957, "W" Battery re-located to Petawawa to join the rest of 4 RCHA, who had been rotated back to Canada. The camp closed in 1958, despite suggestions that the camp remain active as a reserve training camp. The property was sold to the provincial government for $90, 000. Plans to turn the camp into a technical school or a prison, but this too never came to fruition. Very little remains of the camp today All one will find are some ruins among the hundreds of pine trees were planted on the property, along with some roadways and the main rifle ranges. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, "Camp Utopia", by G. Christian Larson, President of the Pennfield Parish Military Historical Society - www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~nbpennfi/penn8aCampUtopia.htm ", "Our Military History" by Al Lloyd - http://arlloyd.tripod.com/index.html & Pennfield Parrish Military Historical Society - http://pennfieldridgeairstation.blogspot.ca/2009/09/camp-utopia-todays-remnants.html.
No. A-30 Canadian Infantry Training Centre / Camp Sussex: See Camp Sussex in "Closed bases that still have a military presence".
No. 7 Area Ordnance Depot: Opened in February 1943 on Rothesay Road west of Saint John by the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC). The Depot featuring 36, 000 square feet of warehouse space and 48, 000 square feet of workshops. The personnel strength of the Depot would eventually be reduced when several stores groups relocated to the Depot at Amherst, but Coldbrook was still a busy establishment. When the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineer Corps separated from the Ordnance Corps, it took over the Workshop area. The Depot remained opened after the war, becoming part of the post-war RCOC. During 1945 and 1946, the Depot also served as a storage depot for surplus Army vehicles. In November 1946, the Headquarters for No. 7 Militia District relocated to Fredericton. In the mid-1950s, military establishments in New Brunswick were being consolidated. As a result, No. 1 Area Ordnance Depot relocated to Camp Gagetown in 1957, abandoning its WWII site. In 1963, StresCon Concrete opened a manufacturing plant at the former Depot, located at 160 Ashburn Lake Road. Parts of the original ordnance complex do remain; the office building is original, but with a new interior, and both the Old Pipe Plant and the Warehouse have still have parts of the original buildings, but have been extensively re-built and remolded. Source Material: New Brunswick Military Heritage Project - http://www.unb.ca/nbmhp/02_NBMHPsites.htm, information supplied by StresCon Concrete (2006) & "A History of the RCOC in Saint John", by Major G.H MacDonald (ret'd), supplied by Bert MacDonald (2004).
No. 32 Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot: Opened in 1942 on Highway #8 in the Village of McGivney as No. 1 Magazine Company, a Detachment of No. 7 Ordnance Depot. The depot, run by the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps, consisted of 24 ammunition storage magazines and buildings. The Depot remained open after WWII and was re-named No. 2 Ordnance Depot, but not long after, it was changed to No. 32 Ordnance Depot. Permanent Married Quarters were added in the 1950s. As a result of the Unification, the Depot was re-named No. 32 Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot in 1966, but this would be short-lived. The Unification lead to the consolidation of numerous military establishments. No. 32 CFAD was deemed redundant and as a result, it closed in 1969. Today some of the Depot's buildings remain, including the ammunition storage bunkers and less than half of the PMQs. The camp chapel is now a Baptist Church and Sergeants' Mess was relocated off site, for use as the South Portage Recreation Center but has since been demolished. Source Material: New Brunswick Military Heritage Project - http://www.unb.ca/nbmhp/02_NBMHPsites.htm & "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 70 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre: Opened on 9 October 1940 at the Wilmot Park Exhibition Grounds near Fredericton as a Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre, but later became a basic infantry training centre. The Camp closed in 1945. In 1946, University of New Brunswick president Norman MacKenzie established Alexander College as an educational satellite of the university for returning soldiers and their families after the Second World War. The college operated from 1946 to 1950, at which point it reverted to being the Wilmot Park Exhibition Grounds. Today, the roadways and the parade ground remain; the former of which is currently used by student driving instruction. The barracks occupied by the CWAC women were near the race track and are now used as barns for horses. The original firehall and the mess hall stood until around 2003, when they burned down. A number of the camp's buildings were moved the University of New Brunswick, although most of them are now gone. Other camp buildings were sold to the City of Fredericton. Source Material: New Brunswick Military Heritage Project - http://www.unb.ca/nbmhp/02_NBMHPsites.htm, "Forgotten college for war vets part of U.N.B.'s past," (2015) - http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/unb-veterans-alexander-college-1.3310741, http://www2.unb.ca/nbmhp/counties/York.html & "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic " by Author Paul Ozorak.
No. 71 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre: Opened on 9 October 1940 in Edmunston as No. 71 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre, the camp was soon re-designated No. 71 CA(B)TC, training both English and French recruits. The camp had all the usual amenities such as barracks, mess halls, lecture buildings, headquarters, stores and recreation. The Edmunston camp closed in 1945 and not the slightest trace of it remains today. It was located in the Rue Vimy and Rue Squateck area, an area containing family houses and a baseball field today. Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Renous: Opened in 1943 near Renous as a Detachment of HMC Dockyard Halifax. The Depot would remain open as a part of the post-war RCN. As a result of the Unification, the Depot was re-named Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot (CFAD) Renous and made a Detachment of CFB Chatham. In 1973, CFAD Renous was declared redundant, and its functions were slowly taken over by CFAD Bedford, outside Halifax. By 1978, CFAD Renous finally closed. Much of the former CFAD remains today. The site was taken over by the Correctional Service of Canada, who opened the Atlantic Institution in 1987. Most of the ammunition bunkers remain, but none of the PMQs. Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic " by Author Paul Ozorak.
MACHQ (Maritime Air Command HQ) Halifax: Located at 17 South Street on the corner of Barrington and South. - NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADORRoyal Canadian Air Force Station Torbay: Established by the RCAF on 15 December 1941 as the home of No. 11 Bomber Reconnaissance (BR) Squadron. No. 5 Coastal Artillery Co-operation Flight was established at the station in April 1942, disbanding in 1945. Other units occupying RCAF Station Torbay at various times during WW II were No. 125 Bomber Squadron, No. 145 (BR) Squadron, No. 128 (Fighter) Squadron and No. 5, No. 113 (BR) & No. 160 (BR) Squadrons The Royal Air Force and the United States Army Air Corps also maintained detachments at the station until December 1946. RCAF Station Torbay closed on 1 April 1946 and although the airport became a civilian airport, United States Air Force personnel remained on site. The post-war expansion of the RCAF resulted in many former aerodromes being re-opened and RCAF Station Torbay was re-activated on 15 April 1953. No. 107 Rescue Unit, formerly a detached unit of 103 RU located at RCAF Station Greenwood, was established at Torbay in 1954. No. 107 operated three converted Lancasters as search and rescue aircraft. The United States Air Force continued to maintain a presence at the station, that being the 6600th Operations Squadron, until 1958 when they finally departed. RCAF Station Torbay closed again in 1963, this time for good. The former station is now the St. John's Airport. Only two buildings remain from the Air Force era and both are currently being used as storage. All other buildings were torn down long ago. Although Torbay is now fully a civilian airport, the airport is an important departure and arrival point for the trans-Atlantic flight routes, including for military aircraft. As such, the RCAF maintains a presence at the airport with Air Reserve Flight Torbay (ARF Torbay). Operating out of the General Aviation area of the airport, ARF Torbay is made up of two sections: Headquarters and Transient Servicing Section. ARF Torbay provides service and support to RCAF and Nato aircraft and crews transiting through St John's. ARF Torbay receives support from CFS St. Johns in nearby Pleasantville. Source Material: "Sentinel " Magazine from January 1984, Aviation in Newfoundland & Labrador, Torbay web site - www.home.thezone.net/~ainal/torbay, the St. John's International Airport web site - http://www.stjohnsairport.com/sitemap/default.htm, information supplied by Walter Butt, Commercial Development Officer, St. John's International Airport Authority Inc (2004), http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/squadron/flight-detachement-torbay.page & Wings For Victory by Spencer Dunmore.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Botwood: Opened in 1941, Botwood served as an anti-submarine patrol station for Canso aircraft. The aerodrome had previously been established in 1937 for use by commercial flying boats. The RCAF constructed barracks, hangars, administration buildings, a recreation hall, a slipway, anti-aircraft batteries, ammunition bunkers and other facilities. The recreation hall was also used by personnel at RCAF Station Gander. In addition to the airmen, hundreds of soldiers arrived to man the AA batteries. In 1943, some of the AA battery accommodation buildings were turned over to the Dominion of Newfoundland for accommodations and a restaurant for passengers and crews on the transatlantic service, operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation. The upper camp eventually had 24 buildings and the lower camp had 16 buildings. The base closed in 1945, with both military and civilian flying boat service came to an end. All that remains are the former station headquarters building, now the Botwood Heritage Centre, and flying boat slipway, along with a historical plaque. Source Material: "History of Canadian Airports" by T. M. McGrath.
Bull's Bay Naval Base: Opened in 1943 south of St. John's as a naval repair depot. The base closed in September 1945. Only 2 wooden sheds remain. Source material: "Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 31 Personnel Depot: Opened in the summer on 1941 as a stop-over station for airmen awaiting assignment to training schools and active service squadrons. The Depot closed on 31 January 1945. The depot then became No. 10 Release Centre shortly after War's end. No. 10 RC closed in 1946. The former depot is now Victoria Industrial Park. A few buildings, including the drill hall, remain today. Source material: "History of Aviation in the Greater Moncton Area" by Jim Kinne (1987) & "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak. - NORTHWEST TERRITORIESCanadian Forces Station Inuvik: Opened on 12 March 1961 as Naval Radio Station Inuvik, replacing the former NRS Aklavik. Located 123 miles north of the Arctic Circle, NRS Inuvik served as a communications research station, part of Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization. Initially a tender of HMCS Gloucester near Ottawa, the station also served as a search and rescue centre for the northern region. On 10 September 1963, the name of the station was changed to Her Majesty’s Canadian Ship Inuvik. As a result of the Unification, the station was re-named CFS Inuvik in 1966. On 1 April 1970, Inuvik turned its transmitter site over to the Department of Transport for use as a Telecommunications station as a part of the station's conversion to a micro-wave relay network station, which went active the following fall. As a result of a modernization of communications, CFS Inuvik closed on 1 April 1986, despite the objections of the Town of Inuvik. The base had a compliment of 267 personnel and at that time was the largest military installation in the northern Canada. It was feared that the closure of the base would be devastating to the town and about 700 people did end up leaving the town. In compensation, a Forward Operating Location was established at the Inuvik Airport, a pre-deployment staging ground for CF-18 fighter jets. The remainder of the station property was turned over to Department of Transport. Some of the former station's buildings remain in use by the Town of Inuvik, including many of the PMQs. The transmitter and receiver sites remain in use by the Department of Transportation. Nothing remains of the operation site today, which was located at the end of Navy Road, north of Inuvik. Source material: "Sentinel" Magazine from August 1974 & "Badges of the Canadian Navy" by LT (N) Graeme Arbuckle, Communications & Electronics Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org, Town of Inuvik web site - http://inuvik.ca/living-in-inuvik/community-profile/inuvik-history, Sentinel magazine, July-August 1970, Radio Communication and Signals Intelligence in the Royal Canadian Navy web site - http://jproc.ca/rrp/inuvik.html & Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization web site - http://www.tscm.com/cse.html.
Naval Radio Station Aklavik: Opened in 1949 as a radio station in Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization. The station closed in March 1961 and personnel transferred to the new facility at NRS Inuvik. The property was turned over to the Department of Transport on 9 August 1961. Nothing remains of the former station today. Source Material: Canada's national Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization web site - http://www.tscm.com/cse.html, Communications & Electronics Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org. & information supplied by the Aklavik Band Council. - NOVA SCOTIARoyal Canadian Air Force Station Debert: Opened in April 1941, RCAF Station Debert was the home to the Royal Air Force's No. 31 Operational Training Unit (opened on 3 June 1941), a Communications Storage Facility and the Royal Canadian Navy's No. 31 Naval Air Gunners School. A Relief Landing Field was also constructed near the Town of Maitland. No. 31 OTU was later taken over by the RCAF and re-designated No. 7 OTU. The RCAF also established an ammunition depot at Debert, named 16X Depot Debert, a separate facility located a little to the east of the airfield. RCAF Station Debert closed on 20 June 1945. Although the Canadian Army continued to use the neighboring Army camp, the airfield sat unused until the RCAF resumed using it for flight training in 1954. In 1960, RCAF Station Debert closed, along with 16 "X" Depot, in March 1960, and the airfield was taken over by the Royal Canadian Navy as a training facility for Navy fighter pilots. Markings were painted on the runways so that the Navy pilots could practice simulated carrier take-offs and landings. By 1969, the Navy had departed and the airfield was once again abandoned. The airfield was sold to the province in 1970. From 1968-1973, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. In 1974, the Truro Flying Club took over management of the airfield, now known as the Debert Airport. Two of the original runways and one partial remain in use today. In 1978, the airfield and industrial park were sold to the provincial Crown Corporation Industrial Estates Ltd. The former 16 "X" Depot property is now houses warehouse distribution centres for Home Hardware and Sobey's grocery chain, and Newmac Furnaces production facility, with the road that encircles the property appropriately named Lancaster Crescent. ************************* Camp Debert: Opened adjacent to RCAF Station Debert in April 1941 as a staging area and training area for units deploying overseas, as well as an ammunition storage facility. Regiments that trained at the camp included The Regina Rifle Regiment, the Winnipeg Rifles, The Canadian Scottish Regiment, The North Nova Scotia Regiment, The Glengarries and The Duke of York Hussars. Starting in 1942, A-23 Coast Defence and Anti-Aircraft Advanced Training Centre began conducting radar training for the army. After WWII, Camp Debert continued to be used as an Army training facility for the 3rd Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1948-1958) and the Royal Highland Regiment of Canada (1950-1952) served as the home of No. 12 Regional Ordinance Depot (1948-1958), No. 31 Ordnance Ammunition Depot (1948-1965). The late 1950s and early 1960s were a busy time for Camp Debert for not only the Canadian Army but the Royal Canadian Navy too. The Royal Canadian Navy re-located their Regional Medical Equipment Depot from the HMC Dockyard at HMCS Stadacona to Camp Debert in 1959, taking up residence in one of the former RCAF hangars. By the late 1950s, the threat of a nuclear war had become so great that the Canadian government decided to construct a secret underground bunker to house the major elements of the government in the event of an emergency. Most Provincial Governments followed suit by building their own Emergency Government Headquarters bunkers. The Nova Scotia Government chose Camp Debert for the site of their 64, 000 square foot “Diefenbunker” in the early 1960s. The Provincial Warning Centre, the Regional Emergency Government Headquarters and 720 Communications Squadron also took up residence in the bunker. All Government bunkers also doubled as a communications station, and thus had a remote communications bunker located some distance away. This second bunker, usually a single-story structure, was staffed exclusively by communications personnel. Debert's remote transmitter bunker site was constructed near Great Village. In the mid 1960s, Debert began to downsize, beginning with the closure of the ammunition depot in 1965. The overall size of Camp Debert was reduced in 1971 when a large portion of the camp were sold, reducing the camp to 300 hectares from a war-time high of 6000 hectares. With the Unification of the late 1960s, Camp Debert became a Detachment of CFB Halifax. Post-unification, the Camp's main function was as a strategic communication station for DND, serving as an Automated Defence Data Network (ADDN) Communications Node site and a station in the NATO Integrated Communications System (NICS), situated in the bunker and under the command of unit 72 Communications Group at CFB Halifax. In 1982, CFS Debert was equipped with Telegraph Automated Relay Equipment (TARE) which was used to relay communications received at the nearby Satellite Ground Terminal Folly Lake. In 1994, the Regional Emergency Government Headquarters closed. In 1995, Camp Debert separated from CFB Halifax, becoming an autonomous station, but this would be short-lived. In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, Camp Debert closed on 15 July 1996. The Colchester Development Corporation owns the former camp, now the Debert Air Industrial Park. Most of the original buildings remain at Debert, including several of the old ammunition bunkers, the concrete and earth berms of demolished ammo bunkers, hangar No. 3 (the former medical stores), a second hangar at the north end of the airfield, the guard hut, the hobby shop, the recreation centre, the post-war all-ranks barracks, the firehall, the Maintenance & Transport building, the HQ building, the NATO NICS-TARE building and guard house (both abandoned and crumbling) and most of the PMQs. The former fire training area #2 is now occupied by CDA Paintball. A construction engineering detachment remained behind for several years after the closure, but is now gone. Eight of the PMQs remained in military hands after the closure, but all have now been sold to the private sector. The Debert Military History Society opened its doors at the former camp in November 1997 in the only remaining "H-hut", to preserve the military history of the former Camp Debert, replacing the CFS Debert Museum which closed in 1995. Communication Detachment Great Village was established at Debert's remote transmitter bunker site at Great Village. The detachment, which falls under command of 726 Communication Squadron at CFB Halifax, carries out Debert's communication duties. The bunker at Debert was used a cold war museum, similar to the "Diefenbunker" and as the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Regional Gliding School (Atlantic) Headquarters. In December 2008 the Diefenbunker was sold to a private data warehousing and data centre co-location services provider, Bastionhost, who were going to renovate the facility as a high-density, groundwater-cooled data centre. In November 2012 the Diefenbunker was sold again by the Municipality of the County of Colchester to recover unpaid taxes from the previous owner, Dataville Farms Ltd. It was purchased by Jonathan Baha'i for $31,300 along with the adjoining parking lot for $4150. The new owner has indicated he intends to use the facility for a data centre with an emphasis on cloud storage. Other parts of the facility may be used for unspecified research and development. In 2013, a part of the bunker was used to film an independent movie, Bunker 6. It has also been used for paintball and airsoft games. The Debert Bunker now serves as the home to "Enter the Bunker", a modern entertainment venue with laser tag games, movies, e-gaming and War Games escape rooms. Today the only remnants of a once-vast military presence in Debert are a small-arms firing range used by militia reserve units from Cumberland, Colchester and Pictou counties. Additionally, the Regional Gliding School (Atlantic) still operates from the airfield each summer, carrying on the tradition of training airmen and women at Debert. The last Commanding Officer of CFS Debert, Major David Quick, was eager to say in his closing speech that CFS Debert was the best kept secret in the military (Whitaker, 1997). Source material: "Sentinel" Magazine from August 1974, pg. 29, "Comprehensive Study Environmental Assessment of the Closure of CFS Debert Nova Scotia, Project No. 11522", prepared by Jacques Whitford Environmental Ltd. (July 1997), "Comprehensive Study Summary report Closure of CFS Debert Nova Scotia", prepared by Jacques Whitford Environmental Ltd. (November1997), "Where has the Station Gone? Or What ever happened to CFS Debert?" (15 Jan 97), the Communications & Electronics Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org, "Bunkers, Bunkers Everywhere" by Paul Ozorak, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, The Debert Military History Society web site - http://debertmilitaryhistorysociety.weebly.com, Colchester Park web site - www.colchesterpark.com, "History of Canadian Airports" by T. M. McGrath & "CFS Debert - The End of an Era" (24 Oct 96), by Warrant Officer R.J. Whitaker, Detachment Commander, Communication Detachment Great Village, NS at http://www.dnd.ca/commelec/nwslettr/vol34/debert.htm, Google Maps, https://www.enterthebunker.com & information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Authority (2011).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Yarmouth: Originally opened in 1940 as 3 separate training sites (the East Camp, the West Camp and the Air Base) under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, but known collectively as RCAF Station Yarmouth. The East Camp was home to a detachment of the Royal Air Force's No. 34 Operational Training Unit (from Pennfield Ridge), who trained Bomber crews, as well as the Royal Navy's No. 1 Naval Air Gunners School from 1 January 1943 - 30 March 1945. The West Camp was home to the RCAF's Anti-Submarine Bomber Reconnaissance and several Eastern Air Command Bomber Reconnaissance Squadrons. The Air Base was home to the 9th Light Anti-Aircraft Artillery, various RCAF and RAF Bomber Squadrons and an Army Co-operation Reconnaissance Flight. Its primary function was as an administrative and logistical support base to the RAF and RCAF squadrons in the area, in addition to providing a Weather Information Section, an Armament Section and a firing range. Several smaller installations associated with the air station were located in the area: a bombing range at Port Maitland, a fuel depot at Digby, and radar detachments at Plymouth, Tusket and Bear Point, Port Mouton and Rockville. In 1944, a detachment of the US Navy briefly came to Yarmouth to test the effectiveness of a blimp service. After a crash, the RCAF decided against this venture. RCAF Station Yarmouth closed in 1945. The airfield was sold to the Department of Transport in 1946 and became the Yarmouth Airport. From 1952-1969, a portion of the runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. All the RCAF buildings were moved or demolished shortly after the war, except for two hangars at the West Camp. Two other hangars that were moved off site became hockey rinks for the Towns of Digby and Liverpool. One of the remaining hangars was used for the airport emergency vehicles, a carpentry shop and storage. The other hangar was used for the airport administration offices, as well as serving as the passenger terminal for Trans Canada Airlines, later known as Air Canada. This terminal remained in use for almost forty years, before a new terminal opened at the airport. Both hangars were later demolished. All that remains at the east camp are the hangar pads, building foundations and the old roadways. All that remains of the airfield is the taxiway and a portion of the lower runway. This side of the airfield is abandoned and does not operate as a part of the current airport. Former airport manager Robert Romkey has written a book on the complete history of Yarmouth Airport. Source Material: The RCAF Station Yarmouth web page - www.ycn.library.ns.ca/ycn/rcaf & "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Maitland: Opened in 1940 as a Relief Landing Field for No. 31 Operation Training Unit at Debert. As with all RLFs, the Detachment had a hangar, barracks, although only 2 of the 3 runways of the usual standard triangle-pattern runways were ever built. In January 1944, the Detachment changed functions when it became the home to No. 1 Aircrew Graduates Training School. No. 1 AGTS closed on 1 November 1944 and the aerodrome was abandoned. After the war, the Detachment was used as a retraining facility for returning military personnel. All that remains today are the abandoned runways, once used for sports car racing, and the gunnery backstop. As of 2012, the property owner began removing asphalt from some of the runways. The former airport is now a sod farm. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, http://wikimapia.org/9870109/Maitland & information provided by Lisa Schuyler - www.lisaschuyler.com.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Waterville: Originally opened as a Relief Landing Field for No. 36 Operational Training Unit at RCAF Station Greenwood, featuring grass runways. The Detachment closed in 1945. The aerodrome became the Waterville Airport, owned by the Pulsifer Brothers of Halifax who operated a flying school was opened for general aviation flight training until 1948. A garage and restaurant called Sky Gardens was also built on the east end of the airport property. Starting in 1949, parts of the airport property were sold off for other uses. A drive-inn theatre was built on part of the property. The hangar was torn down and the movie screen built in its place. In 1952, RCAF veteran Donald Keith opened the Waterville Flying School at the airport. Sometime in the 1950s the airport was abandoned and the land turned into pasture land. The airport was re-opened in 1963 and a new flying school opened by Harry Bull, who build new hangars and an administration building. In 1976, the airport was purchased by the Municipality of Kings County, who upgraded the facilities including paving the grass runway. The airport was re-named the Waterville/Kings County Municipal Airport. In 2005, 14 Wing Greenwood terminated civilian general aviation at their airfield, resulting in the Greenwood Flying Club re-locating to the Waterville airport and changing its name to the Greenwood Flight Centre. Other aviation companies at the airport included CFC Aircraft Maintenance, the Annapolis Valley Flying Club, the Atlantic School of Skydiving, and the Valley Search and Rescue. The airport closed on 31 March 2016 and the property will be sold to the Michelin Tire Corporation for possible expansion of their manufacturing plant. A plan is in the works for the Greenwood Flight Centre and the other aviation activities at Waterville to return to 14 Wing Greenwood under an agreement that included the construction of hangars and other facilities for general aviation.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Shelburne: Opened in 1942, directly south of HMCS Shelburne, originally for the U.S. Army Air Force. The Americans decided against occupying the station, and it instead became a Detachment of No. 3 Operational Training Unit. No. 116 (BR) Squadron began training at the station, but returned to their original home base at Botwood, NFLD in June 1943. For much of the rest of 1943, the station only saw occasional usage by No. 117 (BR) Squadron and No. 6 Coast Artillery Co-operation Detachment. The station was taken over by the Royal Canadian Navy in 1944, but later closed. All that remains of the station today is the sea-plane slipway. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 17 Elementary Flying Training School: Opened near Stanley on 17 March 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school closed 14 January 1944. For several years the airport was abandoned. Around 1968 the Dartmouth Aircraft Association moved to Stanley, where they built several hangars and fixed the runways to make them useable. The aerodrome is now operated by Stanley Sport Aviation and the Bluenose Soaring Club. The N.S. Department of Lands and Forests, later re-named the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, also leases space at the airfield. The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources used the hangar after the war before turning it over to Stanly Sport Aviation. This distinctive wood hangar had a control tower at one corner and was once the largest building in Hants County. It was demolished in 2006 due to deterioration of the structure. Besides the airfield, the officer's mess and a garage remain today. Source Material: The Stanley Sport Aviation web site - http://www.stanleysportaviation.ns.ca, the Stanley Airfield web site - http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Recreation/BSC/stanhist.html & information supplied by Boris de Jonge, Secretary, Bluenose Soaring Club (2002).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Sydney: Opened in 1940 as a station for bomber reconnaissance aircraft conducting anti-submarine operations. The station closed on 31 December 1945 and three months later, the former station was turned over the Department of Transportation. Today the former station is the Sydney / J.A. Douglas McCurdy Airport. Nothing remains from the airport's wartime days. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Gorsebrook: Established during World War II to provide barracks, messes and administrative support for personnel at the RCAF's Eastern Air Command Headquarters (EAC HQ) at the corner of South and Barrington, along with the RCAF Women's Division. Gorsebrook continued this function post-war, supporting EAC HQ until it disbanded in1947, RCAF’s 10 Group HQ from 1949-1953 and Maritime Air Command HQ from 1953-1966. With the Unification of the Forces, administrative support for Maritime Command was transferred to CFB Halifax. The Gorsebrook station closed in 1966 and the property was sold to the city of Halifax. The station's buildings and permanent married quarters stood until the late 1960s, when they were demolished. Nothing remains of the station today. The former station is now home to Gorsebrook School and Saint Francis School (which later became Inglis Street School), both built on property in the 1950s. In 1983, Sir Frederick Fraser School moved to a new building at the site. The remainder of the former station is now Gorsebrook Park. Source material: Scholars Common @ Laurier web site - http://scholars.wlu.ca/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1742&context=cmh, Radio Communication and Signals Intelligence of the Royal Canadian Navy web site - http://jproc.ca/rrp/albro_lake.html, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak & information provided by Ernie Cable, Historian, Shearwater Aviation Museum (2015).
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 1 Radio/Radar Detachment: Established at Preston, east of Dartmouth on 1 June 1942, as one of the stations on the east coast tasked with the long-range detection of all incoming aircraft and passing on this information to local fighter units and anti-aircraft batteries. The term "RADAR" was not adopted by Canadians until late 1943. No. 1 RD was a small detachment, consisting of only 6 buildings and staffed by around 80 men using TRU radar equipment. The station reported directly to the filter centre at Eastern Air Command HQ in Dartmouth. No. 1 RD disbanded and the station closed on 3 October 1945. Nothing remains today other than a low round concrete structure that may have been the base for the water tower. A modest bungalow now occupies the property, located at 256 Upper Governor Street. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 2 Radio/Radar Detachment: Established at Bell Lake,east of Dartmouth, on 30 June 1942, as one of the stations on the east coast tasked with the long-range detection of all incoming aircraft and passing on this information to local fighter units and anti-aircraft batteries. The term "RADAR" was not adopted by Canadians until late 1943. No. 2 RD closed on 28 February 1945. Nothing remains of the detachment today. The Bel Ayr Park residential community now occupies the property. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 2 Radio/Radar Unit: Established in Tusket in June 1942 as one of the stations on the east coast tasked with the long-range detection of all incoming aircraft and passing on this information to local fighter units and anti-aircraft batteries. The term "RADAR" was not adopted by Canadians until late 1943. The unit disbanded in 1945. The station property was sold to the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Halifax for use as summer camp, Camp Montebello. Camp Montebello ceased operations years ago, and all that remains of the station today, found at the end of Camp Montebello Road, is the Officers' Quarters, the pump house and the power house, all under private ownership. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 5 Radio/Radar Unit: Established near Queensport (now Cole Harbour) in 1942 as one of the stations on the east coast tasked with the long-range detection of all incoming aircraft and passing on this information to local fighter units and anti-aircraft batteries. The term "RADAR" was not adopted by Canadians until late 1943. The unit disbanded in June 1945 and the station was abandoned. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, https://www.madiganstories.com/for-the-good-times and http://www.c-and-e-museum.org/Pinetreeline/rds/detail/rds5-6.html.
No. 6 Radio/Radar Station: Established in 1942 as a detachment of RCAF Station Sydney, as one of the stations on the east coast tasked with the long-range detection of all incoming aircraft and passing on this information to local fighter units and anti-aircraft batteries. The term "RADAR" was not adopted by Canadians until late 1943. The station closed on 2 September 1945. Source Material: Louisbourg Institute web site - http://w3.uccb.ns.ca/search/VEDay.html
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 6 Radio Communications Unit: Established near Mount Uniacke in 1955, with an operations and transmitter site north of the town on the east side of Highway 1 and a receiver site south of the town, on the west side of Highway 1. The unit served as a part of Maritime Air Command's major relay network for Halifax, Greenwood, Summerside, Moncton, Goose Bay, Rockcliffe, Torbay and the Azores. Post-Unification, the station was run by 726 Communications Squadron. The transmitter and receiver sites were closed down in 1967 and 1973 respectively. All that remains at the transmitter site is a lone building, ruins of others, the roadway into the site and some fencing. Nothing remains of the receiver site, part of which is now occupied by Withrow's Farm Market. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 16 Radio Detachment / No. 16 Radio/Radar Unit: Established at Eastern Passage, east of Dartmouth, on 30 September 1943, as one of the stations on the east coast tasked with the long-range detection of all incoming aircraft and passing on this information to local fighter units and anti-aircraft batteries. The term "RADAR" was not adopted by Canadians until late 1943. No. 16 Rd was a very small detachment, consisting of 3 buildings and staffed by 4 officers and 45 men, the station also served as an experimental Ground-Control Approach testing site for RCAF Station Dartmouth. In September 1944, the detachment was re-named No. 16 Radio Unit. At the end of WWII, most of the radio detachments were closed, but No. 16 RU remained open as a Ground-Control Intercept station. No. 16 officially closed on 4 February 1946, but the station remained open, first as a detachment of the Signals Office at RCAF Station Dartmouth and then for the Royal Canadian Navy signals section when it assumed control of the Dartmouth station. The detachment closed in 1955. Nothing remains today other than the underground reservoir. The detachment was located at the end of Scott Drive. Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Canadian Forces Base Cornwallis: Originally opened in May 1942 in Halifax as a Royal Canadian Navy recruit-training centre named His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Cornwallis. This location would be short lived and Cornwallis moved to Deep Brook in April 1943 where it would become the largest new entry training facility in the Commonwealth. The end of WWII saw a reduced need for Naval trainees, and as a result, HMCS Cornwallis closed on 28 February 1946. This would prove to be a short-lived closure, as the RCN re-opened the base in November 1948. A new 19-week course was designed to train sailors for the post-war RCN, a course that would include women (WRENS) by the early 1950s. After the closure of the Point Edward Naval Base in 1964, the HMCS Acadia sea cadet summer camp was re-located to Cornwallis. However, the name HMCS Acadia wouldn't follow the cadet camp. The name HMCS Acadia was revived as the name of the Cornwallis cadet school in 1978. As a result of the Unification in 1968, the base was re-named CFB Cornwallis and expanded their recruit training courses to include all three service branches. Due to a reduction in recruiting levels, as a part of the overall reduction in the personnel levels in the Canadian Forces, CFB Cornwallis closed in 1994. The recruit school moved to CFB St-Jean to merge with the other CF recruit school. 14 Wing Greenwood now provides the local Reserve and Cadet units with administrative and logistical support. Today the site is known as Cornwallis Park, a commercial and residential complex with some companies being established as call centres, and others processing recycled tires, or lumber and forest products. Most of the former military buildings remain. The residences and permanent married quarters (PMQs) were sold or rented to civilians. Other parts of the base were transformed into an industrial park. A Navy presence does remain at Cornwallis in the form of the HMCS Acadia Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre, who carry on the tradition of training young sailors at Cornwallis. Some of the barracks at Cornwallis Park are used during the summer months for student cadets who come to Cornwallis from all over Atlantic Canada. The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre formerly occupied space at Cornwallis. It was established in 1994 to train Canadian and foreign soldiers in the art of peacekeeping and conflict resolution for postings with United Nations Peacekeeping missions. In late 2011, the Centre closed its Cornwallis Park office, ending a 17-year presence. The HMCS/CFB Cornwallis Military Historical Society acquired the former St Georges Chapel and opened it as the Cornwallis Military Museum in 1997, to the history of the former naval training depot and display various artifacts from those years. However, after 20 years, the museum was forced to close as of 3 September 2017 due to a lack of volunteers to staff the museum. The building has been put up for sale. An application has been made by the Society to the National Historic Sites and Monuments Board to have Cornwallis made a national historic site by Parks Canada. Source material: DND press release from February 1994, "Sentinel" Magazine from August 1974 & "Badges of the Canadian Navy" by LT (N) Graeme Arbuckle, The HMCS/CFB Cornwallis Military Historical Society web site - http://www3.ns.sympatico.ca/capcom/cornmilmus.html, "The Maple Leaf" - Vol. 4, No. 36, 2001, "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, http://www.digbycourier.ca/news/local/2017/8/11/cornwallis-military-museum-to-close-after-20-years.html & Kespuwick Developments Cornwallis Park Web Site - www.cornwallis.ns.ca.
Naval Radio Station Albro Lake: Opened near Dartmouth in 1942, Naval Radio Station Albro Lake served as a Naval radio communications station for the Atlantic Coast, with transmitter facilities located at Newport Corner, 50 kilometres northwest of Dartmouth. An explosion at the Bedford Basin Naval Powder Ammunition Depot on 18 July1945 put Albro Lake off the air but only temporarily. With the assistance of RCAF Station Gorsebrook in Halifax, the station was back on the air with borrowed transmitters. The growth of Dartmouth from a small town into a city created problems for receiving radio signals at Albro Lake. The Navy decided to relocate the radio station and as a result, Naval Radio Station Albro Lake closed in 1968. A new radio communications station, Canadian Forces Station Mill Cove, was opened 40 miles southwest of Halifax. The Newport Corner transmitter facilities remained operational in conjunction with CFS Mill Cove, and remain today. The former station is now a housing development and parkland. The station's PMQs remained for many years afterwards, but were transferred to the Canada Lands Company in 1999 and demolished for re-development. Nothing remains of the former NRS Albro Lake today. The former PMQ area features new homes on streets named Chinook, Argus, Fury, Lancaster, Sea King, a nod to the property's military past. Source Material: "Sentinel" Magazine from March 1968, pg 14 and April 1968, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, information supplied by Phil Steeves, Manager of Real Estate Services, Canadian Forces Housing Authority (2005) & information supplied by Walter R. Fitzgerald, Mayor, City of Halifax (1999).
Naval Radio Section Mill Cove: Officially opened as Canadian Forces Station Mill Cove on 19 December 1967, replacing Naval Radio Station Albro Lake as the Royal Canadian Navy's east-coast radio communications station. CFS Mill Cove was constructed as three distinct sites - the "Upper Site", consisting of the operations site, the "Lower Site", consisting of several administrative buildings and the PMQ's, and the transmission facilities at Newport Corner. Department of National Defence cutbacks in the early 1990s saw many bases across Canada close, merge or downsize. As a result, the "Lower Site" closed on 1 June 1995. The "Upper Site" and the transmission facilities at Newport Corner remained operational, but were downsized to a remote broadcast control station and a Detachment of Maritime Forces Atlantic Stadacona (CFB Halifax). The remainder of CFS Mill Cove closed on 1 April 1996 and the station was Transferred to the Mill Cove Park Development Agency. The radio unit was re-named Naval Radio Section Mill Cove in March 1998 to officially recognize its naval heritage and Newport Corner was similarly re-named a naval radio station. On 10 April 2001 the Navy's radio communications facilities returned to the Halifax area for the first time since 1968 when Naval Radio Section Mill Cove re-located to the new Remote Operations Communication Centre at Stadacona. The Mill Cove and Newport Corner receiver and transmitter sites remain active, controlled remotely from Stadacona. The former station was sold to Mill Cove Developments Limited of Halifax in 2003 for re-development. At Mill Cove, the radio building, the administration buildings, the gym, the fire hall, the Jr. Rank's Mess, the Living Quarters and the workshop buildings remain, but are vacant and deteriorating. The PMQs are remain, but are now privately owned. The area for parking recreational trailers behind the Admin Building is now the home of Aspotogan Elementary School. Newport Corners is staffed only by repair technicians and seventeen PMQ units remain in use there for military members. Both the Aldergrove and Matsqui radio stations can be remotely controlled by CFB Halifax. Similarly, both Mill Cove and Newport Corner can be remotely controlled CFB Esquimalt. Source Material: "Trident" magazine from June 3, 1987 and June 15, 1995, "The Maple Leaf" Magazine from April 2001, information supplied by Ronald J. Yaschuk, CD (CPO Ret'd) (2007), information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Atuhority (2011) & information supplied by the Maritime Command Museum, City of Halifax (1999). For the full history of CFS Mill cove, visit http://webhome.idirect.com/~jproc/rrp/mc_mill_cove.html
Canadian Forces Station Shelburne: Opened in December 1941 as His Majesty's Canadian Ship Shelburne, just outside the town limits of the Town of Shelburne, taking over the neighbouring former RCAF Seaplane base. The station was a joint Royal Canadian Navy/United States Navy acoustic sensor and oceanographic research station (aka, spy listening station). The station closed in 1946. The station hospital was turned over to the Town of Shelburne and became Roseway Hospital, located at 1606 Lake Rd. The marine slip used to repair naval vessels was acquired by Irving Shipbuilding and is now known as Shelburne Ship Repair. An industrial park was created out of the former Navy buildings. Twenty-four were sold, but the remainder were leased out to various companies. By the early 1950s, the rising tensions of the Cold War resulted in many Canadian military bases being re-opened. As early as 1950, 23 of the former Navy buildings were reacquired by the RCN. The creation of NATO in 1949 coincided with the development of the SOSUS network (SOund SUrveillance System) by the United States Navy and later other NATO navies for monitoring submarines of Warsaw Pact navies. Deployment of SOSUS and the larger Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) was likely spurred by development of ballistic missile submarines and associated missile technology in the Soviet Union during the mid-1950s. The USN required several "Naval Facility" (NAVFAC) stations to be established. As a result, the RCN re-activated HMCS Shelburne on 1 April 1955. although only a small portion of the wartime station was re-occupied. Additionally, a new property was acquired 14 km (8.7 mi) to the south in Lower Sandy Point on the site of a WWII Canadian Army gun fortifications at Government Point, where the NAVFAC was constructed as a joint RCN/USN "Oceanographic Research Station" - a cover for what would become the first SOSUS station in Canada (U.S. Naval Station Argentia, Nfld, would become the second). The Government Point station became the home of the Canadian Forces Oceanographic Operator School and as a top-secret submarine detection base, the Sound Surveillance System, run in co-operation with the U.S. Navy, who posted a detachment of USN personnel to the station. HMCS Shelburne was also the first SOSUS station to not fall under direct command of the USN. HMCS Shelburne would undergo numerous changes during the remainder of the 1950s and through the 1960s as the World War II-era Quonset huts were replaced with modern facilities. As a result of the Unification in 1968, the station was re-named CFS Shelburne. In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed. On 1 August 1994 the NAVFAC at CFS Shelburne closed and the USN personnel departed The station itself was decommissioned on 13 March 1995. The station's oceanographic duties were taken over by CFB Halifax (Stadacona). Re-named Shelburne Park, the property was turned over to first the Shelburne Park Development Agency, then the South West Shore Development Authority who developed the property into a full-service movie studio. The Shelburne Film Production Centre, which opened for business on 9 July 2000, features over 30,000 square feet of studio and production spaces. The studio was sold to Seacoast Entertainment Arts Inc. for $5 million for development as a film production studio The former station was sold again In late November 2011 to Tri-County Construction, a marine construction contracting company, for $125,000, plus $48,442.58 in back taxes Tri-County Construction owner Roger Sullivan stated that he had no immediate plans for the property, located on Sandy Point Road at Government Point Road/Stockes Road. By 2013, the site was still abandoned, with some of the buildings open to the elements. CFS Shelburne also has a place in UFO folklore as it is rumoured to have played a key role in a 1967 UFO sighting, the Canadian equivalent to America's Roswell incident. A UFO supposedly crashed into the Atlantic Ocean near Shag Harbour on 4 October 1967. A recovery team from CFS Shelburne is reported to have recovered the craft and transported it back to the station. The incident is detailed in the book "Dark Object" by Don Ledger and Chris Styles. Source material: The Shelburne Film Production Centre web site - http://www.shelburnestudios.com, "Sentinel " Magazine from February 1984, Jeff Rense web page - http://www.rense.com/general6/truthoutthere.htm, South West Shore Development Authority - http://www.swsda.com/releases/July16.html, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, Former Shelburne navy base to remain mothballed - http://www.leveil.com/Business/2013-09-04/article-3374134/Former-Shelburne-navy-base-to-remain-mothballed/1 & DND press release from February 1994.
Point Edward Naval Base: Opened by the Royal Canadian Navy on 22 July 1940 as a ship repair depot. The station also served as a naval recruit depot until 1943, when the recruit school re-located to HMCS Cornwallis. After WW II, Point Edward Naval Base remained open as a part of the post-war RCN, becoming a storage for surplus naval vessels, as well as an armament and supply depot. The Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps established HMCS Acadia Summer Training Centre at the Point Edward Naval Base on 30 May 1956. In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, Point Edward Naval Base closed in 1964. HMCS Acadia closed around the same time as the base and Sea Cadet training was then transferred to HMCS Cornwallis. However, the name HMCS Acadia wouldn't follow the cadet camp. The name HMCS Acadia was revived as the name of the Cornwallis cadet school in 1978. The former naval station served as the home of the Canadian Coast Guard College from 1965 until the Coast Guard College re-located to an adjacent property in Edwardsville in 1981. In 1969, the former base became the Sydport Industrial Park and remains so today. All that remains of the former naval base are the old workshops, used by various companies such as East Coast Lumber. Source Material: The Crowsnest of Newfoundland - www.crowsnestnf.ca, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, The Royal Canadian Sea Cadets web stie - http://www.cadets.net/atl/acadia/history_e.asp & The Canadian Coast Guard College - www.cgc.gc.ca/CGC.php?l=e&m=14&p=38.
Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Protector II: See "Closed bases that still have a military presence"
Royal Canadian Naval Air Service Kelly’s Beach: In June1918, with the belief that the Great War would continue for two or three more years, the Royal Canadian Navy, on cooperation with the United States, established a naval air station at Kelly's Beach in North Sydney to help protect merchant ships sailing in convoy from Sydney Harbour and Halifax Harbour. However, WWI came to an end in November of 1918. By this point, living quarters and mess facilities that could accommodate up to 400 servicemen, and a seaplane hangar, had been constructed at Kelly's Beach. When the war ended, the hangar was dismantled, but the other buildings were boarded up and the base was mothballed. In 1939, the former Naval Air Station at Kelly’s Beach was re-activated, although with no American involvement. A new large seaplane hangar was built, while the old barrack buildings were renovated. For the duration of WWII, RCAF seaplanes flew out of the Naval Air Station North Sydney. The most popular of these was the Canso, a seaplane known as the “amphibian.” The bottom of this plane was shaped like the hull of a boat, so it could land on water, but it also had a retractable landing gear so that it could land on a normal runway. The Station closed at the end of WWII and nothing remains of it today. The site is now Munro Park. Source material: "Former Kelly's Beach used as naval air station," The Cape Breton Post, 4 September 2015. - http://www.capebretonpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/2015-09-04/article-4267023/Former-Kellys-Beach-used-as-naval-air-station/1.
Shannon Park / Wallace Heights: Shannon Park and Wallace Heights were established on opposite sides of the MacKay bridge in Dartmouth as a military housing community for personnel posted to HMCS Stadacona. Shannon Park was built up in the early 1950s, while Wallace Heights was built in the 1960s. It was a full community, with over 500 apartment units, a Canex, two elementary schools, two churches, four storage facilities, an arena, swimming pool, community centre, and a large sports field. With defence cutbacks reducing the number of personnel serving in the navy and expanded housing available on the civilian market, both Shannon Park and Wallace Heights residential units were vacated in 2004. The Shannon Park units remain empty and owned by the Canada Lands Corporation, but Wallace Heights was sold and converted to civilian housing. Shannon Park Elementary School, located at 45 Iriquois Drive, remains open, but the middle school is closed. The Shannon Park Arena closed in the fall of 2014 in favour of three-pad arena at the Halifax Forum site. The church was torn down in 2013. The base pool was in use until a few years ago. In 2014, 82 of the 96-acre property was transferred to the Canada Lands Corporation. Part to the Mi’kmaq community who once lived on the land prior to the Halifax Explosion. Source Material: Canada Lands Corporation - www.clc.ca/properties/shannon-park
Camp Amherst: Opened at the Amherst Fairgrounds on 23 October 1939 as the home to the North Nova Scotia Highlanders. By 1941, the North Nova Scotia Highlanders re-located to Camp Debert and the camp became No. 8 Ordnance Detachment, a name that was changed to the Amherst Ordnance Depot in 1942. The Depot closed in 1944. Only one building remains today. Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
Elkins Barracks: Opened in Eastern Passage, east of Dartmouth, in 1941 as A-23 Coast Defence and Anti-Aircraft Artillery Advanced Training Centre. A Radar Wing was established at Camp Debert in 1942. The barracks was named after MGen W.H.P. Elkins, General Commanding Officer of Atlantic Command. The camp remained open after the war as a tank range. Nothing remains of the barracks today, once located at the south -west corner of Cow Bay Road and Caldwell Road. The 71-acre property, now known as the Eastern Passage Common, is now occupied by 3 schools (Oceanview Elementary School, Tallahassee Community School and Seaside Elementary School), a community centre, a community garden, a skate park and various sports fields, residential development. Source Material: "Wartime Halifax: The photo history of a Canadian city at war - 1939-1945", by William D. Naftel, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, The RCCS web site - www.rcsigs.ca & The City of Halifax web site - www.halifax.ca,No. 60 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre: See Yarmouth Armoury in "Closed bases that still have a military presence".
No. 61 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre (Camp Parkdale): Originally opened in October 1940 as No. 61 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre, but later changed to No. 61 CA(B)TC, at an old clay products plant and racetrack/fairgrounds in New Glasgow. The camp closed in September 1944. All that remains of the former camp is the drill hall and a few of the barracks, but not the old racetrack. Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak.
A14 Canadian Infantry Training Centre: See entry for Camp Aldershot in "Current Canadian Bases".
Fort York Redoubt: One of the oldest forts in the Halifax area.
Fort McNab:
Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps Depot Johnstown: Opened in the fall of 1943, the complex consisted of 3 magazines, similar to the ones at Debert and McGivney. Post-War, the site was used as a sub-depot of No, 31 Ordnance Depot in Debert, staffed by a single Private. The depot closed on 18 March 1957. All that remains is the laboratory building on the west side of Highway 4, south of Johnstown, now a private residence.
NATO Satellite Ground Terminal Folly Lake: Opened in 1982 as part of Canada's NATO obligations, SGT Folly Lake was military satellite communications facility located near Folly Lake in Wentworth. A lodger unit of CFB Halifax, it was one of 24 satellite communication facilities for NATO in various countries and one of two in Canada; the other being at Carp, Ontario. SGT Folly Lake was a self contained facility that had supplies in the form of 30 days of food, as well as diesel fuel that would run two Caterpillar generators. The site contained five buildings: an Operations Building (Control), a Garage, a Gate House, a Radar Dome which shielded the satellite dish and later a small storage building. SGT Folly Lake was staffed by 24 personnel working 24 hours a day. There were living quarters in the Operations Building but most personnel commuted to the facility from Moncton, Truro, Halifax or Debert until after it closed in 1996. Military NATO communications traffic was sent to the Telegraph Automated Relay Equipment (TARE) at CFS Debert, until 1994, with civilian NATO communications traffic sent through Maritime Telephone and Telegraph lines. SGT Folly Lake closed in December 2006, due to changes in NATO tactical satellite technology that made their AN/FSQ173 control system outdated. The station was turned over to the Canada Lands Corporation and sold in 2009. Source material: Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency - http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/052/details-eng.cfm?pid=13420. - NUNAVUT TERRITORY
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. - ONTARIO
Canadian Forces Base Toronto - Avenue Road Detachment:
Originally opened in 1939 as the RCAF Institute of Aviation Medicine, a military laboratory, on the grounds of the Eglington Hunt Club. The Institute's purpose was to conduct secret research on the psychological effects of combat flying. It was here that Dr. Wilbur Franks, under the direction of Sir Frederick Banting, who headed he RCAF's No. 1 Clinical Investigation Unit, developed the first anti-gravity flying suit and the first human centrifuge for the allied armies.
The facility also doubled as the home of No. 1 Initial Training School, who moved here shortly afterwards to train recruits for the war. Administrative offices and barracks were constructed to house the school.
An air cadet squadron was also formed at the station, 172 "York" Squadron, in 1942, remaining there until it disbanded on 23 October 1979. The squadron was re-activated as 172 "Clarington" Squadron in October 2005 in Clairington, east of Oshawa.
After WWII, the Institute became a Detachment of the newly established RCAF Station Toronto (Downsview).
In 1946, the Headquarters unit of 400 RCAF (Auxiliary) Squadron was formed at the Avenue Road Detachment. The unit remained until 1964 when it moved to RCAF Station Downsview to join the flying section of the squadron.
Also at the Avenue Road Detachment were the RCAF Personnel Applied Research Unit, part of the Aircrew Selection Unit at RCAF Station Downsview, the Flying Personnel Medical Establishment and the Institute of Aviation Medicine.
The RCAF Staff School, re-named the Canadian Forces Staff School for junior officers after 1968, occupied space at the Detachment from 1959 - 1994. The Army's Toronto District Headquarters, formed at Moss Park Armoury in 1970, moved to the Avenue Road Detachment in the mid-1980s and remained until it again moved to Downsview in 1994.
The Avenue Road Detachment closed on 30 June 1994. The Marshall McLuhan Catholic Secondary School, opened in 1998, currently occupies the former administrative building, extensively renovated and expanded, one of only two buildings that remain. The other, a pre-WWII building, has been converted into condominiums.
The only indicators to the property's past is an old section of fence on the eastern edge of the property that still has a "DND - Do Not Trespass" sign; a sign that is almost completely hidden behind a new wooden fence separating the former detachment and a private residence.
As an interesting historical note, the nosecone section of Avro Arrow RL-206, currently on display at the Canadian Air and Space Museum in Ottawa, was given to the RCAF Institute of Aviation Medicine for their use in flight pressurization testing. Although popular belief is that it was smuggled out of the Avro facilities, it was actually saved and donated to the RCAF institute under orders from the Department of Defence Production, with approval of then-Minister of National Defence Minister George R. Pearkes, V.C. This is contrary to a letter written by Wing Commander Roy Stubbs, Commanding Officer of the Flying Personnel Medical Establishment, which indicated that some Avro workers and members of the RCAF had smuggled the nosecone section out of the Avro plant and hid it at the Avenue Road Detachment.
Source Material: DND Press release from August 1988, the Toronto Military Family Resource Centre web site - http://www.pathcom.com/~tmfrc/, 8 Wing Trenton's web site -
http://www.8wing.trenton.dnd.ca/archives/news110897.htm, "The Downsview Family Tree. - A Historical Summary of the Downsview Lands" by Wayne Kelly (1998), the personal recollections of the author (1999 & 2004), information provided by the Western Canada Aviation Museum (2003), 172 "Clarington" Squadron - http://sharepoint.claringtonaircadets.ca/_layouts/15/start.aspx#/SitePages/ABOUT.aspx, "Storms of Controversy" by Palmiro Campagna & "The Garrison" newspaper from March 1995.
Canadian Forces Base Ottawa (North):
Originally established as a the Rockcliffe Air Station for the new Canadian Air Force in 1919 on the shores of the Ottawa River, the same grounds as a former Army rifle range and training camp that had existed since 1898.
The small airfield, east of the village of Rockcliffe, was home to No. 3 Operations Squadron and an aerial photographic survey unit, later re-named No. 7 General Purpose Squadron, who conducted the first experiments in aerial photography. Rockcliffe was also the only aircraft facility in Canada at the time that housed both land and sea-borne aircraft and was one of six stations for the new Canadian Air Force.
By 1928, Rockcliffe also featured a pigeon loft, the largest of 8 such sites across Canada for the purpose of housing and training homing pigeons for use by RCAF aircrews. Defence Department cutbacks in the 1930's resulted in the elimination of all pigeon lofts except the ones at RCAF Stations Jericho Beach and Dartmouth.
In 1930, the RCAF Test Flight was formed at Rockcliffe, but sadly two years later, on 12 March 1932, the Test Flight saw its first casualty when Colonel William Barker, V.C., co-founder of Bishop-Barker Airplanes Limited, was killed in a test flight accident.
Also, during the 1930s, permanent married quarters and an aircraft hangar (hangar #1) were constructed, as was the "White House", the home of the RCAF Photographic Establishment. The large white building was originally built beside the airfield as a Depression make-work project, eventually becoming a landmark at Rockcliffe.
In October 1939, the Canadian Army established a signals intelligent station at Rockcliffe. Initially 3 Royal Canadian Signals operators ran the section in the basement of the Army HQ Radio Station on the east side of the property, reporting directly to the Directorate of Signals office.
Also in 1939, the National Research Council established a campus at the east end of the Rockcliffe property.
Early in 1941, the signals unit moved into a building vacated by the Signals Inspection and Test Department at Rockcliffe. This structure, originally a garage, became known as the Royal Canadian Signals Experimental Station.
The station was renamed No.1 Special Wireless Station Rockcliffe and had a complement of 22 military radio operators and two civilian technicians. The station eventually outgrew their facilities and in 1942, moved to a new site near Leitrim, where they remain today. Today, Leitrim's most recent and most important mission is the interception of satellite communications.
After going through several name changes, (RCAF Unit Ottawa, RCAF Technical Depot Stores), the station had was re-named Royal Canadian Air Force Station Ottawa in 1936. This name change would be short lived as the station was again re-named RCAF Station Rockclifffe in 1940. Some of the station's other units at this time consisted of No. 7 General Purpose Squadron, Air Transport Command, No. 124 Communications Squadron and the newly opened RCAF Hospital.
With the outbreak of World War II, activity greatly increased at RCAF Station Rockcliffe. Three additional wooden hangars were built for the numerous squadrons now based at the station, and The RCAF Women's Division Manning Depot relocated to Rockcliffe from Toronto in 1943.
In 1940 the RCAF Test and Development Establishment was formed to replace the RCAF Test Flight and in 1943 the Heavy Transport Squadron was formed at Rockcliffe to deliver mail and other supplies using converted B-17 bombers.
Post-war, RCAF Station would remain a very important base of operations. In 1945, the RCAF's first jet fighter, a Gloster Meteor F-111, was test-flown at Rockcliffe. No. 408 (Photo) Squadron, later re-named 408 Tactical Fighter Squadron, re-formed at RCAF Station Rockclifffe in January 1949, and remained until it moved to RCAF Station Rivers in 1964.
In 1950, Rockcliffe gained a school when the Air Photo Interpretation Centre (APIC) was formed, but lost one when the RCAF School of Photography re-located to RCAF Station Camp Borden the same year. By 1960, APIC merged with the Joint Air Photo Interpretation School from RCAF Station Rivers and the centre became fully responsible for training photo-interpreters. No. 22 (Photographic) Wing was also based at Rockcliffe briefly from 15 December 1953 to 1 April 1957.
412 (Transport) Squadron, who have the distinction of being the first users in the world of jet passenger liners on scheduled transatlantic flights, also made Rockcliffe its home until it moved to RCAF Station Uplands on 1 September 1955. The Central Experimental and Proving Establishment, formed in 1951 to replace the RCAF Test and Development Establishment, also moved to Uplands in 1957.
Rockcliffe also had the role of providing administrative and logistical support to the RCAF's Ottawa area units and squadrons. The headquarters of No. 9 (Transport) Group was formed here in February 1945. Re-named Air Transport Command in April 1948, the headquarters remained until moving to RCAF Station Lachine in August 1951. Air Material Command Headquarters was also located at Rockcliffe from April 1949 until August 1965.
In 1961, the RCAF Hospital closed and was replaced by the National Defence Medical Centre, located outside downtown Ottawa.
The predecessor of the current of the National Aviation Museum, originally opened at RCAF Station Uplands in October 1960, moved to Rockcliffe in 1965 where it remains today.
Military flying ended at Rockcliffe in 1964, leaving behind a legacy of more than 40 years as a military flying station. While RCAF Station Rockcliffe was now solely an administrative base, the airfield remained in use by the Rockcliffe Flying Club. The collection of historic military aircraft at Rockcliffe moved into the hangers on the south end of the airfield in 1965.
As a result of the Unification in 1968, the station was re-named CFB Rockcliffe, but this was changed on 2 October 1972 when it was merged with CFB Uplands. Rockcliffe was designated CFB Ottawa (North) and the former RCAF Station Uplands in the south end of Ottawa, was re-designated CFB Ottawa (South).
The 1970s saw a civilian regional passenger carrier operate briefly from the Rockcliffe airfield. Air Transit ran an Ottawa to Montreal flight service from 1974-1976, making it the only commercial passenger air service to have operated at Rockcliffe.
From 1970 -1983, Parliament Hill's Ceremonial Guard used Hangar #1 as their headquarters and drill practice area.
Department of National Defence cutbacks in the early 1990s saw many bases across Canada close or downsize and even though Rockcliffe was in the Nation's capital, it was not spared a similar fate. As a result, Rockcliffe closed in 1994.
In it's heyday, Rockcliffe had as many as 16 Air Force squadrons at any one time, more than any other Air Station in Canada.
Over the next decade, units were re-located to other parts of Ottawa and most of the former RCAF buildings were torn down. By the summer of 2009, the Canadian Forces had completely departed from Rockcliffe and all the PMQs vacated, although they remain boarded up for potential future use.
On 13 October 2009, the roads leading into CFB Rockcliffe were permanently closed off to allow decontamination work to commence. The land had been sold to the Canada Lands Corporation for re-development in 2006.
In 2011, an outstanding aboriginal land claim against the Rockcliffe lands was settled, allowing for the re-development of the property to be called Rockcliffe Landing, a community of between 10,000 and 15,000 people. Billed as a showcase community for 21st-century urban life, the proposal features eight distinct neighbourhoods made up of stores, offices and 4,500 to 6,000 houses and apartments.
All air force buildings and houses have been torn down, leaving behind just the empty roadways and empty fields that are now seeing new homes being constructed.
Land has also been set aside for a museum or a federal institution, as well as a proposed $8 million 40 unit housing complex designated as affordable housing for veterans. Programs will be provided to the veterans to help them deal with physical and mental health issues and addiction.
All that remains of Rockcliffe's military past is the east side of the former station, now the National Research Council campus. The building once occupied by E Squadron of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (until 1970) remains, with the Royal Canadian Corps of signals emblem in stone still standing watch over the south doorway.
The airfield is presently and will continue to be operated as Rockcliffe Airport by the Rockcliffe Flying Club. The Canada Aviation Museum is located on the old flight line with the airport also being used for delivering aircraft to the museum's collection.
A new housing sub-division is currently under construction, stating in the Codd's Road and Mikinak Road area, a development that is now called Wateridge Village. The development will eventually encompass the entire Rockcliffe property.
In September 2019, construction began on The Veterans' House: The Andy Carswell Building, a residential building providing affordable units for homeless veterans. Named after Squadron Leader (Ret'd) Andrew Carswell, an RCAF veteran who served at Rockcliffe, the building will house up to 40 veterans and their families, with completion by 2022.
Source Material: DND Press Releases from May 1987 & June 1989, "Sentinel" Magazine from April 1970, pg **, & Summer 1971 & May 1974, pgs 12 - 15, information supplied by Renald Fortier, Curator, Aviation History, National Aviation Museum, Rockcliffe, Ontario, 8 Wing Trenton News Archive - www.8wing.trenton.dnd.ca/archives/news110897.htm, Terry Martin's "CFB OTTAWA-UPLANDS" web page - www.totavia.com/terry/cyow/uplands, "Farewell To Rockcliffe" by Buzz Bourdon, Airforce Magazine, Fall 2004, 412 (Transport) Squadron web site - http://www.airforce.forces.ca/8wing/squadron/412hist_e.asp, "CFB Rockcliffe development back in planning stage", The Ottawa Citizen, 11 June 2012 - http://www.canada.com/business/Rockcliffe+development+back+planning+stage/6758304/story.html, 450 Squadron web page www.totavia.com/terry/cyow/uplands/450sqn.htm, Jerry Proc's web site - www.jproc.ca, Esprit de Corps, January 2018, Wateridge Village - http://www.wateridge.ca/history, https://www.cmfmag.ca/veteran/construction-begins-on-building-for-homeless-veterans/?fbclid=IwAR0LYZUNNPLCXzrH0j4Jpdr3PpwdN0INkoLPEAmJBhcB2FzqMCC1gRBmunE & the personal recollections of the author (1998 - 2017).
Canadian Forces Base London - Highbury Complex:
Established in July 1941 on the east side of Highbury Avenue as the new home for the Vehicle Reception and Assembly Depot (VRAD), under the command of the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps.
The Depot, which was originally formed at Queen’s Park in London the previous September, employed mainly civilians who assembled around 4340 vehicles from September 1940 until the assembly function was discontinued with the move in July 1941.
The depot was re-designated Central Mechanization Depot and remained as such for the duration of the war.
The Depot remained a part of the post-war army and was re-designated 27 Central Ordnance Depot on 1 October 1946. Permanent Married Quarters (PMQs) were built nearby on Oxford Street in the early 1950s, as were several buildings at the depot itself.
In 1964, No. 6 Area Ordnance Depot also took up residence at Highbury.
With the Unification of the Forces, the depot was placed under the newly-formed Material Command on 1 April 1966 and re-designated 9 Canadian Forces Supply and Maintenance Depot. For administrative purposes, the Depot was attached to the nearby CFB London at Wolseley Barracks.
The disbandment of Material Command in October 1968 saw No. 9 assigned to Mobile Command (Army) and once again re-designated as 27 Canadian Forces Supply and Maintenance Depot.
Further changes within the new Canadian Forces Supply System led to 27 CFS&MD being declared redundant and the unit disbanded in August 1971.
The Highbury Complex continued to be used by the Supply Section at CFB London - Wolseley Barracks but in later years, the depot property was also used by Canada Post, Loeb, Livingston Warehousing Stuart’s Furniture and Appliances and General Motors.
In March 2006, a new support complex opened at Wolseley Barracks to house the units located at the Highbury Complex ,thus ending the military occupation of the Highbury Complex. The six buildings formerly occupied by these units were demolished in 2012. Building 52 at Wolseley Barracks was also demolished and its occupants re-located to the new support complex.
The property was abandoned by DND and today, nothing remains of this once sprawling ordnance depot.
The PMQs, which were also used by Wolseley Barracks families, are still standing and are now private residences.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak & the personal recollections of the author (1997 - 2014).
446 Surface-to-Air Missile Squadron:
With the introduction of the BOMARC missile to Canada, North Bay was selected as one of the two sites in Canada missile base. A small property was selected north of RCAF Station North Bay on Highway 11, the site of a former RCAF radio station.
In December 1961, 446 Surface-to-Air Missile Squadron was formed as the host unit responsible for the missiles and missile station. By October 1962, the BOMARC missiles were delivered and held in 28 storage units known as "coffins". The "coffins' had a retractable roof that allowed the missile, which was stored in a horizontal position, to be elevated to the upright position for launch.
The Bomarc Missile Program was highly controversial in Canada. The Progressive Conservative government of Prime Minister John Diefenbaker had agreed to deploy the missiles, canceling the Avro Arrow program in a controversial move, without knowing if the missiles would be equipped with nuclear warheads. By 1960, a decision was made by the American government that the missiles would indeed have nuclear warheads, a move the Diefenbaker government decided against, leading to an internal dispute, one that split the Diefenbaker Cabinet, and ultimately led to the collapse of the government in 1963. The Opposition Liberal Party argued in favour of accepting nuclear warheads and, after winning the 1963 election, the new Liberal government of Lester Pearson proceeded to accept nuclear-armed Bomarcs, with the first being deployed on 31 December 1963.
When Pierre Trudeau replaced Pearson as Prime Minister in 1968, he cancelled the nuclear warhead program and sent them back to the United States.
Shortly afterwards the American government admitted that the BOMARC missile was ineffective against other missiles and of limited value in other capacities. The program was cancelled and by 1969, the deactivation of BOMARC missile sites began.
In May 1972, the last nuclear warhead left the North Bay station and by September 1972, 446 SAM Squadron disbanded.
The base was taken over by Canadore College as a satellite campus for their helicopter pilot and maintainer programs. This campus closed in the early 2000s, and the property sat empty for several years.
The property is now a self-storage facility, known as Bomarc Site Storage. It remains much the same today as it did during the RCAF days. The former "coffins" are now rented out as self-storage buildings.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, https://skiesmag.com/press-releases/18209-canadore-college-turns-40-prepares-for-the-future-html & the personal recollections of the author (2012).
Royal Flying Corps Camp Leaside:(Royal Canadian Air Force Station Leaside)Opened in early 1917 by the Royal Flying Coprs, one of three in the Toronto area, for training of pilots, mechanics and maintenance crews, as well as the School of Artillery Cooperation.
Located on 220 acres of land between the present Wicksteed and Eglinton Avenues, the aerodrome featured nine hangars, instructional and repair buildings, a mess hall and a hospital building. Student pilots received instruction on the basics of flight, aerial reconnaissance and aerial combat.
After the war, Leaside continued to operate as a private aerodrome, although the property was downsized to about 160 acres with the extension of Laird Drive north of McRae Drive, resulting in the demolition of most of the RFC buildings. Only four hangars were left standing on the south side of the original site.
The newly formed Toronto Flying Club purchased the aerodrome in 1928, making it the first flying club in Canada to have their own aerodrome.
A small clubhouse was built, along with a canteen, an Imperial Oil office and fuel supply for use by club pilots.
The club had a brief stay at Leaside as the aerodrome closed in 1931.
Leaside also has the distinction of being the final destination for the first air-mail flight in Canada on 24 June 1918, with a flight originating in Montreal. It would emerge years later that this flight also has the dubious distinction of being the first time liquor was smuggled aboard an aircraft in Ontario.
At the time, Ontario was under prohibition and the sale of liquor was banned. At the time, Canadian pilot Brian Peck was serving with the Royal Air Force at Leaside (he later earned the distinction of being the first Canadian to successfully parachute from a plane in Canada in 1919). He formulated a scheme to get a free flight from Toronto to Montreal and back to visit his family, by organizing aerial demonstration in an airshow in Montreal using his Curtis JN-4 (Jenny) aeroplane.
Peck managed to convince the managers of the Leaside Aerodrome that it could be a valuable publicity flight for the recruitment of pilots into the Royal Flying Corps Canada.
While in Montreal, George Lighthall and Edmund Greenwood of the Aerial League of the British Empire, arranged for the airmail delivery. What few knew at the time, Peck had also made plans prior to leaving Ontario to transport some additional "cargo" on his return journey. The aeroplane was crammed with so many cases of Old Mill scotch that Peck was only able to keep it about 40 feet in the air. Peck's mechanic, Corporal C.W. Mathers, was forced to sit atop some of the cases, intended to be used in a wedding celebration for a certain stores lieutenant at the Leaside Aerodrome.
Adding to the weight issues Peck faced, a strong wind caused the aeroplane to burn more fuel than usual and he had to make an unscheduled stop to refuel (first in Kingston, then Deseronto as Kingston had the wrong kind of fuel). The "history-making" flight was so hastily arranged that even Toronto Postmaster William Lemon, was not made aware of the flight until the plane had landed at Leaside.
A heritage plaque commemorating this historic flight can be found at the southeast corner of Brentcliffe Road and Broadway Avenue.
The RCAF acquired the former aerodrome for use as a No. 1 Radio Direction Finding School, Royal Canadian Air Force Station Leaside, from 1942 to 1944.
Nothing remains of the aerodrome today, the last hangar having been demolished in 1971. The Leaside Business Park and a housing Development currently occupy the site of the former aerodrome.
Along with the plaque, the only other reminder left of the Leaside Aerodrome is Aerodrome Crescent, southeast of Eglinton Avenue and Laird Drive.
Source Material: the Lost Rivers web site – http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/air.htm, the National Archives of Canada – http://www.archives.ca/05/0518/05180203/0518020303_e.html, information provided by Jane Pitfield, Councillor, City of Toronto (2005), the Leaside Business Park Association – http://www.leasidebusinesspark.com, Esprit de Corps magazine, April 2012, https://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/2536566-leaside-100-aerodrome-was-site-of-canada-s-first-air-mail-flight, (1) Leaside Aerodrome | Facebook, & the personal recollections of the author (2004 & 2015).
Royal Flying Corps Camp Long Branch:
No. 21 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre:
A-25 Small Arms Training Centre (Eastern Canada) / Small Arms Limited Long Branch Arsenal:
The Long Branch Aerodrome has the distinction of being the first Aerodrome in Canada and home to the first commercial flying training school. The aerodrome was situated on a 100 acre property in Toronto Township (now Mississauga), bounded by the current day streets of Ogden Road, Lakeshore Road and Cawthra Roads.
This property had previously been occupied by the Long Branch Rifle Ranges, a range established in 1891 by the Federal Government and the Ontario Rifle Association, for target practice by the Queen's York Rangers and various militia regiments.
The aerodrome was opened on 20 May 1915 and operated by Curtiss Aeroplanes and Motors Company for the Royal Flying Corps. Aircraft such as the Curtiss JN-4 soon became a common sight at the airfield, which included 3 aircraft hangars.
Canadian students paid their own way to receive initial instruction at the flying on Curtiss "F" Model flying boats at Hanlan's Point on the Toronto Islands and then on JN-3 land planes at the Long Branch aerodrome. On obtaining a pilots licence, students were eligible to receive a flying post with the RNAS and later the Royal Flying Corp and have part of their tuition reimbursed. The first two students graduated on 11 July 1915.
In January 1917, the newly designated Royal Flying Corps, Canada, the forerunner to the Royal Canadian Air Force, opened the RFC Training Centre at Long Branch. The Long Branch training centre also provided instruction on flying boats at nearby Hanlan's Point in Toronto Harbour, the first seaplane base in Canada.
By July 1917, the flight school re-located to the Armour Heights Aerodrome. Long Branch became the Cadet Ground Training School for the Royal Flying Corps. Both the school and the aerodrome closed in 1919.
Not the slightest trace remains of the aerodrome today.
In June 1940, Small Arms Limited, a crown corporation, was founded under orders of the Ordnance Branch of the Department of National Defence, who authorized the construction of the factory for production of small arms rifles. The factory was built on the east end of the former Long Branch Aerodrome property. The factory produced British-pattern small arms such as the Lee-Enfield and Sten sub machine-gun.
In October 1940, No. 21 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre was established, remaining until March 1941, when A-25 Canadian Small Arms Training Centre (Eastern Canada) was formed in its place. The Army camp served not only as a training centre for soldiers, but as a proving establishment for firearms manufactured by Small Arms Limited.
Small Arms Limited was shut down in December 1945 and production was taken over by Canadian Arsenals Limited, with the facility being re-designated as the Small Arms Division of C.A.L.
The name of the camp was changed to S-3 Canadian Small Arms Training Centre (Eastern Canada) in November 1942 until closing in October 1945. The 2nd Infantry Training Battalion took over the camp until closing in May 1946. The firing ranges remained in use by the militia units in the Toronto area, along with the RCN, RCAF, RCMP, OPP and the range's original occupant, the Ontario Rifle Association.
By 1955, the urbanization of Toronto Township, which included Long Branch, was starting to cause problems for the continued use of the firing ranges, which was seeing as many 9000 persons per year at the range. Bowing to public pressure, DND moved their range facilities to Camp Borden not long afterwards. The other occupants found other ranges facilities and the Long Branch Range closed in 1957.
Canadian Arsenals factory continued operations until it was closed 30 June 1976.
Ontario Power Generation established the Lakeview Generating Station on the former aerodrome property in 1962. The generation station quickly became a landmark due to its four smokestacks, dubbed “The Four Sisters”, due to the station's eight boilers being paired, with a common stack for each pair, thus four stacks or “sisters”. These smokestacks, each rising 493 feet, served as navigation aids for boaters sailing along Lake Ontario.
In September 1969, a plaque was erected at the site to commemorate Canada's first Aerodrome.
The Lakeview Drill Hall was established in the administration building in 1968, housing 2824 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, also known as "The Cadet Organization Police School, Cadet Corps".
The administration building also served as Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) Training and Development Centre.
The remaining buildings were taken over by Canada Post for use as a distribution centre.
The former factory lands, known as the "Arsenal Lands", and the administration building were purchased by the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority in 1991 (who continued to lease the facilities to Canada Post and OPG).
The Canada Post facility remained in operation until closing in the mid 1990s. The OPG facility closed in 2005 when the Lakeview Generating Station was shut down. The generation station was demolished in 2007 and the property is now vacant.
The remainder of the aerodrome property contains various manufacturing plants, passive parks and walking trails and the Lakeview Water Treatment Plant.
Future plans call for the "Arsenal Lands" to be re-developed as part of Marie Curtis Park West.
The administration building, the sole remaining building from the Small Arms factory and army camp, now sits vacant. The re-development plans thus far include the building. The only other remnants of the property's past are the concrete backstop and wooden sound baffles for the small arms range, the water tower standing in the middle of an empty field and assorted concrete remains littered around the site.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, http://www.waynecook.com/apeel.html - Historic Plaques of Peel, information provided by Eric Gibson, The Mississauga Heritage Foundation (2004), information provided by Paul Chomik, Toronto - Lakeshore Historian (2012), the personal recollections of Tim Baetz, resident of Midland area (2004), "History of Canadian Airports" by T. M. McGrath, Ontario Power Generation web site - www.opg.com/ops/lakeviewfinal.pdf, information provided by the Canadian Air & Space Museum (2015), Ontario Rifle Association web site - http://www.ontariorifleassociation.ca/node/10, "Firing ranges may be moved to Camp Borden", Barrie Examiner, 7 February 1955 & the personal recollections of the author (2004 & 2015).
Royal Flying Corps Camp Beamsville:
Opened in early 1918 on a 282 acre property by the Royal Flying Corps as the home of the School of Aerial Fighting and the School of Aerial Gunnery.
The aerodrome consisted of 60 buildings, including 9 hangars for it's fleet of aircraft.
Both schools closed in March 1919, having trained 1200 pilots. Fourteen pilots lost their lives in training accidents.
The aerodrome continued to be used as a civilian airfield through to the 1930s.
In 1942, the RCAF considered re-activating the Beamsville aerodrome as a Relief Landing Field for No. 9 EFTS at St. Chatharines, but this never came to be.
All that remains of the former aerodrome is one hangar, slightly modified with new siding and a small addition, along with and one administrative building, both now occupied by Global Horticultural Inc.
Source Material: "History of Canadian Airports" by T. M. McGrath, information supplied by Global Horticultural Inc. - http://www.globalhort.com (2005) & the personal recollections of the author (2005).
Royal Flying Corps Camp Rathbun:
Royal Flying Corps camp opened during WWI. One partial hangar remains today, converted into a private residence.
Source Material: "History of Canadian Airports" by T. M. McGrath.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Hamilton:
Opened west of Mount Hope on 9 June 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as the home to two schools: No. 33 Air Navigation School, which trained air navigators, air gunners and telegraphers, and No. 10 Service Flying Training School.
No. 10 SFTS re-located to Pendleton in 1942, while No. 33 ANS continued operations until it closed on 6 October 1944.
No. 4 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit in Brantford, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal, established a Detachment at the aerodrome in 1945, but it closed in 1946.
With the end of the war, activity at the station was greatly reduced and most of the RCAF Squadrons re-located elsewhere. However, RCAF Station Hamilton was to play an important role in the post-war RCAF.
424 (Light Bomber) Squadron (Auxiliary), remained and the Hamilton Aero Club took up residence in several vacant buildings. The Royal Canadian Naval Reserve's No. 1 Training Air Group began flying training at RCAF Station Hamilton in 1949 for members of HMCS STAR's Air Arm. No. 16 Wing (Auxiliary) was formed to serve as the parent unit for the Hamilton area RCAF Auxiliary squadrons.
On 1 October 1950, the RCAF established No. 2424 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron (Auxiliary) to train reserve personnel for duties at Pinetree Line radar stations, with a Detachment at the James Street Armoury in downtown Hamilton. A year later, control of No. 2424 AC & W Squadron fell under Air Defence Command. Slowly, however, RCAF Station Hamilton was being converted to civilian use. By the mid 1950s, two thirds of the air traffic at the airfield was civilian.
In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, RCAF Station Hamilton closed in 1964. No. 16 Wing and No. 2424 AC & W Squadron disbanded. Today, 16 Wing Borden carries on its predecessor's traditions.
For many years afterwards, the airport was known as the Mount Hope Airport. Today, as the John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport, it is a premier centre for passenger and cargo air traffic. Some of the tenants at the airport are the Piper Flite Centre, the Hamilton Flying club, Glandford Aviation and WestJet.
All that remains besides the airfield are the World War II era hangars. The sole remaining H-hut, formerly occupied by 447 Wing, Royal Canadian Air Force Association, was torn down in 2009.
Anyone who served at the old school would hardly even recognize the place. The airport's military heritage is kept alive by the Hamilton International Air Show each year and by the presence of the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum (www.warplane.com).
Source Material: The Hamilton Airport web site - http://www.hamiltonairport.com/index.shtml, "HMCS STAR - A Naval Reserve History" by Commander Robert J. Williamson, CD, Commanding Officer, HMCS STAR - 1985-1988, the personal recollections of the author (1998), "Report: City should not buy building for 447 Wing - Hamilton Spectator, 31 August 2015 & "Wings For Victory" - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada, by Spencer Dunmore.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station London:
Originally opened at the Crumlin Airport on 24 June 1940 as the home of No. 3 Elementary Flying Training School and No. 4 Air Observer School of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The expansion of No. 4 AOS necessitated the closing of No. 3 EFTS on 3 July 1942.
By the time No. 4 AOS closed in December 1944, 4439 students had graduated from the school.
RCAF Station Crumlin would remain open after WWII, eventually becoming part of the post-war RCAF. The station was re-named RCAF Station London.
Several RCAF Auxiliary would be formed at RCAF Station Crumlin, including 420 (Fighter) Squadron of the RCAF Auxiliary, in September 1948 (remaining until disbanding in September 1956), 22 Wing (Auxiliary) and 2420 AC&WS, both in 1956, as well as 4004 Medical Unit and 3049 Technical Training Unit of the RCAF Auxiliary.
RCAF Station London would also become the home of the Officers Selection Centre, the NATO Training & Induction School (in 1950) and No. 1 Officers School (in 1951). The NATO school re-located to RCAF Station Centralia in 1954.
On 1 July 1956, Air Defense Command re-formed 2420 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (Auxiliary) to train Fighter Control Operators.
With the introduction of the SAGE system at radar stations, all Auxiliary Aircraft Warning & Control Squadrons were disbanded by the end of 1961 as Auxiliary squadrons were only trained on the manual tracking systems and the RCAF elected not to upgrade them to the SAGE system.
Decreasing requirements for pilot training lead to the closure of RCAF Station London closed in 1958.
The former station is now the London International Airport.
All that remains from the RCAF days is the former Airman's' Canteen, now occupied by 427 (London) Wing, Royal Canadian Air Force Association of Canada and the Spirit of Flight Museum. The Secrets of Radar Museum occupies a small building right beside the former Airmen's Canteen; a former church that was moved to the site.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, "History of Canadian Airports" by T. M. McGrath, 427 (London) Wing RCAFA web site - www.427wing.com & the personal recollections of the author (2001 - 2015).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Centralia:
Originally opened in July 1942 when No. 9 Service Flying Training School re-located from Summerside, PEI. Relief Landing Fields were constructed at Grand Bend and St. Joseph. The school closed 30 March 1945.
No. 1 Aircrew Conditioning Unit (ACU) was established at the aerodrome to train service personnel for operations in the war's Pacific theatre. When No. 1 ACU was closed after the war, the RCAF formed No. 1 Flying Training School (No. 1 FTS) which used Ansons and Harvards. The first, and last flying course was in January 1946, followed by the closure of the station.
RCAF Station Centralia didn't stay dormant long, as it was reactivated in January 1947 to provide accommodation and training facilities for No. 1 Radar and Communications School (No. 1 R&CS) that was based in nearby RCAF Station Clinton. No. 1 Instrument Flying School (IFS) was relocated to Centralia from RCAF Station Trenton in the spring of 1947. This school gave students an opportunity to obtain their instrument rating qualifications. on the Expeditor aircraft. In 1956, No. 1 IFS moved to RCAF Station Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Also reactivated in 1847 was No. 1 Flying Training School (FTS). Student pilots the Harvards aircraft. No. 1 FTS was one of Canada's contributions to the training of foreign airmen for a new multinational force. In March 1957, No. 1 FTS merged with the Advanced Flying School at Saskatoon.
In April 1948, the RCAF's School of Flying Control was formed at Centralia. The school trained Flying Control Officers and Aircraft Control Assistants for deployment in control towers and operations rooms in RCAF stations. Training was undertaken at Centralia's Grand Bend Detachment from 1951-1957.
In May, a flying detachment for No. 1 Radar and Communications School (No. 1 R&CS) based at RCAF Station Clinton was established.
Centralia was actively involved with the NATO Air Training Plan. The NATO Training & Induction School, originally located at RCAF Station London, re-located to RCAF Station Centralia in 1954. The school's purpose was to inform personnel about various aspects of working with NATO.
In October 1954, the Pre-Flight School was formed at Centralia. This school provided ground instruction to students before they began flight training. In 1956, Centralia began hosting the Primary Flying Training School using the Chipmunk. Graduate pilots were sent to western Canada for more advanced training on Harvards.
No.2 Personnel Selection Unit (PSU), which was responsible for officer selection for air crew, moved to Centralia after the closure of RCAF Station London in 1958.
In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, Training Command designated RCAF Station Centralia for closure.
The Primary Flying School moved to Camp Borden; the Central Officers' School moved to CFB Esquimalt and the Technical Administration and other non-flying training moved to CFB Clinton in 1966, in anticipation of the closure.
For the second time in its history, RCAF Station Centralia on 31 March 1967, but this time for good.
Most of the former station remains as it was the day it closed and now known as the Huron Industrial Park. The airfield remains in use as the Centralia Airport. The Royal Canadian Air Cadets Central Region Gliding School operates one of eight summer Regional Gliding Centre at the airport.
Centralia College of Agricultural Technology occupied the former Officers’ Mess, along with a new adjoining barracks constructed in 1980, from 1967 and closed in 1994. The mess and barracks were then used as the Centralia International Training and Conference Centre, but by 2012, the buildings were empty and up for sale.
2923 Middlesex-Huron Army Cadet Corps was formed at Huron Park in 1974 and conducted their weekly training in the former Recreation Centre. The corps now trains at the Legion Branch in Exeter.
On the weekend of 5-7 June 1992, a monument was dedicated the men and women who served at the both the war-time school and RCAF Station Centralia by the Royal Canadian Legion Branch #167.
United Goderich Inc. has owned and occupied the airport since 1997. In 2009, Ben Lobb, Member of Parliament for Huron-Bruce, today announced the creation of an aerospace manufacturing training facility at the Huron Park Airport in the Municipality of South Huron.
RCAF Detachment St. Joseph closed after the war and no longer exists.
To read an article about “Centralia Sam” Aquilina, chief steward of the Flight Cadets Mess and a local legend, go to https://militarybruce.com/centralia-sam-2/
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, the Grand Bend Motorplex web page - http://www.grandbendmotorplex.com, Bel Lobb web site - www.benlobb.com/riding_news/government_of_canada_invests_in_south_huron_to_stimulate_local_economy, the personal recollections of the author (1997 - 2012), Sentinel magazine, September 1966 & "The Canada Flight Supplement 1999".
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Grand Bend:
Opened in 1942 as a Relief Landing Fields for No. 9 Service Flying Training School at RCAF Station Centralia.
RCAF Detachment Grand Bend remained open after World War II as Centralia's relief field. With the reformation of the Flying Control Branch in early 1951, RCAF Detachment Grand Bend also served as the home to No. 1 Flying Control School from 1951-1957.
In 1961, the Detachment was briefly handed to the Canadian Army for their use, but by 1962, it was back in RCAF hands. RCAF Detachment Grand Bend closed in 1963.
Today, very little remains from the RCAF Days. The Grand Bend Motorplex uses two of the three runways as a drag racing track. The third runway operates as the Grand Bend Airport, utilized by the Grand Bend Sport Parachuting Center. The hangar, with the control tower perched on top remains, now occupied by P.O.G. Incorporated, along with the former MSE building and 2 other small buildings.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, the Grand Bend Motorplex web page - http://www.grandbendmotorplex.com, the personal recollections of the author (2001 & 2016), Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCAF_Detachment_Grand_Bend, Air Traffic Control web site - http://www.rcaf-atc.org & "The Canada Flight Supplement 1999".
Canadian Forces Base Clinton:
Established by the Royal Air Force in 1941, as the home to the No. 31 Radio Direction Finding School (No. 31 RDF), a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. As Radio Direction Finding, or RADAR as it would later be called, was a strictly guarded secret at that time, RAF/RCAF Station Clinton was listed as a communications training facility.
In July 1943, No. 31 RDF closed and No. 5 Radio School was formed in its place by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The station was re-named RCAF Station Clinton. No. 1 Radio School re-located to Clinton from their facility in Scarborough in March 1944.
In June 1944, No 5 Radio School was transferred to the RCAF's Home War Operations Training command.
RCAF Station Clinton remained open at the end of the Second World War, becoming part of the post-war RCAF. In November 1945, Clinton became home to the No. 1 Radar and Communications School (No. 1 R&CS), which maintained a detachment at nearby RCAF Station Centralia. Permanent Married Quarters were added for the families of station personnel.
RCAF Station Clinton was also home to other units, including No. 12 Examination Unit, No. 1 Air Radio Officer School, School of Food Services, and the Aerospace Engineering Officer School.
As a result of the Unification of 1968, RCAF Station Clinton was re-named Canadian Forces Base Clinton. However, more change was in the wind. In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation was begun within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. CFB Clinton was one that was one of the bases marked for closure.
CFB Clinton closed on 30 August 1971. The Canadian Forces Radar and Communications School re-located to CFB Kingston. The station's colours were removed from the Protestant Chapel and laid up in the Wesley -Willis United Church in the Town of Clinton.
Today, the former base is known as the Village of Vanastra. Most of the base remains today. Some of the buildings are abandoned and crumbling, but others are still in use by various companies, such as Martin Steel Company, Vanastra Packaging, Paul Davis Restoration Systems, CAP Products, Good Choice Liquidation Centre, Great Canadian Solid Wood Furniture and Ontario Hydro's Clinton Operations Centre.
One of the old barracks has been transformed into the Vanastra Lions Apartment building, but all the other barracks were abandoned and left to crumble. One of the barracks at the east side of the base was torn down in the mid 2000s and replaced with modern homes. Most of the old PMQ homes are now private residences, although some have been replaced by modern homes.
Conestoga College established a satellite campus at the former Air Vice Marshal Hugh Campbell School in Summer of 1972, but this campus closed in 1986.
On 4 May 2019, in conjunction with "Jane’s Walks", which honors the late Jane Jacobs, a celebrated author, journalist, urban planner and community leader, a ribbon cutting ceremony was held to officially open a two-kilometre heritage trail around the former RCAF station detailing the war-time secrets that have only recently been revealed. Ten plaques can be found at locations along the trail, each marking a historic location and providing a brief history of what occurred on the site during the time it was used as a secret radar training base.
The other significant event in the history of RCAF Station Clinton is that it was the scene of one of the best known murder mysteries in Canadian history: the murder of 12-year-old Lynne Harper, who disappeared on 9 June 1959. Harper disappeared after accepting a bike ride from 14-year old Steven Truscott, a classmate in a combined grade 7/8 class at the Air Vice Marshal Hugh Campbell School at the Clinton station. By his own admission, Truscott had given Harper a ride on his bike from the station to the area of Highway 8, just west of the station, where she reportedly was seen hitch-hiking a ride in an unknown car. On June 11, searchers discovered her body in a nearby farm woodlot between the station and Highway 8. Harper had been raped and strangled with her own blouse.
Steven Truscott was arrested for Harper’s murder and was convicted after a very controversial trial comprised of circumstantial evidence that centred on placing Harper's death within the narrow time frame when Truscott gave her the bike ride.
Truscott was scheduled to be hanged on 8 December 1959 but his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in 1960. He was released on parole on 21 October 1969 and disappeared into obscurity until 2000, when an interview on CBC Television's The Fifth Estate revived interest in his case and Truscott emerged from the shadows to reaffirm his innocence and seek justice.
On 28 August 2007, Truscott was formally acquitted of the charges in a decision by the Ontario Court of Appeal. However, this stopped short of Truscott’s ultimate goal of a declaration of factual innocence, which would mean that Truscott would formally be declared innocent of all charges, not merely unable to be found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant apologized to Truscott on behalf of the provincial government, stating they were "truly sorry" for the miscarriage of justice.
Amongst the suspects in the death of Harper was RCAF Sergeant Alexander Kalichuk, a troubled man and a heavy drinker with previous convictions for sexual offenses. Kalichuk drank himself to death in 1975, never having been formally accused or charged in the death of Lynne Harper.
Truscott once lived in the Clinton PMQs at 2 Quebec Street, a house which is still standing . Lynne Harper once lived at 15 Victoria Boulevard, but the original PMQ has been replaced with a new home.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, information provided by Tim Tribe, Conestoga College (2105), https://www.clintonnewsrecord.com/news/local-news/historic-trail-opens-at-former-top-secret-rcaf-base and the personal recollections of the author (1997- 2020).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Aylmer:
Originally opened on 3 July 1941 as no. 14 Service Flying Training School, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Relief Landing Fields were constructed at St. Thomas and Tillsonburg.The Woman's Division Service Police School was also established at Aylmer in 1942.
No. 14 SFTS re-located to Kingston in August 1944.
No. 1 Flight Engineer School was formed at the station on 1 July 1944. This school closed on 31 March 1945.
The station was re-named RCAF Station Aylmer and remained open after World War II, becoming an important and very busy part of the post-war RCAF. Aylmer served as a Technical Training Centre for support and maintenance trades, including the RCAF Technical and Engineering School (later redesignated No. 1 Technical Training School or TTS) (April 1945 - May 1955), Academic Training School (May 1949 - Oct. 1950), Composite Training School, No. 11 Examination Unit (Sept. 1951 - Nov. 1952), the Aeronautical Engineering School (June 1952 - Nov. 1953), the RCAF Ground Control Approach School (1953 - 1957), the RCAF Fire-Fighting School (1951 - 1961) and the Support Services School (1960).
No. 2 Manning Depot and No. 1 Personnel Selection Unit (PSU) were located at Aylmer from 1949 - 1950.
RCAF Station Aylmer closed in 1961. The former station was taken over the following year by the Ontario Government, who established the Ontario Police College at the site.
Most of the buildings remained in use by staff and police recruits until the 1970s, when a new multi-use building was constructed.
Today, all that remains of the former RCAF Station Aylmer are 2 hangars, one re-sided in metal and the other bricked over. The outline of the abandoned runways remains, with small chunks of severely deteriorated asphalt remaining. Only the taxi area of the airfield remains completely intact and is now used as part of the police vehicle driver training track. A memorial sits at the main entrance to the college as a tribute to the airmen and airwomen who served at No. 14 SFTS and RCAF Station Aylmer.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak & the personal recollections of the author (2000-2010).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Tillsonburg:
Opened as a Relief Landing Field for No. 14 SFTS at Aylmer, the aerodrome had three 2,600 ft. grass runways in a standard triangular pattern. The aerodrome also served as a Radio Navigation Training School. The end of World War II saw the closure of many RCAF stations, but RCAF Detachment Tillsonburg would remain open until 1948, when the RCAF finally withdrew.
From 1949 until 1973, Hicks & Lawrence Limited, run by Merv Hicks and Tom Lawrence, operated a flying school, aerial spraying and agricultural operation from the airport. In 1973, the Town of Tillsonburg took control of the Airport. All of the RCAF buildings were torn down. The Town paved the primary runway, built a terminal building, aircraft hangars and fuel facilities. Three additional hangars were added in the early 1980s
One prominent tenant at the Tillsonburg Airport is the Canadian Harvard Aircraft Association, preserving the memory of this RCAF training aircraft.
Source Material: The Town of Tillsonburg web site - http://www.town.tillsonburg.on.ca/airport.asp & information provided by former Hicks & Lawrence employee Rick Lee (2004).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment St. Thomas:
Opened in 1941 as a Relief Landing Field for No. 14 SFTS at Aylmer and No. 4 Bombing & Gunnery School at Fingal. The aerodrome had such amenities as a small hospital, barracks, maintenance facilities and a small hanger.
The end of World War II saw the closure of many RCAF stations, but RCAF Detachment St. Thomas would remain open until 1948, when the RCAF finally withdrew.
The airport then became the St. Thomas Municipal Airport. It was purchased by the City of St. Thomas in 1970.
The east-west runway (09/27) was extended from 3,000 to 5,050 ft in 1982.
Of the original war-time buildings, only the hangar remains, now covered with metal siding. Among the tenants of the airport are the St. Thomas Flight Centre and the Central Helicopter Training Academy.
St. Thomas Airport also hosts the Great Lakes International Airshow.
Source Material: St. Thomas Flight Centre - http://www.learntofly.on.ca/CYQSAirport.htm, information provided by Dale B. Arndt, Airport Superintendent (2004) and the personal recollections of the author (2000-2010).
Edenvale Transmitter Station:
(Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Edenvale):
Opened in October 1941 on Lots 13, 14 & 15, Concession 10 in Sunnidale Township as the No. 1 Relief Landing Field for No. 1 Service Flying Training School at RCAF Station Camp Borden, a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. RCAF Detachment Edenvale consisted of three 3000-foot asphalt runways and a total of 12 buildings including a single hangar and barracks, airmen's mess and administration building.
Edenvale had its first recorded landing on 8 August 1941, even before the Detachment was fully operational.
Due to construction at No. 1 SFTS at Camp Borden, No. 2 Squadron of the SFTS had to find new accommodations, so they were sent to Edenvale. Soon the sound of Harvards buzzed through the air.
The airfield was a slightly modified version of the standard triangle-shaped runways at most WWII RCAF airfields, but still had three hard-surfaced runways: 3/21 at 2900 feet, 8/26 at 2400 feet and 14/32 at 2500 feet long.
The Detachment was also the site of the Advanced Tactical Training Unit, a sub-unit of No. 1 SFTS, which conducted bombing training. Students spent 3 weeks at the ATU, living in the original farmhouse on the property, while the instructors stayed in the barracks.
Training at Edenvale ceased in February 1945, although a small caretaker staff remained behind. The last recorded flying operation at Edenvale was an accident at the field on 9 August 1945. Edenvale was formally closed 10 September 1945.
Some RCAF airfields became, or reverted to municipal airports, like the Oshawa Airport, the Kingston Airport and even Pearson International Airport in Toronto. Other airfields, like RCAF Detachment Edenvale, were simply abandoned.
Several proposals for usage of the aerodrome were bounced around. RCAF Station Camp Borden indicated that they wanted to use the site for storage of flying club aircraft and the Barrie Flying Club also expressed interest in the aerodrome for club flying, but none appear to have materialized.
On 17 January 1946, Edenvale was turned over to the Department of Transport, with an agreement that the RCAF could use it as a relief field.
In 1950, the former RCAF Detachment Edenvale was sold to Summervale Farms.
Also in 1950, the site came back to life as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing, organized by the Canadian Automobile Sports Club. Known at various times as the Stayner Speedway and the Edenvale Raceway, the former airfield continued in this capacity until 1959, when it was once again abandoned.
In 1962, the site was re-activated by the Canadian Army as a remote radio communications station for Camp Borden. A single level underground bunker was constructed beside one of the old runways for communications personnel, a smaller version of the Provincial Government's Emergency Operations Centre Bunker at Borden. Personnel from Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, and post-Unification 706 Communications Squadron, staffed the facility.
The bunker was vacated in 1988 and finally closed in 1994 when the transmitter towers were dismantled, along with the receiver towers at the Brentwood site. Once again, the property was abandoned.
By 1998, the bunker was sealed up by welding the blast doors shut and burying the entrances.
The original farmhouse on the property, located on Highway 26, also remained and operated for many years as the Sweetbriar Lodge Nursing Home.
In 2002, Toronto businessman Milan Kroupa purchased Lots 13 & 14 from the Federal Government, including the former Sweetbriar Lodge Nursing home building.
Lot 15, where the RCAF buildings, hangar and the taxiway once sat remains owned by other interests. This lot was the site of the ill-fated Roxodus Festival in July 2019, a four-day rock festival that would have featured over 20 bands, including Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Nickelback, Cheap Trick, Peter Frampton, Billy Idol and Blondie. The organizers cancelled the festival a week before it was scheduled to start, setting off a flurry of lawsuits and bringing about the demise of rookie promoter MF Live.
By 2004, the old aerodrome came back to life when Kroupa opened his newest business venture, the Edenvale Flying Club (www.edenflight.com). Initially only runway 08-26, the east-west runway, was re-opened and a new 50" x 150" x 14" steel-sided hangar was built alongside.
The former Sweetbriar Lodge building was renovated and turned into administrative offices, residential apartments, classrooms for the flight school and a restaurant.
In 2006, 2 new hangars were constructed proving 40 new spaces for aircraft, with 3 additional hangars added shortly afterwards.
In 2009, a new paved 4000-foot runway opened alongside one of the original abandoned runways. A 17,000 square foot hangar was also built on the west edge of the property by the bunker beside the new runway for larger aircraft. A third grass runway, runway 17/35, was also added.
A seventh hangar was built in 2014. As well, a hotel and rental car service are proposed as future additions. In 2016, construction began on 3 more hangars.
Edenvale Aerodrome is home to Lindberg Aero, Edenvale Classic Aircraft Foundation, Aviator Academy, Borden Flying Club and National Ultralight Dealership. The annual "Gathering of the Classics" is also held at the aerodrome.
In 2018, the Edenvale Aerodrome became the long-awaited new home to the Toronto Aerospace Museum, now known as the Canadian Air and Space Conservancy. The museum was originally housed the original deHavilland Canada aircraft manufacturing building at Downsview Park in Toronto, but was evicted in September 2011 so the building could be redeveloped.
The centrepiece of the Conservancy is a full-size replica of the famed CF-105 Avro Arrow, the same on that was once the centrepiece of the museum when it was in Toronto, which arrived at Edenvale, disassembled and on flatbed trucks, on 3 December 2018, ready to be reassembled as a part of the new museum.
Other than the airfield, very little remains of the former RCAF Detachment Edenvale today. The roadways and the hangar pad also remain, but all other RCAF buildings were either demolished or re-located. One wing of the H-hut barracks was moved to Duntroon and is now the Nottawasaga Community Hall. The other wing was moved to Avening and is now the Avening Community Centre.
The hangar was moved to Collingwood and is now part of the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena and the pumping station was moved to Cannington. Nine other buildings were sold to a neighbouring farmer.
The communications bunker also remains. The entrances were collapsed and sealed up in the late 1990s, but when the property was purchased by Milan Kroupa in 2002, the entrances were dug up and the bunker was cleaned up and restored. It is currently empty, but Kroupa future plans are to use it for storage.
The Edenvale Radio Control Flyers Club (www.edenvaleflyers.ca) has a small turf airfield, just past the west perimetre fence for flying model aircraft.
Source Material: Edenvale Radio Control Flyers Club web site - www3.sympatico.ca/fhybrmodels, "Bunkers, Bunkers Everywhere" by Paul Ozorak, "The Barrie Examiner", dated 9 May 1940 pgs 1 & 8, the personal recollections of Ken Copeland, CFB Borden (2001), the personal recollections of Robert Biggs, CFB Borden (2001), the personal recollections of Flying Officer Laurie Sutherland, RCAF (Ret'd) (2002), the personal recollections of the author (2000 - 2015), information supplied by Milan Kroupa, Edenvale Flying Club - www.edenflight.com (2004), the personal recollections of Burton Summerville, son of Edenvale's first post-war property owner (2013), "Air museum takes flight", Toronto Sun 25 November 2018, Canadian Air and Space Conservancy web site - http://canadianairandspaceconservancy.ca the Canadian Racer web page - www.motorsportscentral.com/edenvale.asp, https://barrie360.com/police-involved-following-roxodus-shut-down, https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/roxodus-music-fest-1.5198170, and the personal observations of the author (2000-2020).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Alliston:
Opened in July 1940 near the village of Alliston (Lots 6, 7 & 8, Concession 11, Tecumseth Twp), this small aerodrome served as the No. 2 Relief Landing Field for No. 1 SFTS at RCAF Station Camp Borden. The airfield at RCAF Detachment Alliston consisted of 3 runways in a standard triangular pattern, but unlike RCAF Detachment Edenvale, they were compressed grass runways and there were no lights for night landings.
The end of WWI RCAF Detachment Alliston was abandoned. The former aerodrome was sold and returned to its original function as farmland.
By 1960, the land had been identified as an ideal location for growing potatoes. Ontario Potato District Allistion Incorporated established a packing, storing and distribution facility on the north-west corner of the property.
Not the slightest trace of RCAF Detachment Alliston remains today.
Source Material: "The Barrie Examiner" dated 9 May 1940 pg 1 & 8, "The Alliston Herald" 2 May 1940, the personal recollections of the author (2003-2015) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
Leach's Field:
In the late 1920s, the Royal Canadian Air Force approached farmer John Leach about developing an auxiliary landing strip in one of his fields, to be used in conjunction with the flying training school at RCAF Station Camp Borden. The L-shaped airstrip was pretty rudimentary. It was simply a pasture field with no actual construction going into creating it. Unlike some aerodromes that had turf runways, the "runways" at Leach's Field utilized the existing ground surface. The airfield was essentially the farm-lane leading west from County Road 10, where it crosses the Canadian Pacific Railway line, into the field and up to a flat strip of land that made up the north-south section of the "airfield".
Leach's Field was not used very often, but was essentially a practice airfield that also doubled as an emergency landing site. There were no hangars or aviation facilities of any kind. John Leach still used the field for grazing his livestock, although he was required to have the animals off the field by 8 o'clock in the morning.
Provisional Pilot Officers (pilot trainees) primarily used this airstrip for touch-and-go flying, which is where the pilot comes down as if to land and then lifts off again just prior to touching the ground. When pilots did land, they had to be careful to stay on the "runways". One unfortunate pilot who landed at Leach's Field in April, when the ground was still soft, found himself stuck when he steered his airplane off the "runway". John Leach hitched up a team of horses to the airplane and pulled it out, saving the pilot the embarrassment (and possible ridicule) of having to contact a recovery crew from Camp Borden, which was the proper procedure.
During World War II, Leach's Field was used very briefly for air gunnery target practice, with camera guns being used instead of real guns.
Although the Federal Government had taken a 90 year lease on Leach's Field, the Royal Canadian Air Force ceased using the field sometime in the early 1950s. Today, absolutely nothing exists to indicate that the land was once used as an airfield. Even the late John Leach's house and farm buildings are gone; replaced by modern buildings.
Source material: Wally Byers, RCAF veteran and local resident of the Alliston area (2007).
Canadian Forces Base Borden - Brentwood Detachment (Brentwood Receiver Site):
Opened in 1963 along with the bunker at Camp Borden, the site consisted of a single steel frame building and 21 receiver towers.
The site closed in early 1988. The receiver towers stood until 1994 when they were dismantled along with the towers at the Edenvale Transmitter Site.
All that remains is the radio building, eerily empty. The property is now a corn field, and all signage indicating its military past has been removed.
Source Material: the personal recollections of the author (2001 - 2016), the personal recollections of Ken Copeland, CFB Borden (2001) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 2 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened in 1940 at the Fort William Municipal Airport, which itself had only opened 2 years earlier as an unemployment relief project.
The airport was also used for test flights of fighter aircraft being built at the nearby Canadian Car and Foundry plant.
The school closed in May 1944. The airport was turned over to Canada Car and Foundry and then to the Federal Department of Transport in 1946.
The airport operated as the Canadian Lakehead Airport until the amalgamation of Fort William and Port Aurthur and two surrounding townships to create the City of Thunder Bay.
Today, the Thunder Bay International Airport is the 5th busiest airport in Ontario and the 16th busiest airport in Canada.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Carp:
Opened in 1940 as a Relief Landing Field for No. 2 SFTS at Uplands (Ottawa). The RCAF abandoned the aerodrome in 1945.
In May 1946, the former station was taken over by Huntley Township and became the Carp Airport, a local commercial airport.
In 2003, a proposal was made to turn the Carp Airport into a multimillion-dollar industrial park with a nearby residential flying community. Also in 2003, the Carp Airport was used as the training grounds for the RCMP's new Sky Marshall Service.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, the Ottawa Business Journal web site - http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/302779236314434.php, "History of Canadian Airports" by T.M. McGrath & the personal recollections of the author (2000).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Edwards:
Opened in 1940 as a Relief Landing Field for No. 2 SFTS at Uplands (Ottawa). The aerodrome closed in 1945 and no longer exists today.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 7 Elementary Flying Training School:
Originally opened as Walker Airport in 1928 in Windsor, by Hiram Walker, the maker of the famous Canadian Club Whiskey, the airfield was taken over by the RCAF for use as No. 7 EFTS, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
The school officially opened on 22 July 1940, with a Relief Landing Field at Maidstone. Unlike other elementary schools, No. 7 EFTS had only one hangar. By the time the school closed on 15 December 1944, it has graduated 1632 pilots.
The airport was transferred back to the Department of Transportation in 1945 and now operates as the Windsor International Airport. Of No. 7 EFTS's 15 buildings, only the hangar remains today, now occupied by the Canadian Historical Aircraft Association.
Source Material: the personal recollections of the author (2001 & 2015) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 9 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened near St. Catharines in October 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with a Relief Landing Field at Willoughby. The station had all the amenities of an RCAF station including lecture halls, barracks, administrative buildings, messes, medical inspection room, a standard triangle pattern runway configuration and one hangar.
EFTS students normally came directly from Initial Training Schools and trained on Finches and in 1942, deHavilland Tiger Moths. An increase in student pilots in 1942 lead to the construction of a second hangar, along with several other buildings.
No. 9 EFTS ceased operations in January 1944 and No. 4 Wireless School, located at the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, took over the aerodrome for use by their flying squadron. Previously, the flying squadron had used RCAF Detachment Burtch.
The flying squadron ceased training in May 1944 and the aerodrome became a sub-unit of No. 4 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Depot, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. The depot continued operations for 2 years, closing in 1946, and the RCAF left the aerodrome.
Today the aerodrome is the St. Catharines/Niagara District Airport. All that remains besides the airfield is one of the hangars. Runway 06-24 has been expanded to 5000 feet. Some of the tenants of the airport are the St. Catharines Flying Club, Niagara Falls Air Tours and Allied Aviation.
RCAF Detachment Willoughby is now the private Niagara South Airport, owned and operated by Russell Aviation Group. The airport has a 1350 foot gravel runway and a 1074 foot turf runway, in an X-pattern.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak and the personal recollections of the author (2016).
No. 10 Elementary Flying Training School (Pendleton):
Originally opened at Mount Hope, the school re-located to Pendleton in 1942. A Relief Landing Field was constructed near Limoges.
Like most flying training schools, No. 10 EFTS was run by a civilian flying school, in this case, the Hamilton Flying Club. In July 1944, control of the flying school was transferred from the Hamilton Flying Club to the RCAF, making No. 10 one of the few service elementary training schools.
By early 1945, the school was exclusively training Royal Air Force pilots. No. 10 EFTS closed in September 1945.
The aerodrome was turned over to the Army as a Detachment of No. 26 Central Ordnance Depot until May 1952, when the RCAF returned and established a Detachment of No. 6 Repair Depot. The Gatineau Gliding Club, originally founded in 1942 in the Gatineau hills, north of Ottawa, moved to Pendleton airfield in 1950. An office of the National Film Board also occupied space at the aerodrome.
No. 6 Repair Depot Detachment closed in 1961 and the Gatineau Gliding Club purchased the airfield.
The original triangle-pattern runways still exist, although some are crumbling. As well, some of the original WWII buildings, one hangar remain and the swimming pool remain today.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak & the Gatineau Gliding Club web site - http://www.gatineauglidingclub.ca.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Limoges:
Opened in 1942 as a Relief Landing Field for the No. 10 Elementary Air Training School near Pendleton. The airfield was located on Concession 11, lots 21, 22 and 23 in Clarence Township.
Nothing remains of the aerodrome today.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada - Volume 1: Ontario" by Paul Orzorak.
No. 12 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened on 14 October 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan at the Sky Harbour Airport near Goderich to train RCAF and RAF pilots.
In the summer of 1943, the school switched to training pilots from the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm.
The school closed on 14 July 1944, having graduated around 2277 pilots.
After the closure of No. 12 EFTS, No. 102 Aircraft Holding Unit, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal, occupied the aerodrome until January 1946, when No. 6 Surplus Equipment Holding Unit was established. The airport later reverted back to a civilian airport.
Today the airport operated as the Goderich Municipal Airport.
The Sky Harbour Gallery, located in the main terminal building, serves as a museum tracing the history of the airport from its founding in 1938 to the present day, with particular emphasis on the Second World War.
Source Material: the personal recollections of the author (2001 & 2012), "The Legacy" newsletter, published by the Huron County Museum & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 13 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened near St. Eugene on 28 October 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with a Relief Landing Field located at Hawksbury. The school moved to St. Jean, Quebec in 1945.
No. 502 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite Depot, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal, was formed in July 1945, but this unit disbanded 3 weeks later.
All buildings were eventually removed, some moved to the Town of Alexandria, except for one maintenance shed.
The aerodrome served for a period as a civilian airport, but eventually became a fertilizer factory.
The only remnants of the former aerodrome today are the faint outline of the old runways, the crumbling hangar pads, the gunnery backstop and a lone administrative building, now used for farm storage.
The only remnants of RCAF Detachment Hawkesbury is the outline of the cross-runway.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada - Volume 1: Ontario" by Paul Orzorak, Google Maps (2012) and the personal recollections of the author (2015).
No. 20 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened in June 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Student flyers used Tiger Moth aircraft and were trained by civilian instructors from the Oshawa, Kingston, and Brant-Norfolk flying clubs. A relief landing field was located at Whitby.
Unlike most schools, No. 20 EFTS had only 2 hangars.
The school closed in December 1944 after having graduated over 2000 pilots.
Today the airport is the Oshawa Municipal Airport. A passenger terminal was constructed on the north side of the airfield, leaving the former administrative and domestic area of No. 20 EFTS for general aviation and other uses.
All that remains today are 3 buildings: a stores building that was later used as the N.C.O. Mess, now occupied one occupied by 420 RCAF Association, another stores building, a work shed and a small canteen.
A small private museum, the Robert Stuart Aeronautical and Camp X Collection, was established at the Oshawa Airport in 1977 in one of the former stores buildings. The told the story of and housed several artifacts from Camp X. The museum closed in 2010 and some of the Camp X artifacts were acquired by the Canadian War Museum.
Each summer, the Durham Flight Centre hosts the Air Cadet pilot training program, a 7 week training course for cadets as they work towards their Private Pilot License.
Weekly training was for 151 Chadburn Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron, was held in Hangar #2. During 1995-98, the hangar floor was partially refurbished by the volunteers, which was used as a parade square and for annual inspections. Several of the rooms in the hangar were converted into classrooms.
The Ontario Regiment Museum is located in a new building at the south end of the property.
Both of the WWII-era hangars were demolished around 2009.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada - Volume 1: Ontario" by Paul Orzorak, Canadian Aviator magazine - www.canadianaviator.com and the personal recollections of the author (2001 & 2004).
No. 2 Service Flying Training School:
See Canadian Forces Base Ottawa (South) in "Closed bases that still have a military presence - Ontario".
No. 5 Service Flying Training School:
Opened near Brantford on 11 November 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan to train Air Force bomber and transport pilots, with a relief landing field at Burtch. The school closed on 3 November 1944 having graduated 2143 pilots.
No. 4 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal, was established on the site in 1945, along with Detachments at Dunnville, Hamilton, Jarvis and Port Albert, but it closed in 1946.
The site is now the Brantford Municipal Airport. All 6 runways original runways remain, but the inner 3 are abandoned. Runway 05-23 was lengthened to 5,036 feet.
Only two of No. 5 SFTS's hangars and the fire hall remain today. All the other buildings have long since been demolished. Part of the former school is occupied by the Blue Bird Coach Lines terminal.
Source Material: the personal recollections of the author (2001, 2004 & 2018) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Burtch:Opened in 1941 near the village of Burtch as the No. 1 Relief Landing Field for No. 5 SFTS, but was also used by No. 4 Wireless School in Guelph.
The detachment was transferred under the prevue of No. 16 SFTS in 1944 until that school's closure in March 1945.
The detachment was sold to the Ontario Government and from 1948-2003, was the site of the Burtch Jail. The site currently sits abandoned and empty. The taxiway and the outline of the runways are pretty much all that remain from the RCAF days.
In 2009, the Ontario Realty Corporation demolished all buildings and the property was turned over to the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations community.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak & personal observations of the author (2011 & 2014).
No. 6 Service Flying Training School / Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Dunnville:
Opened on 5 November 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan near Dunnville.
No. 6 SFTS closed on 1 December 1944, having graduated over 2400 pilots.
No. 401 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite, a Detachment of No. 4 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit in Brantford, was established at the aerodrome in 1945, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. The unit stood down in 1946.
A Detachment of No. 6 Repair Depot and a Detachment of No. 1 Supply Depot were then established at the aerodrome.
The RCAF closed the detachments in 1964 and withdrew, ending over 20 years at the aerodrome.
The station continued to be used by the RCAF as a repair depot until it closed in 1964. The station then briefly became a storage depot before the RCAF finally withdrew.
For the next 30 years, the former airbase was owned by Cold Springs Turkey Farm.
On 8 July 2000, Businessmen Vic Powell and Dan Silverthorne re-opened the former aerodrome as the Dunnville Airport. Tenants include No. 6 RCAF Association and Museum, Dunnville Flight School, Rockett Lumber, Niagara Skydive, G. McFeeters Enterprises and Waterford Crushing & Screening. All the barracks are long gone, but all the hangars and several other buildings remain. Only runway 27-60 was re-opened. The other 5 runways were left in their deteriorated state.
In July 2004, the lower portion of the airfield near the hangars was turned into a race track, named the Dunnville Autodrome.
The No. 6 RCAF Dunnville Museum opened at the airport on 5 July 2004, preserving the memory of the RCAF in Dunnville.
On 30 May 2013, all flying ceased at the airport to make way for industrial wind turbines to be built on the site. The No. 6 RCAF Dunnville Museum continues to operate, maintaining the RCAF legacy at Dunnville.
Source Material: the Dunnville Airport web site - www.dunnvilleairport.com, the personal recollections of the author (2002 - 2014), "Dunnville airport set to close May 30", Sachem & Glandbrook Gazette, 7 May 2013 & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Welland:
Opened in 1940 at Welland as the No. 1 Relief Landing Field for No. 6 SFTS. The aerodrome closed in 1944.
After the war, the airport was known as the Welland-Port Colbourne Airport, but it was re-named in 2015, the Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport, in honor of the former air racer, author and politician, from nearby Fenwick. She was 104-years-old when the dedication was held. She passed away 18 February 2018.
Only the hangar and the airfield remain today, although of the original three runways asphalt, only runway 50/23 remains in service. The airport also has a turf runway, 11/29.
Tenants include the St. Catharines Flying Club and Sky Dive Niagara.
No. 87 Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron holds their weekly training at the aerodrome and The Royal Canadian Air Cadets Central Region Gliding School operates one of eight summer Regional Gliding Centre at the airport.
Source Material: the Dunnville Airport web site - www.dunnvilleairport.com, the personal recollections of the author (2001) & (2004), Dorothy Rungeling - Wikipedia, Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport - Wikipedia, Niagara Central Dorothy Rungeling Airport - Home (centralairport.ca) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Kholer:
Opened in 1941 as the No. 1 Relief Landing Field for No. 16 Service Flying Training School at Hagersville.
RCAF Detachment Kohler closed in 1945.
Today the former aerodrome has two new occupants: the Haldimand Agriculture Centre, which is housed in the only remaining H-hut and the Toronto Motorsports Park, which uses old airfield as a drag strip.
Source Material: the personal recollections of the author (2014) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 16 Service Flying Training School:
See entry below for "Camp Hagersville / No. 16 Service Flying Training School".
No. 31 Service Flying Training School:
No. 31 Service Flying Training School opened 10 September 1940 near Kingston, with relief landing fields located at Gananoque and Sandhurst. In addition to air force pilots, naval fighter pilots also trained at No. 31.
In 1944 No. 31 SFTS was merged with the RCAF's No. 14 SFTS when this school was transferred to Kingston from RCAF Station Aylmer. No. 14 SFTS closed down in September 1945.
Some of the more noteworthy pilots who trained at this station include:
* David Clarabut who earned a Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) for his role on the attack on the German battleship Tirpitz
* Robert Hampton Gray, Canada's last Victoria Cross recipient of the Second World War. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
* Gordon Cheeseman Edwards, Mentioned in Dispatches for the attacks on the Tirpitz
* Philip Steele Foulds who earned a DSC for his role in an attack on an enemy convoy
The old air station is now the Kingston/Norman Rogers Airport. Two of the old hangars and one H-hut remain.
A memorial dedicated to Lt (N) Robert Hampton Gray was erected at the Kingston Airport by the Hampton Gray V.C. Chapter of the Canadian Naval Group in May 1992.
Source Material: the personal recollections of the author (2012) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Mohawk:
Originally opened on a 350 acre property in 1916 by the Royal Flying Corps as Camp Mohawk, the home No. 1 Instrument Flying School. After WWI, the aerodrome remained in use as a civilian airport.
With the outbreak of WWII, the aerodrome was taken over by the RCAF for use as and Instrument Flying School and as the No. 1 Relief Landing Field for the Central Flying School at RCAF Station Trenton.
After WWII, the aerodrome reverted back to a civilian airport, although the RCAF would continue to use the airfield for drone testing until 1953. The airfield was used as a dragstrip in early 1960s until 1970 and then again 1978 to 1982.
Today the site is known as the Mohawk Airport. The aerodrome is currently the site of the First Nations Flying School, with the First Nations Technical Institute located directly north of the airfield. All three runways remain, but only runway 09-27 remains in use.
All that remains are the two WWII-era hangars. Mohawk Bus Lines occupies the smaller hanger that has the old control tower. The maintenance garage, the drill hall and a third building remained until the mid-2000s when they were demolished.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, "History of Canadian Airports" by T.M. McGrath & the personal recollections of the author (2003 & 2015).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Gananoque:
Opened as a Relief Landing Field No. 31 SFTS in 1940. The Detachment closed in September 1945.
Since 1971, the airport has been used for skydiving and is currently operated by the Gananoque Sport Parachuting Club. All three runways remain, with crumbling sections, along with the hangar and control tower.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak & the personal recollections of the author (2004).
No. 1 Bombing and Gunnery School:
Opened on 19 August 1940 near the Town of Jarvis, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, to train airmen to be air gunners, wireless air gunners, air observers, or bomb aimer-navigators. This was the last step before the airmen received their wings and moved on to operational training.
The airfield itself had originally been constructed by American Airlines in 1934 as an emergency landing field. As the runway was a grass landing strip, the Department of National Defence upgraded the airfield to three asphalt runways, along with all the other buildings and amenities of a RCAF school.
The school appeared in the 1942 Hollywood motion picture "Captains of the Clouds", starring James Cagney and Allan Hale, Sr., a patriotic film about a group of bush pilots who join the RCAF.
With the end of the war in sight, the RCAF began reducing the number of training schools and as a result, No. 1 B&GS closed on 17 February 1945. During this time 6,500 airmen were qualified and received their wings at RCAF Station Jarvis.
Thirty-seven airmen lost their lives training at Jarvis, including J.Deebank, a 20-year-old member of the ground crew who has the unfortunate distinction of being the first casualty at Jarvis when he fell out of a boat recovering drogue targets. As was protocol, any military personnel from Canada and America who died while still serving in Canada, their remains were returned home. This was not the case for other members of the Commonwealth forces and as a result, hundreds of Commonwealth military members were burred in Canadian cemeteries, including Knox Presbyterian Cemetery in Jarvis.
No. 4 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit in Brantford, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal, established a Detachment at the aerodrome in 1945, but it closed in 1946.
The buildings remained for several years afterwards, but eventually all were demolished. The aerodrome was sold in 1947 to Russell Hare.
In 1955, the site was turned into a race track named Harewood Acres, operated by the British Empire Motor Club of Toronto. The International Ploughing Match was held at the property in 1971.
The property went through several other uses and was finally sold to Texaco Oil Company in 1974 who established the Nanticoke Refinery. The refinery was sold to Imperial Oil in 2014.
In August 1993, Imperial Oil and Wing 412 of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association erected a historical plaque was erected dedicated to the personnel who served at the base, with the reverse side of the plaque memorializing the thirty-eight Commonwealth airmen and one civilian who died while serving at No. 1 B&GS.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada - Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, "Nanticoke Through The Years" by Shirley Dosser & the personal recollections of the author (2014).
No. 4 Bombing and Gunnery School:
Opened near Fingal on 25 November 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school also consisted of bombing ranges were located near Dutton, Melbourne, Frome and on Lake Erie (which also had a gunnery range), and a Marine Section based at Port Stanley.
Mo. 4 B & GS also doubled as the home of No. 4 Personnel Holding Unit, (aka Manning Depot). Hangar 1 was converted into a 500 bed barrack block to house the recruits.
By the time the school closed on 17 February 1945, more than 6000 aircrewmen had graduated from the school.
On 1 April 1945, the aerodrome became No. 9 Surplus Equipment Holding Unit, for the storage and disposal of surplus aircraft, operating until 30 April 1946.
After the unit disbanded, the depot came under the control of No. 6 Repair Depot at RCAF Station Trenton. Fingal was handed over to the Department of Labour for use as a camp for prisoners-of-war not yet repatriated from 1946-1948, when it was returned to the RCAF.
The Depot closed in June 1961 and the RCAF turned the former aerodrome over to Canadian Army, who used the property until late 1964. Most of the buildings had been moved or demolished by this time.
In 1965, the Federal Government sold the land to the Ontario Department of Lands and Forests, now the Ministry of Natural Resources, as a wildlife management area.
Today, very little remains of the former station. Scattered amongst the trees and vegetation are the concrete pads from the firehall and hangar 7, two fire hydrants and the concrete remains of 4 incinerators and the guardhouse. The old roadways and the runways, now devoid of the asphalt, are walking trails.
In 1992, a commemorative plaque was dedicated at the site to the men and women who served at the wartime school.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, War Monuments in Canada web site - http://www.cdli.ca/monuments/on/sheddengun.htm, "What Place Was This?" by Winston St. Clair & the Fingal Wildlife Management web site - http://www.naturallyelgin.org/fwma.shtml.
No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School:
See entry below for "Camp Picton / No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School".
No. 31 Air Navigation School:
Opened by the RAF near Port Albert on 18 November 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school closed on 17 February 1945.
No. 4 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit in Brantford, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal, established a Detachment at the aerodrome in 1945, but it closed in 1946.
Most of the abandoned airfield remains, although the asphalt runways have been ripped up, leaving only the gravel base, which is slowly being consumed by vegetation. The incinerator building & some fencing also remain.
Source Material: "The Canada Flight Supplement 1999", the personal recollections of the author (2001 & 2011) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 1 Air Observer School / No. 1 Elementary Service Flying School:
Established at the Malton Airport in June 1940, an airport that had only opened the year before. The airport, built on farmland consisting of lots 6-10 of Concession 5 and 6 in Toronto Township. Trans-Canada Airlines continued operating from the airport for the duration of the war.
No. 1 AOS opened 27 May 1940, with No. 1 EFTS on 24 June 1940, run by the Malton Flying Training School. Two hangars, several h-huts and administrative buildings were constructed.
No. 1 EFTS had a short life as it was disbanded on 3 July 1942. This was due to the expansion of No. 1 AOS when Commonwealth air forces realized that more air navigators were needed overseas. Four more hangars were constructed, along with a drill hall and more h-huts. Navigator classes started every 2 weeks and lasted 16 weeks.
No. 1 AOS ceased operations on 30 March 1945.
Also at the Malton Airport was the Aeronautical Inspection Directorate's Inspector School, whose function was inspection of aircraft under production or being overhauled, along with investigating serious accidents at RCAF schools.
In 1946, the RCAF established No. 10 Aeronautical Inspection District at Malton for inspection of returning aircraft. The Canadian Army also established a convalescent hospital in some of the vacant barracks. These huts were later taken over by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Also in 1946, 400 (Fighter-Bomber) Squadron (Auxiliary) was re-formed at Malton, but soon afterwards transferred to the newly established RCAF Station Downsview. RCAF activity at the airport ceased around this time.
In November 1958, the city of Toronto sold the airport to the federal Department of Transportation, who re-named the airport in 1960 to Toronto International Airport. The name was changed again in 1984 to Lester B. Pearson International Airport, in honour of the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada.
Today, Pearson Airport is the largest and busiest airport in Canada.
When the Malton Airport first opened, the former by the Chapman family farmhouse became the first terminal and offices. A second terminal and administration building was built in 1939 by the Toronto Harbour Commission. This wood frame terminal was identical to the terminal at the Toronto Island Airport. The Malton terminal is long gone, torn down in 1964, but the terminal at the Island Airport remains to this day.
None of the RCAF building remain today, nor do any of the Avro Canada buildings. All that remains of the once massive A.V. Roe empire is Orenda Aerospace, now part of the Magellan Aerospace Corporation, although greatly diminished in both the size and scope of its operations.
Source Material: the personal recollections of the author (1998 - 2012) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 3 Flying Instructors School / No. 1 Flight Engineer School:
Opened in August 1942 near Arnprior, the school offered a six-week course to train elementary-level flight instructors using Tiger Moths, Finches, Cornells and Stearmans.
As was usual with BCATP schools, the school facilities featured standard barracks, administration buildings, two hangars and a relief landing field near Pontiac, Que.
The school had a short existence as it was shut down in January 1944. No. 1 Flight Engineer School opened at the aerodrome, remaining until October 1944, when flight engineering was transferred to Aylmer. The aerodrome was then briefly used as No. 17 Equipment Depot and then by the Army Pay Corps.
The aerodrome became the National Research Council's Flight Research Station in 1946. A RCAF Detachment remained.
After briefly being re-named the National Aeronautical Establishment in July 1951, the aerodrome became the Central Experimental & Proving Establishment, providing support to the National Research Council and secret experiments for the Defence Research Board. Both the CE & PE and the National Aeronautical Establishment re-located to RCAF Station Uplands in July 1953.
The aerodrome then became the site of the Canadian Civil Defence College , which was later re-named the Canadian Emergency Preparedness College. The college occupied the former drill hall until 2003, when the College moved to a larger modern facility in Ottawa.
After the College's departure, their former building and the four remaining former RCAF buildings, including one h-hut and the station HQ building were also demolished. All that remains of the RCAF buildings are two hangars, now occupied by Arnprior Aerospace.
A new road, Bev Shaw Parkway, cuts through the middle of the former station.
The airfield remains today, and currently operates as Arnprior Airport. The Arnprior Airport is currently home to Chapman Aviation Ltd., which provides flight instruction, sightseeing & charter services and aircraft maintenance services. One of the three runways is marked as abandoned.
Source Material: information supplied by Daniel Lynch, Arnprior Airport (2006), the personal recollections of the author (2001 - 2012) & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 4 Wireless School:
Established under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in May 1941 on the campus of the Ontario Agricultural College in Guelph, now the University of Guelph, although the RCAF had been sending chef trainees to the college since January 1940 under a contract.
The Wireless School trained airmen to be Wireless Operators, with many graduates moving on to Bombing and Gunnery Schools to qualify as Wireless Air Gunners. These airmen then served as aircrew on bombers.
The RCAF took over a large portion of the college campus, with Johnson Hall serving as the station HQ. Buildings like the Trent Building and H.L. Hutt Building were used for accommodations.
Several other schools took up residence at the campus, as well as test facilities for air force kitchens.
With the war slowly coming to the end, No. 4 WS closed on 12 January 1945 after training approximately 8,000 airmen and airwomen. A month later on 22 February 1945, the RCAF formally withdrew and returned the campus to the OAC.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 1 Radar School:
Established along the Scarborough Bluffs in Toronto in June 1942, when the RCAF took over a small brick building on Eastville Avenue built by Research Enterprises Limited, a Crown Corporation established to manufacture electronic and optical equipment.
Originally called No. 1 Radio Direction-Finding School, the school trained RCAF members, along with American Army Signal Corps technicians.
The school was re-named No. 1 Radar School in December 1943 and in March 1944, re-located to RCAF Station Clinton.
in 1946, the Eastville Avenue building was turned over to the National Research Council's Radio Branch to test equipment such as marine radars. The Department of Transport also used the building for its radiosonde training unit and their National Radiation Atmospheric Centre.
However, the post-war years saw several military units occupying space in the building. The RCAF returned established a temporary radar defence unit, No. 5 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron in October 1951 to monitor the Toronto area. This squadron disbanded a year later when No. 31 AC & W Squadron was established at RCAF Station Edgar.
At her units included the RCAF's No. 271 Air Defence Control Centre, which also re-located Edgar, 2400 AC &W Squadron (Auxiliary), the Army's No. 1 Anti-Aircraft Operations Room and No. 2 and No. 206 Companies on the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
The building on Eastville Avenue building still stands today, now used by the City of Toronto Parks and Recreation and the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority. It is also used as a weather station.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak and the personal recollections of the author (2015).
Royal Canadian Air Force Technical Training School (St. Thomas):
Originally formed in November 1939 by merging the 2 existing schools, one located at RCAF Station Camp Borden and the other at RCAF Station Trenton, and re-locating to the St. Thomas Mental Hospital.
The school trained airframe and aero-engine mechanics, instrument makers, fabric workers, electricians, sheet metal workers, carpenters, propeller specialists, safety equipment workers, parachute riggers, and fright engineers.
The St. Thomas facility also had a Detention Barracks and a second school. the Equipment and Accounting Training School, which opened in February 1940.
Several temporary buildings were constructed on the hospital grounds for use by RCAF trainees.
As the war was winding down in early 1945, some of the courses were transferred to the nearby RCAF Station Aylmer.
By the time the Technical Training School closed on 30 April 1945, around 50, 000 personnel had trained at the school.
The Army used some of the maintenance hangars briefly before the property was returned to the Ontario Government and reverted to being a mental hospital. All of the wartime buildings were demolished.
The St. Thomas Psychiatric Hospital continued operations at this location until closing in June 2013.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/2013/06/22/st-thomas-says-goodbye-to-former-psychiatric-hospital and the personal recollections of the author (2010).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Sudbury:
In the 1950s, RCAF's Air Defence Command established several auxiliary landing fields for re-deployment of CF-100 fighter jets across the country. RCAF Detachment Sudbury was one such aerodrome, established as a re-deployment facility for C-100s based in North Bay in 1952.
Since then it has been upgraded many times to serve the growing city which is known as the Nickel Capital of Canada.
The airport is now operated by the Sudbury Airport Community Development Corporation (SACDC), a non-share capital corporation. A new terminal building opened in October of 2003, but the original RCAF terminal building remains.
The airport is served by mostly by regional carrier airlines such as Air Canada Jazz, Bearskin Airlines and Porter Airlines.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Bonnechere:In the 1950s, RCAF's Air Defence Command established several auxiliary landing fields for re-deployment of CF-100 fighter jets across the country.
RCAF Detachment Bonnechere was one such aerodrome, established in 1952 near Killaloe and operated by Transport Canada, named the Killaloe/Bonnechere Airport.
By 1988, the aerodrome was no longer needed by the Air Force, but no local municipality or business was interested in operating it, so the aerodrome closed in 1988.
The property was the subject of a land claim by the Pikwakanagan Algonquin of Golden Lake First Nation for many years, preventing any other use of the land.
The abandoned and crumbling runway is that remains of the airport. The hangar no longer stands.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozork, the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association web site - www.copanational.org/PlacesToFly and the personal recollectiosn of the author (2018).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Kapuskasing:
Former at the Kapuskasing Airport in 1942 as a staging facility for transporting new aircraft to the numerous BCATP flight schools across Canada, flown by 124 (Ferry) Squadron.
The aerodrome had two hangars, one used by the RCAF and the second one shared by the Department of Transport and Trans-Canada Airlines (the predecessor of Air Canada) and a small collection of buildings. No barracks were constructed, so RCAF personnel were quartered at the Kapuskasing Inn.
No. 1 Winter Experimental and Training Flight was formed in 1943 to conduct cold weather testing of aviation equipment. This unit remained at the aerodrome until moving to RCAF Station Gimli in March 1944.
The Detachment was officially disbanded on 22 July 1946 and the RCAF departed the aerodrome. The aerodrome was selected as a re-deployment aerodrome for the CF-105 Avro Arrow, but this never came to fruition with the cancellation of the Arrow project in 1959.
Both the wartime hangars are gone, but the building occupied by the Kapuskasing Flying Club building appears to be of WWII vintage.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Wiarton:
In the 1950s, RCAF's Air Defence Command established several auxiliary landing fields for re-deployment of CF-100 fighter jets across the country. RCAF Detachment Wiarton was one such aerodrome, established in 1950.
The aerodrome is now the Wiarton Keppel International Airport. It was owned and operated by Transport Canada until 1996, when it was sold to the Town of Georgian Bluffs. The original RCAF terminal building remains.
In 2016, the Town of Georgian Bluffs began putting together a plan to upgrade the airport facilities, including resurfacing and extending the current 5,000-foot asphalt runway to 6,000 feet and installing new runway lights.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak and Wiarton Airport Expansion Eyed, Canadian Aviator magazine, 24 March 2016..
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 34 Radio Detachment/No. 4 Communications Unit Navan Receiver Site:
Opened in 1943, south of the Village of Navan, as RCAF No. 34 Radio Detachment, it was established by secret order as an experimental radar unit. With a compliment of 60 men, the station consisted of barracks beside Trim Road and a radio building further to the west.
No. 34 had a brief life, closing in September 1944.
The station was transferred to the control of the Administrative Unit of Air Force Headquarters, and later served as a receiver site for No. 4 Communications Unit (No. 4 CU) in Manitok, under the RCAF's Main Communications Relay Network.
The receiver site was closed in the late 1960s. The National Research Council's Flight Research Section assumed control of the site, with only the radio building remaining. It was later used by the Region of Ottawa-Carleton as a snow dump.
Today, the property is vacant and only the access road remains.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Victoria Island:
Originally established in 1922 as a Central Repair Depot for aircraft when the recently formed Canadian Air Force (pre-RCAF) took over facilities previously used by the Department of Public Works.
Originally, the depot consisted of only one building, a large stone building, built in 1904 by Thomas "Carbide" Wilson, that had formerly been used as a mica factory, carbide plant and a boatyard. Later a workshop and a hangar were added.
The depot was designated No. 1 (Aircraft) Depot. in 1925.Staring in 1927, the Ottawa Car Manufacturing Company used the station for testing various aircraft.
By the 1930s, the depot was also used as training station for students from Camp Borden's Technical Training School. The depot was re-named No. 1 RCAF Depot in 1932, but this was again changed to No. 1 Aircraft Depot two years later.
During WWII, a new facility for No. 1 Depot the depot was opened in Toronto, resulting in the Victoria Island facility being designated as No. 1A Equipment Sub-Depot, repairing instruments and cameras for schools under No. 1 and No. 3 Training Command.
An engine testing building was built at the depot, and by 1944, a new combined mess. Most personnel were quartered on the third floor of the stone building.
The depot was re-designated No 17 Equipment Unit in February 1941, but this again was re-named as No. 17 Equipment Depot in May 1942. By; this time, the depot was also handling RCAF publications, forms, an armaments section, servicing radar equipment and serving as a detention barracks. An additional storage building was located at the corner of Main and Laval Streets in Hull (now Gatineau).
In 1944, the RCAF expanded its facilities on the island by erecting a new mess hall in the vacant lot
When RCAF Station Arnprior closed in 1945, the Depot took over part of the aerodrome.
No. 17 Depot closed in 1946 and the RCAF Service Police headquarters took over the depot. The following year the Canadian Armed Forces Identification Bureau was formed at Victoria Island.
In 1951, the RCAF established a Russian language school with became a tri-service school 4 years later. The Federal Government expanded the facilities at Victoria island by expropriating the remaining most of the privately owned land on Victoria Island. One of the homes expropriated served as a PMQ, while another on Mill Street was used for the Russian Training School.
Also in 1951, the Construction Engineering Branch HQ moved to Victoria Island from temporary facilities in central Ottawa, into a new H-shaped Sleelox building.
Various other units occupied Victoria Island over the years including the Construction and Engineering Branch, The Roundel magazine (RCAF publication), the Air Historian and the RCAF's Systems Engineering Group, who played a part in designing and building the Mid-Canada Line.
The station later served as the headquarters of the newly former Canadian Forces Communications Command in 1965.
Also in 1965, the RCAF's Roundel magazine was discontinued, along with the Canadian Army Journal and the RCN's Crowsnest). A new national military magazine, the tri-service Sentinel, began publication. The Roundel personnel and files of the Air Historian were incorporated into the Directorate of History and Heritage on Besserer Street in Ottawa.
RCAF Station Victoria Island closed in 1970. All the buildings were demolished at that time except for the ruins of old stone building, damaged in fires in 1975 and 1978.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, the Canadian Museum of History web site - http://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/hist/hull/rw_19e.shtm, Canadian Air Force Journal, September 2008,
"Been There, Done That: Through Treacherous Skies," By Ron Butcher, "The Air Historian, Part 2" by Hugh Halliday, "Out of Darkness--Light: A History of Canadian Military Intelligence," by Harold A. Skaarup, the personal recollections of Barclay Thompson, former resident of Victoria Island (2006) - http://www.airmuseum.ca/bios/barclay.html and the personal recollections of the author (2016).No. 5 Initial training School:
Opened in Belleville by the RCAF in August 1941 at the Provincial School for the Deaf. It was initially a five-week course, later expanded to 10 weeks, in armaments, aeronautics and navigation. It was here that personnel were funneled into either pilot, observer, wireless operator or air gunner trades.
The school closed in June 1944 and the school returned to its original function. It is now the Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf / Hard of Hearing.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Canadian Forces Station Gloucester:
Opened on 23 February 1943 as No. 1 Station HMCS Bytown, south of Ottawa, the station served as a High-Frequency Direction Finding and wireless-intercept station tracking German U-Boats.
Gloucester Naval Radio Station remained open after the war, becoming an important part of Canada's efforts during the Cold War as a training station and home of the Royal Canadian Navy's Special Communications Branch.
The station was re-named HMCS Gloucester in 1950 and CFS Gloucester in 1966.
The station was closed in 1972 as part of the plan to centralize communications training at CFB Kingston.
All that remains of the former station today is the recreation centre, the sports field and the abandoned roadway in the PMQ area. The recreation centre building now houses the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 627 and 2951 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, https://www.canada.ca/en/navy/services/history/ships-histories/gloucester.html the personal recollections of the author (2006).
His Majesty's Canadian Ship Conestoga / His Majesty's Canadian Ship Bytown II:
Opened on the site of the Ontario Training School for Girls, a school for delinquent girls in Galt, now a part of Cambridge, in 1942, for the purpose of training women of the Womens' Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS), also called "Wrens." Around 7000 women served in the RCN from 1942 - 1945.
Like the Army and the RCAF, "wrens" assumed non-combat support roles, both in Canada and abroad. None were killed in action, but 11 died on duty, due to illness or accidents.
The training at Conestoga consisted provided basic training for women, including physical training, drill and naval customs and traditions. From here, the "wrens" would be sent to other naval bases across Canada for trades and advanced training.
HMCS Conestoga also had the distinction of having the first woman to command a ship (in this case a "Stone Frigate") in the British Commonwealth, Lieutenant Commander (W) Isabel J. Macneill.
Commander (W) Macneill also had the distinction of being the only woman outside the British Royal Family to rate being piped aboard a warship, an honour usually reserved for flag officers or special guests.
HMCS Conestoga closed in March 1945 and reverted to its pre-war function as a correctional school for girls.
The name of the school was changed to the Grandview Training School for Girls in 1967.
This facility closed in the late 1976, after which many former inmates brought forth accusations of abuse by staff, both physical and sexual. These accusations didn't become publicly known in 1991.
A subsequent investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police and Waterloo Regional Police was launched and resulted in over 300 former inmates to form the Grandview Survivors Support Group to lobby for compensation.
Most of the residential and administrative buildings stood abandoned and deteriorating for many years until they were finally demolished.
The property now houses Waterloo Regional Police's Division 2 station, parkland and a residential subdivision.
On 8 October 1972, over 3,000 people attended a ceremony, including former wartime Wrens, dignitaries from all levels of government, Naval veterans and the public, gathered in downtown Galt for the unveiling of "Jenny", a statue commemorating the service of all wartime Wrens.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/womens-royal-canadian-naval-service, www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/navy/galery-e.aspx?section=2-E-1-b&id=5, https://ideaexchange.org/art/pov/jenny-wren, https://ml-fd.caf-fac.ca/en/2019/03/26174 and the personal recollections of the author (2017).
Naval Radio Station CFF:
With the outbreak of WWII, the RCN found themselves in need of monitoring stations and HFDF stations, thus stations like Naval Radio Station CFF were established at RCAF Station Rockcliffe in Ottawa.
The radio station later moved to more suitable accommodations at the Experimental Farm in Ottawa. A modest building was constructed, surrounded by and eight-foot-high fence was tipped with barbed wire.
Naval Radio Station CFF was linked naval headquarters in Ottawa, along with Allied naval headquarters, ships at sea and other locations as distant as Bermuda and Sierra Leone. Station personnel intercepted encrypted radio traffic from German, Italian and Russian military and diplomatic communications traffic. On one occasion, radio operators intercepted transmissions between Royal Navy warships that were pursuing and ultimately sank the German battleship Bismarck.
NRS CFF closed in 1947 and the facility was then occupied by the Radio Propagation Laboratory.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Special Training School #103 (Camp X) / No. 2 Oshawa Wireless Station:
The camp, officially known as Special Training School #103, but commonly referred to as "Camp X", was established on 280 acres of land east of Toronto, on the shore of Lake Ontario near the border between the Towns of Oshawa and Whitby. This location was chosen as it provided the seclusion needed for the camp's clandestine operations, it was only 30 miles straight across the lake to the United States and the lake itself provided a suitable training area for marine assault training
However, very few people knew the true purpose of Camp X. The Minister of National Defence Colonel James Ralston and RCMP Commissioner Stuart Taylor Wood were let in on the secret, as was the head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, since the public were told that the radio antennas dotting the property were CBC broadcast antennas. However, Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie-King was left out of the loop since BSC feared he would shut down the camp as a violation of Canada's sovereignty by Great Britain. Not even the Prime Minister of Canada knew about Camp X!
Another purpose for establishing the camp was to unite Great Britain and the United States. At the time Camp X was being constructed in the summer of 1941, the U.S. was still refusing to join the war effort, a war that some Americans saw as a European problem. However, others saw this as a mistaken position as evidenced by the over 30,000 Americans who crossed the border to join British and Canadian armed forces.
Even before the United States entered the war on December 7, 1941, agents from America's intelligence services expressed an interest in sending personnel for training at the soon to be opened Camp X. Agents from the FBI and the Office of Strategic Services (fore-runner of the CIA) secretly attended Camp X. Most notable was Colonel William "Wild Bill" Donovan, war-time head of the OSS, who credited Sir William Stephenson with teaching Americans about foreign intelligence gathering. The CIA even named their recruit training facility "The Farm"; a nod to the original farm that existed at the Camp X site.
Camp X officially opened for training on December 6, 1941, the day before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Trainees at the camp learned sabotage techniques, subversion, intelligence gathering, lock picking, explosives training, radio communications, encode/decode, recruiting techniques for partisans, the art of silent killing and unarmed combat. Camp X offered no parades for its graduates and none were ever publicly recognized for their accomplishments. There was only brutal torture or anonymous death if they were captured in the course of their duties.
By the time Special Training School #103 terminated training operations in 1944, up to 2000 students had graduated from the camp.
The camp also served as a link in the HYDRA network, a radio communications relay system that linked Washington, Ottawa, Toronto, Montréal, New York and Great Britain. When STS #103 closed, the camp continued operating as a HYDRA radio station.
In 1945, Igor Gouzenko the Soviet Embassy cypher clerk whose defection exposed the Soviet spy threat in North America, was hidden at Camp X along with his family for two years. Prime Minister Mackenzie-King was first advised about the camp's existence when it was suggested that Gouzenko be hidden there.
Post-war, the camp was re-named the Oshawa Wireless Station and turned over to the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals as a wireless intercept station, military talk for a spy listening station.
The Oshawa Wireless Station continued operations until 1969 when it too closed. All remaining buildings were demolished or relocated elsewhere and the property abandoned. Records pertaining to Camp X were either locked away under the Official Secrets Act or destroyed after World War II.
Even the end of the war brought no parades or official recognition for Camp X veterans. They simply went home and did as they were required to do during the war; they kept their mouths shut. It's only been in recent years that many Camp X veterans have felt comfortable talking about their experiences.
Today, the former site of Camp X is a passive park, appropriately named "Intrepid Park". A monument was erected in 1984 to honour the men and women of Camp X, a camp that many in the intelligence world consider to be the finest espionage training camp of the Second World War. This monument and an information display erected by the Town of Whitby Parks & Recreation Department are the only evidence of the property's clandestine past.
The Camp X Historical Society recently located an original Camp X building on a property in Whitby, Ontario. Future plans called for the building to be moved back to Intrepid Park as part of a proposed museum and interpretative centre complex. This museum has thus far failed to come to fruition.
A small private museum, the Robert Stuart Aeronautical and Camp X Collection, was established at the Oshawa Airport (the former No. 20 EFTS) in 1977. The told the story of and housed several artifacts from Camp X. The museum closed in 2010 and some of the Camp X artifacts were acquired by the Canadian War Museum.
For more on Camp X, visit the Camp X Historical Society at www.camp-x.com, the Camp X Museum at http://webhome.idirect.com/~lhodgson/canadaspymuseum.html, or read
"Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak and "Inside Camp X" by Lynn Philip Hodgson.
Other sources: Camp X: STS web site - http://www.campx.ca/campx.html, Durham Region News - http://www.durhamregion.com/news-story/3508323-last-remaining-camp-x-building-in-whitby-needs-protection.
Canadian Forces Base Oakville:
Originally opened in 1943 as the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps Casualty Re-training Centre. The camp provided care like physiotherapy, occupational therapy and even remedial drill to get soldiers back in shape. The centre operated until re-locating to Brampton in 1944.
The camp then became No. 2 Women's Health Service Centre in December 1944, remaining operational until April 1946.
In 1946, the Canadian Army re-organized into military districts. The new Central Command Headquarters was based at Ortona Barracks, named after the town in Italy where Canadian troops fought a fierce battle. Ortona Barracks served as an administrative base. Permanent Married Quarters were constructed just west of the base for military families, named Surrey Park.
The barracks also became the home of 70 Communications Group in the mid 1960s, along with the newly designated Central Ontario District Headquarters, later re-named Central Militia Area.
Ortona Barracks was re-named CFB Oakville in 1966, but by 1971, the base closed due to consolidation of military resources. CMA Headquarters moved to CFB Downsview (Toronto) and 70 Communication Group moved to CFB Trenton. The Surrey Park PMQ were placed under control of CFB Downsview.
The former camp was taken over by the Ontario Government and in 1975, opened Oaklands Regional Centre, a residential care and support facility for people with developmental disabilities. The former CFB Oakville headquarters building is all that remains from the army days.
In 2005, Oaklands became known as Central West Specialized Developmental Services.
The PMQs were transferred to the Canada Lands Company in June 2010 and demolished. The land was was redeveloped into an enclave of executive townhomes.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, the personal recollections of Colonel J.C. Forsyth, CStJ, CD, Honorary Colonel, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry – 1993-2007, Central West Developmental Services web site - www.cwsds.ca and the personal recollections of the author (1997 - 2015).
Ipperwash Range and Training Area:
Originally opened on 28 January 1942 on the shore of Lake Huron adjacent to Ipperwash Provincial Park as A29 Canadian Infantry Training Centre. In a contentious move, the land was expropriated by the Department of National Defence from the Chippewas of Stoney Point First Nation in an action that was said to be only for the duration of the war. Barracks, messes, drill halls and administrative buildings and a firing range were constructed at the camp.
When A29 CITC ceased operations in 1945, DND indicated it was willing to return the majority of the expropriated land, leasing back parts of the camp still required for training, but this deal fell through. As a result, Camp Ipperwash remained open as a training centre for the Regular Force, Reserves, as well as the summer home of the Central Command Cadet Camp, established in 1948.
During the Korean War, Camp Ipperwash served as the Home station for the 2nd Canadian Rifle Battalion, later re-named The Queens Own Rifles of Canada. The 4th Battalion, Canadian Guards, were posted to Ipperwash from 1954 until disbanded in 1957.
Camp Ipperwash was also home to the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment from 1957 until 1962.
The Unification of the Forces in 1968 saw Camp Ipperwash retain its name, unlike many other bases that were re-named Canadian Forces Base or Canadian Forces Station (CFS). During the 1970s, activity at Camp Ipperwash was greatly reduced and was re-designated the Ipperwash Range and Training Area. The Army Cadet Summer Training Centre re-located to CFB Borden in August 1993.
Members of the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, from whom the land had been expropriated during WWII, began an occupation of the camp in May 1993, setting up tents on the firing ranges.
Training at Camp Ipperwash ceased the same year, but a caretaker staff remained until 29 July 1995, when the Army withdrew from the camp.
On 18 June 1998, the Canadian Government formally allowed the former camp to be occupied by the Stony Point First Nation pending a formal settlement.
In September 2015, the Canadian Government finally reached a financial settlement of $95 million with Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation that will officially see the Ipperwash land officially returned to them, 20 years after the Army left the camp.
On 14 April 2016, the land was officially returned to the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation in a ceremony attended by Minister of National Defence Harjit Sajjan, Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs Dr. Carolyn Bennett and Kettle and Stony Point Chief Tom Bressette, 74 years after it was taken from them. The agreement also calls for Ottawa to clean up the land, including any old munitions buried on the former firing ranges, a task that some estimates will take over 25 years to complete.
Only about a third the camp's World War II era "temporary" buildings remain today, some still occupied and some in better condition than others.
In 2020, DND announced plans to replace some of the deteriorating H-huts with new residential buildings for the residents, in co-operation with the Kettle and Stony Point First Nation Band Council.
Source Material: "The Royal Canadian Army Service Corps Yearbook" - 1961, DND press release from February 1994, Reuters News Service 18 June 1998, the RCAC web site - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/1390/rcacchistory.html, Department of Indian And Northern Affairs News Release of 18 June 1998, http://www.geocities.com/nsatqk/1971-1979.html, "CHRONOLOGY RETURN OF FORMER CAMP IPPERWASH LANDS" - http://www.ainc-inac.gc.ca/nr/prs/m-a1998/RFCIL.html, Army Cadet Summer Camp web site - http://www.hsbcadets.ca/ge_Ipperwash.htm, "Sixty Years of War - The Official History of the Canadian Army in World War II Volume 1" by Colonel C.P. Stacey and "The Garrison" newspaper from March 1995, "Chippewa First Nation celebrated return of Ipperwash land" - The Toronto Star 19 September 2015, The Sarnia Observer, April 14, 2016, personal recollections of Nathan Brown (2009), https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-at-former-camp-ipperwash-hope-of-new-housing-emerges-for-dudley/?fbclid=IwAR0ZFt9xg19pGcvtj8Sl_vPxk_RnzgrRAlcISZihWR8BupQ7Ri4-qbTfm4c#c-image-4, Quarter-century of remediation work left at former military base: DND | The Sarnia Observer (theobserver.ca), and the personal recollections of the author (2001 & 2016).
Canadian Forces Station Carp:
(This station has nothing to do with the former RCAF Detachment Carp, which was at a different location)
Originally opened as No. 1 Army Signals Unit in 1963, it was one of several government bunkers built across Canada as a part of a continuation of government program. These facilities were designed to withstand a near-hit from a nuclear explosion. Each underground facility had entrances through massive blast doors at the surface, as well as extensive air filters and positive air pressure to prevent radiation infiltration. Underground storage was built for food, fuel, fresh water, and other supplies for the facilities which were capable of supporting several dozen people for a period of several weeks.
Nick-named the "Diefenbinker" after Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, the bunker was a four-story underground bunker, which also served as the Central Emergency Government Headquarters. The bunker was a fully equipped facility, consisting of sleeping quarters, mess halls, offices, fitness facilities and a CBC broadcast station. Station personnel lived in either the Village of Carp or PMQs in Ottawa.
The station also consisted of above-ground buildings such as a guard house, engineering shops and a mess hall.
A two-story communications bunker was also constructed near Perth (Richardson Detachment), which was staffed exclusively by members of the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals (RCCS), later 701 Communications Squadron post-Unification.
Two remote antenna receiver stations detachments were constructed at Dunrobin (to the north) and Almonte (to the south). A small radio building and numerous antennas were built at each site.
Although the bunker was never used for its intended purpose, it did serve a valuable function as a government communications station staffed by RCCS personnel No. 1 Army Signals Troop.
Following the end of the Cold War, most of the Diefenbunkers were decommissioned, including CFS Carp and the Richardson Detachment in 1994. Communications functions were taken over by CFS Leitrim outside of Ottawa. The detachments at Richardson, Dunrobin and Almonte were all abandoned.
All that remains of the at Dunrobin and Almonte are the empty radio buildings, the concrete antenna mounts and the fencing. While both properties are otherwise vacant, the Almonte property is now the Burnt Lands Provincial Park.
The bunker was purchased by the Township of Carleton (now a part of the City of Ottawa) and in 1997, opened it as a Cold War museum. Unfortunately, the Canadian Forces cleared out the bunker when it was decommissioned, so the museum had to reacquire original or period furnishings, a process with continues to this day.
The main branch of the West Carleton Township Public Library opened to the public in April 1997, occupying the former engineering building. In 2001, the library became part of the Ottawa Public Library system when the township amalgamated with Ottawa.
The movie Sum of All Fear, featuring Ben Affleck and Morgan Freeman, has a scene that was shot on location at CFS Carp's Diefenbunker.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, information supplied by the Diefenbunker Museum (2004) & information supplied by the Carp branch of the Ottawa Public Library (2011), the personal recollections of the author (2014 & 2015).
Canadian Forces Station Carp: Richardson Detachment:
Established in 1962 as the remote communications transmitter station for CFS Carp, off Lanark County Road 10 east of Perth, connected to Carp by a of 50 kilometres long buried landline.
A Royal Canadian Corps of Signals squadron was housed in a 2-story bunker, which contained a mess, sleeping quarters, offices and decontamination facilities. Twenty radio transmitters dotted the property to send and receive radio traffic.
In addition to Richardson, antenna receiver stations were also established at Dunrobin and Almonte, north and south of CFS Carp itself.
When CFS Carp closed in 1994, the Richardson Detachment also closed. The bunker was initially put up for sale until late 1997 when it was sealed up. All surface buildings were demolished and the radio antenna removed, but the building foundations and antenna mounts still remain.
The antennas were also removed at the Almonte and Dunrobin Detachments, leaving only the empty radio buildings and the antenna mounts. The Almonte site is now the Burnt Lands Provincial Park.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, "Bunkers, Bunkers Everywhere" by Paul Ozorak, "Underground Structure of the Cold War" by Paul Ozorak, information supplied by the Diefenbunker Museum (2004) and the personal recollections of the author (2006).
Camp Niagara:
One of Ontario's oldest Military establishments, the camp was originally opened in 1814 as Butler's Barracks. The site continued to be used as a training camp over the years.
During World War II, the camp was used as a training centre for various regiments in the Hamilton Niagara Peninsula Command, as well as the Canadian Provost Corps' No. 84 Military Detention Barracks.
The camp closed after World War II, but was re-activated in 1953 as a Militia training camp. The camp was re-christened with it's historic name - Butler's Barracks, but also known as Camp Niagara.
The camp officially closed in 1967, although Militia units continued using the camp property into the late 1970s.
The former camp is now the Butler's Barracks National Historic Site.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Volume I - Ontario" by Paul Ozarak, the personal recollections of Colonel J.C. Forsyth, OBStJ, CD, Honorary Colonel, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry – 1993-2007 (1999) and the personal recollections of the author (1997 - 2014).
Niagara-on-the-Lake Rifle Range:
The range closed in 1995 and after being cleaned up, the land was donated to Parks Canada. Some developers have made proposals for the redevelopment of the lakefront property, all have been turned down and the property has remained vacant.
Parks Canada has proposed making the property part of a historical tour of other historically significant properties in the Niagara area, as the property was the landing place of invading American soldiers during the War of 1812.
Sources: More about bombs at the rifle range (niagaranow.com), Old Shooting Range - Niagara On The Lake, Ontario - Ontario Abandoned Places.
Stanley Barracks:
For No. 10 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre / No. 3 Canadian Women's Army Corps (Basic) Training Centre
See: "Closed Bases That Still Have A Military Presence - Ontario"
No. 12 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:
Opened in Chatham in October 1940 as No. 12 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre. The camp initially trained recruits from the Kent Regiment and The Essex Regiment, but later this included the Elgin Regiment and the Middlesex & Huron Regiment.
A total of 33 buildings were built, including barracks, dining and administration buildings were constructed. Graduates later attended advanced training schools.
In 1943, the camp became specifically an infantry camp and re-named No. 12 CA (B) TC. The school closed in June 1945, having trained around 20, 000 men, and the camp became the 4th Infantry Training Battalion until January 1946, when the camp closed.
Nothing remains of the camp today. The Chatham Memorial Arena, built in 1949, sports fields and a residential development now occupy the property.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 20 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre / No. 20 Canadian Infantry (Basic) Training Centre:
Established on land loaned to the Department of National Defence by the Six Nations Band Council, known as the Glebe Lands, in Brantford in October 1939. The Glebe Lands had been given to the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy in 1783 as compensation for land lost in New York State when the confederacy fought for the British during the American Revolution.
The name of the camp was soon after changed to No. 20 Canadian Army Reserve (Basic) Training Centre.
The 97 acre camp had 33 buildings including barracks, administration buildings, a hospital, drill hall, library, a guard house with detention rooms, a gas chamber a 30-yard indoor shooting range and a delousing hut.
By January, 1943, there were 28 women from the Canadian Women's Army Corps training at the camp.
With the war in Europe winding down, the camp became the 5th Infantry Training Battalion in April 1945.
The camp closed on 30 June 1945.
By 1946, most of the buildings had been dismantled and moved to the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. Only the drill hall remained but it too appears to have been demolished.
The site is now occupied by Pauline Johnson Collegiate & Vocational School, established in 1955 and named after the poet and daughter of a Mohawk Chieftain, and a residential development.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/2015/10/30/brantfords--camp-20-trained-thousands-for-war-effort
No. 23 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre / No. 23 Royal Canadian Armoured Corps (Basic) Training Centre:
Opened in 1939 as No. 23 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre in Newmarket in a park near Pine and Crescent Streets, a 52-acre training facility populated by more than 1,000 soldiers in the heart of Newmarket, a town which boasted a population of about 4,000 at the time.
A total of 36 buildings, including a large drill hall, barracks, cookhouses, messes, guardrooms, recreation halls and canteens were built. An infirmary, churches and other buildings were added later. By the end of the war in 1945, more than 45 buildings has been constructed.
The camp trained members of the Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment), Toronto Scottish Regiment, Irish Regiment of Canada and The Grey & Simcoe Foresters. The camp was notable in that it is was one of the few camps that trained black soldiers. Comedian Bob Hope entertained the troops here, as singer Vera Lynn and Canadian broadcaster and actor Lorne Greene did radio shows from the camp.
When the camp closed in 1945, the camp's 45 buildings were sold to the Town of Newmarket.
For the next year, the camp was used as a training centre by the 11th & 15th Infantry Battalions. Several buildings at the former camp remain including the former drill hall, now the York Curling Club, and the Officers' Mess, now the Royal Canadian Legion hall. Nine of the barracks on Wrigley Street were converted into residential bungalows. Others can be found on various streets such as Muriel and Lowell Avenues, along with Arthur and Newton Streets.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, the personal recollections of the author (2005-2013) and York Region News - www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1236805--for-king-and-county.
No. 24 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre / No. 24 Canadian Armoured (Basic) Training Centre:
Opened in Brampton in December 1941 at the corner of Queen Street West and McLaughlin Street, initially as No. 61 Military Detention Barracks but by June 1942, the camp converted to an army basic training centre.
From November 1943 until December 1944, the camp converted to an armoured corps basic training centre.
From most of 1945, the camp served as a Casualty Training Centre, but by December, the camp became the 14th Infantry Training Battalion until April 1946, when the camp closed.
Noting remains of the camp today.
The Ontario Department of Reform Institutions took over the camp and later the Ontario Provincial Police Academy was established at the site, remaining until 1995 when it moved to Orillia. The former OPP Academy buildings were demolished.
The property is now the Flower City Community Campus and sports fields at the north end, and at the south end, the Ontario Correctional Institute, a provincial jail that offers specialized and intensive treatment for offenders whose crimes are directly related to thing like substance abuse, sexual misconduct and impulse control.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 25 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:
Originally opened in Simcoe in 1942 as No. 25 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre, the camp was re-designated ad No. 25 Canada Infantry (Basic) Training Centre. The camp had around 40 buildings including barrack, messes, drill hall and recreation centre. The camp had any where between 2 and 4 companies training at any one time.
The school closed in December 1945.
All that remains of the camp today are three h-hunts, now used as now storage buildings, and some building foundations, found on Second Avenue West.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak and the personal recollections of the author (1997).
No. 26 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre / No. 26 Canadian Armoured Corps Basic Training Centre:
Orillia's army camp, officially designated as No. 26 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre, opened in April 1942. This sprawling camp was built on 20 acres of land locally known as the Quinn farm, roughly bordered by Park, Brant, North and Lawrence Streets today, adjacent to the West Street Armoury, which itself dates back to September 1913, just prior to the First World War.
Initially the camp contained 40 buildings and features the usual complement of other army camps including mess huts, sleeping quarters, a 34-bed hospital, dental clinic and a drill hall. The buildings covered with green tar paper and topped with red roofs.
The camp training originally infantry soldiers until November 1943, when the focus changed to Armoured Corps (tanks) recruits. This proved to be a short change as later, the camp was once again training infantry troops, along with the Armoured troops. By November 1944, the camp was re-designated as solely an infantry-training centre.
Throughout the war, the camp went through several name changes; No. 26 Canadian Armoured Corps (Basic) Training Centre (1943-44), No. 26 Canadian Infantry (Basic) Training Centre (1944-45) and finally the 13th Infantry Training Battalion (1945-46). Unofficially though, the camp was also known as Champlain Barracks.
Over the course of the war, over 730,000 would serve in the Canadian Army.
The end of WWII saw a general downsizing of Canada’s military forces to a peacetime strength. As a result, most of the training camps established during the war were no longer needed as training would now be concentrated at Permanent Force establishments such as Camp Borden. As a result, Champlain Barracks closed in 1946.
Today, not the slightest trace remains of Orillia’s forgotten army camp. All 42 buildings were sold to private interests and either moved or demolished. The barracks, classroom, drill hall and administration buildings have been replaced by tree lined residential streets, commercial development and schools.
Source Material: https://www.simcoe.com/news-story/2016293-light-shed-on-camp-26, "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak and the personal recollections of the author (2004).
No. 102 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:
Opened at Fort William, now part of Thunder Bay, in October 1940, taking over the Steel Company of Canada (Stelco) factory on Montreal Street.
The camp closed on 31 October 1943, due to reduced recruit intake.
The Stelco factory no longer stands, replaced by the former Canadian Car and Foundry plant, now owned by Bombardier.
Although it wasn't part of the army camp, Winston Hall barracks was built next to the Canadian Car and Foundry plant around 1940, to house the female aircraft workers at the plant. Winston Hall contained a dance hall, a bowling alley and a grocery store.
After the war, Winston Hall was converted into low-rent residential apartments, By the 1990s, the building was deteriorating badly and barely half full.
Winston Hall was vacated and condemned in 1995, and just three years later, a fire destroyed the abandoned building.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, Winston Hall Apartments | Date: 1960s Description: Winston H… | Flickr, .
No. 30 Officers' Training Centre / Camp Brockville:
Camp No. 30 was originally established in 1940, its original purpose was to accommodate and train new recruits for the Canadian Army. The camp encompassed the area encompassed between Highway 401, Ormond Street, the Canadian Pacific rail line and North Augusta Road.
In early in 1941, the camp was converted to an officer's training centre and renamed as No. 30 Officers' Training Centre, Brockville Military Academy. It included a rifle range, a border range and many small training areas in the surrounding country side.
A French training wing was added in November 1941 for officer cadets from Quebec. Officer cadet recruits trained initially at No. 44 CA(B)TC in Saint-Jérôme before being sent to Brockville for a further three months training.
The camp population at that time grew to 4,000, including women army corps personnel.
With the end of WWII, the Brockville Military Academy became the home station of the Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), in November 1945, as well as a vocational school for returning servicemen. The next month, the King's and regimental colours were brought from Wolseley Barracks in London, Ontario and marched through the streets of Brockville up to the camp.
Married Quarters were not originally constructed at the Camp but according to Captain (Ret'd) Ray Fleming, a research assistant with the Royal Canadian Regiment Museum at Wolseley Barracks, "...a number of “H" huts were placed at the disposal of The Regiment on the understanding that alterations would be at the expense of the occupants. A brisk conversion campaign ensued in which the lucky families made homes for themselves, each in its own fashion. Thus emerged Married Patch, complete even to a set of Standing Orders for Wives."
The RCR's stay in Brockville would prove to be short-lived as the regiment was transferred to Camp Petawawa in 1950.
Nothing remains of the camp today. A small portion of the former camp, a greenbelt strip on the east side of Ormond Street from Central Avenue to Bramshot Avenue was dedicated as The Royal Canadian Regiment Park in April 2011. A memorial cairn was erected near the corner of Central Avenue, which used to be the main gate into the camp.
There are several homes at the north end of the former camp property that are identical to PMQs but there don't appear to be any records that any military homes were constructed, other than the renovated H-Huts. It appears more likely is that the builder simply borrowed the PMQ blueprints.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, "City's military camp not forgotten", Brockville Recorder - www.recorder.ca/2010/07/02/citys-military-camp-not-forgotten, The Royal Canadian Regiment web site -http://theroyalcanadianregiment.ca/news/rcrpark.html, information provided by Capt (Ret'd) Ray Fleming, Research Assistant, the RCR Museum (2015), Natalie Wood, Curator/Director, Brockville Museum (2015) and the personal recollections of the author (2015).
Camp Hagersville / No. 16 Service Flying Training School:
Opened on 8 August 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan near Hagersville, with Relief Landing Fields at Kohler and Dufferin. No. 16 SFTS closed on 30 March 1945.
The station was taken over by the Army on 21 September 1945.
Camp Hagersville, as it was re-named, was used by the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineer Corps as a maintenance facility, along with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps as a depot facility and by the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps as a driver training centre.
Permanent Married Quarters were constructed for the families of soldiers posted to the camp.
In 1961, the camp was also designated the Target Area Headquarters (a nuclear contingency plan) for the Hamilton area.
In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, Camp Hagersville closed in 1964.
The Department of Reform Institutions established the White Oaks School and a vocational training school, both for delinquent boys. The reforms schools both closed in 1978.
The former camp is now the White Oaks Industrial Park. Total Forest Industries occupies some of the former aircraft hangars for use in the production of treated lumber products.
All the hangars, the drill hall and the PMQs remain. The abandoned and crumbling airfield and the gunnery backstop also remain.
Both RCAF Detachment Kohler and Dufferin closed in 1945. Kholer is now home to the Haldimand Agriculture Centre, which is housed in the only remaining H-hut and the Toronto Motorsports Park, which uses old airfield as a drag strip.
Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Dufferin.
Source Material: the personal recollections of the author (1997 - 2004), the Toronto Motorsports Park web site - http://www.torontomotorsportspark.com & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Camp Picton / No. 31 Bombing and Gunnery School:
Originally opened in April 1941 by the Royal Air Force as 31 Bombing and Gunnery School during WWII, a part of the BCATP.
Five bombing ranges were also created to allow the students to practice. The school offered six week courses in bombing, navigation and air gunnery until it was disbanded in November 1944.
After the Bombing & Gunnery School was disbanded, the RCAF established the No. 5 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit at Picton. This unit was responsible for aircraft storage and maintenance of the airfield itself, until January 1946 when its the unit disbanded and its functions were taken over by RCAF Station Trenton.
The base was taken over by the Army for use as the Royal Canadian School of Artillery (Anti-Aircraft) (RCSA(A.A.)). The school provided training for anti-aircraft gunners, gunnery radar operators, technical assistants and artillery instructors.
An additional base campus was opened to the east of the airfield in the 1950s, named Craig Barracks, and PMQs were built to the north for servicemen and their families.
A number of operational artillery units were also located in Picton, including the 127th and 128th Medium AA Batteries, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA) and the 2nd and 3rd Light AA Batteries of the 1st Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, RCA. The RCAF also maintained a small detachment at the base to provide aircraft targets for the gunners.
In July 1960, the base was officially renamed Camp Picton and the RCSA (A.A.) disbanded a few weeks later. Two new units were formed later that year, namely the 1st Surface-to-Surface Missile (SSM) Battery and the 2nd SSM (Training) Battery of The Royal Regiment of Canadian Artillery. Both units were transferred; the 1st went to Europe in December 1961 and the 2nd was transferred to Camp Shilo in 1962. The 1st Battalion of the Canadian Guards then transferred to Camp Picton from their previous base in Germany.
With the Unification of the forces Camp Picton was renamed Canadian Forces Base Picton. However, reductions in the Canadian military meant that the base was no longer required and CFB Picton was closed in September 1969.
The base housing was sold to the Ontario Government, who turned the camp, the former RCAF section and the PMQs over to the Ministry of Community and Social Services, now known as Prince Edward Heights, who established a facility for mentally-handicapped adults in 1971 in some of the post-war barracks on the east side of the base. This facility closed in 1999.
The east side of the former Camp Picton is now used by Price Edward Zone (PRZ) Paintball, who make use of both the four remaining buildings, the two remaining post-war barracks buildings, the mess building and the dining hall.
The east side of the base became an industrial airpark. The hangars and most of the H-huts remain, some still in use for assorted industrial and institutional purposes, some abandoned and crumbling. Current occupants include a skid factory, a hammock store, an archery club, a welding shop, a flying club and a marine shop. The volunteer fire fighters still make use of the old fire hall.
The airfield remains in operation as Picton Airport.
The Point Petre Range is now occupied by 8 Air Communication and Control Squadron's communications station.
An odd circular formation sits across the road from the communications station, hidden among dense brush. This was the anchor point for the CF-100 missile test trials.
The base and Point Petre were also used to film the movie Dieppe (1993), a TV movie by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).
Although no longer a base, 851 Royal Canadian Air Squadron Prince Edward, which is part of the Air Cadet Program, has been making regular use of the facilities since the late 1970s. The camp is used for a variety of cadet activities for about 10 months of the year. During the summer Royal Canadian Air Cadets Central Region Gliding School uses the adjacent airfield for a six week course in glider training.
Current plans for the former Camp Picton will see it transformed into a 70-acre community and special events location named Base31. Their web site notes that the property is an "...evolving new and exciting destination with festivals, public art, gallery re-openings, and concerts....a dynamic collection of neighbourhoods with a mix of uses: retail, restaurants, places to work and create, parks, trails, and recreation areas, a full complement of community amenities, and a range of housing to suit many needs."
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, http://www.teot.ca/index.php/2014-02-23-20-20-30/investigation-logs/116-peh, the personal recollections of the author (1997 - 2017) & Base31 co-create the future | Base31.
Canadian Forces Station Cobourg:
Opened in 1952 in Cobourg as the new home of No. 26 Central Ordnance Depot, which re-located from Ottawa. The Depot all the amenities of a regular base including 6 warehouses, a central heating plant, firehall, permanent married quarters (PMQs) and administrative buildings.
With the Unification of the Forces, the depot became No. 26 Canadian Forces Supply Depot and the base was re-named CFB Cobourg, but by 1968, this designation was changed to Canadian Forces Station Cobourg.
On 1 November 1967, Cobourg assumed control of No. 15 Regional Ordnance Depot, making it a Detachment of No. 26 CFSD. However, this charge would be short-lived as the No 15 ROD closed 4 years later on 31 August 1971 as a part of a reorganization of the Canadian Forces Supply System.
By 1969, the Canadian Forces supply system was consolidated and Cobourg's area of responsibility was split between Montreal and Toronto. As a result, CFS Cobourg closed on 31 August 1970.
The Depot was originally sold to the Province of Ontario, but later to the Town of Cobourg.
Most of the former Depot on D'Arcy Street, now known as the Northam Industrial Park, remains as it did when it closed, including the PMQs, although some of the warehouses have been re-sided in metal cladding.
Source Material: Cobourg: "Early Days and Modern Times" by John Spilsbury, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak. and the recollections of the author (1998-2017).
No. 26 Central Ordnance Depot (Ottawa)
(Army Publications Depot (Ottawa))
(No. 1 Central Medical Equipment Depot)
Originally opened in 1941 at Plouffe Park as Ottawa Central Ordnance Depot, one of three Central Depots in the eastern region, with the other two being in Montreal and Toronto. The Depot issued items ranging from uniforms to typewriter ribbons and requisition forms.
At the time, the depot building was the largest war building erected in Ottawa at over an area of 295,000 square feet". Unlike many buildings built during WWII, the depot's building was meant to be a permanent structure, as a news article in 1942 quoted then Minister of National Defence Col James Ralston, "it will be of substantial, permanent construction -- steel and cinder-block". It contains 800 tons of reinforcing steel, 130 tons of sheet metal, and, 200 tons of pipe. "It ... will not only meet the requirements of war-time but will stand for many years"
Due to increasing demand, eventually additional sub-depots were opened in Ottawa at 111 Murray Street, 817 Wellington Street and various other locations.
The Ottawa depot remained open as a part of the post-war Army establishments and was re-designated No. 26 Central Ordnance Depot. However, by 1953, a re-organization of Ordnance Corps bases resulted in the closure of the Ottawa Depot and the establishment of a new home base for 26 COD in Cobourg.
The depot then became No. 1 Central Medical Equipment Depot and later, the Army Publications Depot (Ottawa).
By the 1960s, part of the depot was taken over by the Department of Supply and Services, now known as Public Works and Government Services Canada.
The warehouse buildings were torn down over a 9 month period from October 2014 and July 2015. All that remains is the administration building along Somerset Street West, still occupied by Public Works and Government Services Canada.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, information provided by Judy M. Foote, PC, MP, Minister of Public Services and Procurement (2016) and the personal recollections of the author (2016).
No. 15 Regional Ordnance Depot:
Established in July 1952 in Lakeview, then a part of Toronto Township, but now part of Mississauga, on Cawthra Road south of The Queen Elizabeth Way. The Depot took stock from various Central Ordnance Depots for distribution to local Regular and Reserve force units.
In addition to the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps, the depot also housed companies of the Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers, including the RCEME School, and the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps.
The Depot was re-designated as a Detachment of 26 Canadian Forces Supply Depot in Cobourg on 1 November 1967 as a part of the Unification of the Forces. However, this charge would be short-lived as the Depot closed 4 years later on 31 August 1971 as a part of a reorganization of the Canadian Forces Supply System.
No. 1 Canadian Forces Supply Depot at CFB Downsview assumed responsibility for the Depot's area.
The Depot was later used by Canada Post, the Department of Supply and Services and Revenue Canada, but all the buildings were eventually demolished.
In 1972, Cawthra Park Secondary School was built in 1972 on the south end of the property and later the Cawthra Arena, now the Carmen Corbasson Community Centre.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak and the personal recollections of the author (2015).
Internment Camp No. 20 (Camp C):
Opened in 1940 on the site of the former Minnewaska Hotel in Gravenhurst as a Prisoner of War Camp for German officer detainees, the camp was also referred to as Camp Calydor and Muskoka Officer’s Club. The camp had a fenced-in swimming area on Lake Muskoka for use by the prisoners. By the end of the first summer, Camp 20 held 489 prisoners.
They were used for various construction projects- around Gravenhurst including a set of stone steps leading down to the waterfront at Gull Lake Park today (they remain today) and a light house in the park, as well as working at local lumber camps.
The camp also had its own small zoo and gardens for the prisoners to grow their own food and they were able to smoke sausages from the local animals.
One of the prisoners was Ulrich Steinhilper, a German fighter ace who shot down five RAF airplanes during the Battle of Britain before being shot down himself.
The camp closed in 1946 when the last of the prisoners had been repatriated.
The buildings were renovated an in July 1948, the camp re-opened as Leyland Holiday Village.
By the 1960s, the camp became a Jewish youth camp names Camp Aviv and offered Jewish youth a vacation area. Two fires in 1967 and 1968 destroyed the buildings and the camp was abandoned.
Today, all that remains of Camp 20 is concrete foundations, a fire hydrant, and parts of a fence. The site is now Ungerman Gateway Park.
Source Material: Ontario Abandoned Places web site - http://www.ontarioabandonedplaces.com/upload/wiki.asp?entry=2592.
Internment Camp No. 30:
Established in August 1941 on the grounds of the of a school for delinquent boys north of Bowmanville.
The camp was the site of "The battle of Bowmanville". In October 1942, between 1,500 to 4,000 prisoners revolted against the POW guards after the were shackled as retribution to Germany's new Commando Order.
The camp closed after the war and returned to civilian use, later becoming the Great Lakes College of Toronto.
Today the former camp is abandoned and the buildings are rapidly crumbling.
In 2013, Camp 30 was declared a National Historic Site. It remains unknown if the camp will be saved and restored or left to rot.
Internment Camp No. 31:
Established in 1940 at the historic Fort Henry in Kingston to house enemy merchant seaman and later soldiers. Fort Henry was originally constructed in 1812 for the British Garrison in Kingston, a part of the defence system of British North America.
The POW camp closed in December 1943, but in April 1945, the fort was used as No. 89 Military Detention barracks for Canadian servicemen
The detention barracks closed in the summer of 1946 and the fort reverted to it's pre-war status as a tourist attraction.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Internment Camp “R”:
Established in 1940 at the former campsite for the Lake Sulphite Pulp and Paper Company, outside of Red Rock. The 48 abandoned bunkhouses that had previously housed construction workers became home to 1145 German prisoners-of-war. Guard duty was assumed by members of the Canadian Veterans Home Guard, a unit consisting of former WWI soldiers recruited back into uniform.
During the 18 month life of the camp, several prisoners made escape attempts. One prisoner was able to make his way to the United States, but was captured and returned to the camp.
In October 1941, the camp was closed and all prisoners transferred to other POW camps.
Source material: www.redrocktownship.com/article/the-prisoner-of-war-camp-128.asp.
Internment Camp 100:
Established in 1941 near Neys. The camp was originally intended to hold mostly German POWs, called "greys", but some Japanese-Canadians, called "blacks", were interned at Camp Neys, one of nine such camps in Canada.
At the end of World War II, Neys was turned into a processing camp for POWs in the northwestern Ontario region. It was then turned into a minimum-security work camp for civilian prisoners from the Thunder Bay area, and finally dismantled in the 1950s.
Internment Camp “X” (Internment Camp 101):
Opened in January 1941 outside of Angler on a Canadian Pacific Railway siding. The camp initially held German prisoners but by June 1943, the Germans were sent to other camps and the camp held only Japanese prisoners.
The Camp closed in July 1946. Nothing remains of the camp today.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Canadian Army Trades School:
The Canadian Army Trades School occupied the former Libby-Owens plant on Kenilworth Avenue North in Hamilton. Several administration and barracks buildings were added to the property to house trainee electricians, blacksmiths, machinists, cooks, carpenters, wireless and motor mechanics, bricklayers and armourers for a 30-week training course.
The Canadian Army Trades School operated from April 1941 until the end of 1944, graduating over 15, 000 students. The building was used as a vocational training school for returning veterans from May 1945 to May 1949.
Nothing remains of the training centre today. The property is now a parking lot.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Standard Barracks:
Standard Barracks was located in the Standard Underground Cable Building on Sherman Avenue North near Imperial Street. It was opened in 1940 for use by the Dufferin and Haldimand Rifles, who trained at the barracks for a few months before they Allanburg Barracks in Niagara.
The Perth Regiment then occupied the barracks until April 1941. In 1942, the Standard building then became a pottery factory, but the building has since been demolished.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak.
Little Norway (Muskoka) - Royal Norwegian Air Force base:
In 1942, the Royal Norwegian Air Force re-located their “Little Norway” training camp from the Toronto Island Airport to the Muskoka Airport outside of Gravenhurst. Larger barracks and improved facilities were constructed at the camp, which officially opened 4 May 1942.
The RNAF also made use of the Emsdale Airport, a small airport in Perry Township, north of Gravenhurst.
By the end of WWII, around 3,000 Norwegian Air Force personnel trained at the camp. The airport reverted to being a civilian airport but a military presence remained the airport.
In the post-war years, the airport was used by 424 (Light Bomber) Squadron (Auxiliary) from RCAF Station Mount Hope for summer camps. In the early 1950s, the airport was also designated as an emergency landing field for Air Defence Command and as a result, the runway was expanded to 6000 feet.
Today, the only WWII-era building that remains is a small, non-descript building just outside the main-gate of the prison that served as the payroll office.
A memorial building dedicated to the wartime school was officially opened on 25 September 2007 by Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health in the Canadian government. The museum hosts many artifacts, paintings, articles, books and memorabilia that tell the story of Little Norway. The museum will also ensure that future generations never forget the contributions made in the name of freedom by the Norwegians who trained at “Little Norway”.
This memorial building hosts many artifacts, paintings, articles, books and memorabilia pertaining to the Second World War occupation of the airport. It also ensures that future generations never forget the contributions made for freedom by the Norwegians who trained and were stationed at “Little Norway”.
The Emsdale Airport is still in operation as a private airport, with 2 grass runways in a X-pattern, one 2500 feet and the other 2000 feet. The WWII-era hangar also remains.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" by Paul Ozorak, the Little Norway memorial page of the Muskoka Airport - www.muskokaairport.com/memorial, Perry Township web site - www.townshipofperry.ca/history.html and the personal recollections of the author (1998-2009).
Little Norway Detachment (Emsdale) - Royal Norwegian Air Force base:
When the Royal Norwegian Air Force outgrew their training camp, Little Norway, at the Toronto Island Airport in 1942, they briefly moved the school to the Emsdale airport near Burk’s Falls, before establishing a permanent training camp at the Muskoka Airport near Gravenhurst. The Emsdale Airport remained in use as a Relief Landing Field for Little Norway.
The school and the detachment closed in 1945.
All that remains of the is the airfield and the hangar, now in use as the Emsdale Airport.
Source material: Past Forward Perspectives web site - http://www.pastforward.ca/perspectives/may_242002.htm, information provided by Fritz Deininger, Emsdale Airport Authority (2015) and the personal recollections of the author (2012).
- OUTSIDE CANADA
BERMUDA
Canadian Forces Station Bermuda:Opened 3 July 1963 on the former site of a World War II Royal Navy Radio Station, Naval Radio Station Bermuda served as a radio station in Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization.The establishment of the station was a logical progression, as the Royal Canadian Navy had been using the former Royal Navy Dockyard in Bermuda almost continuously as a training base since the RN withdrew in 1951. A Canadian Forces Liaison Office had previously been established to co-ordinate training activities. With the Unification, the station was re-named CFS Bermuda in 1968, becoming one of the first Canadian Forces Stations to be staffed by unified forces personnel. The station closed on 31 December 1993. The former station is now the Daniel's Head Beach Park. Source Material: Communications & Electronics Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org, Bermuda Vacation Guide - http://www.bermuda.com/info/history/1900sI.html, Bermuda Vacation Guide - http://www.insiders.com/bermuda/main-beaches3.htm, Canadian Forces Station Bermuda web site - www.bermuda-online.org/canadianforcesstationbda.htm & Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization web site - www.tscm.com.cse.html.
FRANCE
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Marville: Opened in 1951 in northeastern France as the home of 1 Wing, a part of the RCAF's No. 1 Air Division, formed as part of Canada's air defence commitment to NATO in Europe during the Cold War. The station's four fighter squadrons, all flying Canadair F-86 Sabres, were 410 Squadron, 441 Squadron and 439 Squadron originally from RCAF Station Uplands. In 1956, some squadrons replaced their Sabre fighter jet with the CF-100 Canuck fighter. By 1962, the remaining squadrons were re-equipped CF-104 Starfighters. Also that year, 445 Squadron replaced 410 Squadron at Marville, remaining until December 1962, when the squadron disbanded. In 1966 the Government of France announced its intention to withdraw from NATO, which resulted in the expulsion of NATO countries from France. As a result, 439 and 441 Squadrons re-located to RCAF Station Lahr in April 1967 and RCAF Station Marville closed. Most of the station's building remain, as does the abandoned runway.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Grostenquin: Opened in 1951 in northeastern France as the home of 2 Wing, a part of the RCAF's No. 1 Air Division, formed as part of Canada's air defence commitment to NATO in Europe during the Cold War. The station had four fighter squadrons: 416 Squadron, 421 Squadron, 423 Squadron and 430 Squadron, all flying the Canadair F-86 Sabre, then later the CF-100 Canuck and CF-104 Starfighters. RCAF Station Grostenquin was destined to have a short life. In 1963 the Government of France announced it would assume control all nuclear weapons on French soil in 1963. As a result, the two nuclear strike squadrons at 2 Wing, 421 and 430 Squadrons, were hastily moved to Zweibrücken and Baden-Soellingen. This eventually lead to the closure of RCAF Station Grostenquin in 1964. Several of the station buildings are still standing today, though abandoned, as does the abandoned and crumbling runway.Source material: RCAF Station Grostenquin web site - http://web.archive.org/web/20080710052030/http://www.grostenquin.org/
GERMANY
Canadian Forces Base Baden-Soellingen:Originally opened June 1952 to accommodate a brigade of the French Air Force, the station was turned over to the RCAF, thus the station became as RCAF Station Baden-Soellinggen in 1953 and the home of 4 Wing. The station was a part of the RCAF's No. 1 Air Division, formed as part of Canada's air defence commitment to NATO in Europe during the Cold War.Following the closure of RCAF Station Marville in France, 441 Squadron relocated to Baden, changing its name to 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron. With the Unification of the Forces, the station was re-named CFB Baden in 1968. With the closure of RCAF Station Zweibrïcken in 1969, its units were consolidated at Lahr and Baden. Units of 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group based in Soest area of northern West Germany moved to CFB Lahr and air force units concentrated at CFB Baden-Soellingen. Reduced from six squadrons to three, the squadrons were reorganized under the new 1 Canadian Air Group banner. However, a mechanized infantry battalion was stationed alongside the fighter squadrons at Baden-Soellingen: the 1st Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment (1955–57 and 1962–65) and 2nd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment (1953–55 and 1965–70). From 1970-1977 it was the 3rd Mechanized Commando, The Canadian Airborne Regiment the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment from 1977-1984; the 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry from 1984-1988 and again the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment from 1988-1993. In addition, there was also a communications squadron, and after 1987, an air defence battery. A multi-force airfield repair unit formed in the late 80s to fix the runways if needed.The ramp-up in defence spending during renewed Cold War tensions in the late 1970s and 1980s saw CFB Baden-Soellingen receive much-needed new infrastructure, including updated quarters for its personnel and their dependents. The year 1984 saw squadrons at CFB Baden-Soellingen begin to re-equip from the CF-104 Starfighter to the CF-18 Hornet with 1986 being the close-out year for the Starfighter on base.In October 1989, the Berlin Wall came down and by the end of 1990, Germany had reunited, thawing Cold War tensions and removing the role for Canada's active units stationed in Western Europe under NATO command.As a result, the base was downsized to a Detachment of CFB Lahr on 31 July 1993, but eventually closed, along with Lahr, on 31 August 1994.The former base is now known as the Baden Airpark.Source Material: "Remembering CFB Baden-Soellingen" - www.badenremembered.com and the Communications & Electronics Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org. Information regarding 4 Wing parade photo by Bruce McNair, son of G/C Buck McNair.
Canadian Forces Base Lahr: Opened in March 1966 in the wake of the closure of RCAF Station Marville in France. The station, named RCAF Station Lahr, served as the new home to 1 Wing and 1 Air Division Headquarters, when the Government of France ordered all NATO forces out of France. In April 1967, 439 and 441 Squadrons re-located to Lahr, but by 1971, 441 Squadron moved to CFB Baden-Soellingen, changing its name to 441 Tactical Fighter Squadron. As a result of the Unification in 1968, the base was re-named CFB Lahr. Further consolidation resulted in Canadian Army units in northern West Germany, along with those units based in nearby Hemer-Deilinghofen, Werl, and Unna, re-located to CFB Lahr, with some going to CFB Baden-Soellingen. Army units stationed at CFB Lahr were organized under 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group and were mostly heavy armour or mechanized infantry equipped with the M113 family of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC). CFB Lahr was home to: The Royal Canadian Dragoons (1970-1987), 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) (1987-1993), 1st Regiment Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, 4th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, 4 Combat Engineer Regiment, 4 Service Battalion, 4 Field Ambulance, 4 Military Police Platoon, 1st Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, 444 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and 5 Air Movement Unit. In October 1989, the Berlin Wall was torn down and by the end of 1990, Germany had reunited, thawing Cold War tensions and removing the role for Canada's active units stationed in Western Europe under NATO command. As a result, 4 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group departed Lahr on 31 August 1993. CFB Lahr closed a year later on 31 August 1994. The former base now operates as the Black Forest Airport. Source Material: Communications & Electronics Museum site Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org.
RCAF Station Zweibrücken: Established in 1953 near the Town of Zweibrücken, near the Black Forest, as the home to 3 Wing, a part of the RCAF's No. 1 Air Division, formed as part of Canada's air defence commitment to NATO in Europe during the Cold War. Three squadrons flying F-86 Sabres were located at Zweibrücken: 413, 427, and 434. The three squadrons arrived at Zweibrücken in March 1953. No. 413 Squadron was replaced in 1957 by 440 Squadron flying the new CF-100 all-weather interceptor.In 1959 Canada began re-equipping with the new CF-104 Starfighter, a nuclear weapon equipped fighter jet that also served a reconnaissance role. No. 440 Squadron was disbanded in December 1962. No. 430 Squadron moved to Zweibrücken from Grostenquin when 2 Wing closed in 1964.In the mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, RCAF Station Zweibrücken closed on 27 August 1969.The RCAF erected a west coast Indian totem pole as a token of their friendship with the local German citizens.Upon the departure of the RCAF, control of the station was transferred to the United States Air Force Sixteenth Air Force, USAFE. The USAF closed this base in 1991.Today, the former base is known as the Zweibrücken Airport. All that remains from 3 Wing RCAF is the Peter Cunningham Memorial Arena. The totem was unofficially repatriated to Canada several years later by unknown persons and stored in a hangar at CFB Trenton. In September 2012, the totem was given to the City of Barrie, Ontario, sister city of Zweibrücken, and displayed in the city hall.
ITALY
Royal Canadian Air Force Air Weapons Installation Decimomannu:Established in April1957 at the NATO Weapons Training Establishment, serving as a bombing range for fighter jets from the RCAF's No. 1 Air Division.
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Camp Mirage:Camp Mirage, opened in December 2001, was the codename for a secret Canadian Forces forward logistics base located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in support of Canada's operations in southwest Asia, namely Afghanistan. The base, although an "open secret", was not officially acknowledged by the Canada.The exact location of Camp Mirage and the nature of its missions were not officially acknowledged by the Canadian government, although it supposedly was located at Al Minhad Air Base, operated by the United Arab Emirates Air Force. Camp Mirage primarily operated as a transportation base, although CP-140 Aurora maritime-patrol aircraft, C-17 Globemaster III and CC-150 Polaris aircraft from CFB Trenton and other air bases in Canada operated at Camp Mirage. The base also included aircraft maintenance facilities, sleeping areas, a cafeteria and a ball-hockey rink. The base closed on 5 November 2010 after the Government of the United Arab Emirates had revoked the Canadian Forces' access to the facility due to the Canadian government's refusal to grant civilian landing rights to Emirates and Etihad Airways at the Calgary International Airport and Vancouver International Airport in Canada.
UNITED KINGDOM
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Langar Established at Royal Air Force Station Langar, the first RCAF personnel arrived autumn 1952. The air field was by the Royal Canadian Air Force as the home to No. 30 Air Materiel Base. Langar was the RCAF's primary supply base for No. 1 Air Division RCAF in Europe, a complex of four fighter bases set up in nearby North Luffenham and in France and West Germany by Canada to help meet NATO's European air defence commitments during the Cold War. It was the only Canadian base in the UK. The RCAF established No. 30 Air Materiel Base to handle the transportation of supplies, equipment, aircraft, personnel, and other support essential for the operation of the four NATO air bases and its headquarters. Several units were attached to 30 AMB. No. 137 (Transport) Flight, which was attached to the Movements Unit of 30 AMB, operated several types of aircraft including six Bristol Freighters, one Beechcraft Expeditor, and two Dakotas. No. 312 Supply Depot handled medical supplies and spares for mechanical equipment, including aircraft (e.g. the F-86 Sabre) and vehicles. No. 314 Technical Services Unit was tasked with inspecting all supplies before they were forwarded to operational bases. This unit also assisted with repair contracts and provided technical advice. The RCAF departed Langar in 1963 and the airfield became a civilian airport. - PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDNo. 9 Service Flying Training School: See No. 9 Service Flying Training School in "Closed bases that still have a military presence".
No. 10 Bombing & Gunnery School: Opened in 1940, the aerodrome near Mount Pleasant was originally a Relief Landing Field for No. 9 SFTS at Summerside. As with all RLFs, the aerodrome had a single hangar and barracks. On 20 September 1943, the station changed its function and became the home of No. 10 B&G School. Two firing ranges were also constructed, one on the base and the other at nearby Higgins Wharf. At its peak, the school had 44 buildings, including 5 hangars, and was home to over 1800 personnel. No. 10 B&G School closed 6 June 1945. The station served briefly as a storage depot before the RCAF departed in 1947. The airfield was sold as surplus. Very little of the the war-time school today. The crumbling runways remain, along with some roadways and building foundations. Highway #2 runs along the former hangar line. A new visitor information centre and a monument to the old school can be found on the east side of Highway #2. Just north of the visitor centre, on the same side of Highway #2, two joined buildings appear to be or war-time vintage. The local Experimental Aircraft Association has used two of the crumbling runways (13-31 & 26-80). Source Material: Near Forgotten Airfield, No. 10 Bombing & Gunnery School web site - http://www.peicaps.org/ffway/index.htm, "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, information provided by Marilyn Garnett, AirScapes International Inc (2006), Google Maps & Canada Flight Supplement (1999).
No. 31 General Reconnaissance School & No. 2 Air Navigation School: The aerodrome near Charlottetown was originally opened on 1 May 1941 by the Royal Air Force as No. 31 General Reconnaissance School, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. A total of forty-three buildings were constructed, including six hangars. Originally No. 5 Bombing and Gunnery School was supposed to be housed at the aerodrome, but this was changed due to objections from local lobster fishermen as the bombing range would have necessitated closing valuable lobster grounds. The No. 31 GRS closed 11 February 1944 and was the station was turned over to the RCAF. No. 2 Air Navigation School, disbanded at Pennfield Ridge in 1942, was re-activated at the aerodrome in its place. No. 2 ANS closed on 7 July 1945. In its more than four years, the school had graduated 1200 students. The aerodrome was used briefly as No. 1 Aircraft Holding Unit, closing before the end of the year. The aerodrome and the sixty-five buildings were turned over to the War Assets Corporation. Many of the buildings were eventually moved to the City of Charlottetown. The aerodrome was transferred to the Department of transportation on 1 February 1946 and became the Charlottetown Airport and an industrial complex. Other than the airfield, nothing remains of the war-time station today. The last surviving building, hangar No. 4, which post-war housed the maintenance garage and fire hall for Department of Transport, was demolished in 1979. A memorial at the airport pays tribute to the airmen and airwomen who served at the wartime school. Source Material: "Sentinel" magazine from July 1970, PEI Transportation and Public Works web site - http://www.gov.pe.ca/tpwpei/index.php3?number=1001860⟨=E, "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak & information supplied by Marilyn Bell, Provincial Archivist, Charlottetown, PEI (2001).
No. 62 Artillery Training Centre: Opened 9 October 1940 in Charlottetown, at the end of Beach Grove Road, as No. 62 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre. The camp changed to solely an artillery training centre in November 1943. The camp closed on 31 January 1945. The property is now occupied by Beach Grove Home, a retirement residence. All that remains is a small non-descript building used for storage and a possibly a second one that may have been an administration building. Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak. - QUÉBEC
Canadian Forces Base Montreal - Lasalle Detachment:
(Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Hochelaga)
Originally established as a Naval Supply Depot, it was constructed between 1951 and 1953 at 2555 Dollard Street in Lasalle. The depot was officially commissioned on 1 October 1955 as HMCS Hochelaga. The depot took over functions previously handled by small depots in Rockcliffe, St. Hubert and Outremont. Six large warehouses were constructed, along with administrative buildings, workshops and a heating plant.
Although staffed by RCN Officers, most of the depot staff were civilian employees, so no barracks were built at that time. The depot was also home to the Aviation Supply Depot, which supplied the RCN aircraft carriers.
The H.M.C. Supply School re-located to HMCS Hochelaga after outgrowing their facilities in British Columbia. Barracks, messes, classrooms and administrative buildings and a recreation hall were constructed for the school at the north end of the property. Re-named the Naval Supply School, the school provided instructor on cooking, butchery, supply, accounting and civilian and military management.
The Naval Supply Depot, Aviation Supply Depot and the Naval Supply School were known collectively as the Naval Supply Centre.
With the Unification of the Forces, the HMCS Hochelaga was downgraded to a Detachment of CFB Montreal in 1966 and re-designated as No. 4 Supply Depot. The Canadian Forces School of Management was established at the centre in September 1966.
In September 1968, the Naval Supply School merged with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps School and the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps School to form the new Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics at CFB Borden.
Also as a part of the Unification, No. 4 Supply Depot closed on 1 September 1970, with its functions being taken over by No. 25 Canadian Forces Supply Depot at Longue Pointe.
The CF School of Management relocated to CFB St-Jean in 1971 and the Lasalle base closed. The property was sold to the Lasalle Industrial Development Corporation.
Today, the site is an industrial complex and a bus terminal for Montreal Transit.
All the supply depot buildings remain, along with the administrative building fronting onto Dollard Street, currently occupied by Cite Industrielle. The former Naval School buildings are gone, replaced by the Montreal bus terminal.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak, Servire Armatis - 1972-1997, the personal observations of the author (2016) and Google Maps (2014).
Naval Radio Station Fort Chimo:
Opened in 1949 as Naval Radio Station Fort Chimo as a High Frequency Direction Finding station.
NRS Fort Chimo had a brief existence as it closed in 1953. The station was replaced by NRS Frobisher Bay.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak & Canada's National Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) organization web site - www.tscm.com.cse.html.
Naval Radio Station Chelsea:
Established in 1941 by the Royal Canadian Navy in co-operation with the National Research Council to test how radio communications were affected by the ionosphere. A single building was constructed, along with several radio masts.
The station closed in 1947 and its functions were taken over by the Defence Research Board's new Radio Propagation Laboratory in Ottawa.
Nothing remains of the former station today. It was located on the north side of Old Chelsea Road a few hundred yards west of Highway 105.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
His Majesty's Canadian Ship D'Iberville:
Opened as a recruit training establishment in Quebec City in 1952 as His Majesty's Canadian Ship D'Iberville. However, HMCS D'Iberville had a brief existence, as it closed in 1961. The recruit school moved to LaSalle, Que.
Source Material: "Badges of the Canadian Navy" by LT (N) Graeme Arbuckle & "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
His Majesty's Canadian Ship Fort Ramsay:
Established on 1 May 1942 at Sandy Beach, on the southern shore of Gaspé Bay, the "ship" was established for convoy protection, ship control and area defence.
The base consisted of barracks, administration buildings, mess halls storage buildings and fuel tanks, along with a dedicated rail-line for delivery of supplies.
The RCAF and Canadian Army also shared the base, with a hangar for seaplanes and coastal-defence anti-aircraft batteries for protection, such as Fort Prével, Fort Haldimand and Fort Péninsule.
The army departed Fort Ramsay in August 1944. When the RCAF established a coastal radar network, Fort Ramsay became an important part of the network.
The RCN paid-off the base on March 31, 1946.
Some of the former Army and RCN buildings remain; the naval buildings still retaining their standard white and green paint colours. The property is now a commercial-industrial area, the Sandy Beach Terminal of the Port of Gaspé.
The former naval administration building is now an apartment building, with an extra living floor created in the attic.
The former gun emplacements at Fort Peninsula remain, located at Forillon National Park.
The large RCAF hangar burned down years ago.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
His Majesty's Canadian Ship Saint-Hyacinthe:
Originally opened as No. 46 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre in October 1940, but camp was re-named No. 46 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre. One of the first regiments trained at the camp was the Regiment de St-Hyacinthe, a regiment that dates back to the Fenian Raids of 1866.
The following April, the camp was re-named No.46 Canadian Army (Advanced) Training Centre.
On 1 October 1941, the camp was taken over by the Royal Canadian Navy for their use as a communications school. The camp was re-named HMCS Saint-Hyacinthe and some of the army tar-paper H-huts were replaced with white clapboard navy buildings.
The school trained ratings in visual, morse and radio communications. Both men and women trained at the school, although women were posted only to shore stations.
In 1943, the RCN’s radar training section in Halifax relocated to St.-Hyacinthe.
As the war was winding down in early 1945, the communications school closed, having trained over 3000 men and women, and HMCS St.-Hyacinthe was converted into a naval discharge centre.
A Canadian Naval Radio Laboratory was also opened at the station around that time, for the purpose of developing and improving radio equipment.
HMCS St.-Hyacinthe closed on 20 February 1946. Some of the barracks were used as a veteran’s tuberculosis sanatorium, while the rest of the station was sold to J.A. & M. Cote Limited and the Quebec Government.
The RCN Sanatorium closed in 1955.
Only a handful of the 73 buildings remain today, including a cold-storage warehouse on Avenue de la Marine.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak and the personal observations of the author (2016).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Lachine:
Opened in September 1941 as a staging point for ferrying aircraft and supplies overseas for the war, as well as the home of No. 5 Manning Depot until 1943. The station remained open after World War II, becoming part of the post-war RCAF.
426 Transport Squadron re-formed at Lachine in March 1947, remaining until moving to Trenton 1 September 1959. 436 Transport Squadron re-formed at Dorval on 1 April 1949. Air Transport Command moved to RCAF Station Lachine from RCAF Station Rockcliffe in August 1951.
436 Transport Squadron moved to RCAF Station Downsview on 1 July 1956.
The station also provided support to No. 5 Communications Unit, a communications relay station in the RCAF's communications network located near St.-Jacques-Le-Mineur.
RCAF Station Lachine closed on 12 September 1959. Air Transport Command re-located to RCAF Station Trenton on 12 September 1959. The former station became the Dorval Airport.
On 29 November 1975, Montréal-Mirabel Airport opened north-west of Montreal to handle an expected growth in international traffic and, eventually, to replace Dorval. That extra traffic never materialized, and due to its closer proximity to downtown Montreal, all scheduled air services have now returned to Dorval/Trudeau, while Mirabel ceased passenger operations in 2004.
In 2004, the airport was re-named Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
Source Material: 8 Wing Trenton News Releases - http://www.8wing.trenton.dnd.ca/archives/news110897.htm, "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak & History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm.
No. 5 RCAF Manning Depot/Royal Canadian Air Force Station Lachine Detachment:
Opened on 1 December 1941 as No. 5 "M" Depot. The purpose of the manning depot was to introduce recruits into life in the RCAF, with lessons of drill, care of uniform, small arms training and physical training.
The Depot was a large RCAF establishment, with around 40 buildings, including administration, messes, quarters, recreation, medical, lecture huts, a central heating plant, and two drill halls.
As manning needs declined in 1943, the Depot transitioned into No 1 Embarkation Depot, or "Y" Depot, previously located at RCAF Station Debert. This was a temporary stop-over station for personnel rotating overseas.
On 26 October 1944, the Depot once again transitioned into No. 2 Release Centre, for airmen transitioning back to civilian life.
After the war ended, the Depot was used by a Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineer reserve unit.
The RCAF began using the Depot again in July 1950, as an over-flow for units at nearby RCAF Station Lachine. When RCAF Station Lachine closed in September 1959, the Depot also closed and the land was sold.
Nothing remains of the former Depot today; not even a plaque. A residential community now occupies the area.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Casey:
Opened as an emergency airfield in 1952, it was used in the construction of the Pinetree Line. Detachment Casey also supported RCAF Station Parent, one of the Pinetree stations, under control of the Lac St. Denis Air Defence Control Centre.
The original 6000-foot runway was later extended to 8200 feet and the Detachment was once considered as the home of an RCAF squadron and as a BOMARC missile base.
Detachment Casey closed in November 1964 and the airfield abandoned.
In the early 1970s, the airfield was used occasionally by crop-dusters for refueling and loading up on larvacide. One of these crop-dusters crashed on take-off on 9 June 1973.
In 1993, a Convair 540 aircraft transporting drugs was forced down at Casey by RCAF CF-18 fighters.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casey_Emergency_Airstrip.
Royal Canadian Air Force No. 5 Communications Unit:
In the mid-1950s, the RCAF established a new communications network, with one of the stations being located at RCAF Station Lachine in Dorval, west of Montreal.
The No. 5 Communications Unit St.-Jacques-Le-Mineur transmitter site was opened in late 1955 on Chemin du Ruisseau-des-Noyers, north of St.-Jacques-Le-Mineur, to act as a relay transmitter station for communications between RCAF Station Lachine, other parts of Canada, and trans-Atlantic.
The receiver station was located on Rue de l'Église in Saint-Rémi.
Both No. 5 CU sites were equipped with 15 FRT-501 transmitter units.
This location proved so ideal for radio communications as it was away from urban build-up that the Canadian Army opened the Delery Wireless Station within close proximity to the No. 5 CU site.
No.5 CU was declared redundant after only 9 years and the transmitter and receiver sites were closed in December 1964. It's unknown exactly why No. 5 CU was slated for closure, but it likely was a combination of the closure of RCAF Station Lachine in September 1959 and the amalgamation of the individual service branch communications systems into the Canadian Forces Communications System in the run-up to the Unification of the mid-1960s.
Both the No.5 CU sites and Delery Wireless Station properties were sold to a Mr. Bertrand of DeLery a few years after the closure.
The former St.-Jacques-Le-Mineur transmitter building is still standing, but is sealed up and abandoned. One large transmitter tower remains standing behind the building, but none of the other antennas remain.
For several decades the letters "Royal Canadian Air Force Transmitter Building" remained on the front of the building, but they were stolen by vandals sometime in the early 1990s.
The Saint-Rémi site was sold to the Department of Communications in 1971, for use as a Spectrum Observation Centre for the Montreal area, along with being a training centre for radio inspectors and technicians.
Advances in technology and automation eventually made monitoring stations obsolete, as as a result, Industry Canada, the successor to the federal Department of Communications, closed the Saint-Rémi site in June 2016. The only active monitoring station remaining in Canada is in Acton, Ontario.
An interesting side-note to the story of No. 5 CU is on 14 May 1963, the unit received orders to stock firearms for both their transmitter and receiver sites. It's unknown why this order was issued.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak and the personal observations of the author (2016).
Canadian Forces Station Val d'Or:
The Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Val d'Or in 1954 as a fighter-interceptor base intended to protect Montreal and the St. Lawrence River valley and Great Lakes basin against Soviet bomber aircraft. The airfield was topped with asphalt by the mid-1950s as RCAF Station Val d'Or became a key component in NORAD.
During the early 1960s, RCAF Station Val-d'Or was considered as the site for one of the Regional Emergency Government Headquarters, commonly known as a "Diefenbunker", but this was put at CFB Valcartier instead.
By 1964, the flying mission at RCAF Station Val-d'Or had changed to see all aircraft based at RCAF Station North Bay and RCAF Station Bagotville but were deployed to the base in rotations; in essence, RCAF Station Val-d'Or was now a forward operating base.
During the 1960s, RCAF Station Val-d'Or became home to numerous airborne nuclear weapons as RCAF CF-101 Voodoo interceptors were fitted with the AIR-2 Genie.
The rise of the FLQ terrorist group during this period saw the Canadian military devise strategies to safeguard nuclear ordnance primarily stored at RCAF Station Val-d'Or against being seized by the group's members.
The Unification of the Forces resulted in the station being renamed CFS Val-d'Or.
CFS Val-d'Or saw its mission gradually decrease during the 1970s and it was closed in 1976.
Today, the airfield operates as the Val-d'Or Airport. Besides the airfield, the firehall and the blue-roofed buildings on Rue Bleriot appear to be of RCAF design. Also, the two hangars beside Chemin du Lac-Langis appear to be RCAF quick-reaction hangars, similar to ones that still stand at Uplands in Ottawa.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak, Google satellite photos (2013).
No. 4 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened near Windsor Mills on 24 June 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school closed on 25 August 1944.
All that remains of the former school is a hangar pad and a small section of the taxi-way.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak and Google Maps.
No. 11 Elementary Flying Training School:
Opened near Cap de la Madeline on 14 October 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school closed on 11 February 1944.
Other than one h-hut, nothing remains of the aerodrome today. It was located in the Rue St Maurice - Rue de Grandmont area and is now a residential area.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
No. 13 Service Flying Training School:
See Saint-Hubert Garrison – 5 Area Support Group in "Closed bases that still have a military presence".
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Sept Iles:
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Saint-Honore:
Opened in June 1942 as Relief Landing Field for No. 1 Operational Training Unit at Baggotville under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.
The Detachment closed on 5 January 1945. The airfield now operates as the Chicoutimi/Saint-Honoré Aerodrome. All three runways remain in use, one expanded to 6000 feet.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak, Google satellite photos (2014).
No. 9 Bombing & Gunnery School:Opened near Mont-Joli on 22 August 1941, the station was one of the largest schools of the BCATP. The aerodrome also served as an active anti-submarine station and home to No. 4 Repair Depot, No. 3 Construction and Maintenance Unit, and No 1 Wireless Relay Detachment, along with a small contingent of the Lake Superior Regiment for coastal patrols.
No. 9 B&GS ceased operation in March 1945 and the aerodrome became home to No. 6 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Depot, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal.
In December 1945, the depot closed and the aerodrome was transferred to the Department of Transportation.
Today, only a vehicle shed and runway 06/24 remain from the RCAF days. The airport, which now operates as the Mont-Joli Regional Airport, is currently the busiest airport in eastern Quebec.
On 22 August 2016, a special ceremony was held to honour veterans who served at the wartime school, corresponding with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the school. A memorial plaque was installed and dedicated at the entrance to the airport.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak, "Recognizing a BCATP school, keeping community ties alive," by Major Holly-Anne Brown, RCAF News, 25 October 2016, Google satellite photos (2020).
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Pontiac:
Opened as the Relief Landing Field for No. 3 Flying Instructors School at Arnprior, Ontario, using grass runways. The Detachment closed in 1945.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak.
Central Equipment and Proving Establishment Detachment Ancienne Lorette:
No. 22 Elementary Flying Training School / No. 8 Air Observer School:
Opened at Ancienne Lorette, outside of Quebec city, in 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training plan. The two schools were both opened on 29 September 1941 to train student pilots from all over the British Commonwealth and other allied countries, along with the United States, prior to America's entry into WWII.
The two schools had all the usual amenities of an RCAF station including barracks, hangars, mess hall, hospital, stores recreation, drill hall and classrooms, but unlike most RCAF fields, did not have any Relief Landing Fields. Instead, student pilots used the runways at No. 11 EFTS at Cap-de-la-Madeline for their circuit training.
By July 1942, an increased need for navigators lead to the consolidation and closure of a number of EFTS across Canada. Those EFTS co-located with AOS were closed to allow the latter to expand their facilities.
As a moral-booster, HRH Princess Juliana of the Netherlands made a visit in October 1943.
No. 8 AOS closed on 30 April 1945 as the war was winding down. No. 503 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite was established for the storage of Canso aircraft.
In 1946, the aerodrome was turned over to the Department of Transportation. The Hospitaliers de St. Jean de Dieu and the Municipalite de la Petire-Riviere bought some of the former RCAF buildings and moved them off-site.
The aerodrome then became known as the Aéroport de l'Ancienne Lorette.
The RCAF returned to the aerodrome six years later when the Central Equipment and Proving Establishment Detachment Ancienne Lorette was established on 15 July 1952, to support the Canadian Armament research and Development Establishment at Camp Valcartier. The staff consited of twelve officers, seventy-one airmen and one civilian.
The aerodrome also doubled as a re-deployment airfield for Air Defence Command, with the main runway being extended to 6000 feet.
The CEPE was disbanded in August 1964 and the RCAF departed from Ancienne Lorette.
All that remains from the RCAF days is one hangar, updated with new siding. The RCAF still uses the airfield for its C-130 Hurcules aircraft to transport airborne troops.
The airport is now known as the Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak and the Québec City Jean Lesage International Airport web site - www.aeroportdequebec.com.
No. 12 Royal Canadian Air Force Equipment Depot:
Opened in September 1940 on Avenue Marien, the depot supplied the BCATP training schools a variety of equipment, including firearms, parachutes, engines, along with accepting the return of defective equipment.
A sub-depot was later established at the Jacques Cartier Bridge Pavilion on Ile Ste-Helene to handle the excess demand.
No. 12 ED closed on 31 March 1946, with No. 1 RCAF Supply Depot in Toronto taking over their duties.
Some of the buildings can still be found between Avenue Marien and Avenue Courtemanche, covered with metal siding and still used for various commercial purposes.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak and Google Maps.
Canadian Forces Station La Macaza:
Originally opened in 1953 as a relief landing field for the RCAF, the aerodrome later became home to 447 SAM Squadron, armed with 29 nuclear tipped CIM-10 Bomarc missiles. The station had all the amenities of an RCAF station, which included PMQs, a mess hall, barracks, recreation centre, administration building and a chapel.
In 1968, the station became CFS La Macaza, but this was short-lived as the station closed September 1972 following the removal of the Bomarc missiles.
The former station was transferred to the Department of Indian and Northern Development and turned into a school for native students.
In 1978, the former station was again transferred to the Correctional Service of Canada, becoming La Macaza Institution. Although the PMQs were demolished, the rest of the station remains, including the missile coffins, which are used for storage purposes.
The airfield became a civilian airport, now known as the La Macaza – Mont Tremblant International Airport.
Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada, Vol. II: Quebec", by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment La Toque:In the 1950s, RCAF's Air Defence Command established several auxiliary landing fields for re-deployment of CF-100 fighter jets across the country. RCAF Detachment La Toque was one such aerodrome.
The 5000 foot runway and buildings were transferred to the Department of Transportation in 1960 and today is the La Toque Airport.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak.
Saint-Raymond Transmitter Station:Opened in 1962, south of Saint-Raymond-de-Portneuf, as the remote communications bunker for the Quebec Government’s Emergency Operations Centre bunker at Camp Valcartier.
The one-level bunker was staffed by members of thee Royal Canadian Corps of Signals.
The bunker closed in the early 1990s and was sealed up, but remains today.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak.
Jacques Cartier Barracks:
Originally opened by the Canadian Army in Longueuil in 1940 as the Canadian Army's No. 4 District Depot. It served as a holding facility for recruits awaiting assignments and others awaiting transfers.
The barracks had most of the usual amenities of a Canadian Army camp, including quarters, messes, drill hall, medical building, administration, stores and recreation buildings.
The Canadian Provost Corps also established Montreal South Detention Barracks at the camp in April 1941, re-named No. 65 Military Detention Barracks. As many as 570 soldiers were detained at the barracks by the end of the war.
The barracks was used as a demobilization camp for soldiers being released back to civilian life when the war ended.
Unlike many WWII-era camps, Jacques Cartier Barracks remained an active Canadian Army barracks, becoming No. 4 Personnel Depot (recruiting centre), along with remained a Canadian Provost Corps camp.
Throughout the 1950s, the old-WWII buildings were demolished and replaced with new buildings, some covered in white stucco, which was becoming common at army bases across the county. The physical size of the barracks was also slowly reduced, with surplus parts sold off.
In October 1965, the barracks became the home of Mobile Command Headquarters, the new designation for the army under the Unification of the Forces. Less that a year later, in August 1966, Mobile Command HQ re-located to RCAF Station St-Hubert, with Air Defence Command (ADC) moving from St-Hubert to Jacques Cartier Barracks.
Three short years later, ADC HQ re-located again, this time to RCAF Station North Bay. Jacques Cartier Barracks closed later that year.
Nothing remains of Jacques Cartier Barracks. The property now contains the Longueuil subway station, Health Canada offices, and commercial operations including a hotel and Place Longueuil shopping centre, which opened in what had been the north end of the barracks, in 1966.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak, Place Longueuil — Wikipédia (wikipedia.org).
No. 34 Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot / Camp Bouchard
Opened in August 1941 at St Therese, near Montreal, by Defence Industries Limited as a munitions plant.
Known as Allied War Supplies Corporation Project 21, the camp consisted of 343 buildings including offices, work shops, production buildings, barracks, a hospital, a fire hall, a community centre and its own power house.
Finished and unfinished products were moved in and out of the camp on rail lines.
The plant closed in 1945 and the following year, the property was taken over by the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC).
Originally designated No. 4 Ordnance Ammunition Depot, the depot was re-designated No. 34 (Central) Ordnance Ammunition Depot in 1947.
When local militia units began using part of the 6000 acre property as a training camp, the name Camp Bouchard was also used.
Permanent Married Quarters (PMQs) were built and the camp became home to the RCOC School’s ammunition wing.
As a result of the unification of the forces in the mid-1960s, the camp was re-designated No. 34 Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot however, more change was in the wind.
The unification also lead to a reduction and consolidation of bases in Canada. As a result, operations at Bouchard were terminated in 1969, and the depot itself closed in 1972. The property was sold off in portions between 1972-1988.
All the administration and ammunition production buildings were demolished, leaving about half of the ammunition magazines, the roadways and the rail beds that were used to ship the ammunition in and out of the depot.
The PMQs on Place de Dieppe also remain, most renovated and updated.
The north-west end of the property is occupied by PMG Technologies for their vehicle test centre.
The south-west side of the property is now occupied by a residential development, the Blainville Equestrian Park, a library and the Town Offices.
Source Material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak and Google Maps.
No. 41 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:Established near Huntingdon as No. 41 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre on 9 October 1940. The camp was re-named No. 41 Canadian Army (Recruit) Training Centre a month later.
The camp had all the usual amenities including barracks, lecture huts, stores, mess halls, a drill hall, administration buildings and Officers' quarters. Most had a sports field, swimming pool or skating rink.
Also known as Chateauguay Barracks, the camp had around 1418 trainees by August 1941, making it the largest army training camp.
No. 41 was originally intended as a training camp for just the Victoria Rifles and the Royal Montreal Regiment, but later regiments such as The Black Watch, Regiment de Chateauguay, Regiment de Hull and the Fusiliers Mont-Royal also trained their recruits at the camp.
The Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars RCAC also trained their recruits at Chateauguay briefly in 1941.
The camp was re-named No. 41 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre in March 1941 and continued operating as such until 30 November 1943, when recruit ceased due to declining enrollment.
Chateauguay Barracks then became No. 4 Casualty Re-Training Centre, then a year later No. 4 Conditioning Centre, carefully chosen euphemisms for convalescent hospital.
The centre closed sometime around December 1945, when it became the Veterans Health and Occupational Centre for much of 1946.
Little remains of the former army camp today. A few of the barracks were converted into private residences, located on Fairview Road, Pine Street and Cedar Street. Royal Canadian Legion Branch 81 occupies the former camp hospital. The Legion branch still has the original oven and stove from WWII in the kitchen.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak, Goggle Maps and Huntingdon resident Ronald Critchley (2020).
No. 42 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:Established near Joliette as No. 42 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre on 9 October 1940. The camp was re-named No. 41 Canadian Army (Recruit) Training Centre a month later.
The camp, which was also called De Lanaudiere Barracks and Casernes de Lanaudiere, had all the usual amenities including barracks, lecture huts, stores, mess halls, a drill hall, administration buildings and Officers' quarters, making up around 40 buildings. Most had a sports field, swimming pool or skating rink.
De Lanaudiere Barracks also hosted Belgium troops, as did the training camp in Cornwall, Ontario.
De Lanaudiere Barracks became No. 42 CA(B)TC in March 1942, but by September 1943, the camp changed its focus due to a rise in illiterate recruits. From this time on De Lanaudiere Barracks was known as No. 42 CA Educational (B) TC until it closed on January 1945.
The camp was sold to the City of Joliette. Only five of the buildings remain today, now private residences on Rue Marguerite-Bourgeoys and Rue Alice.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak.
No. 43 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:Established in Sherbrooke as No. 43 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre on 9 October 1940. The camp was re-named No. 44 Canadian Army (Recruit) Training Centre a month later and originally served as a training centre for the Regiment de Hull and the Regiment de Maisonneuve.
The camp, which was also called Camp Lord Sherbrooke, had all the usual amenities including barracks, lecture huts, stores, mess halls, a drill hall, administration buildings and Officers' quarters. Most had a sports field, swimming pool or skating rink.
The camp's designation was once again changed in March 1941 to No. 43 CA(B)TC.
In 1943, an officer training program was added for some advanced field skills like mines and booby traps, fieldcraft, personal camouflage and battle first aid.
In November 1943, the camp changed to an infantry basic training centre, designated No. 43 CI(B)TC. Camp Lord Sherbrooke continued in this function past the end of the war, re-named the 6th Infantry Training Battalion on i July 1945, until the camp was finally shut down on 31 January 1946. Camp Lord Sherbrooke was then sold to the Town of Sherbrooke.
Some of the barracks were used as housing and the drill hall was used as the public works garage. Today, only the drill hall on Drummond Street remains.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak.
No. 44 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre/Canadian Officer Cadet and Basic Training Centre:Established in Saint-Jérôme as No. 44 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre on 9 October 1940. The camp was re-named No. 44 Canadian Army (Recruit) Training Centre a month later and originally served as a training centre for the Régiment de Hull and the Régiment de Maisonneuve.
The camp, which was also called Carillon Barracks, had all the usual amenities including barracks, lecture huts, stores, mess halls, a drill hall, administration buildings and Officers' quarters. Most had a sports field, swimming pool or skating rink.
The camp's designation was once again changed in March 1941 to No. 44 CA(B)TC.
By November 1941, Carillon Barracks was chosen as one of two officer training schools (the other was in Brockville, Ontario). Officer cadet recruits trained at Saint-Jerome before being sent to Brockville for a further three months training, in response to a need for French speaking officers to lead Quebec regiments.
The officer school was shut down on 27 July 1943 and Carillon Barracks switched to an instructor training school, S18 School of Army Instruction.
In December 1944, the camp reverted to a basic training centre, this time specifically for infantry, as No. 44 CI(B)TC. Carillon Barracks continued in this function past the end of the war, re-named the 15th Infantry Training Battalion in January 1946, until the camp was finally shut down on 14 April 1946. Carillon Barracks was then sold to the Town of Saint-Jérôme.
Today, the only thing that remains of Carillon Barracks is the former drill hall on Rue Fournier, which was occupied by a reserve battalion of the Royal 22e Régiment from 1964 to 1995.
A small park at 70 Rue Labelle was dedicated to the Royal 22e Régiment in 2013.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak and the Ville de Saint-Jérôme web site - www.vsj.ca.
No. 45 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre:
Established in Sorel-Tracy as No. 45 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre on 9 October 1940. The camp was re-named No. 45 Canadian Army (Recruit) Training Centre a month later, and initially served to train members of the Fusiliers Mont-Royal and the Régiment de St.-Hyacinthe.
The camp had all the usual amenities including barracks, lecture huts, stores, mess halls, a drill hall, administration buildings and Officers' quarters, for a total of around 63 buildings. Most had a sports field, swimming pool or skating rink.
After the camp closed, No. 45 Internment Camp stood up in its place on 9 May 1945, housing German POWs until they could be repatriated to Germany. This camp closed on 17 April 1946.
The property was sold and by the late 1940s, all the buildings had been removed. Nothing remains of the camp today.
Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak.
- SASKATCHEWANRoyal Canadian Air Force Station Saskatoon: In 1940, the Federal Government took over the Saskatoon Municipal Airport for use as an RCAF training facility. On 16 September 1940, No. 4 Service Flying Training School officially opened as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with Relief Landing Fields at Osler and Vanscoy. The airport facilities were completely overhauled with new hangars, barracks and administrative buildings being constructed. The airfield was expanded and the runways were paved. No. 4 SFTS closed on 30 March 1945, having graduated over 2000 airmen, but a small RCAF contingent remained at the Saskatoon Airport. 406 (Lynx) Squadron, a fighter squadron that had been adopted by the City of Saskatoon during WWII, was re-activated in 1947 as a light bomber squadron in the RCAF Auxiliary (Reserve). Officially re-named 406 (Lynx) City of Saskatoon Squadron, the squadron took up residence in several of the former No. 4 SFTS buildings. During the 1950s, Saskatoon became one of the major military centres in Western Canada. As a result of the RCAF's post-war expansion, RCAF Station Saskatoon re-opened as an air training facility in October 1950. That same year, No. 23 Wing was formed to oversee 406 (Linx) Squadron and several other Auxiliary (Reserve) Squadrons in Western Canada. Permanent Married Quarters were built at the end of 1952, and the following year, the Air Marshall Curtis School opened for the children of station personnel. No. 1 Advance Flying School opened at the station in 1952, one of the many Flying Training Schools opened across Canada to train RAF, RCAF and NATO aircrews. Students at the school trained on Mitchell Bombers and Expeditor aircraft trainers. Other lodger units at the station included, No. 3043 Technical Training Unit (Auxiliary) and No. 4002 Medical Unit (Auxiliary). RCAF Station Saskatoon honoured former Saskatchewan Lieutenant Governor A.P. (Archie) McNab in 1955 when the PMQ community at the station was named McNab Park. In 1956, the Instrument Flying School moved to Saskatoon from RCAF Station Centralia. The Central Flying School operated out of Saskatoon from 1959 until 1962 In 1962, control of RCAF Station Saskatoon was transferred from Training Command to Air Transport Command, but this change would be short-lived. In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, RCAF Station Saskatoon closed in 1964 and both 406 Squadron and 23 Wing were disbanded. Squadron Leader J. Shaw was the last CO of the station. RCAF Detachment No. 1005 Technical Support Depot was established at the site, occupying four of the station's hangars. The Detachment served as a disposal and storage facility for disused aircraft, including the C119 Flying Boxcar, Expeditor, Neptune and Harvard trainers and the Yukon Transport aircraft. In fact, it was at No. 1005 TSD that the last five Harvard aircraft in the RCAF inventory were brought for disposal. The Air Marshall Curtis School was transferred to the Saskatoon Public School Board in 1965 and re-named McNab School. The McNab Park PMQ homes were sold off as private residences. The remainder of the property was turned over to the Federal Department of Transport and reverted to its original role as a civilian airport, now known as the Saskatoon John G. Diefenbaker International Airport. No. 1005 Technical Support Depot, re-named 407 Technical Services Detachment after the Unification, remained at the Saskatoon Airport until 1978, when the Air Force finally departed Saskatoon. Parts of the former RCAF Station Saskatoon remain today, including are the ground school, supply building, Airmens' mess and officers mess, the airmen and Officers barracks, the post-war "Arch" hangar (all built in the 1950s), 4 ammunition storage buildings and the WWII-era drill hall. The five WWII era hangars were torn down several years ago, leaving just the cement pads. Some of the PMQs also remain occupied, but many are either vacant or have already been torn down. The land is being re-developed by the airport authority. Among the tenants of the airport are the National Aviation Centre, providing servicing and facilities for aircraft. 406 Squadron's traditions live on in Saskatoon through 602 Lynx Wing, Royal Canadian Air Force Association. 406 Squadron was re-activated and is currently located at 12 Wing Shearwater. The abandoned airfield is all that remains at the former RCAF Detachment Vanscoy. A faint outline of the runways can still be seen at the former RCAF Detachment Olser. Source material: Twinaire (newspaper of RCAF Station Saskatoon), Vol. 1, No. 7, March 1955, "Memories of Flying - Old Home Week for Airmen" by Dean Creswell, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, 22 September 1971, information supplied by June Flegg, Historian, Saskatoon Public Library (2000), National Aviation Centre/National Aviation College web site - http://citylightsnews.com/nac.htm, information supplied by Jeff O'Brien, City Archivist, City of Saskatoon (2000), information supplied by Will Chaburn, Member Regina Chapter, Canadian Aviation Historical Society (2003), information supplied by Shelley Anklewich, Contract Administrator, Saskatoon Airport Authority (2003), information supplied by Harry Setchell (2004), Ozzy's Place: Abandoned Aerodromes of Saskatchewan - http://ozzzy.dyndns.org, information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca & information supplied by William A. Restall, Saskatoon Airport (2001).
No. 6 Elementary Flying Training School & No. 6 Air Observer School: Opened near Prince Albert on 22 July 1940 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 6 EFTS, with a Relief Landing Fields located near Hagan and Emma Lake. From 17 March 1941 to 11 November 1942, the station doubled as the home of No. 6 Air Observer School. After the closure of No. 6 AOS, No. 6 EFTS was expanded in size. No. 6 EFTS closed on 15 November 1944. The aerodrome is now the Prince Albert Airport. Among the tenants of the airport are the National Aviation Centre, providing servicing and facilities for aircraft and the National Aviation College, providing flying training. All that remains of the former No. 6 EFTS are 2 buildings. One of the BCATP hangars remain, with the original control tower atop, is used by Transwest Air. A second hanger stood for many years, used for fertilizer storage, but after years of deterioration, it was finally demolished sometime after 2009. The former parachute packing building also remains and is currently used for storage. The original Westinghouse wind-tee also remains. Plans are being made by the airport management to restore the wind-tee, in partnership with the Prairie Heritage Air Show Society. A monument was erected to pay tribute to the 17 airmen and one civilian who died in training accidents at the school. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachments Hagan and Emma Lake. Source material: National Aviation Centre/National Aviation College web site - http://citylightsnews.com/nac.htm, information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca, "The Canada Flight Supplement" 1999, information provided by Bob Spracklin (2015), “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore. For the names and descriptions of the 17 airmen who lost their lives at the school can be viewed at: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=104764032962506&story_fbid=298734336898807. "Remembering Those Who Fell Here"
No. 3 Air Observer School (Regina) & No. 15 Elementary Flying Training School: In 1940, the RCAF took over the Regina Municipal Airport for use as a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The Royal Flying Corps had previously used the airport during WWI. No. 3 Air Observer School opened 16 September 1940, followed by No. 15 Elementary Flying Training School on 11 November 1940. A Relief Landing Field was constructed near Brora. On 12 September 1942, No. 3 AOS opened a Detachment at Pearce, Alberta, while also maintaining its site in Regina. The school continued operating until 6 June 1943 when both the Pearce and Regina schools closed. By the time No. 15 SFTS also closed on 11 August 1944, the school had trained 2011 pilots. The airport reverted to civilian use and is currently the Regina Airport. A new 6200-foot runway officially opened on 25 April 1953. Three of the WWII-era hangars remain, as does one of the Royal Flying Corps hangars. Source material: "Regina Airport - A History" produced by Transport Canada, the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm & "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore.
No. 23 Elementary Flying Training School (Davidson): Opened near Davidson on 9 November 1942 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with a Relief Landing Field near Davidson West. The aerodrome had the usual amenities of an EFTS, but unlike most, featured three hangars. It was also the only EFTS that was run by the RCAF. Most were run by civilian flying schools, under contract to the RCAF. The school re-located to Yorkton in January 1945 and No. 205 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite, a subunit of No. 2 REM in Moose Jaw, stood up, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. The aerodrome was declared surplus to the RCAF on 16 July 1945, and turned over to the federal Department of Transportation. From 1957-1968, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. All that remains of the aerodrome are the abandoned and crumbling runways, the gunnery backstop and the hangar pads. Provincial Airways still uses the east runway for seasonal spray application. One of the hangars was moved to the Town of Vonda for use as a community ice rink. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Davidson West. Source material: Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak, information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca, information provided by Lois Wilson (2022), information provided by Clarence Demchuk (2022) & "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore.
No. 33 Elementary Flying Training School: Opened on 17 December 1941 near the Town of Caron by the Royal Air Force, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. A Relief Landing Field was constructed near Boharm. The School closed on 14 January 1944 and No. 205 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite, a subunit of No. 2 REM in Moose Jaw, stood up in its place, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. It too closed on 31 July 1945. The Caron aerodrome was used briefly as a Relief Landing Field for No. 32 Moose Jaw, then abandoned. In 1946, the site was taken over by the Briercrest Bible Institute and re-named Caronport. Today, the Briercrest Family of Schools, consisting of Briercrest College and Seminary and Caronport High School, carry on the tradition of providing education at Caronport. The 160-acre campus is home to 1200 permanent residents and approximately 1000 students. Very little of No. 33 EFTS remains today. Several buildings remained up until the 2000s, but most have been since demolished or moved to other locations. The drill hall is now a recreation centre and part of an H-hut is now used as a laundromat. A garage, the pumphouse and reservoir also remain. The airfield is gone, but the lower runway and the taxiway along the hangar line are used as streets for trailer homes. The Airmens' Mess also remains, but has been moved to a different location at Caronport. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Boharm. Source material: information supplied by Lois Penner Vice President, Advancement Briercrest Family of Schools (2004), Briercrest Bible College web site - www.briercrest.ca, information supplied by Gord Elmer (2004) , information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca, information provided by Joel L. From, PhD, Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Briercrest College (2014), “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak, & "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Boharm: Opened in 1940 near Boharm, the detachment served as a Relief Landing Field for No.33 EFTS in Caron, but it possibly was originally intended for No. 32 at Moose Jaw. RCAF Detachment Boharm had a turf airfield laid out in the standard triangle pattern, with a hangar building and living quarters. When No. 33 EFTS closed in January 1944, Moose Jaw did take over the aerodrome, using the field until operations ceased in Oct. 1944. RCAF Detachment Boharm was abandoned and the land returned to farming. Nothing remains of it today. Source material: information supplied by Kirk Wallace, Research Department Western Development Museum (2006).No. 34 Elementary Flying Training School / No. 25 Elementary Flying Training School: Originally opened by the Royal Air Force near Assiniboia on 11 February 1942, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, near the Town of Assiniboia (Section 13, Range 9, Township 30, West 2nd). A Relief Landing Field was constructed near Lethburn. No. 34 EFTS closed on 30 January 1944. The aerodrome was taken over by the RCAF and No. 25 EFTS stood up in its place. No. 25 EFTS had a brief existence though, and by the time it closed on 28 July 1944, 2560 student pilots had graduated. In August 1944, two new units stood up at the aerodrome: No. 41 Pre-Aircrew Training School, whose mandate was to provide academic training, and No. 403 Aircraft Holding Unit, whose function was the storage of surplus aircraft pending disposal. Both units closed in 1945. Very little remains of the old school today, with only the airfield, hangar pads and the gunnery backstop remaining. All the buildings were either torn down or moved off site. Two hangars were moved to Regina and the drill hall to Moose Jaw. The hospital, recreation hall, workshop, officers' barracks and the dental building were moved to Assiniboia itself. The airfield is now the Assiniboia Airport. A cairn on the property pays tribute to the personnel who served at No 34 & No. 25 EFTS. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Lethburn. Source Material: "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore, information supplied by Sherri Spagrud, Clerk, Town of Assiniboia (2004), information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca, observations of James Forsyth (2009) & the Winnipeg Flying Club web site - www.wfc.mb.ca.
No. 11 Service Flying Training School & No. 23 Elementary Flying Training School (Yorkton):No. 11 SFTS opened on 10 April 1941, north of Yorkton as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, along with Relief Landing Fields near Sturdee (asphalt runways) and the Rhein District (grass runways). A total of 40 buildings were constructed for the flying school, including a full surgical hospital, one of four for all of No. 2 Training Command, a mess hall and 5 hangars. Unlike most Relief Landing Fields, no buildings were constructed at the Rhein Detachment. No. 11 SFTS closed on 15 December 1944. No. 23 EFTS re-located from Davidson, Manitoba, to Yorkton on 29 January 1945, but it would have a brief existence in Yorkton, as it too closed on 15 September 1945. RCAF Station Yorkton seemed destined to become a part of the post-war RCAF. The aerodrome became a storage depot, as well as the home of No. 2 Flying Training School and the 53rd Heavy Anti-aircraft Regiment. This too would be short-lived, as the station closed for good in early 1946. The airport is now the Yorkton Regional Airport. Of all the former school's buildings, only two of the original five hangars remain, as does a maintenance building and the gunnery backstop. All three original runways remain, but only two are still active. Runway 03-21 was extended to 4800 feet. Runway 12-30 was converted to a gravel surface, with the only the last 600 feet remaining asphalt. Among the present users is a Gliding Centre, operated for the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. The abandoned and deteriorating runways at the former RCAF Detachment Sturdee also remain, along with the hangar pad, but nothing remains at RCAF Detachment Rhein. One notable veteran of No. 11 SFTS was William Roy Irwin (1898-1969), a WWI Royal Flying Corps officer and winner of the Distinguished Service Order and Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. Irwin volunteered for service, once again, with the RCAF, on 9 July 1940. Originally posted to No. 11 SFTS in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, he assumed command of No. 11 on 10 January 1943, but was transferred to No. 3 SFTS in Calgary on 14 May 1943, where he assumed command of that school for the rest of the war. No. 3 SFTS was repeatedly awarded the Air Minister's Efficiency Pennant under his direction and on 1 January 1944, Irwin was made a Member of the British Empire. He retired from service as a Group Captain in July 1945. Source Material: information provided by Canadian Aviation Historical Society (CAHS), information provided by Therese LeBevre-Prince, Heritage Researcher, City of Yorkton (2003), Ozzy’s Place: Abandoned Aerodromes of Saskatchewan – http://ozzzy.dyndns.org, “Yorkton This Week” newspaper 30 November 1988, Gord Shaw MCIP RPP, Director, Planning & Engineering, City of Yorkton (2014), Legion Magazine July-August 2015 & “The Canada Flight Supplement” 1999.No. 32 Elementary Flying Training School: See 15 Wing Moose Jaw in "Current Canadian Military Bases."
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Buttress: Opened in 1941 near Buttress as the No. 1 Relief Landing Field for No. 32 SFTS at Moose Jaw. The detachment had 3 asphalt runways 100 feet wide and 2,500 feet long, constructed in the standard triangular pattern. Water reservoirs, a barrack block and a garage were added, but no hangar or control tower or barracks. Airmen traveled to the site during the day and returned to the main aerodrome at night. RCAF Detachment Buttress was abandoned after WWII. The post-war growth of the RCAF resulted in many WWII stations being re-activated. RCAF Detachment Buttress re-opened in May 1952 once again as the Relief Landing Field for the similarly re-opened RCAF Station Moose Jaw. By the late 1960s, with the advent of the jet Tutor trainer, the Buttress airfield became obsolete, and once again it was abandoned, this time for good. All that remains today are the abandoned and crumbling runways, which is now used for agricultural purposes. Several farm building line the abandoned runways. Source material: 15 Wing web site - www.moosejaw.dnd.ca, information supplied by Kirk Wallace, Research Department Western Development Museum (2006) & the Places to Fly web site - http://www.copanational.org/PlacesToFly.
No. 35 Service Flying Training School & No. 13 Service Flying Training School (North Battleford): Opened by the Royal Air Force on 4 September 1941 near North Battleford as No. 35 Service Flying Training School, a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Relief Landing Fields were constructed near Hamlin and Brada. No. 35 SFTS closed 25 February 1944 and the aerodrome was taken over by No. 13 SFTS, originally from St. Hubert, Quebec. No. 13 SFTS had a brief stay at North Battleford as it closed on 30 March 1945. From 1962-1963, the abandoned runways were used as a racetrack for sports car and motorcycle racing. The aerodrome is now the Cameron Macintosh Airport. All that remains of the wartime schools are the hangar pads and the gunnery backstop. Several of the aerodrome's former buildings were moved to the nearby Sharon Schools. Two of the original runways remain, but only runway 12/30 remains in use, expanded to 5000 feet. North Battleford Ultra-lights also uses the airfield for flying training. The local municipality put up a commemorative plaque on the property as a tribute to the men & women who served at RCAF Station North Battleford. The former RCAF Detachment Hamlin was used as an industrial site, and up to 2007, runways 11-29 continued to be used for agricultural flight training by Battlefords Airspray. The airfield is now closed to all aircraft and none of the RCAF buildings remain. All that remains of RCAF Detachment Brada is the former barracks building, which is currently used as a summer residence, along with two service buildings and the original hangar. The land is now a private farm. A commemorative metal sign pays tribute to the former detachment. Source Material: information provided by Randy Strelioff, Cameron McIntosh Airport (2004), information provided by Battleford Airspray (2010), information provided by Bill Barry, brother of the current Brada property owner (2013), Canadian Racer Web site - www.motorsportcentral.com, information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca & information provided by Sharon Schools (2004).
No. 38 Service Flying Training School: Opened on 1 April 1942 near the City of Estevan by the Royal Air Force as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Relief Landing Fields were constructed near Outram and Chandler. The school closed 14 January 1944, due to the reduced need for pilots overseas. Plans were made to convert the aerodrome into a RCAF Air Navigation School, but this never came to be. Instead No. 201 Holding Unit was established at the aerodrome, later changed to No. 204 Equipment Holding Unit, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. No. 204 EHU closed on 30 November 1944. The final chapter in the military history of the airport came with the founding of No. 4 Surplus Equipment Holding Unit (No. 4 SEHU) on 1 April 1945, for the purpose of disposing of surplus RCAF war equipment. The unit closed on 1 December 1945 and the aerodrome was turned over to the Department of Transportation, who then established the Estevan Municipal Airport. The following year, the Estevan Airport was the site of one of the deadliest peacetime accidents involving the RCAF. On 15 September 1946, an RCAF Dakota 962 crashed at Estevan, killing all 21 men on board; all of whom were veterans of the war. The Dakota crew had traveled from Minot, North Dakota, for the purpose of transporting Cornell aircraft stored at No. 4 SEHU at Estevan back to North Dakota that had been lent to the BCATP by the Americans. The oldest pilot on board was 34-year-old Stephen Pond. In 2019, a carved monument was installed as a permanent exhibit at the Estevan Regional Airport, but little else has been commissioned to commemorate the sacrifice of the airmen. In the immediate post-war years, the South Saskatchewan Regiment briefly occupied the drill hall and St. Joseph's Hospital used some of the other buildings for convalescing soldiers. The Estevan Flying Club was also formed at the airport. In 1989, the Estevan Airport closed and the property was sold to the Saskatchewan Power Corporation for a coal mine. A new airport was built north of Estevan. Nothing remains of the aerodrome today. As for the relief fields, the faint outline of the airfield is all that remains at the former RCAF Detachment Outram. At the former Chandler Detachment, there are three abandoned buildings, one of which appears to be a RCAF hangar/garage. Source material: The City of Estevan web site - http://cap.estevan.sk.ca/community/history/index.html, information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca, Ghosts of Saskatchewan - http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/379/Ghosts-of-Saskatchewan.aspx, https://www.coastreporter.net/news/local-news/descendants-seek-recognition-for-forgotten-crash-1.24002317 & "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore.
No. 39 Service Flying Training School: Opened on 15 December 1941 east of Swift Current as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with Relief Landing Fields at St. Aldwyn and, Wymark. The school closed on 11 February 1944. The aerodrome is now the Swift Current Airport. Two runways remain in use by the South West Flying Club. All that remains of the wartime school are one hangar, the gunnery backstop, the maintenance garage and the water pumping station and reservoir. All that remains of RCAF Detachment St. Aldwyn is the crumbling and abandoned airfield and the hangar pad. Source material: "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore, Vintage Wings Ghosts of Saskatchewan -http://www.vintagewings.ca/VintageNews/Stories/tabid/116/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/379/Ghosts-of-Saskatchewan.aspx & Kevin Haglund, local resident of Swift Current (2005).
No. 41 Service Flying Training School & No. 8 Service Flying Training School (Weyburn): No. 41 EFTS opened on 5 January 1942 by the Royal Air Force near Weyburn as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with Relief Landing Fields near Halbrite, which also had an air-ground firing range, and Ralph, which also had a a practice bombing range. No. 41 EFTS closed on 22 January 1944 and No. 8 EFTS (RCAF) stood up in its place, but the school had a brief existence in Weyburn as it re-located to Moncton on 30 June 1944. In two years of operation in Weyburn, the two schools graduated 1,055 pilots. No. 201 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite, later re-designated No. 202 Equipment Holding Unit, took over the aerodrome, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. It too closed in 1945. The aerodrome sat abandoned for until the early 1950s, when a medical facility for mentally handicapped children took over the former station's buildings, remaining until 1957. Western Christian College then occupied the former aerodrome from 1957 until 1989. A children's physiological hospital in the 1950s and the home of the Western Christian College from 1957 until 1989. The former station is now the Weyburn Airport. Two runways remain in operation, while runway 18/36 is abandoned. Three of the original hangars remain, as does the drill hall and the gunnery backstop. All that remains of the former RCAF Detachment Halbrite is a small section of the taxiway, the ruins of the collapsed hangar and an ammunition bunker. Nothing remains of RCAF Detachment Ralph. Source material: City of Weyburn web site - http://city.weyburn.sk.ca/modules.php?name=Sections&op=viewarticle&artid=19, information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & information supplied by Cheryl Rommann, City Clerk, City of Weyburn (2004).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Ladder Lake : Established 3 miles east of Big River the station opened in 1925. The station had a brief life as it closed in 1934. According to Bill Barry of the Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial: "In 1934, in exchange for 21 quarters around Dundurn Camp, the federal government transferred its facilities at Ladder Lake to the province. It was a Department of National Defence installation, including quarters and mess buildings, along with a seaplane harbour, which the province undertook to maintain. Forest fire suppression flights were a major activity at the base. Virtually all the modern techniques of aerial forest fire control were developed here." The station was used for again used for a brief time in the late 1930s as a relief landing field. Today the aerodrome is the Big River Airport, a general aviation field with a 3300-foot gravel/earth runway. Source Material: Information supplied by Bill Barry, Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial - http://svwm.ca/sitemap.
No. 2 Bombing & Gunnery School: Opened on 28 October 1940 near Mossbank as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Like most stations, No. 2 B&GS had all the amenities expected: a swimming pool, bowling alley, recreation hall, several canteens and a theatre. The school closed on 15 December 1944, having trained 2,539 bombers and 3,702 air gunners. No. 202 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Satellite, a sub-unit of No. 2 Reserve Equipment Unit at Moose Jaw, took over the aerodrome, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal. After the unit disbanded in 1946, No. 10 Repair Depot in Calgary briefly took over the aerodrome. The Mossbank Golf Club now occupies most of the property. They use an old hut as their clubhouse. A rock cairn was constructed at the golf course to pay tribute to the men & women who served at No. 2 B&GS. All that remains of the old school, in addition to the aforementioned hut, are the gunnery backstop, the hangar pads and the abandoned and crumbling airfield, which still sees the occasional crop-duster plane. The Canadian Forces Snowbirds, who conduct training over Mossbank, have even been known to use the airfield on occasion. One of the old aircraft hangars was re-located to Regina and is not known as the Turvey Centre, located at 100 Armour Road, Highway 6 North. The building has been extensively renovated and in is now used for events such as wedding receptions, hobby shows, swap meets and other activities. Another hangar is now part of the Western Development Museum in North Battleford. Bill Barry of the Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial (http://svwm.ca/) provides the following noteworthy fact: "Nos. 2 & 5 B&GS were the only two that had swimming pools, and the reason is rather interesting. Both were relatively isolated and an adequate source of water for firefighting purposes was needed. The RCAF decided that, rather than just building big cisterns, they might just as well build swimming pools, to the delight I’m sure of the bombers and gunners." Source material: Source material: information supplied by Terri Griffin (2002), Mossbank Golf Club - http://www.saskgolfer.com/sasktrivia.php, information supplied by Roy Tellefson, local resident of Mossbank (2005), “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & information supplied by Will Chaburn, Member Regina Chapter, Canadian Aviation Historical Society (2001).
No. 5 Bombing & Gunnery School: Opened on 7 January 1941 near the Town of Dafoe as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school closed on 11 January 1945, having trained over 1700 trainees. The former station property is now used for farming. The only building that remains is one of the hangars, now used for agricultural equipment storage. The only other remnants are the other hangar pads, the gunnery backstop and the crumbling roadways and airfield. The property owner still uses a portion of the old airfield as a private aerodrome. Bill Barry of the Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial (http://svwm.ca/) provides the following noteworthy fact: "Nos. 2 & 5 B&GS were the only two that had swimming pools, and the reason is rather interesting. Both were relatively isolated and an adequate source of water for firefighting purposes was needed. The RCAF decided that, rather than just building big cisterns, they might just as well build swimming pools, to the delight I’m sure of the bombers and gunners." Source Material: Town of Dafoe web site - http://www.quill-lakes.com/dafoe/history.html, information provided by Vintage Wings – www.vintagewings.ca, Bill Barry, Saskatchewan Virtual War Memorial, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak, information supplied by Clarence Demchuk (2022) & information supplied by Jim McDougall, McDougall Agencies (2001).
No. 7 Initial Training School: Opened during World War II, Bedford Road High School was leased by the federal government to provide facilities for the RCAF's No. 7 Initial Training School. No. 7 ITS closed sometime after March 1944. Source material: information supplied by Jeff O'Brien, City Archivist, City of Saskatoon (2000).
No. 120 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre: Opened at the fairgrounds in Regina on 9 October 1940, originally as No. 120 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre. The name changed the following year. The camp trained recruits from regiments such as the Saskatoon Light infantry, the Regina Rifle Regiment, the South Saskatchewan Regiment and the King's Own Rifles of Canada. A detention barracks for the Regina Garrison was also established at the camp in 1941. When No. 120 closed on 1 September 1943, the camp was designated as No. 79 Military Detention Barracks. No. 79 MDB closed in 1946. The fairgrounds were also used by the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps before being returned to the exhibition association in June 1946. None of the temporary wartime buildings remain today.
A27 Canadian Armoured Corps Training Centre / A27 Canadian Army Reconnaissance Training Centre: See 17 Wing Detachment Dundurn: in "Current Canadian Military Bases." - YUKON
Map of the Alaska Highway / Northwest Staging Route, Photo provided by Connie Ross. Canadian Forces Station Whitehorse:Originally opened by the Department of Transport, the airfield was taken over to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942 as part of the Northwest Staging Route.
Designated as RCAF Station Whitehorse, the station had detachments at Teslin, Aishihik, and Snag and in 1946, at Watson Lake.
After World War II, RCAF Station Whitehorse remained open primarily as a refueling station for on the Alaska route.
The Federal Department of Transport took over the operation of the airport, but the RCAF remained in Whitehorse.
With the closure of RCAF Station Prince Rupert in 1948, the radio section was transferred to Whitehorse, where it stood-up as No. 5 Radio Unit on a property south-west of the airport, near the intersection of Hamilton Boulevard and South Access Road. The station became part of the Canadian Forces Supplementary Radio System in 1966.
Also in 1966, the station was renamed Canadian Forces Station Whitehorse. This would be short lived however, as CFS Whitehorse closed on 1 July 1968.
The airport reverted to being solely a civilian airport, now known as the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport.
In January 1999, Hangar C at the Whitehorse Airport, the last of the World War II hangars built by the U.S. Army Air Force was destroyed by fire.
The former radio site is now a residential community. The former PMQs are now known as the Lobird Trailer Court and the former Operations and Administration buildings are now apartments, named Radar Apartments. Lobird Road runs through the middle of the community.
An old Canadian Pacific Airlines DC-3 sits on a pedestal in the parking lot outside the Yukon Transportation museum building as a weather vane.
Source Material: The Secret History of the Radar Building by Vivian Belik, information provided by Chief Perry Officer 2nd Class (Ret’d) Chris Carnall (2015), http://www.alaskahighwayarchives.ca/en/chap1/index.php.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Snag:Opened in 1942 as a Detachment of RCAF Station Whitehorse near Snag.
Closed May 1968.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Teslin:
Opened in 1942 as a Detachment of RCAF Station Whitehorse near Teslin.
Closed May 1968.
The aerodrome now operates at the Teslin Airport. It has a 5000-foot gravel runway.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Aishihik:
Opened in 1942 as a Detachment of RCAF Station Whitehorse near Aishihik.
The Detachment closed in 1968 and the airfield was abandoned, leading to the depopulation of Aishihik itself.
Aishikik is mostly uninhabited now, except for a small number of Champagne and Aishihik First Nations people, who continue to use it for traditional purposes such as meetings. Many of their people moved to Haines Junction, Yukon, where they have more services.
The outline of the crumbling runway is still visible.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Watson Lake:
Originally opened in the 30s as a civilian airport, the Watson Lake Airport was taken over by the RCAF in 1941 as part of the Northwest Staging Route. An operations building was built and the runways were paved.
After Pearl Harbour the Watson Lake strip became critically important the U.S. Army Air Force established a large base there, considerably bigger than the Canadians, but they shut down and left after VJ day.
Watson Lake remained an RCAF aerodrome after WWII, serving as a Winter Experimental Establishment, with Canadian Pacific Airlines providing civilian aviation services. Seven PMQs were constructed for families living at the aerodrome, along with the wartime facilities already present: a curling rink, a theatre, a hobby shop, messes, barracks and a large sports field.
The Town of Watson Lake sprung up in the post-war years, one of the few towns in Canada built because of the airport, instead of the other way around.
RCAF Station Watson Lake had a brief post-war life, closing in April 1957. By 1961, the barracks, the PMQs and storage buildings had been removed. The sports fields were re-developed for housing.
Three airmen died while serving at Watson Lake: Lieutenant (N) Gerald Quarton, RCN, died when his Hawker Sea Fury crashed in 1948; Leading Aircraftman Ernest McWilliams, RCAF, died when an Avro Lincoln Bomber crashed into Watson Lake in 1948; and Flying Officer Walter Mollon, RCAF, died in a Hawker Sea Fury crash in 1951.
Scheduled passenger service was offered by Canadian Pacific Air Lines with Boeing 737 jetliners in the mid 1970s.
Passenger service was also provided in the mid 1990s by several regional and commuter airlines such as Central Mountain Air flying Beechcraft twin turboprop aircraft and Alkan Air operating Piper Navajo aircraft. Currently, the airport does not have any scheduled passenger airline service.
Several of the old buildings remain, but not all in their original locations. The former RCAF hangar and the WWII-era terminal building both remain in their original locations at the airport. Two of the old log barracks were moved to the east side of the town, along the Alaska Highway, with one of them now operating as a motel, the Air Force Lodge. The former base chapel is now the Getaway Motor Inn, also along the Alaska Highway, in the middle of town.
Other reminders of the military past of the airport includes a memorial cairn, dedicated to the service personnel who were part of the Northwest Staging Route and the Winter Experimental Establishment between 1941 and 1957. The propeller affixed to the cairn is from the Avro Lincoln that killed LAC McWilliams in 1948.
Sources: http://www.tc.gov.yk.ca/pdf/L2_WatsonLake_WalkingTours_36419_FinalWeb.pdf, http://www.watsonlake.ca/about-watson-lake/historical-photo-gallery, https://ouralaskahighway.com/?portfolio_item=watson-lake-air-terminal-building.
Royal Canadian Air Force Detachment Grande Prairie:
Originally opened by the US Army Air Force in 1942. The aerodrome was taken over by the RCAF in 1945, but remained a joint U.S – Canadian station until 1949. The aerodrome was taken over by the Department of Transport in 1951. Nothing remains from the RCAF days.
Source material: Information supplied by Alvin Maieer, Manager of marketing and Business Development (2011).
Camp Takhini:Established in 1946 just north of the airport in Whitehorse as a base of operations for the Canadian Army, who took over operation and maintenance of the Alaska Highway System. The Army took over several temporary houses, known as “Cemestos” that were built by Standard Oil in 1944 for their Canol Project refinery, for the use of camp personnel.
From the late 40s until the early 50s, several new buildings were constructed, including a headquarters building, barracks, a power plant, mess hall, a Canex store, a school and PMQs.
Following military tradition, the streets in Camp Takhini were named after famous battles, in this case WWII battles such as Antwerp, Cassino, Ortona, Nijmegan, Falaise, Normandy, Dieppe, and Vimy.
In 1955, the barracks located at what is now 419 Range Road was converted into administrative offices, including the operational headquarters for the Northwest Highway System services.
The camp closed in 1964, when the federal Department of Public Works and Government Services assumed responsibility for the Alaska Highway.
Some of the camp buildings and PMQs remain today. One of the former barracks is now a rental residence named "The Barracks". The former NWH headquarters building is occupied by various federal and territorial government offices, including Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Source Material: Alaska Highway Heritage web site - www.ouralaskahighway.com, assistance given by Tascha Morrison, Alaska Highway Community Society (2015) & Hougen Group web site - www.hougengroup.com.
- ALBERTA
- Canadian Army Training Centres of World War II
Main gate LFCA Training Centre Meaford, June 2005. Photo: Bruce Forsyth. ALBERTA
No. 131 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Camrose
No. 132 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Grande Prairie
No. 133 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Wetaskiwin
No. 2 Canadian Women's Army Corps - Vermilion
A20 Royal Canadian Army Service Corps Training Centre - Red Deer
A16 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - CalgaryBRITISH COLUMBIA
Officers Training Centre - Gordon Head
No. 110 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Vernon
No. 112 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Camp Chilliwack
A6 Canadian Engineer Training Centre - Camp ChilliwackMANITOBA
No. 100 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Portage La Prairie
No. 103 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Winnipeg
A3 Canadian Artillery Training Centre - Camp Shilo
A4 Canadian Artillery Training Centre - Brandon
A15 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - Camp ShiloA35 Canadian Paratrooper Training Centre - Camp Shilo
NEW BRUNSWICK
A30 Canadian Infantry Training Centre (Camp Utopia) - Pennfield Ridge
A34 Special Officers Training Centre - Sussex
No. 70 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Fredericton
No. 71 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Edmunston
A30 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - SussexNOVA SCOTIA
No. 60 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Yarmouth
No. 61 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - New Glasgow
A-23 Coast Defence and Anti-Aircraft Artillery Advanced Training Centre - Eastern Passage & Camp Debert
A14 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - Camp AldershotONTARIO
Royal Military College - Kingston
No. 30 Officers' Training Centre - Brockville (1940-1945)
No. 6 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Stratford (1942-1943)
No. 10 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Kitchener (1940-1943) (re-designated No. 3 CWAC B TC)
No. 11 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre - Woodstock (1940-1941) (re-designated S11 AD&MS)
No. 12 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Chatham (1940-1945)
No. 13 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Listowel (1942-1943) (re-designated No. 3 CAC B TC)
No. 20 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Brantford (1940-1945)
No. 21 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre - Long Branch (1940-1941) (re-designated A25 CSA TC)
No. 23 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Newmarket (1940-1943)No. 24 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Brampton (1940-1945)
No. 25 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Simcoe (1942-1945)
No. 26 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Orillia (1942-1943) (re-designated No. 26 CAC B TC, then 26 CI B TC, then 13 Infantry Training Battalion until 1946)
No. 31 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Cornwall (1940-1944)
No. 32 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Peterborough (1940-1943) (re-designated No. 32 CAMC B TC)
No. 33 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Ottawa (19)
No. 102 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Fort William (1940-1943)
A25 Canadian Army Small Arms Training Centre - Long Branch (1941-1945)
No. 3 Canadian Army Women's Corps (Basic) Training Centre - Kitchener (1943-1945)
No. 22 Canadian Army Educational (Basic) Training Centre - North Bay (1940-1944)
A13 Canadian Armoured (Basic) Training Centre - Listowel (1943)A23 Canadian Armoured (Basic) Training Centre - Newmarket (1943-1945)
A26 Canadian Armoured (Basic) Training Centre - Orillia (1943-1944)
A33 Canadian Armoured Corps Training Establishment Camp - Camp Borden
A19 Canadian Army Service Corps Training Centre - Camp Borden
A1 Canadian Artillery Training Centre - Camp Petawawa
A2 Canadian Artillery Training Centre - Camp Petawawa
A5 Canadian Engineer Training Centre - Camp Petawawa
A10 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - Camp Borden
A11 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - Camp Borden
A13 Canadian Infantry (Basic) Training Centre - Listowel (1943)
A25 Canadian Infantry (Basic) Training Centre - Simcoe (1943-1945)
A26 Canadian Infantry (Basic) Training Centre - Orillia (1944-1945)
A29 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - Listowel (1942) Camp Ipperwash (1942-1945)
A32 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - Peterborough (1945)
A22 Canadian Army Medical Corps Training Centre - Camp Borden
A32 Canadian Army Medical Corps Training Centre - Peterborough (1943-1945)
No. 1 Canadian Ordinance Corps Proving Ground Detachment - Ottawa (1941-1944) (after going through several name changes, eventually re-designated Land Engineering Testing Establishment)
A21 Royal Canadian Ordinance Corps Training Centre - Camp Barriefield
A32 Canadian Provost Corps Training Centre - Camp Borden
A7 Canadian Signal Corps Training Centre - Camp Barriefield
S11 Advanced Driving & Maintenance School - Woodstock (1941-1946)
Special Training School 103 (Camp X) - Oshawa (1941-1944) (re-designated No. 3 Oshawa Wireless Station 1944-1969)
Canadian Army Trades School - Hamilton (1941-1946)
Standard Barracks - Hamilton (1940-1942)
S48 Canadian School of Army Administration - Kemptville (1941-1943) (re-designated S7 Canadian Army Administration School 1942-1944)PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND
No. 62 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Charlottetown
QUEBEC
Officer Training Centre - Trois-Rivières
No. 41 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - HuntingdonNo. 42 Canadian Army Educational (Basic) Training Centre - Joliette
No. 43 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - SherbrookeNo. 44 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre/Canadian Officer Cadet and Basic Training Centre - St Jerome
No. 45 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Sorel
No. 47 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Valleyfield
No. 48 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - St. Johns
No. 51 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Chicoutiimi
No. 53 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Lauzon
No. 54 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Montmagny
No. 55 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Rimouski
No. 1 Canadian Woman's Army Corps Advanced Training Centre - St. Annes
A12 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - Camp Farnham
A13 Canadian Infantry Training Centre - Camp Valcartier
A17 Canadian Machine Gun Training Centre - Trois-RivièresSASKATCHEWAN
No. 120 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Regina
No. 121 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Maple Creek
No. 122 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre - Prince Albert
A27 Canadian Reconnaissance Training Centre - Camp DundurnSource Material: "Sixty Years of War - The Official History of the Canadian Army in World War II Volume 1" by Colonel C.P. Stacey & The Canadian Army WWII Training Establishments web site - www.canadiansoldiers.com/wwiitrain.htm.
In July 1942, network of radio stations was established on the both the west and east coasts for surveillance. The the East Coast line was in November 1943. Both were active until mid 1945. There is no military presence at the former East Coast Radio stations today. The Radio units were:
The Pacific Coast Air Defence Radar System - World War II
In July 1942, network of radio stations was established on the both the west and east coasts for surveillance. The East Coast line was in November 1943. Both were active until mid 1945. There is no military presence at the former East Coast Radio stations today. The Radio units were:
No 1 Coast Watch Unit RCAF was established in 1942 in the uninhabited west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands to provide visual surveillance. In 1943 when radar coverage permitted the coast watchers were withdrawn. 1 CWU had eight detachments (each with a "woodsman", two radio operators and a man with "some cooking and camping ability") at:
- Frederick Island
- Hippa Island
- Kindakun Island
- Marble Island
- Hibben Island
- Tasoo Harbour
- Barry Harbour
- Big Bay
In 1942 construction of a chain of radar stations for surveillance of the Pacific Coast began. By November 1943 it was in place. Initially the stations were called "Radio Detachments" and in 1943 the title "Radio Unit" was adopted. The term "RADAR" was not adopted by Canadians until late 1943. The chain ceased operations with war's end in mid 1945. The units were:
- 7 Radio Unit (GCI) Patricia Bay (southern Vancouver Island)
- 8 Radio Unit (GCI) Sea Island (near Vancouver)
- 9 Radio Unit (CHL) Spider Island (near Bella Bella)
- 10 Radio Unit (CHL) Cape Scott (northern tip Vancouver Island)
- 11 Radio Unit (CHL) Ferrer Point (northern Vancouver Island)
- 13 Radio Unit (CHL) Amphitrite Point (central Vancouver Island)
- 26 Radio Unit (CHL) Langara Island (northern tip Queen Charlotte Islands)
- 27 Radio Unit (CHL) Marble Island (central Queen Charlotte Islands)
- 28 Radio Unit (CHL) Cape St James (southern tip Queen Charlotte Islands)
- 33 Radio Unit (MEW) Tofino (southern Vancouver Island)
- X-1 Detachment (CHL) Jordan River (southern Vancouver Island)
RCAF Atlantic Regional Air Defence - World War II
- 1 Radio (TRU) Unit, Preston, Nova Scotia
- 2 Radio (CHL) Unit, Bell Lake, Nova Scotia
- 3 Radio (CHL) Unit, Tusket, Nova Scotia
- 4 Radio (CHL) Unit, Brooklyn, Nova Scotia
- 5 Radio (CHL) Unit, Queensport, Nova Scotia
- 6 Radio (CHL) Unit, Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
- 12 Radio (GCI) Unit, Bagotville, Quebec
- 14 Radio (CHL) Unit, St. John's, Newfoundland
- 16 Radio (GCI) Unit, Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia
- 17 Radio (GCI) Unit, Torbay, Newfoundland
- 19 Radio (GCI) Unit, Gander, Newfoundland
- 20 Radio (GCI) Unit, Sydney, Nova Scotia
- 21 Radio (GCI) Unit, Plymouth, Nova Scotia
- 22 Radio (CHL) Unit, Port Dufferin, Nova Scotia
- 23 Radio (GCI) Unit, Saint John, New Brunswick
- 24 Radio (CHL) Unit, Tignish, Nova Scotia
- 25 Radio (CHL) Unit, St. George, Quebec
- 29 Radio (GCI) Unit, Goose Bay, Labrador
- 30 Radio (CHL) Unit, Cape Bauld, Newfoundland
- 32 Radio (CHL) Unit, Port aux Basques, Newfoundland
- 36 Radio (CHL) Unit, Spotted Island, Labrador - Did not go operational
- 37 Radio (CHL) Unit, Brig Harbour Island, Labrador
- 40 Radio (US ew) Unit, Allan Island, Newfoundland - US station transferred to RCAF 1944
- 41 Radio (US ew) Unit, St. Brides, Newfoundland - US station transferred to RCAF 1944
- 42 Radio (US ew) Unit, Cape Spear, Newfoundland- US station transferred to RCAF 1944
- 43 Radio (US ew) Unit, Elliston, Newfoundland - US station transferred to RCAF 1944
- 44 Radio (US ew) Unit, Fogo Island, Newfoundland - US station transferred to RCAF 1944
- 75 Radio (MEW A/S) Unit, Fox River, Quebec
- 76 Radio (MEW A/S) Unit, St. Paul's Is., Nova Scotia
- 77 Radio (MEW A/S) Unit, Cape Ray, Newfoundland
Source Material: DND Communications & Electronics Branch web site - www.commelec.forces.gc.ca/org/his/bh-hb/appendix-annexe-c-eng.asp
- Closed Bases That Still Have A Military Presence
Main entrance to Wolseley Barracks with the McKenzie Block building to the left, July 2009. Photo: Bruce Forsyth. For this category I have been somewhat selective.
As you have read in the "Abandoned Bases" section, some still have cadet units that train at the former bases. For my purposes, I consider a former base to still have a military presence if there is a permanent full-time contingent still on site, such as the former CFB Toronto or Wolseley Barracks.
DND Graphic. - ALBERTACanadian Forces Base Calgary (Currie Barracks): Currie Barracks, named in honour of General Sir Arthur Currie, was established in 1934 on land near the Sarcee Indian Reserve. This was the home of the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) Headquarters and B Squadron (later replaced by the Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) 2nd Canadian Armoured Regiment), the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps Supply Depot, the Royal Canadian Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Canadian Signals Communication Centre, and the headquarters for the 13th Military District. In 1938, No. 1 (Fighter) Squadron and No. 3 (Bomber) Squadron moved to Currie Barracks from RCAF Station Ottawa (Rockcliffe), and occupied the portion of the barracks that later became Royal Canadian Air Force Station Lincoln Park. On 15 February 1941, No. A-16 Advanced Canadian Infantry Training Centre opened at the barracks, remaining until the end of the War. Over the years Currie Barracks would be home to several units including: The 1st & 2nd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (1 PPCLI & 2 PPCLI) arrived at Currie Barracks in 1946 and permanent married quarters (PMQ) were built in 1948. The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada also made Currie Barracks their home from 1953 until the regiment disbanded in 1968. The 1st Battalion, Queens Own Rifles from occupied space at Currie from1953-1960 and The Fort Garry Horse, from 1965 until the unit disbanded in 1970. 2 PPCLI moved to Griesbach Barracks in Edmonton in 1958 and The Lord Strathcona's Horse relocated to Sarcee Barracks the same year, remaining until transferring to Germany in 1965. 1 PPCLI re-located to Work Point Barracks in Victoria, B.C. in 1963. Currie Barracks underwent rapid expansion during the Korean War as the facility transformed into a major military centre. The Headquarters Calgary Garrison was formed on 26 October 26 1950 to coordinate the administration of army units stationed at Currie Barracks. With the closure of RCAF Station Lincoln Park, the buildings, the hangars to the north and south of the airfield and the Lincoln Park PMQs all became part of Currie Barracks. From the mid-1960s until 1983, the abandoned north-south runway was used as a racetrack for sports cars and motorcycles under the name Calgary International Raceway. As a result of the Unification in 1968, Sarcee Barracks and Currie Barracks were merged into one base to become Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Calgary, although the names Sarcee and Currie continued to be used. Also in 1968, 1 Service Battalion was formed. In later years, CFB Calgary would become home to No. 10 Personnel Depot and 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG), consisting of 1 Service Battalion, 1 Field Ambulance, 1 Military Police Platoon, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadian Armoured Corps), the Regional Equipment Depot and 1 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters and Signals Unit. 1 PPCLI returned to Currie Barracks in 1970. In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, CFB Calgary was order closed down. Currie Barracks closed on 1 February 1998, with Harvey Barracks closing the previous June. 1 CMBG relocated to CFB Edmonton's Grieshbach Barracks. Area Support Unit Calgary was established on a small section of the former Currie Barracks , with a complement of 26 Regular Force personnel, to provide the local Reserve, Cadet and remaining Regular Force units with administrative and logistical support. A new armoury was built to house the remaining Regular Force sections that made up Area Support Unit Calgary. 41 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters (41 CBG HQ) moved into the LGen The Honorable Stanley Waters Building, formerly the 1 PPCLI headquarters building, after the departure of the Regular Forces to Edmonton. Many of the original buildings remained at Currie Barracks for almost 2 decades as the property was slowly re-developed and turned over to a variety of commercial and residential uses, including a full-service film and television production centre, "Canadian Forces Base Studio Centre", which has since closed. The former Currie Barracks school became the home of Master's Academy & College and remains so today. The Calgary Farmers Market occupied one of the former Lincoln Park Hangars, but later moved to a new location on 77 Avenue South-east. Not long after the base closure, the former Currie PMQ area was re-developed into a mixed upscale residential area called "Garrison Woods" featuring up to 600,000 residences, condominiums and a small shopping centre. Some of the original PMQ homes at Curry Barracks were retained, extensively remodeled and integrated into the Garrison Woods development. Similarly, some of the former Lincoln Park PMQs were also extensively remodeled retained as part of the “Garrison Green” residential community. In March 2013, ASU Calgary disbanded along with other ASUs across Canada, ending almost 16 years of service. Taking over ASU Calgary's functions were 1 Area Support Group in Edmonton and locally by ASG Detachment Calgary. Collectively, all Regular and Reserve Force units in the Calgary, Red Deer and Lethbridge areas are now known as Calgary Garrison. Currie Barracks is currently undergoing a massive re-development that once completed. It will include about 5,200 housing units in a variety of types from single-detached to apartments and condos, 245,000 square feet of retail development in a mixed-use High Street, about 750,000 square feet of commercial office space and 9.67 hectares of Municipal Reserve. Approximately a dozen buildings are designated provincial heritage sites and will be refurbished and, in some cases, used as business space. Buildings that are to be included in the re-development are the Athlone building, the Bessborough and Bennet buildings, both currently occupied by Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school, the Pellet Block, the Stables building, the Officers' Mess and garden, Remstead House and Brad House. The parade square will become a sports field. Only one of the six former Lincoln Park hangars along Richardson Way SW remains, along with a green Quonset occupied by the Wild Rose Brewery, the Drill Hall and Building AF-23 which was formerly the military clothing supply. The Calgary Heritage Initiative Society, is scrambling to save McHugh House, a 117-year-old brick and sandstone building in Mission and one of the city’s oldest heritage homes, and the Barron Building, an art moderne tower in the Beltline that went up after the 1947 Leduc oil strike. The last remnants of this once important army base include the Calgary Military Family Resource Centre and 41 CBG HQ, who occupy a small fenced complex on the east side of the barracks that includes the LGen The Honorable Stanley Waters Building and the former Headquarters building. The Military Museums (formerly The Museum of the Regiments), located in the former base junior high school, now a part of Garrison Woods, remains as a link to the military heritage of Currie Barracks. Source Material: information supplied by Captain D. Sweeney, Deputy Commanding Officer, Area Support Unit Calgary (1999), information supplied by Carol Stokes, Archivist, The City of Calgary (1999), information supplied by Ken Craig, Volunteer Researcher, Museum of the Regiments, Calgary Alberta (1999), "The Politics of Contested Space: Military Property Development in Calgary" - a thesis paper by P. Whitney Lackenbauer, University of Calgary, Department of History, Faculty of Graduate Studies (1999), DND press release from November 1998, information supplied by Terri Griffin (2002), information supplied by Ian Gray, Calgary resident (2003), information supplied by June Flegg, Historian, Saskatoon Public Library (2000), Calgary Forces Base Studio Centre web site - http://www.cfbstudios.com, Canada Lands Corporation Web site - http://www.clc.ca, information supplied by the Tsuu T'ina Police Service (2004), the personal recollections of the author (2004), "ASU Calgary Closes", The Western Sentinel 28 March 2013, the Calgary Herald, 5 May 2013 - http://www.calgaryherald.com/Remnants+Second+World+flying+school+Calgary+disappearing/8340972/story.html, Calgary Military Family Resource Centre - https://www.familyforce.ca/sites/Calgary/EN/About%20the%20Community/Pages/MilitaryPre.aspx, "The Garrison" newspaper from March 1995 and Sept 1999, "Open house scheduled for Currie Barracks redevelopment plan," Calgary Herald, 24 February 2015 and Currie Life - www.currielife.ca.No. 5 Elementary Flying Training School (Lethbridge) & No. 8 Bombing & Gunnery School: Opened at the Kenyon Field Airport near Lethbridge on 22 July 1940 as No. 5 EFTS, a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school operated from the aerodrome at Lethbridge until it re-located to High River in 1941. In its place, No. 8 B&GS opened on 13 October 1941 to train air bombers and air gunners. By the time the school closed on 15 December 1944, over 1600 students had graduated. No . 1 Reserve Equipment Maintenance Unit, tasked with maintenance and storage of surplus equipment pending disposal, was then established at the aerodrome. By 1949, No. 10 Repair Depot from Calgary was making use of the facilities. The aerodrome reverted back to a civilian airport and became the Lethbridge County Airport. A new terminal building opened on 19 October 1979, replacing the former RCAF mess which acted as the terminal. Only one of the BCATP hangars, the double-wide hangar remains, now occupied by SRI Homes, as does airwomen’s dry canteen, now occupied by 702 Wing of the Royal Canadian Air Force Association. Only runways 05-23 and 12-30 remain active. The 18th Air Defence Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery, formed on 10 November 1992, took up residence in the former Drill Hall, now known as the Vimy Ridge Armoury. In 2011 was re-designated 20th Independent Field Battery, RCA. On 1 August 2013, the County of Lethbridge approved renaming the airport to Lethbridge Airport. Source Material: information supplied by The Sir Alexander Gault Museum & Archives (2002), information supplied by Scott Butchart, Lethbridbge County Airport (2004) & the "Wings Over Alberta" web site - http://collections.ic.gc.ca/flyboys/homefront/bcatp_sites.htm., information supplied by Norm Lund, local resident of High River (2001), "Wings For Victory - The Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada", by Spencer Dunmore, information supplied by The Sir Alexander Gault Museum, “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak & Archives (2002), the personal recollections of the author (2004) & "Canada Flight Supplement 1999".
No. 130 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre / No. A-20 Royal Canadian Army Service Corps Advanced Training Centre: Opened in 1940 east of Red Deer as No. 130 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre. On 15 February 1941, the camp became No. A-20 Royal Canadian Army Service Corps Advanced Training Centre. The Camp closed in 1945. The camp then became No. 8 Canadian Vocational Training Centre, which was charged with the purpose of providing training opportunities for returning veterans. The 78th Field Battery, a sub-unit of the 20th Field Regiment, Royal Canadian Artillery (Militia), took over the old drill hall, now named Cormack Armoury, which they still occupy today along with 749 Communications Squadron. Some of the camp's other building remain, including the transportation & maintenance hangars, now occupied by the Central Alberta Theatre and the Red Deer Public School Maintenance Division Building respectively. Both the Red Deer Public and Catholic French Immersion School Boards established schools at the site, with one of the old barrack blocks being incorporated into the Lindsay Thurber High School. Source Material: Royal Canadian Legion "Fort York News" from August 2000, the personal recollections of the author (2004) & the Archives Alberta web site - http://asalive.archivesalberta.org:8080/.
- BRITISH COLUMBIACanadian Forces Base Chilliwack: Established on 15 February 1941 at Vedder Crossing as Camp Chilliwack for the purpose of defending the West Coast against attacks by the Japanese forces. Camp Chilliwack was also designated as a recruit-training centre, No. 112 Canadian Army Basic Training Centre, and as the new home for A6 Canadian Engineering Training Centre, originally from Camp Dundurn. The camp's rugged terrain and pleasant climate provided an excellent location for continuous training throughout the year. After the war, Camp Chilliwack became a permanent Army training establishment, with the additional duties of providing administrative and logistical support to the Regular and Reserve Force Army units on the British Columbia mainland. The engineer school was re-designated as the Canadian Forces School Of Military Engineering. The RCSME at Camp Chilliwack also included a fire-fighting school for the training of Army fire-fighters. Camp Chilliwack was also the home of the 58th Field Engineer Squadron (re-named 1 Combat Engineer Regiment in 1977), who moved to the site from Victoria in 1957. As a result of the Unification, Camp Chilliwack was re-named CFB Chilliwack and its support role was expanded to include all the Regular and Reserve Force units on the British Columbia mainland, included taking over administrative control of the Jericho Beach Garrison in Vancouver. The Royal Canadian School of Military Engineering was re-named the Canadian Forces School of Mechanical Engineering (CFSME) and in 1970, the Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School (CFOCS), the successor of the officer training schools of the three former services, moved to the site from Work Point Barracks in Esquimalt. In 1994, the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI), an amalgamated Reserve-Regular Force Battalion who are responsible for Reserve infantry training in B.C., moved to CFB Chilliwack from Work Point Barracks in Esquimalt. In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, CFB Chilliwack closed in 1997. CFOCS moved to CFB St-Jean to merge with the basic recruit school. CFSME re-located to the Combat Training Centre at CFB Gagetown and 3 PPCLI moved to Edmonton Garrison prior to the Base closure. The Chilcotin training area and the firing ranges continue to be used by the local reserve units. Area Support Unit Chilliwack was established 2 September 1997 on a small section of the former base to provide the administrative and logistical support to Reserve and the remaining Regular Force in British Columbia. The centre of the three-building complex was the former 1 CER building, re-named the "Wadi Al-Batin" in honour of 1 CER's participation in the UN Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission in Kuwait in the post-Gulf War years. ASU Chilliwack was also tasked with maintaining the following ranges and training areas for use by it dependencies: Vokes Range, Slesse Creek Demolition Training Areas, Columbia Valley Training Area, Trail Rifle Range, Stone Creek Training Area, Vernon Military Camp, OPSEE Training Area, Chilcotin Training Area, Vedder Mountain Training Area, Richmond – Armoury and transmitter site. Much of the base property, except for the Chilliwack Military Museum (formerly the base Quartermaster Stores), Base Transport and Base Supply, was turned over to the Canada Lands Corporation for disposal, and sold to the province as the Canada Education Park, with the Chilliwack campuses of the University of the Fraser Valley and the Justice Institute of British Columbia. The base recreation centre was sold to the city, who replaced the old swimming pool and with a new one. The recreation centre will become a part of the new Garrison Crossing Community Centre. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police purchased former CFOCS building and the drill hall, which now serve as the RCMP Training Academy for E Division. Approximately $10M dollars in upgrades were spent modifying the facilities to create the RCMP Pacific Region Support Services Centre, which opened in February 2002. The old ammo dump was turned into a driving track for RCMP. On 31 March 2013, ASU Chilliwack was disbanded as part of Department of National Defence cost-cutting measures, ending almost 16 years of service. ASU Chilliwack's responsibilities were taken over by 1 Area Support Group in Edmonton, and locally by 39 Service Battalion, supplemented by 13 CF members from the former ASU. The complex was officially named the Col Roger Kenwook St. John, OMM, CD Armoury in 2014. The Royal Westminster Regiment's Aldergrove Detachment re-located to Chilliwack in April 2013, bringing a “platoon-sized element” to the former base. Also remaining at the Chilliwack site are 3 Canadian Division Support Group, 39 Combat Engineer Regiment, 39 Service Battalion, Signals Detachment Chilliwack, 1 Military Police Detachment Chilliwack and Defence Construction Canada.The Ottawa Citizen reported on 18 August 2013 that despite the closure, some Canadian Forces personnel would continue to be stationed at Chilliwack, but 18 civilian positions would be eliminated as part of nationwide cuts to the Department of National Defence.On 26 April 2014, the former ASU complex was officially re-named the "Colonel Roger Kenwood St. John, OMM, CD Armoury," in honour of a long-serving and distinguished CME officer. The main building, however, will continue to bear the name "Wadi Al-Batin." Many of the former military buildings were torn down in the years after the closure, including the Canex, both base chapels, Dental Clinic, Medical Clinic, Guardhouse, Power plant, the museum/theatre building, and all the old quarters for Junior Ranks and Sergeants/Warrant Officers have all been torn down and removed. The former PMQ area has been redeveloped into the Garrison Crossing residential community. About 70% of the PMQs have been torn down or remodeled. Most have been moved with new roads built to re-configure the area for the Garrison Crossing community plan. They are being sold as they come on the market in the $300, 000 range. A new and large shopping plaza was built in 2007 behind where the Medical/Dental Clinics were located. The 1000 yard rifle range and small arms ranges in Vedder have been cleared and sold. There are two sub-divisions and a brand-new High school where the ranges were.The old base HQ was used as the Canadian campus for the University of Peking for many years after the base closure, but they recently moved out and the building is being gutted. The University of the Fraser Valley is taking over the old 1 CER building and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) took over the old Quartermaster Stores in 2015, forcing the museum to re-locate to the Masonic Hall on Hocking Avenue in Chilliwack. The RCMP built a new indoor shooting range for their facilities.3 Canadian Division Support Group are no longer at Chilliwack. Vedder Crossing which surrounds the former CFB has grown 10-fold since the base was closed. Many old soldiers will not recognize the area. There are two new shopping plazas and a large number of businesses in the area. Housing has also exploded in the area.Source Material: information supplied by Captain Audette, Public Affairs Officer, Land Force Western Area Headquarters (1999), information supplied by Sergeant Sylvain Tardif, Military Police Section, Area Support Unit Chilliwack (1999), "Sentinel" Magazine from January - February 1966, Pg. 6-8, information supplied by Barry Miller, Regional Director, Assets & Procurement, RCMP Pacific Region (2001), DND Web Archives - http://www.dnd.ca/admfincs/organiz/cfsuo/csss/ro/ro1997/20ful_e.asp, "The Garrison" newspaper from March 1995, Chilliwack Times 5 April 2012 - www.chilliwacktimes.com/business/close+says+union/6414195/story.html, "ASU Chilliwack Ceases Operations", The Western Sentinel 28 March 2013, The Chilliwack Progress, 4 February 2013 - http://www.theprogress.com/news/189222671.html, The Ottawa Citizen, 18 August 2013 - http://blogs.ottawacitizen.com/2013/08/18/civilian-job-cuts-hit-area-support-unit-at-chilliwack-bc, https://cmea-agmc.ca/chilliwack-armoury-complex-be-named-colonel-roger-kenwood-st-john-omm-cd-armoury, https://www.theprogress.com/news/chilliwack-military-museum-has-two-months-to-find-a-new-home, https://www.theprogress.com/community/slide-show-cfb-chilliwack-memorial-dedication, https://www.theprogress.com/news/chilliwack-volunteers-help-connect-military-past, http://fraservalleynewsnetwork.com/2015/09/11/say-goodbye-to-the-canadian-military-education-museum, http://www.veddercrossingmmp.ca/home.htm, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Education_Park, http://www.cfbchs.com.This new hangar, officially opened in a ceremony on 16 April 2015, was not only built to accommodate the new CH-148 Cyclone helicopter, but it also allowed all unit operations to be housed under a single roof instead of the current 7 buildings. The hangar was named after Arundel Castle as a nod to a prominent landmark in West Sussex, England, where the squadron was stationed while participating in the D-Day invasion in June 1944. The former WWII-era hangar, with the fading "Royal Canadian Navy" lettering still visible across the top of the hangar doors, is to be retained and used by other airport tenants, but the Squadron’s historic administration building (a former RCAF barrack block) will be torn down due to age and the fact it contains asbestos materials. Source Material: the personal recollections of Petty Officer 2nd Class John Slor (Ret'd) (1999), the personal recollections of Master Warrant Officer R.G. Mastin , 443 Squadron, Patricia Bay (1999), pamphlet printed by Studio High Techniques of Toronto (1998), "Sentinel" Magazine from April 1968 & September 1974, pg. 28, information supplied by Sherry Eastholm, Manager, Sidney (B.C.) Museum (1999), "The Impact of Public Policy on a Naval Reserve Division" by Michael Hadley (1982), information supplied by Ian Waterlow, Archivist & Historian, Sydney, BC, "Badges of the Canadian Navy" by LT (N) Graeme Arbuckle, the RCAF Station Commox web site - http://www.rcaf.com/stations/comox.shtml, Boundary Bay Airport web site - http://www.czbb.com, History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm, "New facility for new helicopters", The Maple Leaf, March 2, 2011, the 12 Wing Shearwater web page - www.achq.dnd.ca/12wing/Wing/Shear.htm, "443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron: New hangar opened and new Colur consecrated" by 12 Wing Public Affairs (20 April 2015) & Victoria News 17 April 2015 - www.vicnews.com/neighbourhoods/sidney/264794671.html.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Patricia Bay: Established on 26 October 1939 when the aerodrome at Patricia Bay was taken over by the RAF and RCAF for use as a combined seaplane-landplane station. During World War II, Patricia Bay was an extremely busy base. The station was divided into three sections: the West Camp, the East Camp and the Seaplane base. The West Camp housed No. 3 Operational Training Unit from 9 November 1942 until 3 August 1945. The East Camp housed No. 32 Operational Training Unit (Royal Air Force) from 1 June 1944 until it re-located to RCAF Station Comox. No. 6 Operational Training Unit was established in its place. The Seaplane base housed a detachment from No. 111 Coastal Artillery Co-operation (No. 111 CAC) who relocated from RCAF Station Sea Island on 19 May 1940, becoming the first squadron to be stationed at Patricia Bay. In August 1940, No. 111 CAC was re-designated No. 111 (Fighter) Squadron. No 120 Bomber Squadron arrived at the station on 1 August 1940. Some of the other units during and after WWII were: No. 13 Operational Training Unit (RCAF), No. 115 (Fighter) Squadron, with their C-22 Fairchild Bolingbrokes until re-deployed to Annette Island in May 1942, No. 133 Squadron who re-located form Boundary Bay in 1943, No. 135 (Fighter) Squadron, No. 149 (Bomber Torpedo) Squadron, No. 7 Radio Detachment, the 1st Battalion, Edmonton Fusiliers, the 9th & 10th Anti-aircraft Batteries of the Royal Canadian Artillery, No. 122 (Composite) Squadron, with their C-126 Noorduyn Norsemans, and a detachment of the Royal Norwegian Naval Air Force, who arrived in March 1941 for seaplane training. The Ground Warfare School and No. 1 School of Flying Control ran short courses at the station. In July 1942, No. 132 (Fighter) Squadron arrived at the station. In July 1944, an Air Cadet Camp was established at Patricia Bay and a month later, the station became a temporary movie studio when MGM arrived to film scenes for the film "Son of Lassie." RCAF Station Patricia Bay closed on 31 March 1945. The Victoria Flying Club took over the hangars once occupied by 32 OUT at the East Camp on 14 November 1946. The Federal Department of Transportation assumed control of the aerodrome in May 1948, naming it the Sydney Airport. The airport was re-named the Victoria International Airport in 1950. In 1954 the Royal Canadian Navy assumed control of the West Camp as a naval air station. RCN VU-33 Squadron, a lodger unit of Canada's West Coast Navy Station HMCS Naden, was formed here on 1 November 1954, equipped with a fleet of CP121 Trackers and CT133 Silver-Star jet trainers. VU-33 Squadron was given the responsibility of conducting ship gunnery practice and radar calibration, coastal surveillance, search and rescue and Sonobouy Proving and Testing Service (SPATS). VC-922 Squadron, Royal Canadian Naval Air Reserve was formed at Patricia Bay on 1 December 1953 and manned by reservists from HMCS Malahat Naval Reserve Division in Esquimalt. VU-33 Squadron re-located to CFB Comox in August 1974, ending over 30 years of military presence at the Victoria Airport. However, this absence of military personnel would prove to be short lived. In 1985, 443 Anti-submarine Warfare Helicopter Squadron, originally from CFB Shearwater, re-located to the Victoria Airport to provide Sea King helicopter support aboard 2 Navy Frigates and one Helicopter Destroyer stationed at CFB Esquimalt - Naden. The Squadron took over the quarters once occupied by VU-33 Squadron. On 31 January 1995, 443 Squadron changed their name to 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron. The facility is now know as The Patricia Bay Heliport.. The former RCAF Station Patricia Bay has seen quite a lot of change since the first plane took off from its runways, but some links to the past remain: several of the World War II era hangars remain in use today. In February 2011, Minister of National Defence Peter McKay announced that a new, larger facility for 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron would be constructed, replacing the WWII-era hangar that housed 443 (MH) Sqn’s H-124 Sea King helicopters, as well as the 6 other administrative and training buildings.
- MANITOBACanadian Forces Base Portage La Prairie: Established as No. 14 Elementary Flying Training School on 28 October 1940 - 3 July 1942, a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. On 28 April 1941 No. 7 Air Observers School also opened at the aerodrome. In July 1942, No. 14 EFTS disbanded and No. 7 AOS expanded to take over the entire station. No. 7 AOS closed on 31 March 1945, corresponding with the termination of the BCATP. Immediately afterwards, No 3 Air Navigation School was established at Portage La Prairie, but this was short lived as it was disbanded 31 August 1945. The station remained open after the war, and in March 1946, No. 1 Manning Depot re-located the Toronto Exhibition Grounds to recruit new pilots. However, this too would be short-lived as the Manning Depot closed one year later. The station continued to be occupied by No. 2 Construction Maintenance Unit as a storage depot and No. 2 Radio wave Propagation Unit, originally from RCAF Station Torbay. In 1949 the station closed and only a small caretaker staff remained. The Federal Department of Transportation assumed control of the airfield. The post-war expansion of the RCAF resulted in many former aerodromes being re-opened and RCAF Station Portage La Prairie did so on 15 September 1952. No. 2 Advanced Flying School (No. 2 AFS) was established to train RCAF and NATO pilots, first setting up operations at RCAF Station MacDonald on a temporary basis, then re-locating to Portage La Prairie in October 1952. Jet flying training began in 1953 with the arrival of the Lockheed designed T-33 Silver Stars but by 1964, propeller driven aircraft training replaced the jet trainers. No. 2 AFS relocated to RCAF Station Moose Jaw in August 1964 but the station gained two schools that same month. No. 1 Advanced Flying School re-located from RCAF Station Rivers as did No. 1 Flying Instructors School (basic) from RCAF Station Moose Jaw, making Portage La Prairie a centre for pilot selection, basic helicopter training and flight instructor training for both RCAF and Royal Canadian Navy pilots. No. 1 AFS was later re-named No. 3 Flying Training School. RCAF Station Portage La Prairie was also the home of two of the RCAF's precision flying teams, The Red Knights from 1959-1969 and the Golden Centenaries from 1966-1968. In 1959 RCAF Station Portage La Prairie assumed responsibility for the storage depot detachment established at the former RCAF Station MacDonald. No. 3 Advance Flying School, originally from RCAF Station Gimli, re-opened at Portage La Prairie in 1965. As a result of the Unification, the station was re-named CFB Portage La Prairie in 1966. The base gained a school when the newly designated No. 3 Canadian Forces Primary Flying Training School moved to the base from CFB Borden in July 1970, but lost another one year later when No. 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School moved to CFB Moose Jaw. In the late 1980s, DND budget reductions lead to the contracting out of flight training to civilian agencies. As a result, CFB Portage La Prairie closed on 1 September 1992. The site is now the Southport Aerospace Centre, a commercial-industrial centre. Most of the former base's buildings remain. A new air control tower was constructed on the opposite side of the airfield and a new barracks, the Lt. Alan McLeod Building, houses the Air Force student pilots. Although no longer an Air Force base, No. 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School, a Detachment of 17 Wing Winnipeg, remains at the former base to oversee Primary Flight Training and Helicopter Training, with training conducted by Allied Wings, a division of KF Aerospace. A permanent contingent of 41 military personnel remains at the former base. Southport was used as a staging area during Operation LENTUS 14-5, a domestic operation to assist the Province of Manitoba with the flooding around Portage La Praire during early July 2014. The majority of the military contingent came from CFB Shilo, but a detachment of 4 Griffin helicopters from 408 Squadron, based at Edmonton Garrison, was also dispatched to assist. It could be said that RCAF Station Portage La Prairie has finally come full circle, as many of the instructors who trained the student pilots under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan were in-fact civilians working under contract to the Royal Canadian Air Force. Source material: DND press release from July 1989, "Sentinel" Magazine from May 1970, the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan site -http://www.ualberta.ca/EDMONTON/CONTRIB/airmuseum/aambcatp.html, the RCAF Station Moose Jaw site - http://www.rcaf.com/stations/moosejaw.shtml, & "Portage La Prairie" Fifty Years of Flying Training: 1940-1990" by Major Gordon Greavette, CD, information provided by No. 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School (2003), the personal recollections of the author (2003) & the Southport Aerospace Centre web site - http://www.southport.mb.ca, Canadian Forces Air Navigation School history - www.cfans.com & http://www.southport.mb.ca/commercl/canforces.htm.
- NEW BRUNSWICKMoncton Garrison: Originally established in 1940 as the home of No. 5 Equipment Depot, a supply centre for all the east-coast RCAF stations. As a result of the Unification, the Station was re-named CFB Moncton and control of the base was transferred to Maritime Command in 1966. The role of the base was to provide administrative and logistical support to 5 Canadian Forces Supply Depot, a Recruiting Centre, the Eastern New Brunswick Militia District Headquarters and the local Reserve Force and Cadet units. In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, CFB Moncton was reduced to a detachment of CFB Gagetown in 1995. Command of the Detachment was transferred Land Forces Command. No. 5 Canadian Forces Equipment Depot closed on 1 April 1 1996. In 1995, No. 1 Construction Engineering Unit re-located from Winnipeg’s Kapyong Barracks. The detachment, re-named Moncton Garrison, also served as the home of 4th Air Defence Regiment Royal Canadian Artillery, 37 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters, 32 Service Battalion, the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) and later 303 Military Police Platoon. The Canadian Forces Support Establishment Moncton provided the local Reserve, Cadet and remaining Regular Force units with administrative and logistical support. A small portion of the property was severed off and transferred to the Canada Lands Corporation. The Royal Canadian Legion took over the former Officer's Mess and the Canadian Forces Housing Agency maintained 70 PMQs (now called Residential Housing Units) for military members. In 2003, No. 1 Construction Engineering Unit disbanded and No. 1 Engineer Support Unit (1 ESU) officially stood up to replace it, due to the requirement for the CF to generate, deploy, and sustain a national military support capability. No. 1 ESU was mandated to provide or arrange the full assortment of military engineering general support to contingency operations and close support to CF command and control elements. In April 2012, the Department of National Defence announced that Moncton Garrison would close the next two years. In 2013, No. 1 Engineering Support Unit relocated to CFB Kingston and No. 4 Air Defence Regiment relocated to CFB Gagetown. Also in 2013, Food Depot Alimentaire (FDA) petitioned the Federal Government to take over the main building at Moncton Garrison, Building 66. This was confirmed in November 2015, when the City of Moncton bought Building 66 and will turning the building over to FDA as a centralized food bank. By spring of 2016, only be two buildings will remain in military hands: B 48 and B 61, which will be occupied by the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) and 37 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters. Additionally, a military police platoon and elements of the North Shore Regiment will be housed in one part of B 48. As of 2019, Moncton Garrison remains an active army establishment. Source material: information provided by Tom McLaughlan, 8th Hussars Museum (2016), DND press releases from May 1989 & February 1994, information supplied by John Allain Corporation of the City of Moncton (1999), information supplied by Claude Despres, Corporation of the City of Moncton (1999), New Brunswick Military Heritage Project - http://www.unb.ca/nbmhp/02_NBMHPsites.htm, New Brunswick Military Heritage Project - http://www.unb.ca/nbmhp/02_NBMHPsites.htm, information supplied by Doug Zwicker, 1 Engineer Support Unit (2004), "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic " by Author Paul Ozorak & information supplied by Bill Soucoup, Constable, RCMP Patrol Section Codiac Regional RCMP Detachment Moncton (1999), Moncton Military Family Resource Centre handbook 2013 - http://www.familyforce.ca/sites/Moncton/EN/Newsletter/Documents/NewPosting_Hanbook2013_Web.pdfCity of Moncton news release, 4 May 2013 - http://22864.vws.magma.ca/index.php?&article_id=10986, CBC News - www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2012/04/04/nb-defence-cuts-gagetown-moncton.html & Food Depot Alimentaire - www.ipick.ca/fredericton/fda-hoping-to-turn-former-moncton-garrison-building-into-food-bankcommunity-centre &"Garrison building 66 to become centralized food bank", 91.9 The Bend radio (2015).
Camp Sussex: Opened in Moncton in 1885 as a tented Militia Training Camp, used by the 28th Cavalry and various infantry and artillery regiments. During World War II, the camp served as the home to No. A-30 Canadian Infantry Training Centre. "Temporary" H-huts were built at the camp for barracks and administration buildings. In early 1944, No. A-34 Special Officers' Training Centre also opened at the camp. The camp remained open after World War II, serving as the headquarters of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's). The camp began downsizing in the early 1950s when the nearby Camp Gagetown was established and finally closed in 1965. The rifle range continued to be used until the early 1980s, when it too closed due to nearby residential development. The former camp's hospital was used as the local hospital until 1979, when it was demolished. Very little remains of Camp Sussex today, with the sole remaining building being a former tank hangar, now used by the New Brunswick Agricultural Museum. The Department of National Defense still owns part of the property, with Leonard Drive running down the middle of the former camp. The Brigadier Milton Gregg, VC, Armoury occupies a small portion of the former camp, serving as the home to "B" Squadron of the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise's) and the training area continues to be used by troops from CFB Gagetown. The remainder of the former camp is a recreational park, industrial park and educational campus. A future housing development is also planned for the area. As a nod to the property's military past, the local sports centre is named the 8th Hussars Sports Centre. Source Material: Town of Sussex - http://www.townofsussex.com/sussex/history.html, the Blacks Harbour Historical Society - http://www.geocities.com/blacksharbour/utopia.html, information supplied by Doug Briggs, Sergeant-at-Arms, Royal Canadian Legion, Sussex Branch(2003), Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic by Paul Ozorak & New Brunswick Historic Images - http://www.rootsweb.com/~nbpstgeo/stge9armycamp.htm. - NOVA SCOTIA
Yarmouth Armoury / No. 60 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre :
Originally opened as a basic training centre in March 1941 at the Yarmouth Exhibition grounds. The camp was converted into an infantry training centre in November 1943. By the time the camp closed on 31 October 1945, over 20,000 men had been trained in the art of warfare.
The former drill hall remains and is now the Yarmouth Armoury, the home of the 84th Independent Field Battery (RCA) and a Cadet unit. One of the old barracks also remains, but with new siding. Both are located at 84 Parade Street.
Another WWII-era building also remains on the south side of Parade Street, now used as the Officers' Mess and the Sergeants and Warrant Officers' (Senior NCOs) Mess.
In 2014, two new 50 foot by 30 foot buildings were constructed beside the Officers' and Sr NCO Mess on the south side of Parade Street to provide additional space for classroom training due to limited space in the armouries.
Source material: "Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, "Construction of troop shelters underway in Yarmouth", The Yarmouth County Vanguard, December 14, 2014 and information provided by Christina Blake, Town of Yarmouth (2005).
Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Protector II:
Opened in Sydney on 15 March 1943, across the harbour from Point Edward Naval Base (HMCS Protector), using commercial wharves and buildings along Esplanade Street.
The station, commissioned His Majesty's Canadian Ship Protector (HMCS) Protector, served as the home base for Atlantic convoy ships and their escorts.
The station remained open after WWII as part of the post-war RCN. In 1952, the station's name officially became Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Protector, corresponding with the ascension of Queen Elizabeth to the throne.
In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, HMCS Protector II closed in 1965.
Little remains of the former HMCS Protector today. The current armouries for the Cape Breton Highlanders, the Victoria Park Armoury, and the marine terminal currently occupy the property.
Source Material: Canada's Navy - The First Century by Marc Milner, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMCS_Protector & "Ships who bore the name PROTECTEUR in the Commonwealth Navies 1750-1968" - http://www.navy.dnd.ca/protecteur/about/ship_about_e.asp?category=92.
- ONTARIOCanadian Forces Base Toronto: Established as Royal Canadian Air Force Station Toronto in 1947 on land surrounding the de Havilland Aircraft of Canada aircraft factory and airfield in Downsview, a factory that built Canadian aircraft such as the Tiger Moth, the Mosquito, the Buffalo and the Twin Otter. With de Havilland continuing to operate on the south-east side of the base, the RCAF station served as an Air Material Command supply base, providing operational and logistical support to the RCAF's Regular and Reserve Force squadrons in the Toronto area, including the RCAF Staff College and RCAF Institute of Aviation Medicine on Avenue Road. The station would also become home to several former World War II squadrons such as 400 Auxiliary Squadron, with their fleet of Vampire MKIII jet fighters and 411 Auxiliary Squadron, who over the years flew aircraft such as the Avro 621, the Tomahawk, Mustang, Mosquito, Spitfire and Sabre fighters The base served as a supply base of Air Material Command, in addition to providing operational and logistical support to the RCAF's Regular and Reserve Force squadrons in the Toronto area, including the RCAF Staff College (later the CF Staff College) and the Avenue Road Detachment. The station would also become home to several former World War II squadrons. In 1946, 400 Auxiliary Squadron was re-activated as a part of the Auxiliary Air Force, with the squadron's Headquarters Unit occupying space at the Avenue Road Detachment. The Squadron was equipped with Vampire MKIII jet fighters, flying them initially from the RCAF Station Malton (now Toronto Pearson International Airport). In acquiring land for the new air station, the RCAF found it necessary to close Sheppard Avenue, so as to expand the airfield. The remains of the former Sheppard Avenue became the main east-west road across the station, renamed Carl Hall Road. When de Havilland moved into their new facilities at the south end of the airfield, the RCAF took over the old plant facilities, except for Plant #3 which was still occupied on a leased back basis, an arrangement that would continue until 1989. Included in this takeover was the original DeHavilland Plant #1. This is where the first DHC-1 Chipmunk, DHC-2 Beaver and DHC-3 Otter were built. On 1 October 1950, 411 Auxiliary Squadron was also re-activated and both squadrons began training for their role as auxiliary fighter-bomber squadrons on various fixed-wing aircraft, including the Avro 621, the Tomahawk, Mustang, Mosquito, Spitfire, Sabre and others over the years. The base also became the home of No. 1 Repair Depot and No. 1 Construction Engineering Depot. No. 1 Supply Depot moved from the Weston Road Site in September 1953, as did the Canadian Air Crew Selection Unit. 436 (Transport) Squadron re-located from RCAF Station Dorval on 1 July 1956 VC-920 Squadron of the Royal Canadian Naval Air Service Reserve arrived in 1953 with their fleet of Grumman Avengers and later Grumman Trackers. Markings were painted on the runways so that the Navy pilots could practice simulated carrier take-offs and landings. VC-920 Squadron disbanded in 1964. Some of the other units in the early days of RCAF Station Toronto were 14 Wing Headquarters, later renamed 2 Tactical Aviation Wing and No. 14 Movement Control Detachment. The Defence Research Medical Laboratories, later re-named the Defence Research Establishment Toronto, was established at the Avenue Road Detachment on 1 May 1950. The facility moved to Downsview in October 1953. In 1954, the RCAF officially assumed control of the airfield from de Havalland and flight activity increased at the station. The C-10 Heavy Transport Aircraft, flown by 436 (Transport) Squadron, were active at the station from 1956 until 436 Squadron relocated to RCAF Station Uplands in 1964. The last Lancaster Bomber, FM104, was flown to Downsview for retirement in 1964. It sat on the Toronto waterfront for years as a memorial to the RCAF, but is now at the Toronto Aerospace Museum undergoing restoration. Residential homes were built for station personnel. Known in military circles as Permanent Married Quarters (PMQ). William Baker Park on the north side were for designated for commissioned officers with Stanley Green Park on the south side for non-commissioned members. Sixty-Seven single-family homes were built in William Baker Park in 1953-55 timeframe, along Robert Woodhead Crescent and John Drury Drive are named after Canadian soldiers from World War 1. Eight more were added in 1971 and the last six were built in 1980-1981. In Stanley Green Park, 26 brick rowhouses, containing four units in each, were built. Both PMQ areas were fenced off and restricted to military personnel. Off base housing existed on Sunfield road and Sheppard avenue west of Keele St, it was called Low Development Housing( LDHs). It consisted of row house units similar to Stanley Greene Park housing. The housing affectionately known as the "local dog houses" by military personnel. The station was re-named RCAF Station Downsview on 1 October 1958 and re-designated as a base of Air Transport Command. By early 1958, 400 and 411 Squadrons took on a new role as transport-search and rescue squadrons and the Beechcraft C-45 Expeditors replaced the fighter aircraft. No 1 Mobile Support Equipment Maintenance Depot, who had the responsibility of maintaining the RCAF's fleet of vehicles, moved to Downsview in 1965. Following the disbandment of VC-920 RCN Squadron, the Headquarters Unit of 400 Auxiliary Squadron moved to Downsview in October 1964 and occupied the VC-920's former quarters. Downsview was the site of another milestone in Canadian aviation when the prototype de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter made its first flight from on 20 May 1965. In July 1966, with the impending closure of RCAF Station Centralia, aircrew selection training was transferred the RCAF Personnel Applied Research Unit (RCAF PARU) at Downsview's Avenue Road Detachment, a part of the Aircrew Selection Unit located at Downsview itself. As a result of the Unification in 1968, the base was re-named CFB Toronto and its support role was expanded to include all Regular Force, Reserve and Cadet units (Army, Navy and Air Force) in the Toronto Garrison. The RCAF PARU was re-named the Canadian Forces PARU. CFB Toronto also assumed administrative control of Canadian Forces Reserve Barracks Hamilton, establishing a detachment at the site. Central Militia Area Headquarters (CMA HQ) moved to Downsview after CFB Oakville closed in 1971. 400 and 411 Squadrons were re-named 400 "City of Toronto" Squadron and 411"County of York" Squadron and both became part of 10 Tactical Air Group, a unit of the army's Force Mobile Command. The Defence Research Establishment Toronto merged with the CF Institute of Environmental Medicine to form the Defence and Civil Institute for Environmental Medicine in 1971. In 1979, Aircrew Selection Unit was re-named the Canadian Forces Aircrew Selection Centre. When the Allen Expressway was built in 1971, Downsview's east-west runway was closed and a quarter of its eastern portion dissected by the new highway. Toronto Police now use the severed portion of the runway as a driver training area for their police vehicles. In 1980, 400 and 411 Squadrons switched from fixed-wing aircraft to CH-136 Kiowa helicopters, and by 1982, both squadrons had been re-named as 400 Tactical and Training Helicopter Squadron (400 T & THS) and 411 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (411THS). The role of both squadrons by this time was to conduct security and transport duties during such events as the visit by Pope John Paul II to CFB Toronto in 1984 and the Toronto Economic Summit in 1988. In 1990, a restructuring of the Armed Forces resulted in the base being transferred from Air Command to the Army's Mobile Command. Although this transfer ended 43 years of Air Force control of the base, CFB Toronto was still very much an active Air Force Base. Land Force Central Area Headquarters (LFCA HQ) was formed at Downsview the same year as part of a new regional command structure for the Army, replacing CMA HQ, which was disbanded. The Army's Toronto District Headquarters (TDHQ) moved to Downsview in 1994 from the Avenue Road Detachment, taking up residence in the Otter Building, which was the original station headquarters. TDHQ was disbanded in March 1997 and replaced by 32 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters. The introduction of the Wing Concept at Air Bases in 1993 resulted in CFB Toronto being designated as 2 Wing, although this was to be short lived as more change was in the wind. By 1994, CFB Toronto's operational importance was declining and along with a reorganization and consolidation of Canadian military bases in the mid 1990s. The city had grown up around the base and there was little interest in maintaining a full size base. Combined with the desire of local politicians to acquire some of the land for development, Downsview's fate was effectively sealed. Plans were made to reduce CFB Toronto to a Detachment of CFB Kingston, but this was later changed to outright closure of the base. CFB Toronto closed on 1 April 1996, the 72nd anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force, along with its Avenue Road Detachment. 400 T & THS re-located to CFB Borden, where they currently fly the CH-146 Griffon helicopter, and now fall under the command of 1 Wing Kingston. 411 THS, 2 Tactical Aviation Wing and 2 Tactical Aviation Support Squadron were disbanded and 1 Canadian Forces Supply Depot closed. LFCA HQ had previously re-located to leased office space on Yonge Street in 1994. The Canadian Forces Aircrew Selection Centre relocated to 8 Wing Trenton in 1997. Canada Lands Corporation assumed control of the property and began the process of its disposal. Parc Downsview Park Incorporated was established in 1998 as Crown corporation tasked with developing the former base into an urban park. Garrison Support Unit Toronto, later re-named Area Support Unit Toronto, was established at the former base in 1996 to provide the local Reserve, Cadet and remaining Regular Force units in the Toronto Garrison with administrative, logistical, medical and Military Police support services. On 26 May 2000, the former base officially became Downsview Park, Canada's first Federal Park within a city. Today, the former RCAF Station Downsview is a mixture of commercial-industrial on the east side and a passive eco-park on the west. All the messes, barracks, administrative buildings (except the base headquarters building) and the Recreation Centre on the far-west side of the base have been demolished. The east side is a commercial-industrial centre, with tenants including Bombardier Aeospace, who assumed control of DeHavviland's facilities in 1992, continue to occupy the airfield (the oldest active airport), Area 51 Paint Ball, Grand Prix Kartways, the Downsview Park Sports Centre, an indoor sports complex occupying the Plant 2 hangar, which includes ATP, Grand Prix Kartways, HoopDome, National Squash Academy, PEAC, Toronto School of Circus Arts, The Rail Skatepark and School, Toronto Roller Derby League and Defcon Paintball. Toronto Police briefly used the former Recreation Centre as a police applicant physical testing facility in the early 2000s until the the building was demolished around 2003. The former 25 Supply Depot building is currently used as a used as a film studio, a venue for the Toronto Roller Derby, the Downsview Merchant's Market, a church and various other community uses. In 1997, the Toronto Air & Space Museum, later re-named the Canadian Air & Space Museum, was established in the original de Havilland Plant #1, the oldest aircraft factory left in Canada, having stood since 1929. Gone from the west side of the former base are all the barracks, messes, the Otter Building, the guard house, the curling club and the recreation centre, all of which were torn down to create a passive park. The former row-house quarters on the south-west corner of Keele Street & Sheppard Avenue were also torn down and replaced with luxury townhomes. The former 1970s era headquarters building is now the headquarters for the Toronto Region Conservation Authority. The former Military Police guardhouse was occupied for several years by the Toronto Wildlife Centre but was demolished around 2009. In July 2002, the Department of National Defence opened a new armoury, named The Denison Armoury, on a vacant piece of land at the former CFB Toronto to house all elements of ASU Toronto, 32 CBG HQ, 2 Intelligence Company, 2 Field Engineer Regiment, 25 (Toronto) Service Battalion and The Governor General's Horse Guards as well as their respective cadet units. The old Denison Armoury, located just south of Downsview's airfield on Dufferin Street, formerly occupied by 25 Service Battalion and The Governor General's Horse Guards, was closed and demolished in 2003. As well, DCIEM remains at the corner of Sheppard and Allan Road. In 2002, Downsview Park hosted the World Youth Day festivities, including a big outdoor mass hosted by Pope John Paul II. On 30 July 2003, a SARS relief benefit concert was held, with the Rolling Stones headlining the daylong event. In December 2006, Downsview Park was officially turned over to Parc Downsview Park Inc., the Federal Crown corporation which oversees the park. However, park management has stated that the former base could possibly be used in the future as a staging area for crisis management for terrorist, war or disaster response. In September 2007, 2 Military Police Unit (2 MPU) stood up, encompassing all Military Police units (Regular & Reserve Force) in Ontario, with the exception of Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa) Military Police Platoon. The unit's headquarters is located at the Denison Armoury, along with 32 Military Police Platoon (Reserve). In 2009, the Canadian Forces Housing Authority began the process of disposing of all military housing in Toronto, starting with the demolition of the Stanley Green Park homes that were damaged by the explosion at the nearby Sunrise Propane storage facility in August 2008. The remaining homes were demolished in 2012. The William Baker Park homes were vacated around the same time and were demolished in 2014. Stanley Green was re-developed into a high-end townhouse condominium community, while the William Baker Park property remains empty for the time being, with the abandoned roadways serving as walking trails for the existing woodlot that once surrounded the PMQs. The Canada Lands Corporation began a consultation process for a new residential development at William Baker Park in June 2019, with construction scheduled to begin as early as 2022. In March 2010, two of Downsview's old maintenance hangars, known as buildings 55 & 58, were demolished after a desperate effort by heritage organizations to save the hangars, built in 1942. This was despite the fact that they had been designated as heritage buildings by the federal government in 1992 for the role they played in Canadian aircraft production during the Second World War. In September 2011, the Canadian Air & Space Museum, housed in the original de Havilland Plant #1 building, received an eviction notice by Parc Downsview Park, so that a 4-pad ice rink could be built. As a part of this plan, the facade of Plant #1 was to be retained and incorporated into the new building. However, this plan was later abandoned. In 2013, ASU Toronto disbanded and the establishment was re-named Garrison Toronto. Other units currently stationed at Downsview include: 4th Canadian Division headquarters, Joint Task Force Central Area Headquarters, 2 Area Support Group Signal Squadron Toronto Detachment, 32 Canadian Brigade Group headquarters, 2 Intelligence Company, 32 Combat Engineer Regiment, 2 Military Police Unit, 32 Military Police Platoon, 32 (Toronto) Service Battalion (formerly 25 (Toronto) Service Battalion) and The Governor General's Horse Guards. On 21 November 2016, Centennial College officially broke ground on its future Aerospace Campus, taking over the historic de Havilland Plant #1. The new Centennial Campus had its official opening on 25 April 2019. The four-acre campus serves as the new home of Centennial's aerospace technology programs, which was formerly housed at its Ashtonbee Campus. The new facility provides approximately 138,000 square feet of instruction space, laboratories, workshops, offices, a library, hangar space and an actual working airfield, something missing at the Ashtonbee Campus. Also housed at the campus is an innovation and research working group, the Downsview Aerospace Innovation and Research (DAIR) Cluster, that brings together partners such as the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies, Ryerson University, York University, Bombardier Aerospace and others. The former de Havilland office space in the building was restored and renovated to include classrooms, student study areas, workshops and office space for College staff. Unfortunately for aviation historical enthusiasts, the east hangar portion of the building, once occupied by the Canadian Air & Space Museum, was structurally unsound and had to be demolished. A new hangar was constructed in the footprint of the old one, large enough to accommodate today's commercial jets. In 2023, de Havilland will cease aircraft production at the Downsview plant, ending 94-years of aircraft production at Downsview. Parent company, Longview Aviation Capital, sold the plant and the airport land in 2020 for development. Source Material: DND Press releases from August 1988 & February 1994, "The Garrison" Newspaper from March 1995, "Borden Armed Forces Day and Air Show - June 26 & 27, 1999" program guide, The Downsview Family Tree. - A Historical Summary of the Downsview Lands by Wayne Kelly (1998), the Toronto Military Family Resource Centre web site - http://www.pathcom.com/~tmfrc/, Toronto Police web site www.torontopolice.on.ca, Toronto Star Newspaper 25 May 2000, 8 Wing Trenton web site - http://www.8wing.trenton.dnd.ca/archives/news110897.htm, information supplied by the Alberta Aviation Museum (2004), the Toronto Sun "Downsview Remains At The Ready", published 9 June 2006, Heritage Toronto - http://www.heritagetoronto.org/news/issue/2010/03/05/downsview-hangar-update, information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Authority (2010), information provided by the Canadian Air & Space Museum (2015), Parc Downsview Park web site - www.downsviewpark.ca, Centennial College web site - https://www.centennialcollege.ca/news/centennials-aerospace-campus-breaks-ground-at-downsview-park, https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2019/04/25/skys-the-limit-as-centennial-college-unveils-campus-at-new-aerospace-hub.html, https://en.clc.ca/property/681, De Havilland Says Good-Bye To Downsview - Canadian Aviator Magazine, Downsview Lands Community & the personal recollections of the author (1998 - 2019).
Canadian Forces Base Ottawa (South): Originally established on 5 August 1940 at the Uplands Airport as No. 2 Service Flying Training School under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, with Relief Landing Fields located at Carp and Edwards. No. 2 SFTS closed on 14 April 1945, but flying training continued until in 1947, when the station became home to Maintenance Command Headquarters. Flying activities resumed at Royal Canadian Air Force Station Uplands in the early 50s with the arrival of various fighter squadrons, some of which were re-activated from World War II squadrons. 439 "Saber Toothed Tiger" Squadron, the first squadron to use the F-16 jet fighter who, re-formed on 1 September 1951, as did 416 Linx Squadron. Both Squadrons departed for Europe the following year, 439 Squadron to 1 Wing North Luffenham and 416 Squadron to 2 Wing Grostenquin, France. 422 Fighter Squadron re-formed at RCAF Station Uplands on 1 January 1953, but re-located to 4 Wing Baden-Soellingen on 27 August 1953. Others who called Uplands home were 3 Air Movement Unit and 428 Ghost Squadron, who flew the Canadian designed Avro CF-100, 434 Fighter Squadron, originally a bomber squadron, re-formed at Uplands on 1 July 1952 but transferred to 3 Wing Zweibrucken less than one year later. 412 Transport Squadron, who have the distinction of being the first squadron to fly jet passenger liners on scheduled transatlantic flights, arrived from RCAF Station Rockcliffe on 1 September 1955. The Central Experimental and Proving Establishment, later re-named the Aeronautical Evaluation and Test Establishment (AE & TE) moved to Uplands from Rockcliffe in 1957. Today the AE & TE is based at 4 Wing Cold Lake. In 1951, the airfield was expanded to the south to allow for a joint military-civilian airport. The original triangle airfield was torn up and 3 new runways were constructed: an 8000 and 10, 000 foot runway were build towards the south, with a 3000 ft runway built along the west edge of the original runways for small aircraft traffic. The new airfield expansion required the expropriation of the farming village of Bowesville, which was originally settled in 1821. The current main airport terminal now stands on the site of the crossroads at the centre of the village. The road to the south of the airport still bears the name "Bowesville Road". A new terminal building designed to handle up to 900,000 passengers per year was constructed. The terminal building had been scheduled to open in 1959, but during the opening ceremonies a low-flying USAF F-104 Starfighter did a supersonic flypast and shattered the windows and damaged the building, resulting in the opening being delayed until April 1960. The original terminal building and the Trans-Canada Airways hangar remained in use until being demolished in 2011. All that remains of the original WWII triangle airfield today is a small portion of the taxiway and the west runway. Also in the early 1950s, air force fighter bases across Canada were outfitted with Quick Reaction Alert hangers suitable for fighter-interceptor aircraft to be stationed, on alert, with their air crews standing by to hop in and take off in minutes. Uplands was one of those bases, with hangars and ammunition depots being constructed at the south end of the airfield. 410 Squadron, disbanded at 1 Wing in Marville, France on 1 October 1956, re-formed a month later at Uplands as an All-weather Fighter Squadron for the North American Air Defence Command. The squadron disbanded again on 1 April 1964. Four months later, 426 Transport Squadron re-located to Uplands from RCAF Station Downsview. The predecessor of the current of the National Aviation Museum opened at RCAF Station Uplands in October 1960. Later on, its aircraft collection was merged with those of the RCAF and the Canadian War Museum. This led to the creation of the National Aeronautical Collection. This Collection came under the control of National Museum of Science and Technology in 1968 and was renamed National Aviation Museum in 1982. The museum moved to Rockcliffe in 1965. In 1968, the base was re-named CFB Uplands as part of the Unification, but by 1972 the name was again changed to CFB Ottawa (South). In 1970, 450 (Heavy Transport) Squadron, formerly No. 1 Transport Helicopter Platoon of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, moved to Uplands from RCAF Station St Hubert (along with their detachment from RCAF Station Namao) with their squadrons of Huey, Labrador, Voyageur and Chinook helicopters. The Squadron was again re-designated, this time simply 450 (Transport) Helicopter Squadron. 436 Transport Squadron re-located to CFB Trenton on 11 August 1971 where they currently fly the CC-130 Hercules aircraft. The 1970s and 1980s were a busy time for Uplands. The Canadian Forces Airborne Sensing Unit was established in 1971 to conduct testing using various aircraft including the CF-100 Canuck, Dassault Falcon and Dakotas. The unit was replaced by a civilian agency, the Canada Centre for Remote Sensing in 1975. By the 1980s, the Electronic Warfare Squadron, 414 Squadron at CFB North Bay had opened a detachment at CFB Ottawa (South). 412 (T) Squadron was providing air services for the Prime Minister, as well as VIP transportation around the world. 450 Helicopter Squadron, who were now the only combat ready Ottawa area squadron, were training as a part of the RCMP Special Emergency Response Team. The first CF-18 fighter aircraft brought into service was presented to the Air Force by then-Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau at CFB Ottawa (S) on 25 October 1982. In 1993, the civilian side of the airport was renamed "Ottawa Macdonald–Cartier International Airport". Also in 1993, the base was designated as 7 Wing Ottawa, but this was to be short-lived as there was more change in the wind. In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and even though Uplands was in the Nation's capital, it was not spared a similar fate. As a result, both Uplands and Rockcliffe closed on 1 Apr 1995. In their place, a support unit named Canadian Forces Support Unit Ottawa was established at Uplands and National Defence Headquarters to provide the local Reserve, Cadet and remaining Regular Force units with administrative and logistical support. 450 (Transport) Helicopter Squadron re-located to 1 Wing St. Hubert in August 1994. 412 (Transport) Squadron downsized from 120 personnel to only 29, and relocated to the civilian side of the former Uplands airport. Their current Headquarters, The Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee Jr Annex officially opened on 11 January 1995. Transport Canada now has the responsibility for the maintenance of the Squadron's remaining four CC-144 Challenger jets. The airfield remains in use as the Ottawa International Airport. In 2014, the 30th Field Artillery re-located from the HMCS Carleton building to temporary facilities until more permanent facilities can be built. The CF Crypto Support Unit stood down in 2016, as part of the creation of 76 Communications Regiment. In its place, 766 Communications Squadron stood up and took over their former facilities at Uplands. The two elementary schools at the Uplands base closed in September 2017; Elizabeth Park Public School with students now being sent to the new Vimy Ridge Public School, and Upland Catholic School, with students now being sent to Holy Family Catholic Elementary School. Both schools are being renovated for other uses and will not be demolished. In December 2018, DND announced that the Aerospace Engineering and Testing Establishment (AETE), currently located at 4 Wing Cold Lake (since 1971), would be relocating to Uplands Hangar 14, and partnering with the National Research Council's facilities, with a planned move date of 2021. On July 2021, DND announced that delays in renovating Hangar 14 led to shifting the move date back another two years. The units remaining at Uplands include the CF Band, the CFSU Transportation & Maintenance Section, the Central Material Traffic Terminal, the CFSU Technical Services Unit, 766 Communications Squadron, Military Personnel Command, Chaplain Services, the Military Family Resource Centre and the 3oth Field Artillery Regiment, RCA (Canadian Army Reserve). The Military Police Unit remained at Uplands until the NDHQ Carling Campus opened in 2017, and the the CF Photo Unit is now located at the National Research Council campus at the south-east side of the Uplands property. None of the World War II hangers remain ,with the last one being torn down around 2006. One of the post-war "Arch" hangers, Hangar 14, the Quick Reaction Alert hangers and assorted administrative buildings do remain. Large sections of the former base contain only empty fields. The Canadian Forces Housing Agency still maintains 147 PMQs (now called Residential Housing Units) for military members. Now administered by Canadian Forces Support Group Ottawa-Gatineau, Uplands remains a hub for military activity in the National Capital Region and remains federal government property, but only small sections remain in military hands. However, many CF units are also congregated at the National Defence Headquarters Carling Campus, which officially opened in January 2017 at the former Nortel Communications Campus in the Ottawa suburb of Nepean. Source Material: DND Press Releases from May 1987 & June 1989, "Sentinel" Magazine from April 1970, pg **, & Summer 1971 & May 1974, pgs 12 - 15, the personal recollections of the author (1998-2015), information supplied by Renald Fortier, Curator, Aviation History, National Aviation Museum, Rockcliffe, Ontario, 8 Wing Trenton News Archive - www.8wing.trenton.dnd.ca/archives/news110897.htm, Terry Martin's "CFB OTTAWA-UPLANDS" web page - www.totavia.com/terry/cyow/uplands, "Farewell To Rockcliffe" by Buzz Bourdon, Airforce Magazine, Fall 2004, 412 (Transport) Squadron web site - http://www.airforce.forces.ca/8wing/squadron/412hist_e.asp, information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (2011), https://globalnews.ca/news/4744045/cold-lake-move-military-aircraft-testing-centre-dnd-ottawa, 450 Squadron web page - http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/squadron/450-squadron.page, https://ocdsb.ss13.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_55394/File/Elementary/Getting%20Involved/School%20Council/Information%20and%20Updates/June%2016%202017.pdf, https://www.ocsb.ca/2017/05/16/farewell-uplands, Neil Hamstead, Uplands worker (2018), https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/dnd-mdn/documents/bases-infrastructure/cfsuo/ncr-welcome-guide.pdf, https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/move-of-dnd-test-facility-from-alberta-to-ottawa-delayed-because-of-hangar-renovation-problems, and the personal observations of the author.
No. 10 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre No. 3 Canadian Women's Army Corps (Basic) Training Centre: Originally opened in Kitchener on 9 October 1940 as No. 10 Non-Permanent Active Militia Training Centre, but the camp was re-named No. 10 CA (Recruit) TC a month later. Also known as Knollwood Barracks, the camp was of a standard design of 40 buildings that included barracks, lecture buts, stores, mess halls, drill halls and administration buildings. The camp became a recruit training camp for reserve and active service soldiers in March 1941, changing its name to No. 10 CA (B) TC. On 15 October 1942, the camp was again re-organized, this time as a basic training centre for the Canadian Woman's Army Corps, becoming No. 3 CWAC (B) TC, however, the training of male soldiers continued until 1943 when No 10 training centre closed. In addition to basic training for CWAC, there was also a clerk's course held at the school. Camp Knollwood continued as a women's training centre until 31 October 1945, changing it's number designation in 1945 to No. 1 training centre, then No. 4 training centre just prior to closing. In January 1946, the Women's Army Corps turned the camp over for a Vocational Training School for returning servicemen. The 48th Field Squadron (Militia) of the Royal Canadian Engineers also utilized the camp. Most of the buildings were later torn down or moved off-site. Two of the huts remained up to the 1990s, used by sea and air cadets. In 1999, the Kitchener Armoury was opened on the north end of the former camp and is currently occupied by Burton Company of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 1596 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps and 80 (K-W Spitfire) Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Cadets. A monument was to the Canadian Women's Army Corps was dedicated on 5 May 2001 by the Honorable Hiliary Weston, Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. The monument, featuring a CWAC member in dress uniform atop a polished granite platform, sits out front of the armoury. The monument also contains the names of CWAC members who died while on active duty. Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario” by Paul Ozorak, information provided by Joyce Campbell-Layman (2021) & the personal recollections of the author (2016).
Wolseley Barracks: Established near London in 1884 on farmland belonging to John Carling, son of the founder of the Carling Brewery, as a training camp for "D" Company of the Infantry Corps School, later re-named The Royal Canadian Regiment - Canada's senior infantry regiment and the oldest Regular Force infantry regiment. The Militia had used the site for summer training camps since the mid-1860s. The other Infantry Corps Schools were: "A" Company in Frederickton, New Brunswick, "B" Company in St. Jean, Quebec and "C" Company in Toronto. The camp was named Wolseley Barracks in honour of Field Marshall, the Right Honorable Viscount Wolseley in 1894. The Regimental Headquarters of The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR) moved to Wolseley Barracks in 1923. On 1 November 1936, the Canadian Tank School was established at Wolseley Barracks with Captain (later Major-General) Frederic ("Worthy") Worthington, MC, MM, PPCLI as its first Commander. However it was later determined that Wolseley Barracks lacked the proper facilities for tank training, so the school was re-located to Camp Borden on 1 May 1938. Although this was the training camp for the RCR, this function was relinquished from 1914-1923 and again from 1939-1953 when Woseley Barracks was used as a training camp for all of the regiments in the southwest Ontario region. The RCR resumed training their own in 1953 with the establishment of the Regimental Depot at Wolseley Barracks. In 1954, the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (3 RCR), a Militia Regiment consisting of members from the Canadian Fusiliers and The Oxford Rifles, was established at Wolseley Barracks to serve alongside the Regular Force 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment. As a result of the Unification, the barracks was re-named CFB London in 1966, although the name Wolseley Barracks continued to be used, as was the nearby Highbury complex, a facility established in the early 1940s as a military vehicle assembly plant, and used post-war as a supply and maintenance depot. The function of the base changed to that of a Material Command support base for southwestern Ontario. The Regimental Depot closed in December 1968 and a new tri-service basic training school was established at CFB Cornwallis. In 1970, 3 RCR was re-designated as 4 RCR while a new Regular Force 3 RCR was formed at CFB Petawawa. In 1992, CFB London was downsized to a detachment of CFB Toronto. 1 RCR departed for CFB Petawawa later that year. The city had grown up around the base and there was little interest in maintaining a full size base. On 1 April 1996 Detachment London closed, but a small portion of the former base was sectioned off and continued to function as a military establishment, as did the nearby Highbury Complex until 2006 when it was abandoned. Garrison Support Unit London (GSU London) was established at Wolseley Barracks in 1996 to provide the local Reserve, Cadet and remaining Regular Force units with administrative and logistical support. GSU London was re-named Area Support Unit London in 1998. The units remaining at Wolseley Barracks were the 1st Hussars (RCAC), 22 (London) Service Battalion (now 31 Service Battalion), 31 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters, 4th Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment (Militia), 22 Military Police Platoon Now 31 MP PL), and LFCA TC - London Detachment (now 4th Canadian Division Training Centre Meaford - London Detachment). All the PMQs were sold and are now privately owned residences. After the the Highbury Complex closed in 2006, the Vehicle Maintenance Section of 22 Service Battalion re-located to new facilities at Wolseley Barracks, and the six buildings formerly occupied by these units were demolished. Building 52 at Wolseley Barracks was also demolished and it's occupants re-located to the new support complex. As well, the RCR Regimental Museum remained in "A" Block, otherwise known as Wolseley Hall, as did the Regimental Headquarters Company until 2009, when it joined the rest of the Regiment at Garrison Petawawa. Wolseley Hall had been designated as a national historic site. Of the closed section of the former base, only three buildings remained: the base gym, which is now the Carling Heights Optimist Community Recreation Centre, the former century house used as the "Military Stores", now offices for Block Parents and a maintenance garage, now empty but used briefly by the City of London Parks & Recreation Department. All other buildings were torn down. The former 1 RCR Lines are now occupied by a Real Canadian Superstore and part of the new residential housing survey that continues west, past the former Base Gym. The old Base Engineering grounds is now the parking lot for the Superstore. In April 2013, ASU London was disbanded as part of Department of National Defence cost-cutting measures, ending 16 years of service. Their services were transferred to ASU Toronto, but delivered by a Technical Services Platoon of 31 Service Battalion, which remained stationed in London. The London Free Press announced on 15 July 2013 that eight of the buildings at Wolseley Barracks would be demolished. Among the buildings to be demolished is ‘O’ Block, built in the Depression and recognized on a federal government list as a heritage building because of “its historical associations, and its architectural and environmental values." The three mess halls, two barracks, an office building along the south edge of the site, and the large, L-shaped ‘P’ block near Oxford Street were all scheduled for demolition, but some have been put on hold. The former Officers' Mess was demolished in April 2021. The three largest buildings that front Oxford St. will remain: The original 1886 U-shaped "A" block that houses the RCR museum; the recently constructed $15-million support-services complex and the McKenzie building, which currently houses 31 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters. The McKenzie Building is named after Regimental Sergeant-Major Thomas McKenzie, Regimental #2001, considered the first recruit of the Royal Canadian Regiment, joining "A" Company of the Infantry School Corps on 7 January 1884. Source Material: Information supplied by K. Noble, Administrator/HR Support Officer, Area Support Unit London (1998), information supplied by MCpl G.H. Johnson, Assistant Curator, The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum (1999), Armour School History web page - http://www.brunnet.net/armourschool/History.htm, DND news release - 23 December 2004, London Community News, 5 April 2012, http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2012/04/more-than-34-jobs-lost-with-wolsley-barracks-asu-closure, The London Free Press, 15 July 2013 - http://www.lfpress.com/2013/07/15/eight-buildings-at-wolseley-barracks-to-be-demolished-the-free-press-has-learned, Sentinel magazine, February 1976, http://www.regimentalrogue.com/blog/index.blog?from=20140702 & the personal recollections of the author (1998 - 2015). - PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDCanadian Forces Base Summerside: Opened 23 April 1941 as RCAF Station Summerside, the home of No. 9 Service Flying Training School, a flight school founded under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Two relief landing sites were also established at the same time as No. 9 SFTS, and one in Wellington, PEI and the other one at Mount Pleasant, PEI, although it was later became the site of No 10 B&G School. No. 9 SFTS's stay at Summerside would be short lived as it moved to RCAF Station Centralia in July 1942 and No. 1 General Reconnaissance School opened in its place. The school was re-designated No. 1 Reconnaissance and Navigation School in 1945. RCAF Station Summerside was effectively closed in 1946. Only the Air Cadet Summer Training Camp and a small caretaker staff, whose job it was to maintain the buildings, remained at the Station. The Relief landing field at Wellington was also closed at the end of the war and today, nothing remains of it. In 1948, RCAF Station Summerside was re-activated as part of the post-war RCAF. No. 1 Air Navigation School (No. 1 ANS) was established at the station a NATO training facility. When the school left Summerside for RCAF Station Winnipeg in 1953, the Central Navigation School, which had been disbanded at RCAF Station Rivers in 1945, was re-activated at Summerside. This new school remained at Summerside for a year, before following No. 1 ANS to Winnipeg. No. 2 Maritime Operational Training Unit was then established to train aircrews in anti-submarine warfare. In 1949, Permanent Married Quarters were built, named Slemon Park in honor of Air Marshall Roy Slemon. Over the years Summerside would also be the home of 880 Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron, 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron, 31 Support Air Group (Royal Canadian Navy), 429 Maritime Patrol Squadron (2 (M) OTU designation when performing non-training operational duties) and 420 Air Reserve Squadron. In 1959, the Maritime Proving and Evaluation Unit (MP & EU) opened at RCAF Station Summerside. The unit's function was to develop and test equipment and procedures used by Maritime Air Command. On 1 May 1961, the Royal Canadian Air Force re-activated 415 Maritime Patrol Squadron at Summerside, an anti-submarine aircraft squadron and equipped it with the CP-107 Argus Aircraft. The unification brought change to RCAF Station Summerside. The station was re-named CFB Summerside in 1966 and control was transferred to the newly created Maritime Command. By 1968, 2 (M) OTU had departed for CFB Greenwood switching places with Greenwood's No. 103 Rescue Unit. MP & EU also moved to CFB Greenwood in 1978, as did 415 Squadron in 1981, changing their fleet of Argus aircraft for the Aurora. By the 1980s, the Summerside's primary role was surveillance support for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The remaining squadrons, the Tracker Squadrons 880 SAR Squadron and 420 Air Reserve Squadron, were tasked to conduct routine fisheries patrols. However, the Tracker Aircraft had long since exceeded their life spans and the Federal Government elected not to replace them. As a result of planned reductions in Canada's Air Force, Summerside's importance declined, especially given that its role as a Maritime support base could effectively be covered by CFB Shearwater and CFB Greenwood. As a result, CFB Summerside closed on 1 April 1991. 880 Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron was disbanded, 420 Air Reserve Squadron re-located to CFB Shearwater and 413 Search & Rescue Squadron to CFB Greenwood. The site is now an aviation and commercial-industrial centre named Slemon Park, with tenants including the Summerside Aerospace Centre, the Summerside Airport, the Holland College School of Justice, the Canada Games Sports Centre and Atlantic Police Academy. Several of the buildings remain in use and in good condition, including the PMQs, whch are used as rental accommodation. The former Officers' Mess is used as the reception area for the Slemon Park Hotel and Conference Centre. The only remnants of the property's military past are the Prince Edward Island Regiment, 42 Troop (downgraded from, "B" Squadron), who currently lease a building at Sleman Park, 85 Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps, co-located in the PEIR building and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Atlantic Region Gliding School, who operate a summer Regional Gliding Centre at the airport. Additionally, 1231 Kensington Army cadets as well as 53 Air cadets use the former PERI Building. Additionally, 14 Wing Greenwood maintains a small office in the main control tower building for their flights that land there periodically. Administrative & logistical support for the remaining Regular Force, Reserve and Cadet Units on Prince Edward Island comes from the Charlottetown Detachment of CFB Gagetown, established on 1 April 1991 and located at the West Royalty Industrial Park in Charlottetown. Although the airfield has the longest runways in the province, it only supports general aviation as scheduled passenger flights are offered at the Charlottetown Airport. Three aircraft on static display at the main gate serve as a reminder of Summerside's past: an Argus maritime patrol aircraft, a CF 101 Voodo jet fighter and a Tracker anti-submarine aircraft. The aircraft are maintained by the Aviation Heritage Society (PEI), a group formed in 2009, and were repainted in their original markings. The Argus had served at both CFB Summerside and CFB Greenwood before being retired in 1980. The Aviation Heritage Society established the Air Force Heritage Park on the surrounding land in 2014, which was formally donated to the society by the Sleman Park Corporation. A Walk of Honour was built around the aircraft, leading up to a memorial wall that features the names of personnel who died while serving st CFB Summerside. In March 2015, three of the remaining WWII-era buildings along Elmwood Drive were torn down. The buildings, H-huts #10 & #11, also known as"Celtic" and "Carter", had last been used as accommodations in 2009 for Canada Games athletes and the third, Building 22, had been used for a stay-in-school program for years, but in the last few years was used for storage. Source material: DND press release from July 1990, the Slemon Park web site - www.peisland.com/slemon/park.htm, information supplied by Mike Thususka, City of Summerside, Economic Development (1999), 14 Wing Heritage web site - http://www2.14wing.dnd.ca/14wgheritage/index.html, the personal recollections of Major Harley Lang (Ret'd) (1999), Canadian Forces Air Navigation School history - www.cfans.com, information provided by Larry Gaudet, Director of Marketing, Training and Commercial Leasing for Sleeman Park (2013), "Abandoned Military Installations Of Canada Volume III: Atlantic" by Paul Ozorak, "Armed Forces Day 1990 - CFB Summerside" Program Guide and "Preserving PEI's Aviation History", The Legion Magazine, September/October 2015.
- QUÉBECNo. 52 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre / S-6 Canadian Junior Leaders School: Opened on 9 October 1940 in Lac Megantic as No. 52 Non-permanent Active Militia Training Centre. The camp was re-named a month later No. 52 CA (R) TC a month later. The camp became a recruit training camp for reserve and active service soldiers in March 1941, changing its name to No. 52 CA (B) TC. In November1941, the camp became the Army's only Junior Leaders School. Students came from practically every unit in Canada to the school. Prior to that, each unit trained their own junior leaders, but it was decided to consolidate training at one central school. By the time the school closed in December 1943, the school had trained 1566 men. It's unknown what was done with the camp after the closure of the school. Eighteen of the buildings were sold to the Canadian Legion, but the others remained in military hands. Today, two of the remaining huts are used by "B" Company of the Regiment de la Chaudiere. The buildings can be found at 5899 Rue Dube. Source Material: “Abandoned Military Installations in Canada Vol II: Quebec” by Paul Ozorak.
Saint-Hubert Garrison - 5 Area Support Group: Originally opened in 1927 as the Saint-Hubert Airport, it served as Montreal's primary airport before Dorval International opened. The airport was taken over by the RCAF on 1 September 1941 as the home of No. 13 Service Flying Training School under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. A Relief Landing Field was constructed near Farnham. No. 13 SFTS re-located to North Battleford, Saskatchewan in February 1944 and the station was re-designated RCAF Station Saint-Hubert. RCAF Station Saint-Hubert remained open after World War II as part of the post-war RCAF. Numerous wartime squadrons were re-formed at Saint-Hubert, making it a very busy air station. However, RCAF Detachment Farnham was not included in this post-war growth and it was simply abandoned. Nothing remains of the Detachment today. 401 Squadron, a former wartime squadron, was re-activated as an auxiliary fighter squadron on 15 Arpril 1946. RCAF No 1. Air Defence Group moved to Saint-Hubert from Ottawa in 1949 and became Air Defence Command on 1 June 1951. This is where information from all the radar stations across Canada would be sent for analysis and action. The squadron later departed for 1 Wing in Marville, France to become part of No. 1 Air Division Europe. 441 Fighter Squadron re-formed on 1 March 1951 departing for 1 Wing in North Luffenham on 13 February 1952. 427 Fighter Squadron re-formed on 1 August 1952, departing for 3 Wing Zweibracken a year later. 444 Fighter Squadron, originally from RCAF Station Rivers re-formed on 1 March 1953, departing for 4 Wing Baden on 27 August 1953. 438 Squadron re-formed in April 1946, adding the title City of Montreal Squadron in 1950. 416 All-Weather Fighter Squadron re-located to Saint-Hubert from 2 Wing Grostenquin 1 February 1957, moving again 4 years later to RCAF Station Bagotville. 429 (Tactical Transport) Squadron formed at RCAF Station Saint-Hubert on 21 June 1967. Equipped with Buffalo aircraft, the squadrons roles included operational ground and aircrew training, transport, airborne support for the army and search and rescue (SAR) duties. A detachment of 429 Squadron was posted to RCAF Station Namao to support the army. No. 1 Transport Helicopter Platoon, a unit of the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps, moved to RCAF Station Saint-Hubert from RCAF Station Rivers in 1966. In 1968, No. 1 THP was renamed 450 (Heavy Transport) Helicopter Squadron moved to RCAF Station Uplands. As a result of the Unification, the Station was re-named CFB Saint-Hubert. In later years, Saint-Hubert would become the home of Mobile Command Headquarters and 10 Tactical Air Group (10 TAG). In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, the base was downgraded to a detachment of CFB Montreal on 1 September 1969. 438 Squadron City of Montreal Squadron and 401 City of Westmount Squadron both converted to a tactical helicopter squadrons in the early 1980s. 429 (Tactical Transport) Squadron relocated to CFB Trenton in 1990. The introduction of the Wing concept at Air Force establishments resulted in the base being designated 1 Wing in 1993, although this would be short-lived as I Wing later re-located to CFB Kingston. 450 Squadron, now a Tactical Helicopter Squadron, returned to Saint-Hubert from CFB Ottawa South (Uplands) in August 1994. The squadron disbanded on 25 June 1996, as did 401 Squadron. In the mid 1990s, another of many consolidations occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed. A result, Detachment Saint-Hubert closed in 1995. A small section of the former base next to the airfield was severed off and still functions as a military establishment. Designated as a part of No. 5 Area Support Group, the facility is now known as Saint-Hubert Garrison. The remaining BCATP hangars and the "Arch" hanger at St Hubert Garrison were used to house 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (a combined Reserve-Regular Force Squadron), 51 Service Battalion and 2 cadet units, 643 Royal Canadian Air Cadets Squadron and 2623 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps. The rest of the former CF Detachment Saint-Hubert was sold off and is now an Industrial Park including a film production studio, which spent nearly $30-million converting a hangar into a sound stage and building related facilities on 22 acres of the property. The Saint-Hubert Garrison also serves as a Basic Military Qualification training centre, with basic training courses conducted by 34 Service Battalion. The airfield reverted back to a civilian airport, the Saint-Hubert Airport. The RCAF no longer uses the airfield; just a small helipad next to the 438 Squadron hangar for their use. In January, a new armoury was built at Saint-Hubert Garrison to replace one of the old hangars, which will be demolished. The new building will feature administrative spaces, training rooms, an advanced weapons simulator, vehicle and equipment storage areas, common mess facilities, and a fitness centre. Some of the other buildings will be renovated. The new and renovated facilities will be used by Le Régiment de Maisonneuve, 34 Service Battalion, 41 Military Police Platoon, and the 34 Canadian Brigade Group Headquarters in the greater Montreal region. Source Material: "The Garrison" newspaper from March 1995, pamphlet printed by Studio High Techniques of Toronto (1998), information provided by Captain S. Latraverse, Staff Officer, Area Support Unit Montreal (2000), "Sentinel" Magazine from March 1968, June 1968 and February-March 1971, pgs. 1-10, the 429 Squadron web page - http://www.secant.co.uk/bullseye98/429sqn.htm, History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm, "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore, the 450 Squadron web page - www.totavia.com/terry/cyow/uplands/450sqn.htm, the Globe & Mail from Tuesday, March 18, 2003 - Page B10, Montreal's Saint-Hubert Airport Enthusiast's Page - http://www.fortunecity.co.uk/shangrila/cannes/66/st-hubert.html, https://www.canada.ca/.../news/.../government-completes-new-armoury-at-saint-hubert & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
- ALBERTA
- Current Canadian Military BasesThis web page has primarily focused on the military of the past and what we have lost in regards to military establishments. However, times are changing yet again, and the Canadian government is indeed spending money on revitalizing the military. New equipment is being bought, certain bases are being expanded and some new facilities are being constructed. ARMY 2nd Canadian Division * 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Montreal * 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier * Farnham Garrison 3rd Canadian Division * Edmonton Garrison (3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton) * 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Suffield * 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre Wainwright * 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Shilo 4th Canadian Division * CFB Kingston * CFB Borden * Petawawa Garrison (4th Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa) * 4th Canadian Division Training Centre Meaford * Joint Task Force 2 Base Dwyer Hill * Connaught Range and Primary Reserve Training Centre * Joint Task Force North (Whitehorse & Yellowknife) * Cedar Point Firing Range and Training Centre * Winona Firing Range * Four Mile Point Live Firing Range 5th Canadian Division * 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown * 5th Canadian Division Training Centre Aldershot * Moncton Rifle Range * Canadian Forces Station St. John's ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE There are a total of 13 Wings air force wings across Canada, 11 operational and 2 used for training. Wings represent the grouping of various squadrons, both operational and support, under a single tactical commander reporting to the operational commander. Ten wings also include a Canadian Forces base along with other operational and support units. 1 Canadian Air Division 1 Wing Kingston Located at CFB Kingston, its tactical helicopter squadrons are spread out across Canada; six operate the CH-146 Griffon helicopter and one operates the CH-147F Chinook helicopter. 1 Wing provides airlift support of troops and equipment anywhere in the world. Its six tactical helicopter and training squadrons are spread out all across Canada. * 400 Tactical Helicopter Squadron - based at CFB Borden * 403 Helicopter Operational Training Squadron - based at 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown * 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron - based at Edmonton Garrison * 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron - based at Petawawa Garrison * 430 Escadrille tactique d’helicopteres - based at 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier * 438 Escadrille tactique d’helicopteres - based at St. Hubert Garrison * 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron - based at Petawawa Garrison Since 2014-15, 408, 430, 450 and 427 Squadrons actively support the army for airmobile and armed escort. The remainder have a dedicated maintenance and aircrew training purposes. 3 Wing Bagotville Located in Quebec's Saguenay region, 3 Wing provides general purpose, multi-role, combat-capable forces in support of domestic and international roles of Canada's air force. It also provides search and rescue missions. * 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron * 439 Combat Support Squadron * 414 Electronic Warfare Support Squadron, is a part of 3 Wing Bagotville, but is based at the Gatineau Airport in Quebec. The squadron's role is to operate the Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet provided by Top Aces Consulting. 4 Wing Cold Lake The busiest fighter base in Canada, 4 Wing provides general purpose, multi-role, combat-capable forces in support of domestic and international roles of Canada's air force. Home of fighter pilot training for the Canadian Forces, 4 Wing attracts top gun crews from all over the world to its annual air combat exercise, Maple Flag. It also oversees the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range, used to test the U.S. cruise missile in the 1980s. * 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron * 417 Combat Support Squadron * 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron 5 Wing Goose Bay The site of NATO tactical low-level flight training in Canada, 5 Wing, located in Labrador, is home to permanent detachments from the German Luftwaffe, the Royal Netherlands Air Force and the Italian Aeronautica Militare and temporary training deployments from the Royal Air Force (United Kingdom). 5 Wing also serves as a NORAD CF-18 Hornet deployed operating base and airfield supporting a mix of aviation activities, military and civilian, in eastern Canada. * 444 Combat Support Squadron 8 Wing Trenton The heart of Canada's air mobility forces and the major transport base in Canada, from delivering supplies to the high Arctic (CFS Alert) to airlifting troops and equipment worldwide. 8 Wing Trenton is also responsible for search and rescue in central Canada and maintains a detachment at the former RCAF Station Mountainview for use as a storage facility and by various lodger units. * 412 Transport Squadron (based at CFSU (Ottawa) at the Ottawa - Uplands Airport) * 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron * 426 Transport Training Squadron * 429 Transport Squadron * 436 Transport Squadron * 437 Transport Squadron * Multi-Engine Utility Flight * 2 Air Movements Squadron * 8 Air Maintenance Squadron * 8 Wing Air Reserve Flight * Skyhawks Parachute Team * Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre * Canadian Forces Aerospace Warfare Centre * Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (Mountainview) * 8 Air Communication and Control Squadron (Point Petrie) * Royal Canadian Air Cadets Central Region Gliding School (Mountainview) 9 Wing Gander Providing search and rescue (SAR) services to eastern Canada and the western Atlantic Ocean. SAR crews at 9 Wing Gander fly the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and are responsible for a massive area, covering the lower Arctic, Labrador, Newfoundland, the Maritimes and the North Atlantic from the shores of Newfoundland to 30° west. * 103 Search and Rescue Squadron 12 Wing Shearwater The centre of naval aviation in Canada, 12 Wing is home of the CH-124 Sea King helicopter, and supports Maritime Command with helicopter air detachments for surface warships in the Atlantic and Pacific fleets. * 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron * 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron * 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron - based at the Patricia Bay/Victoria Airport 14 Wing Greenwood Located in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, 14 Wing's CP-140 Aurora crews conduct sovereignty and surveillance missions over the Atlantic Ocean routinely, while SAR capabilities for the Maritimes, eastern Quebec and the eastern Arctic are provided by CH-149 Cormorant helicopters and CC-130 Hercules fixed-wing aircraft. * 404 Maritime Patrol and Training Squadron * 405 Maritime Patrol Squadron * 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron 17 Wing Winnipeg Comprising three squadrons and six schools, 17 Wing also provides support to the Central Flying School, as well as headquarters and administration support for NORAD operations. * 402 City of Winnipeg Squadron * 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron * 440 Transport Squadron (a lodger unit attached to 17 Wing Winnipeg.) Operates the CC-138 Twin Otter based out of Yellowknife, NT. 19 Wing Comox Located on Vancouver Island, its Aurora crews provide surveillance of the Pacific Ocean and western and Arctic regions. The Buffalo and Cormorant crews are responsible for search and rescue in British Columbia, Yukon and the North Pacific Ocean. The base is also used for training fighter pilots in tactical procedures on nearby ranges. * 407 Maritime Patrol Squadron * 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron 22 Wing North Bay Represents one of Canada's major contributions to the North American Aerospace Defence (NORAD) agreement. From its underground complex at the Sector Air Operations Centre, technicians watch over Canada's airspace 24 hours a day, using state-of-the-art sensors, computer and communications equipment. * 21 Aerospace Control and Warning Squadron * 51 Aerospace Control and Warning Operational Training Squadron * 22 Wing Air Reserve Flight * 2 First Air Force Detachment (United States Air Force) 2 Canadian Air Division 15 Wing Moose Jaw The site of the NATO Flying Training Program in Canada which is supported by 2 Canadian Forces Flying Training School or 2CFFTS "The Big 2", 15 Wing is also home to the Snowbirds, the air force's aerobatic team. * 431 Air Demonstration Squadron 16 Wing Borden 16 Wing oversees 3 training schools: Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering, which trains almost half of all Air Force personnel, RCAF Academy, which provides Air Force leadership and Professional Development training and Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations, located at the NAVCAN Training School in Cornwall, who provide training to military air traffic and weapons controllers. It is the historic birthplace of the RCAF. * Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering * RCAF Academy * Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations * 400 Tactical Helicopter Squadron (Part of 1 Wing Kingston) * 16 Wing Air Reserve Flight Although this is not a current formation, I did want to make note of Joint Task Force Afghanistan Air Wing, which stood down with Canada's withdrawal from Afghanistan. The formation consisted of: * Air Wing Kandahar, Afghanistan (stood up 6 December 2008, flew first mission 6 January 2009). The organization is composed of four units: o Canadian Helicopter Force (Afghanistan): + 6 - CH-147D Chinook heavy-lift helicopters + 8 - CH-146 Griffon tactical support helicopters - armed + (6 - Mi-8 medium-lift helicopters - see below) o Theatre Support Element + CC-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft; o Canadian Heron UAV Detachment + Heron unmanned aerial vehicle As the tasking authority responsible for the Canadian Contracted Air Transport Unit, the Wing Commander provides advice, co-ordination and supervision over its six leased Mi-8 medium lift helicopters. The Air Wing has about 450 personnel, serving with the Theatre Support Element in the Persian Gulf region and the Tactical UAV Flight at Kandahar Airfield. Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering The Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering (CFSATE), located in Borden, Ontario delivers Aerospace Engineering Officers and conducts apprentice level training for various trades, including Avionics, Aviation, Aircraft Structures and Imagery technicians. The role of CFSATE is to provide the Air Force with qualified personnel to ensure Aircraft serviceability. CFSATE develops and carries out individual aerospace engineering training in accordance with approved doctrine and standards. NAVY * Maritime Forces Pacific Esquimalt * Maritime Forces Atlantic Halifax * Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental and Test Ranges COMMUNICATIONS COMMAND * Canadian Forces Station Leitrim * Canadian Forces Station Alert MATERIEL COMMAND * Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Bedford * Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Angus * Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Dundurn * Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Rocky Point TRAINING COMMAND * Canadian Forces Base Borden * Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School St-Jean ALL SERVICES * Department of National Defence Headquarters, Carling Campus & Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa) - Uplands Site * Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters Whitehorse, Yukon * Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters Yellowknife, Northwest Territories
- ALBERTA4 Wing Cold Lake: Opened in March 1954 as RCAF Station Cold Lake, the station quickly became Canada's premier air weapons training base. Supporting the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR), a 11,700 square kilometres tract of land straddling the Alberta-Saskatchewan border to the north-east of Cold Lake, the station trained fighter pilots, first with the CF-100 Canuck, then the CF-104 Starfighter in 1962 and the CF-18 Hornet, for Canada's home defence and its NATO commitments in West Germany and France (until 1967). RCAF Station Cold Lake also provided support to 42 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, established south-east of the Cold Lake Station in 1954, to provide ground radar control for the jet fighters operating from the base and the CLAWR, and as a radio transmission centre. In October 1962, 42 AC&W Squadron became 42 Radar Squadron and was equipped with the Semi-Automated Ground Environment (SAGE) system as part of the 28th NORAD Region. As a result of Department of National Defence (DND) budget reductions, the site occupied by 42 Radar Squadron closed in 1992. 42 Radar Squadron re-located to 4 Wing Cold Lake and the squadron’s radar equipment was moved to the Primrose Lake Air Weapons Range. With the Unification of the Forces, the base was re-named Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake. The introduction of the Wing Concept at Air Bases in 1993 resulted in CFB Cold Lake being designated as 4 Wing. Throughout the 1990s, downsizing of the Canadian Forces resulted in 4 Wing Cold Lake becoming one of only two jet-fighter bases remaining in Canada; the other being 3 Wing Bagotville in Quebec. Today, 4 Wing is Canada's largest and busiest fighter wing and is home to two CF-18 Squadrons, 401 & 409 Tactical Fighter Squadrons; two training squadrons, 410 Tactical Fighter (Operational Training) Squadron & 419 Tactical Fighter Training Squadron; 417 Combat Support Squadron, who fly the CH-146 Griffin Helicopters, providing search and rescue duties for downed fighter pilots, along with a secondary role augmenting the National Search and Rescue services. Sources: http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/squadron/417-squadron.page, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFB_Cold_Lake, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/42_Radar_Squadron
Edmonton Garrison (3rd Canadian Support Base Edmonton): Originally established on 1 October 1955 as RCAF Station Namao, following the closure of Blatchford Field. The aerodrome had originally been built by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers during WWII as a staging point for the US defence of Alaska as Blatchford Field could not be expanded. Two runways were constructed, 03/21 and 12/30, both 2,100 m (6,890 ft) long, making them Canada's longest runways at the time. The American government operated the aerodrome until the end of WWII when it was turned over to the Canadian government. During the Cold War, RCAF Station Namao was used by the United States Strategic Air Command, which constructed a "Nose Dock" capable of servicing the nose and wings of heavy jet bombers and tankers on the south side of the airfield. The station also hosted the Edmonton Rescue Coordination Centre. Because Namao by that time had a 13,780 ft runway, 12/30, it was a designated an emergency SpAce Shuttle landing site by NASA. With the Amalgamation of the Forces in 1968, RCAF Station Namao was redesignated Canadian Forces Base Edmonton (Lancaster Park), under command Air Transport Command and later Air Command. Units occupying the station included 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron, 418 “City of Edmonton” Air Reserve Squadron, 435 Transport Squadron, 440 Transport and Rescue Squadron and 447 Transport Helicopter Squadron. In 1993, the base was designated as 18 Wing Edmonton in accordance with the newly implemented “Wing-concept”, but this was to be short-lived as there was more change in the wind. Federal Government budget cuts forced the command of the air station to be transferred to Land Force Command in 1994. The base was re-designated as CFB Edmonton, and known locally as Edmonton Garrison - Steele Barracks, named for Sir Sam Steele. The runways were closed to air traffic except for a 148ft x 492ft section of 03/21 for use by helicopters. The base saw expansion with the closure of CFB Calgary in 1997, as units previously located there were re-located to Steele Barracks. With the closure of Griesbach Barracks in 2000, all units located there were eventually re-located to Steele Barracks over a number of years. The Royal Canadian Artillery Band remained at Griesbach until September 2004 and Land Force Western Area Headquarters (LFWA HQ) remained until 2014. In 2014, the base was re-named 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton, following the Federal Government's re-introduction of separate service identities, although it's still known locally as Edmonton Garrison - Steele Barracks. In December 2017, 3rd Canadian Division (formerly LFWA HQ) moved into to a new 8,159 square metre building at Steele Barracks, one that also houses 1 Area Support Group Headquarters, the Joint Task Force West, and 3rd Canadian Division Support Group. In addition to being the headquarters of the 3rd Canadian Division, the highest military authority in western Canada, and a number of brigade groups, including 1 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group (1 CMBG). Currently, units posted to the base include the 3rd Battalion, Princes Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, Lord Strathcona's Horse (Royal Canadians) and 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, along with 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron. Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFB_Edmonton, http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/en/cfb-edmonton/index.page
Camp Wainwright: Established on the site of the former Buffalo National Park in 1941. As no permanent barracks existed at the time, the first occupants of the camp, the 6th Infantry Division, were quarters in tents. In 1944 Internment Camp 103 was established on site and 1700 German POW's were imprisoned here until July 1946, after which the camp reverted to a training area for Regular and Reserve force soldiers. In 1950, 25 Infantry Brigade, Canada's Army commitment to the UN's Commonwealth Contingent in Korea, began training here, but it wasn't until 1952 that the camp's first permanent buildings were constructed. In July 1974, the First Canadian Mechanized Brigade Operational Training Detachment, the successor to the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) Regimental Depot, was established at Camp Wainwright. The Operational Training Detachment was re-named the PPCLI Battle School on 1 May 1984 and the Land Force Western Area Training Centre Battle School in 1996. Today Camp Wainwright , featuring 609 square kilometers of training area, 25 weapon ranges from pistol to artillery and an airfield sufficient to land transport aircraft, is the largest training area in Western Canada and the primary training area for the Regular and Reserve Force Army and Air Force units of the Western area. Other users of the camp are Cadet units, the British Army, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Corrections Canada. In April 2006 the Canadian Manoeuvre Training Centre, officially opened at Camp Wainright, a unique training centre that prepares troops for deployment to such areas as Afghanistan. In July 2008, 60 newly-built PMQS were unveiled at Camp Wainright. Source Material: History of Buffalo National Park-Camp Wainwright - http://www.agt.net/public/ppclibsl/html_files/camp_wainwright.htm - BRITISH COLUMBIAMaritime Forces Pacific Naden: Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt (CFB Esquimalt) is Canada's Pacific Coast naval base and home port to Maritime Forces Pacific and Joint Task Force Pacific Headquarters.
Work Point Barracks: Opened in 1887 at the entrance to Victoria Harbour as the home for C Battery, Royal Canadian Artillery (RCA), who moved here from Quebec. A military prison was built in 1904, featuring a 10 foot outer brick wall and barred windows. B Company, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) were quartered here from 1920 until they left for England in 1939. Later the 58th Field Engineer Squadron (58 FER - re-named 1 Combat Engineer Regiment in 1977) made Work Point their home. In 1957 C Battery, RCA departed, as did 58 FER to Camp Chilliwack. The 1st Battalion, PPCLI, returned to Work Point Barracks in 1957, remaining until they were replaced by the 1st Battalion, The Queen's Own Rifles of Canada (1 QOR) in 1963. On 17 March 1970, 1 QOR was re-badged the 3rd Battalion, PPCLI, and became an amalgamated Reserve-Regular Force Battalion, responsible for Reserve infantry training in B.C. With the Unification of the Forces, Work Point Barracks became part of CFB Esquimalt. The officer training schools of the three former services were merged into one, the Canadian Forces Officer Candidate School (CFOCS), and re-located to CFB Cilliwack in 1970. In 1994, 3 PPCLI also moved from Work Point Barracks to CFB Chilliwack. The Naval Officer Training Centre Venture, moved to Work Point Barracks from the World War II era building it occupied at HMC Dockyard Esquimalt. By 1997, a new 2,000-square-metre building was constructed overlooking Victoria Harbour, including space for administration offices, instructional & training, sports facilities and a student lounge. On 30 September 2005, the new Kingsmill building was officially dedicated. The six-story accommodation building provides 172 rooms for naval officer trainees. In the spring of 2006, the Officer's Mess and Quarters was declared surplus and despite a campaign by the local community to save the heritage building, it was demolished. The old military prison closed long ago and is now used for storage. Source material: Maritime Forces Pacific web site - http://www.navy.forces.gc.ca/marpac/0/0-w_eng.asp?category=97
Naval Radio Section Aldergrove: Originally established during World War II on the grounds of HMC Dockyard at His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) Naden, the Royal Canadian Navy base for the Pacific Fleet. However, interference from the base created a problem for receiving radio signals and the radio station had to be relocated. A Wireless Telegraph receiver station was established near the town of Aldergrove in December 1942, and the following November, a Wireless Telegraph broadcast station was established east of Matsqui Prairie. After World War II ended, activity at both stations was greatly reduced. On 1 June 1955, the radio station resumed full operations, providing ship/shore and air/ground communications for Canadian and Allied Armed Forces on the Pacific coast. The station was re-named Her Majesty's Canadian Naval Radio Station Aldergrove, but a year later the name was changed to simply Her Majesty's Canadian Ship Aldergrove. Private Married Quarters (PMQs) were built at both sites for families of the personnel posted there. As a result of the Unification, HMCS Aldergrove was again re-named Canadian Forces Station Aldergrove in 1967. In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed and as a result, CFS Aldergrove was downsized to a remote broadcast control station and a Detachment of CFB Esquimalt (Naden). The Detachment was again re-named Naval Radio Section Aldergrove in 1996 to officially acknowledge the unit's naval heritage. In 2001 Naval Radio Section Aldergrove returned to the HMC Dockyard at CFB Esquimalt (Naden) for the first time since 1942. The transmitter and receiver sites at Aldergrove and Matsqui remain operational, but several buildings at Aldergrove have been demolished including the single quarters and the water tower. The Junior Ranks Club is vacant and will be demolished in the near future. Both Aldergrove and Matsqui can be remotely controlled by CFB Halifax. Similarly, both the Mill Cove and Newport Corner can be remotely controlled by CFB Esquimalt. The site of NRS Aldergrove, located just north of the Town of Aldergrove near 22nd Street and 40th Avenue, remains the home to several Reserve and Cadet units: B Troop, 15th Field Artillery Regiment, B Company, 169 COLUMBIA Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps & 1922 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, Royal Westminster Regiment. 746 "Lightning Hawk" Royal Canadian Air Cadet Squadron relocated from Aldergrove to temporary facilities at the Canadian Museum of Flight in 2010 because of the Winter Olympics security operations being based at Aldergrove. In 2012 they moved to their new home in Hangar 5 at the Langley Airport. The Canadian Forces Housing Agency maintained the 9 PMQs (now called Residential Housing Units) for military members posted to Matsqui, but they were demolished in 2015. The RHUs were located along Beharrell Road, south of Fore Road, at the west edge of the property. The PMQs at Aldergove were demolished several years ago. In August of 2012 construction began on a new construction engineering facility (CEF) for the air force. Construction was completed in the fall of 2013. The facility is occupied by 192 CEF. The new building is located on 272 Street, south of the main gate. The Royal Westminster Regiment's Aldergrove Detachment was also located at Aldergrove, but re-located to Chilliwack in April 2013. Aldergrove also serves an important function as the site of Poloar Epsilon, a Canadian Forces project that provides enhances all-weather day and night surveillance using images from the RADARSAT-2 satellite. This unit was officially established in 2011. The Aldergrove site is located just north of the Fraser Highway on 272nd street. The Matsqui Transmitter site is east of Matsqui Prairie on Fore Road, near the base of Sumas Mountain. Source material: DND press release from February 1994, information provided by Michael DesMazes, Local Historian (2002), information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (2011) & information provided by Petty Officer 1st Class J. MacDonald, Information Systems Manager, Naval Radio Section Aldergrove (2000), Petty Officer 1st Class Pat Devaney, Weapons Engineering Manager, CFB Esquimalt Maintenance Detachment Matsqui (2014) & The Chilliwack Progress, 4 February 2013 - http://www.theprogress.com/news/189222671.html.
Canadian Forces Station Leitrim - Detachment Massett: Originally opened as a Royal Canadian Navy radio intercept station, Naval Wireless Station Massett (old spelling) on 23 February 1943. Situated at the top of the Queen Charlotte Islands, the station proved to be an ideal location for shop-to-shore communications. Also during 1943, the RCAF's No. 9 Construction Maintenance Unit arrived and constructed an airfield and several buildings. The station even had a detachment of Cano Code trained Special Operators posted to the site in 1944. The end World War II saw the closure of many military bases and Naval Wireless Station Massett was no exception, closing in the fall of 1945. The site remained in RCN hands on a care and maintenance basis. Naval Radio Station Masset resumed operations in 1949 as a High Frequency Direction Finding and Signal Intelligence station, a tender to NRS Gloucester, as were Inuvik, Gander, Frobisher Bay, Aklavik, Bermuda and Chimo. Gloucester provided all the administrative functions, pay for the station. The Delkatla site was re-activated as the main operations centre, another operations centre and the accommodations block were situated at the "old site" in Masset and the transmitter/receiver site was in Haida Village. By the mid 1950s, married quarters had been constructed at the Masset site. As a result of the Unification, NRS Masset was re-named CFS Masset and the station became part of the Canadian Forces Supplementary Radio System. Military communications stations across the country were consolidated, with several stations closing and those that remained taking over bigger areas of responsibility. With the impending consolidation, it became apparent that Massett needed new facilities, so in 1966 plans were made for new buildings and upgraded communications equipment. In 1970, operations were centralized at the Masset site and the Delkatla and Haida sites closed. Land was cleared and the station received a complete upgrade in its facilities, including new married quarters, a new operations site, an antenna system, new barracks, mess and recreation facilities. A unique feature of the new buildings was that the domestic site was integrated into the Town of Massett itself, unusual for a military base. In 1971, Masset assumed control of the area of responsibility covered by CFS Lander, which was one of the stations slated for closure. It was around this time period, the station complement rose from 50 persons to 240 military and 60 civilian workers. The United States Navy Security Group also had a small contingent of personnel posted to Masset in 1971. Department of National Defence cutbacks resulted in the station being downsized to remote operation on 4 April 1997. The station was re-designated CFS Leitrim Detachment Masset and only 10 military personnel remain for technical support, drawing support from 19 Wing Comox. Most of the buildings at the former station have been sold to the Village of Masset, except for a few of the PMQs & the gym. A top floor was added to the Golf Clubhouse and that is the all ranks mess All that remains of the "old Massett site" is a deserted roadway. Source material: DND press release from February 1994, CFS Masset site - http://www.island.net/~labrador/cfsm.htm, CFS Masset site - http://www.jproc.ca/rrp/masset.html, Sentinel magazine, January 1970 & information and personal recollections of Petty Officer 1st Class Kevin Lamorie (2004).
19 Wing Comox:Located on Vancouver Island, the station opened in 1942 as RCAF Station Comox. The station trained crews to fly transport aircraft such as the Douglas Dakota, along with providing surveillance patrols of the west coast against Japanese attacks. The station closed in 1946, but was re-activated in 1952 due to rising threats from the Korean War and the Cold War. Along with coastal patrols, Comox also served as a station in the newly established Pinetree Line, a radar early-warning system across Canada. 51 AC&W Squadron opened in November 1954, originally just outside the north boundary of RCAF Station Comox. As the radar station was close to two other Pinetree stations at Tofino and Holberg, it had a very brief life as advances in radar technology made it redundant less than 4 years later. As a result, 51 AC&W Squadron ceased operations in June 1958, but the facilities did continue to be used by the Comox Air Traffic Control as a Radar Approach Control (RAPCON) facility on the station. Today, the station provides coastal patrols, search & rescue and training functions. Coastal surveillance along the pacific coast, western and Arctic regions is done by 407 Long Range Patrol Squadron using Aurora aircraft. Search and rescue patrols are conducted using Buffalo aircraft and the new Cormorant helicopters, flown by 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron. Tactical fighter training is also conducted at nearby ranges and the station is also home to the Canadian Forces School of Search and Rescue, where Search And Rescue Technicians or "SAR Techs", undergo training. The airfield is also shared with a civilian terminal for commercial flights.Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFB_Comox.
Camp Nanaimo:Opened in 1939 as a militia training camp, Camp Nanaimo was also used as a Combined Operations base for the training of army and naval groups until 1943. The Camp closed in 1946 and many of the buildings were sold for civilian use. The former military hospital became a hospital for the Department of Indian Affairs. The camp was later re-acquired by the Canadian Army, who re-opened it as the home of the 5th Field Artillery, "B" Company of the Canadian Scottish Regiment, and 748 Communications Troop. By the late 1950s, the threat of a nuclear war had become so great that the Canadian government decided to construct a secret underground bunker to house the major elements of the government in the event of an emergency. Most Provincial Governments followed suit by building their own bunkers. The British Columbia Government chose Camp Nanaimo for the site of their bunker. A smaller transmitter bunker was built at Nanoose Bay.By 1970, Camp Nanaimo began downsizing. Approximately half of the camp was sold and by 1973, the vacated portion of the camp had been taken over by Malaspina University College, now called Vancouver Island University. Today, Camp Nanaimo is a Detachment of CFB Esquimalt. Most of the WWII era buildings have been demolished. One of the few remaining buildings is an old H-hut that sits on the university property, used by the Vancouver Island Division of the Navy League of Canada. A small section of former camp serves as the home of 740 Communication Squadron and 748 (Nanaimo) Communication Squadron (Reserve), both housed since 1988 in a building named after RCMP Constable Scott Gordon Berry who was killed in 1986, and The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary's), housed in a new armoury opened in late 2004. The remainder of this section of the property contains only overgrown roads and a running track for the old camp gym. The camp's firing range also remains operational, but the bunker was demolished in 1999. The CBC radio equipment from the bunker is now at the National Museum of Science and Technology in Ottawa. Source Material: Vancouver Island University web site - www.viu.ca, www/discover/muchist/chpt3.htm, information supplied by Jerry Berry, resident of Nanaimo (2005), “Underground Structure of the Cold War” by Paul Ozorak & the Heritage BC web stie - http://www.heritagebc.ca/heritage_bc04.htm.
Camp Vernon Army Cadet Summer Training Centre: (No. 110 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre) Originally opened in 1909 as a militia training camp for units of the Okanogan Valley. During World War I, the camp was a very busy place for the training of units of the Canadian Expeditionary Force. After the war, the camp returned to being a militia training camp. In 1940, the Camp was once again taken over by the Regular Force and became the home of No. 110 Canadian Army (Basic) Training Centre and the Canadian Battle Drill School for the duration of the war. After serving as a demobilization centre for returning soldiers, the camp closed in 1947. The camp re-opened in 1949 as a summer training centre for the Royal Canadian Army Cadets and remains so to this day, with Royal Canadian Air Cadets and Royal Canadian Navy Sea Cadets also attending Vernon for summer training camps. Most of the World War II era buildings, including the once ubiquitous H-Hut barracks that once sprawled across army camps in Canada. Only a small number of the WWII-era H-Huts remain across Canada today, in comparison to the hundreds that once housed soldiers training at Canadian Army camps. While some have been renovated and are still in use today, both at active bases and by private owners, most have been demolished or allowed to fall apart. Camp Vernon has the largest and best preserved collection of H-huts still standing in Canada. While Camp Vernon is now a cadet training centre, the professional soldiers have not completely abandoned their former turf as both Regular and Reserve Force Army units utilize the training area on a year round basis. As well, the British Columbia Dragoons reserve regiment have an armoury at the camp. The Vernon camp is now the oldest continuous serving army cadet training centre in Canada having outlived the cadet camps at Ipperwash, which closed in 1994, and Banff, which closed in 1999. Historian Francois Arseneault describes the Vernon Army Cadet Summer Training Centre as "...perhaps the best preserved example of a WWII H-hut camp in left Canada, if not the largest. The buildings are remarkable well preserved given the mild winters and dry, relatively bug-free summers". Source Material: information provided by Francois Arseneault, Historian (2003), Vernon Army Cadet Summer Training Centre web sitehttp://www.armycadethistory.com/vernon_acstc_main.htm & The Canadian Army WWII Training Establishments web site - www.canadiansoldiers.com/wwiitrain.htm.
Camp Albert Head: Originally established as an artillery coastal battery from 1938-1946 in the village of Metchosin. The camp, on Albert Head Road, now serves as a summer training camp for the Albert Head Air Cadet Summer Training Centre, as well as the British Columbia Canadian Ranger Company of the 4th Canadian Ranger Patrol Group and CFB Esquimalt Range Control. In the past, naval reservists also used the camp for summer training. Several of the WWII era buildings remain, along with new buildings and portables. Source Material: information supplied by Debbie Towell, Curator, CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum and the personal recollections of the author (1988).
- MANITOBA17 Wing Winnipeg: Originally opened by the Canadian Air Board, it became Royal Canadian Air Force Station Winnipeg in 1925. During World War II, the station was home to No.2 Air Observer School & Central Navigation School, under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Remaining a part of the post-war RCAF, the station was home to 402 (Fighter Bomber) Squadron, later re-designated as 402 "City of Winnipeg" (Transport) Squadron. With the Unification of the Forces in 1968, the station was amalgamated with Kapyong Barracks, and re-named Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg (North). Serving as an air transport base, Air Command Headquarters was also formed at the base in 1975. In the mid-1990s, Air Command HQ re-located to Ottawa, and the base was re-designated as 17 Wing Winnipeg, in accordance with the introduction of the Wing Concept at air force bases. Today, 17 Wing Winnipeg serves as a RCAF training centre, supporting the RCAF W/C William G. Barker VC Aerospace College (RCAF Barker College), No. 1 Flying Training School, No. 3 Flying Training School (located at the former RCAF Station Portage La Prairie), the RCAF School of Survival and Aeromedical Training, Canadian Forces School of Meteorology and 17 Wing Air Reserve Flight. Sources: 17 Wing Winnipeg | Royal Canadian Air Force (forces.gc.ca), CFB Winnipeg - Wikipedia.3rd Canadian Division Support Base Shilo: Originally opened in the 1930s as Camp Shilo, it saw an increase in activity with the outbreak of World War II, when A3 Canadian Artillery Training Centre and A15 Canadian Infantry Training Centre stood up at the camp. The 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion arrived at the camp in 1942. Shilo was one of the army camps kept open after the end of WWII. By the late 1950s, the threat of a nuclear war had become so great that the Canadian government decided to construct a secret underground bunker to house the major elements of the government in the event of an emergency. Most Provincial Governments followed suit by building their own Emergency Government Headquarters bunkers. The Manitoba Government chose Camp Shilo for the site of their “Diefenbunker” in the early 1960s. The Provincial Warning Centre, the Regional Emergency Government Headquarters and XXX Communications Squadron also took up residence in the bunker. All Government bunkers also doubled as a communications station, and thus had a remote communications bunker located some distance away. This second bunker, usually a single story structure, was staffed exclusively by communications personnel. Shilo’s remote transmitter bunker site was constructed at Camp Hughes, the former WWI training camp. With the Unification of the Forces, Camp Shilo was re-named CFB Shilo. Today, 3rd CDSB Shilo is the home of the 1st Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, 2nd Battalion and the home station of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery; Princes Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (re-located from their former home of Kapyong Barracks in June 2004) and 3rd Canadian Division Training Centre C Company, 26th Field Artillery Regiment, RCA.
- NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR9 Wing Gander: The current 9 Wing Gander is the sole survivor of numerous military and civilian government sites in the Gander area. In 1938, the British Air Ministry established a radar station for monitoring Trans-Atlantic air traffic. As well, the RCAF established an Air Station on a site that is now the Gander International Airport. The Station was used throughout the war by British, American and Canadian pilots, and at the time of construction, was the largest airfield in the world. By 1940, the station had became the responsibility of the federal Department of Transport and remained so for the remainder of the war. Personnel from the Royal Canadian Navy were assigned to monitor the station's radar. Naval Radio Station Gander was re-opened in 1949 as a HF-DF station. In 1950, Goose Bay became the home NATO Tactical Flying Training School, specializing in low-level flight training for aircrews from Canada, Germany, Britain and The Netherlands. Goose Bay proved to be an excellent location for the training facility for the school due to it's remote location with training ranges that were larger than some of the European countries that sent pilots. In February 1954, a Pinetree Radar station was established at Gander, operated by 226 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (226 AC&W) of the RCAF. The establishment of the RCAF station resulted in the construction of several new buildings, along with 123 PMQs, and the renovation of several existing buildings such as the old USAAF hospital, which was converted in HQ, Corporals Club, Airmen’s Mess and CE storage. This building was again renovated in 1958 and accommodations were added for Senior NCOs and Officers. As a result of the Unification, the Station 's name was changed to CFS Gander in 1966. In 1970, Canadian Forces Communications Command assumed control of CFS Gander, with 226 AC&W Squadron becoming a lodger unit at the station it created. The new HF-DF unit finally became operational in July 1971 and operations at the old naval site were shut down after 31 years of service. Throughout the 1970s, CFS Gander provided support for detachments of squadron personnel from CFB Chatham and their CF-101 Voodoo interceptors. The aircraft and support personnel would be sent to Gander for weeks at a time to counter several large scale Warsaw pact exercises in the North Atlantic. In May 1977, Air Command assumed control of the Station. The Supplementary Radio Station at the base was re-named 770 Communications Research Squadron became simply a lodger unit at the station. By 1988 the Station, now the home of 103 Rescue Unit and 770 Communications Research Squadron had been upgraded to a full base and was again re-named CFB Gander. In 1985, the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan resulted in the radar equipment at many Canadian Forces Stations was replaced with a new automated system. As a result, the Pinetree station was slated for closure. The long-range radar equipment was replaced with an automated Minimally Attended Radar system in 1990 and today operates as a Canadian Coastal Radar station. The introduction of the Wing concept at Air Force establishments resulted in the base being re-named 9 Wing Gander in 1993. 444 Combat Support Squadron, originally a tactical helicopter squadron from CFB Lahr Germany, re-formed at Gander in 1993. On 23 June 1997, Prince Phillip presented 103 RU with their colours and the unit was renamed 103 Search and Rescue Squadron. On 3 July 1997, the last American Exchange position departed 770 CRS, ending fifty-six years of American military presence on Newfoundland soil. Another milestone in Gander's history was the August 1997 renaming of 770 Communication Research Squadron to Canadian Forces Station Leitrim Detachment Gander. The detachment carries on with the duties once held by Royal Canadian Navy communicators in radar and search & rescue duties. Today, 9 Wing Gander is the Search and Rescue centre for Newfoundland and Labrador. The NATO Tactical Flying Training School closed in 2006, ending 46 years of allied pilot training. In January 2014, the spectre of closure surrounded the base due to civilian job losses. Twenty-five employees worked for Serco, the company that provides non-military services for 5 Wing, were laid off, including firefighters, building maintenance workers, two air traffic positions, a weather forecaster, as well as cleaning and administrative staff. By 2018, the tide seemed to be turning around when $2.3 million in new infrastructure investments were announced by Scott Simms, Member of Parliament for Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame, on behalf of Defence Minister Harjit S. Sajjan. Source material: DND press releases from May 1989 & February 1994, the Communications & Electronics Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org, History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm, the 9 Wing Gander web sites - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/eng/wingf.htm#to_top, CBC News -http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/layoffs-at-5-wing-goose-bay-creating-unease-uncertainty-1.2500712, the Pinetree Line web site - http://67.69.104.76:84/Pinetreeline/other/other18/other18am.html, http://www.cancom.net/~sarsqn, Sentinel magazine, April 1984, http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/article-template-standard.page?doc=investments-at-9-wing-gander-will-help-support-search-and-rescue-squa
5 Wing Goose Bay:Originally opened in 1941 by the Canadian government, for use by the USAAF and the British Royal Air Force.
The northeast side of the facility was built to be a temporary RCAF base, complete with its own hangars and control tower, while the south side of the facility, built for the Americans, was being upgraded with its own aprons, hangars, earth-covered magazines, control tower and infrastructure. The Canadian and American bases were built as an RCAF station and later a United States Ari Force base known as Goose AFB
By 1976 all Strategic Air Command assets had been stood down, and only USAF logistical and transport support remained. In 1988, the Pinetree Line radar site (Melville Air Station), adjacent to CFB Goose Bay, was closed.The mission of 5 Wing is to support the defence of North American airspace, as well as to support the RCAF and allied air forces in training. Two units compose 5 Wing: 444 Combat Support Squadron (flying the CH-146 Griffon and 5 Wing Air Reserve Flight. CFB Goose Bay also serves as a forward operating location for RCAF CF-18 Hornet aircraft and the base and surrounding area is occasionally used to support units of the Canadian Army during training exercises.
Source material: 5 Wing Goose Bay | Royal Canadian Air Force (forces.gc.ca), CFB Goose Bay - Wikipedia.
Canadian Forces Station St. John's: Originally established as a Naval Shore Station, His Majesty's Canadian Ship Avalon at Buchmaster's Field on 1 May 1951. The station served as the shore establishment for the Flag officer of St. John's from 31 May 1951 until 31 July 1955. The establishment moved to the former United States Navy base at Pepperrell on 10 December 1962, remaining at this location until closing completely in April 1964. The site lay dormant until 1968, when it re-opened as CFS St John's, under command of the newly-formed Maritime Command, formerly the Royal Canadian Navy. CFS St. John's is an operational support base, housing 15 lodger units including 728 Communications Squadron, HMCS AVALON Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre, a detachment of the Canadian Forces Naval Engineering School, 35 Medical Company Detachment and CF Health Services Centre (Atlantic) Detachment St. John’s. In its primary role, CFS St. John’s supports naval vessels deployed from CFB Halifax which patrol waters off Newfoundland and Labrador. The station also supports as many as 30 visiting NATO naval vessels each year. In June 2014, CFS St. John’s moved into a new facility, named after Lieutenant-Commander William Anthony Padden, who served as a Surgeon with the Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve in WWII and later as the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland. The new LCdr William Anthony Paddon Building, which houses eight regular and reserve units, a dental and health unit, a personnel support centre, a gym, multi-purpose rooms, stores, Officers’ mess, and vehicle maintenance bays, replaces 17 World War II-era buildings, which were demolished. In July 2018, command authority for CFS St. John's was transferred from the Royal Canadian Navy to the Canadian Army. Source Material: "Badges of the Canadian Navy" by LT (N) Graeme Arbuckle & DND press releases from May 1989, July 2003 - http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/Feature_Story/2003/jul03/03_f_e.asp and the Ottawa Citizen - http://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/defence-watch/new-consolidated-facility-at-canadian-forces-station-st-johns-officially-opened and "CFS St. John's officially opened," The Telegram, 21 June 2014, https://www.canadianconsultingengineer.com/buildings/canadian-forces-station-in-st-johns-consolidates-from-sprawling-campus/1003169206. - NORTHWEST TERRITORIES
Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters Yellowknife:
Established on 15 May 1970 as Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters (CFNA HQ) to assist and maintain sovereignty north of the 60th parallel and support CF operations in the north. CFNA QH was responsible for almost 4 million square kilometres of territory.
The headquarters is located in downtown Yellowknife, with a detachment at the Whitehorse Cadet Summer Training Centre at Boyle's Barracks. A staff of 4 to 5 Regular Force members are posted to the Whitehorse camp year-round, with up to 20 to 25 Regular and Reserve Force member added during the summer when the cadet camp is up and running to work with the cadets.
440 Transport Squadron relocated from 17 Wing Winnipeg in 1994.
Canadian Forces Northern Area disbanded in 2006 and Joint Task Force North stood up in its place. The unit was a part of the newly-formed Canada Command, but now falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC), established in 2012.
Source Material: CFS Alert web site - www.dnd.ca/eng/archive/1998/aug98/CFSAlert, History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm, CPO2 (Ret'd) Chris Carnall (ret'd), Naval Storesman, formerly posted to Boyle's Barracks (1996-99) & Joint Task Force North web site - www.cfna.dnd.ca
- NOVA SCOTIAMaritime Forces Atlantic Stadacona: Also known as Canadian Forces Base Halifax, MFA Stadacona is Canada's east coast navy base and home port to the Atlantic fleet. Opened in 1906 as HMC Dockyard Halifax , following the withdrawal of the Royal Navy, it is one of the oldest defence establishments in Canada, having been established by the Royal Navy during the 18th century as HM Dockyard. The dockyard in 1910 comprised a Naval Hospital, a blacksmith shop, workshops, three slipways, five jetties, residences, coal and vitualling stores and 75 other miscellaneous buildings. Most of these buildings were heavily damaged during the Halifax Explosion in 1917. Those too badly damaged were demolished and quickly replaced with new buildings. The British Army had maintained a large garrison at Wellington Barracks in Halifax during the 19th century, for the defence of the city and the naval dockyards, and also departed in 1906. The Royal Canadian Regiment (RCR), then known as the 3rd (Special Service) Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment of Infantry (3 RCRI) was garrisoned at Wellington Barracks from 25 March 1900 until British soldiers re-garrisoned Halifax on 1 October 1902, after the end of the South Africa War (The Second Boer War). Wellington Barracks included quarters for both officers and soldiers, with some of the buildings dating back to the 1860s. Most of these buildings were heavily damaged during the Halifax Explosion in 1917. In 1939, the dockyard was expanded, taking in land on the Bedford Basin at Dartmouth that included the Army Ordnance Depot in 1942, for use as a naval ammunition depot. When all was done, the Dockyards encompassed 1,255 acres, with most of the pre-WWII buildings replaced with new ones. During World War II, Wellington Barracks was turned over to the Royal Canadian Navy and commissioned HMCS Stadacona. Today, Stadacona is home to the Canadian Forces Naval Engineering School (with facilities in York Redoubt), the Royal Canadian Navy Operations School, the Canadian Forces Maritime Warfare Centre, Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Bedford, informally referred to as the "Bedford Magazine" and the headquarters of the 5th Canadian Division (Army), Formation Supply Facility, Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Scott and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (Halifax). The Wellington Gate fronting on to Gottingen Street, is the original entrance to Wellington Barracks. It was built in 1850 and named after Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. The gate is lined on either side with two columns listing the battle honours of the RCR. Windsor Park contains the Military Police Department, Health Promotion Services (PSP), The Auto Club, Integrated Personnel Service Centre (IPSC),the Military Family Resource Centre, CFB Curling Club as well as the Canex and PMQs. Sources: https://www.warmuseum.ca/cwm/exhibitions/boer/canadianbattalion_e.html, https://hmhps.ca/sites/wellington-barracks-and-rcr-gate, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFB_Halifax
Bedford Naval Ammunition Depot: Informally referred to as the "Bedford Magazine", CFAD Bedford is the ammunition depot for the Atlantic Fleet, occupying the entire northern shore of the Bedford Basin.
12 Wing Shearwater: 12 Wing Shearwater has the distinction of being the birthplace of Canadian Naval Aviation. From 1948 until they were disbanded in 1975, Royal Canadian Naval Air Station HMCS Shearwater was the home base of Canada's naval air squadrons. Originally established at Baker Point by the United States Navy in 1918 as United States Naval Air Station Halifax, it was shortly afterwards the station was taken over by the Royal Canadian Navy and re-named Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Dartmouth. However, Canada's first experiment with a Naval Air Service would be short lived as it was disbanded shortly after World War I ended. The Station fell into virtual disuse by the military, becoming simply a storage depot for surplus war equipment. Flying operations at the Station were limited to aerial photography and fishery patrols conducted by the Canadian Air Board. The Royal Canadian Air Force was established in 1924 and by the 1930's had grown to such a point that new Air Stations were needed. In 1934, the Station re-opened as RCAF Station Dartmouth and became the home of No. 5 (Flying Boat) Squadron, who conducted flying operations for the RCMP and the military. A pigeon loft was also constructed at the station, one of 8 such sites across Canada for the purpose of housing and training homing pigeons for use by RCAF aircrews. Defence Department cutbacks in the 1930's resulted in the elimination of all pigeon lofts except the ones at RCAF Stations Jericho Beach and Dartmouth. The onset of World War II brought about a whole new phase in the history of RCAF Station Dartmouth. The Royal Navy formed a Naval Air Section at Dartmouth and as a result, a new airfield was constructed. Several Air Force and Naval fighter, bomber and transport squadrons were moved to the Station, such as No. 5 and No. 11 Bomber Squadrons. No. 118 (Coastal Artillery Co-operation) Squadron transferred from RCAF Station Saint John in April 1944, but later disbanded. 431 Bomber Squadron, RCAF, formed in England, re-located to RCAF Station Dartmouth at the end of World War II disbanding there on 5 September 1945. The Squadron was re-activated on 1 April 1978 as 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, more commonly known as the Snowbirds, Canada's premier flyers. In 1946 the Royal Canadian Naval Air Service, later re-named the Naval Air Branch, was formed and in 1948, RCAF Station Dartmouth was taken over by the Navy for use as a Naval Air Station. The Station was re-named Royal Canadian Naval Air Station, HMCS Shearwater, "...following the Royal Navy tradition of naming air stations after sea birds," (12 Wing Shearwater web page) and became home to the Atlantic Fleet's Aircraft Carriers and Naval Air Squadrons. The Shearwater Station Squadron Fleet Requirement Unit, later re-named VU-32 Squadron, was formed in May 1946 and VS-881 Naval Air Squadron in May 1947 as part of the 18th Carrier Air Group. In October 1947 No. 103 Rescue Unit relocated from Shearwater to RCAF Station Greenwood. In 1951, HMCS Shearwater became the primary home to the Royal Canadian Navy's new helicopter squadrons and training units. It was the RCN in-fact who pioneered the concept of flying helicopters from destroyer size ships, a concept that was adopted by other navies of the world. No. 1 Helicopter Flight stood up in August 1951 and was tasked with search and rescue, aerial photography, recovery of ships' practice torpedoes and light transport duties. The elementary school at Shearwater was named "Robert Hampton Gray Memorial School" in 1952 in memory of Lt (N) Robert Hampton Gray, VC, DSC, RCNVR, Canada's last Victoria Cross winner. On 5 November 1952, Experimental Squadron Ten (VX-10) was formed to test and evaluate maritime aircraft and related equipment. VF-870 Squadron and VF-871 Squadron were formed at Shearwater in January & May 1951 respectively, as was VT-40 Air Training Squadron in May 1954. By 1956, Shearwater also became the home of HS-50 Anti-submarine Helicopter Squadron, HU-21 Squadron and VS-880 Squadron, formerly from RCAF Station Summerside. VT-40 Squadron merged with VU-32 Squadron in May 1959. In November 1955, VF 870 and VF 871 squadrons replaced their Sea Fury aircraft with the F2H3 Banshee all-weather jet fighter, the pride of naval aviation in Canada. However the Banshee would have a short career in the service of the navy. In 1962, the Canadian Government disposed of the Banshee aircraft and elected not to replace them and thus, VF 870 squadron disbanded in September 1962 (VF 871 merged with VF 870 on 16 March 1959). RCN fighter squadrons had lasted a mere 16 years. As a result of the Unification in 1968, HMCS Shearwater was re-named CFB Shearwater. The Naval Air Branch was eventually disbanded and all flying duties became the responsibility of Air Force personnel. Canada's last Aircraft Carrier, HMCS Bonaventure was de-commissioned in 1970 and as a result, the Navy's fixed-wing aircraft were now all shore-based. Also in 1970, VX-10 Squadron was disbanded and its personnel were transferred to the Aerospace Engineering Test Establishment at CFB Uplands. The disbandment of the RCN Air Arm led to a change of duties for many of the former aircraft carrier squadrons. VS-880 Squadron, with their fleet of Tracker aircraft, switched from an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) role to surveillance duties in conjunction with the federal Department of Fisheries, operating out of Shearwater and their forward detachment at the Torbay Airport. 443 Anti-submarine Warfare Helicopter Squadron re-activated at Shearwater on 25 October 1974. CFB Shearwater officially reverted back to an Air Force establishment in 1975, when control of the base was transferred to Air Command, although it's primary function was still to provide helicopter and aircraft support to the Navy. As the home of 420 (Fighter) Squadron, the Fleet Diving Unit, the Maritime Command Sea Survival School, 406 Squadron, 415 (Swordfish) Squadron, 413 Transport & Rescue Squadron and the Atlantic fleet's Sea King helicopters, 423 Squadron, Shearwater was an extremely busy Maritime Air Base. The Helicopter Operational Test & Evaluation Facility (HOTEF) was established at Shearwater in 1980, charged with the responsibility of researching and testing operational equipment for the Sea King helicopters, as well and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and other support equipment trials, marking the return of a dedicated naval air testing facility for the first time since the disbandment of VX-10 Squadron in 1970. In June 1992, VU-32 Squadron disbanded in a ceremony held at Shearwater, ending 46 years of service to the Canadian Navy. 434 Composite Squadron, originally a bomber squadron, re-formed on 4 July 1992. The squadron was later re-designated a Combat Support Squadron. The introduction of the Wing concept at Air Force establishments resulted in the base being re-named 12 Wing Shearwater in 1993. However, more change in the wind due to the Federal Government's planned reductions in Canada's Air Force. As a result, Shearwater was downsized to a detachment of CFB Halifax in 1994, although it remained a component of No. 1 Canadian Air Division, Headquartered in Winnipeg. 12 Air Movements Squadron and the Helicopter Operational and Testing Evaluation Facility also remain at 12 Wing. When the Sea King replacement, the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone, comes on line in 2008, it will be HOTEF that will conduct the trials on the new helicopter. 443 Anti-submarine Warfare Helicopter Squadron re-located at the Victoria International Airport in British Columbia in 1985 as a detached squadron of 12 Wing. Shearwater's fighter-aircraft squadrons 434 and 420 Squadrons re-located to 14 Wing Greenwood. 12 Wing Shearwater is now solely a helicopter facility and remains the centre of naval aviation in Canada as the principal home of 30 CH-124 Sea King helicopters Maritime helicopters flown by 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron and 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron. The runways are now abandoned. The former Robert Hampton Gray Memorial School now houses the Shearwater site of the Halifax Military Famiy Resource Centre, since 1992, the Canex and the French Language Training School. HMCS Acadia Sea Cadet Summer Training Centre re-located to 12 Wing Shearwater. from Cornwallis. Approximately three-quarters of the base property was turned over to the Canada Lands Corporation for disposal. The Air Force is also retaining all but one of the hangars, the messes, barracks, supply, transport, construction engineering buildings and the World War I era "Y" hangar (on the opposite site of Highway 322 down to the shore), currently used by the Fleet Diving Unit (Atlantic).The Canadian Forces Housing Agency still maintains 300 PMQs (now called Residential Housing Units) for military members. There are currently numerous construction projects ongoing at Shearwater in support of the soon-to-be-acquired CH-147 Cyclone Maritime Helicopter, including the Maritime Helicopter Training Center where 406 Squadron will be located, as well as a new 423 Squadron hangar facility, a new 12 Air Maintenance Squadron facility with 6 repair bays, and a new Operational Support Facility where the Helicopter Operational Test and Evaluation Facility (HOTEF) and various 12 Wing headquarter functions will be located. Source Material: DND press release from February 1994, "Sentinel" Magazine from March 1967, pg **, June 1968, May 1970, September 1971, May 1974, pgs 12 - 15, June 1974, pg. 9, and February 1992, pg. 21, the personal recollections of Petty Officer 2nd Class John Slor (Ret'd), (1999), pamphlet printed by Studio High Techniques of Toronto (1998), information provided by The National Aviation Museum, Rockcliffe, Ontario (1999), 14 Wing Heritage web site - http://www2.14wing.dnd.ca/14wgheritage/index.html , "Badges of the Canadian Navy" by LT (N) Graeme Arbuckle, the 12 Wing Shearwater web page - http://www.shearwater.dnd.ca, information provided by Ernest Cable Shearwater Aviation Museum Historian (2003), The Manitoba Military Heritage Project - http://www.unb.ca/nbmhp/02_NBMHPsites.htm & the Shearwater Aviation Museum On-line - www.shearwateraviationmuseum.ns.ca.
Naval Radio Station Newport Corner: Naval Radio Station Newport Corner was established in 1942 near Newport Corner, Nova Scotia, as a transmitter station for Naval Radio Station Albro Lake. NRS Albro Lake and its sub-unit NRS Newport Corner was renamed HMC NRS Albro Lake on July 1, 1956. With the closure of CFS Albro Lake, Newport Corner became the transmitter station for CFS Mill Cove, functioning much as before. Defence cutbacks in the late 1990s saw both the NRS Newport Corner transmitter and NRS Mill Cove receivers were automated. They are currently operated remotely HMCS Trinity at CFB Halifax and function as detachments to CFB Halifax. The Detachment was re-named Naval Radio Section Newport Corner in 1996 to officially acknowledge the unit's naval heritage. The Canadian Forces Housing Agency still maintains 17 PMQs (now called Residential Housing Units) for military members. "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic " by Author Paul Ozorak & information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (2011).
Camp Aldershot: Opened in 1904 as a militia training camp for infantry, cavalry and field artillery soldiers. At the time, most of the troops were house in tents, but a few temporary buildings were constructed. With the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, the camp became a very busy training facility, with upward of 7000 troops training there at any one time. After the war, the temporary buildings were torn down, but the camp continued its role as a militia training camp. Only one building remained; Borden Hall, built in 1916. With the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the camp once again became a training facility for active service troops. Designated No. 14 Advanced Infantry (Rifle) Training Centre, the camp also included a School of Instruction, an Officer Training School and other trades training. Although numerous buildings were erected, the troops were still housed in tents, just like their World War I predecessors. After the war, the camp reverted back to a militia and cadet training camp. From 1952 - 1959, various battalions of The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) of Canada rotated through Camp Aldershot, and the Regimental Depot was on site until it relocated to Camp Sussex, New Brunswick in 1955. For many years the camp sat relatively idle, with the exception of occasional weekend training by the West Nova Scotia Regiment and other militia regiments and cadet units. In 1973, a $535,000 renovation project was initiated to create a year-round militia training facility at Camp Aldershot. The Militia Training Centre was established at the camp, which was re-named Aldershot Range and Training Area. As part of the Land Reserve Modernization Project in the late 1990s, Aldershot was once again the recipient of an upgrade project, which was re-named Land Force Atlantic Area Training Centre Aldershot. In 1999, Aldershot opened their new $30 million amenities including new barracks and training facility, a dining hall, a drill hall and weapons simulation centre, and a technical support centre, as well as road, electrical and water system upgrades, and installation of fibre optic cabling. Most of the camp's old World War II era buildings were demolished. The single First World War-era structure that was maintained has been incorporated as the new officers mess. In 2014, the camp was again re-named 5th Canadian Division Training Centre Detachment Aldershot. The camp currently serves as the home of the Area Rank and Trade School. The training centre conducts year round courses for Regular Force personnel, while expanding dramatically during the summer months to accommodate a large number of courses for Reserve Force units. Source Material: "Sentinel" Magazine from June 1973, DND Press Release dated 5 August 1999, "The Atlantic Soldier" newspaper, dated 22 September 1999 & information supplied by Captain G.A. Melville, Land Force Atlantic Area Headquarters (2003). - NUNAVUT TERRITORY
Canadian Forces Station Alert:
Located on the northeastern tip of Ellesmere Island approximately 817 km from the North Pole, this is Canada's most northerly station. The Alert Wireless Station was originally established on 9 April 1950 as a part of the Joint Arctic Weather Station System, a co-operative effort of the Canadian Department of Transport and the United States Weather Bureau.
The station was named after the Royal Navy ship HMS Alert, which spent the winter of 1875-76 at Cape Sheridan, 6 miles east of the station's location.
Not long after the station opened, on 31 July 1950, seven RCAF airmen and two civilians were killed when their Lancaster supply aircraft crashed in Alert. A USAF plane coming to evacuate medical casualties also crashed, killing two airmen.
The nine bodies were buried nearby, with nine white crosses over their graves and a cairn nearby commemorating their sacrifice.
In 1958 the station took on the function of a High Frequency Direction Finding and Signal Intelligence station operated by the RCAF.
In 1959, the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals assumed control of the station. By 1961, members of the Royal Canadian Navy were also posted to the station.
Alert is named after the British ship HMS, which spent the winter 1875-1876 at Ellesmere Island near the site of the present station.
As a result of the Unification, the station was re-named CFS Alert and became a part of the Canadian Forces Supplementary Radio System.
In the mid 1990s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, CFS Alert was downsized and converted to remote operation in 1998, along with CFS Masset and CFB Gander's Radio Station. Staffing levels at Alert were reduced from 215 to 74 personnel. In 2006, further reductions in the military staffing occurred.
On 1 April 2009, the RCAF assumed control of CFS Alert, returning the station to its RCAF roots, and designated it a unit of 8 Wing Trenton. Today, Alert's mission remains signals intelligence collection and radar station in support of search and rescue. Currently, Alert has 55 personnel: 25 military, 30 commercial contractors and 4 Environment Canada employees.
One of the barracks, built in 1975 to replace an original building, is named Chimo Hall after the former Naval Radio Station Fort Chimo in Quebec.
Source material: DND press release from February 1994 and September 1998, Communications & Electronics Museum site - www.c-and-e-museum.org, https://newsinteractives.cbc.ca/longform/a-memory-of-sacrifice & CFS Alert site - http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/8-wing/alert.page.
************************************************************************
Canadian Forces Station Arctic Training Centre:
Canadian Armed Forces Arctic Training Centre, opened in August 2013 in Resolute Bay, Nunavut.
“The Arctic Training Centre is a tangible example of the Army’s increasing presence in the North. It will provide the Canadian Army with the necessary support and resources to protect the Arctic,” said Lieutenant-General Marquis Hainse, Commander of the Canadian Army.
It will focus on training in the Arctic and cold weather conditions.
Sources: http://www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca/en/news-publications/national-news-details-no-menu.page?doc=new-arctic-training-centre-boosts-army-s-presence-in-the-north/hkdontpd
- ONTARIO
Canadian Forces Base Borden: Simcoe County has always had a proud military heritage. Canadian Forces Base Borden has been a fixture in the area since it opened on 11 July 1916 as Camp Borden, a training centre for the infantry battalions for the Canadian Expeditionary Force. Named after Sir Frederick Borden, Minister of Militia under Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier, Camp Borden was originally established on 18, 500 acres of land in Simcoe County, a lot of it sand dunes. The first occupants of the camp, the 157th (Simcoe Foresters) Infantry Battalion, under command of Lieut-Col. D. H. MacLaren, and 177th (Simcoe Foresters) Infantry Battalion, under command of Lieut-Col. J. B. McPhee. Both Battalions, part of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, were housed in bell tents, as there were no barracks at the time. As part of the training environment, 11 Miles (18 kilometres) of training trenches were built throughout the training area, replicating the trenches in the European theatre. The Royal Flying Corps arrived the next year, establishing an aerodrome at the camp. On 2 May 1917 Canada's first military airfield officially opened, designated No. 42 Wing Camp Borden. By the time the Royal Canadian Air Force was established in 1924, RCAF Station Camp Borden would be the largest military flying station of its time. The Depot of Royal Canadian Signals was established at Camp Borden in 1923, moving to Vimy Barracks at Camp Barriefield in August 1937. Also around this time, the RCAF established No. 2 Technical Training School. By the 1930s the two camps, operating as separate military establishments, would become home to numerous training schools including Signals, Armour, Infantry, Service Corps, Medical, Dental, Provost, Intelligence, Nuclear-biochemical schools and the School for Army Co-operation. During the 1930s, many of Borden's RCAF training moved to the newly opened RCAF Station Trenton, including wireless training, which once again moved to the Signal Training Centre at Camp Barriefield in 1937. On 1 May 1938, the Canadian Tank School moved from Wolseley Barracks to Borden along with its founder, MGen F. F. Worthington, known affectionately to his troops as “Worthy”. The school was re-named the Canadian Armoured Fighting Vehicle School. With the outbreak of WWII, RCAF Station Camp Borden became the home of No. 1 Service Flying Training School (1 SFTS), a part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, which officially began training on 29 April 1940. Unlike most RCAF aerodromes during WWII, which were constructed in a triangle pattern, the Borden aerodrome consisted of only two asphalt runways, 05/23, a 2,720 ft runway and runway 18/36, a 3,300 ft runway. Two relief landing fields were constructed, RCAF Detachment Edenvale, also known as No. 1 Relief Landing Field, opened in 1940 near the village of Edenvale, and RCAF Detachment Alliston, also known as No. 2 Relief Landing Field, near the village of Alliston. The RCAF also established 13 "X" Depot ("X" for explosives) in 1940 to supply munitions to the RCAF flying schools that had been established in Ontario and Quebec under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, including 1 SFTS. Over 50 earth covered magazines were built for storing of explosives and ammunition. Although situated beside the army camp's north-western edge, 13 "X" Depot was a separate defence establishment with its own barracks, messes, RCAF Police detachment and RCAF Fire Brigade. The depot continued this function after the war and 18 one and two story Permanent Married Quarters (PMQ) were added. The outbreak of WWII also saw the Army side of Camp Borden become an important training centre for Canada's emerging Armoured Corps. As the school had no tanks to use for training, Worthy went to the U.S. looking for assistance. With the help of General George Patton, Worthy unofficially bought 265 Renauld tanks, built in 1917 but still in new condition, from the storage facility at the Rock Island Arsenal. As the U.S. was still neutral at this time and could not officially sell arms to other countries, the tanks were sold as "scrap metal" and shipped to the Camp Borden foundry. The wartime Canadian Armoured Fighting Vehicle School got off to a rocky start, however. In early 1940, National Defence Headquarters (NDHQ) ordered the Tank School to close and convert to infantry training. MGen Worthington saw this as a big mistake, and did not disband the tactics, wireless and gunnery training sections of CAVFTC, something that NDHQ did not notice this for a long time. The ill-advised decision to terminate armoured training was reversed on 13 August 1940, with the official formation of the Canadian Armoured Corps. Former Calvery units were converted to Armoured. The Canadian Armoured Fighting Vehicle School would go through several more name changes before finally settling on A33 Canadian Armoured Corps Training Establishment. Two smaller schools were also established - A27 Canadian Armoured Corps Training Centre and A28 Canadian Armoured Corps Training Centre. A27 CACTC moved to Camp Dundurn in January 1942. Range facilities were constructed at Borden for the Armoured School, but proved inadequate due to other training going on at the same time. As a result, the Meaford Armoured Fighting Vehicle Range, known locally as "The Meaford Tank Range" opened in 1942 on 17,500 acres of land on the shores of Georgian Bay. In the nearby Town of Barrie, the Grey & Simcoe Foresters were placed on active service in 1940. The Grey & Simcoe Foresters were broken into Two Battalions, with the newly formed 2nd Battalion remaining a reserve force regiment, providing reinforcements for the active service 1st Battalion. At the time, the Grey & Simcoe Foresters were an infantry regiment, but on 15 May 1942, 1st Battalion was re-designated an armoured regiment. The regiment was re-named 26 Army Tank Regiment, Grey & Simcoe Foresters, a designation they would hold until 1943, when the unit dispersed and it's members assimilated with other Active Force armoured regiments. It's also interesting to note that for the duration of the war, wives of married Permanent Force members were relocated to accommodations in Barrie. Several wartime schools also opened in 1940 including A10 & A11 Canadian Infantry Training Centre, A19 Canadian Army Service Corps Training Centre, A22 Canadian Army Medical Corps Training Centre and A32 Canadian Provost Corps Training Centre. After the closure of No. 1 Service Flying Training School in 1946, primary training was concentrated at RCAF Station Centrailia, but Borden's airfield remained an active air force flying field. Technical training returned to RCAF Station Camp Borden, run by No. 2 Technical Training School and the Army's Camp Borden continued to serve as a post-war Army training centre for combat arms and support trades. RCAF Detachments Edenvale and Alliston were abandoned. All RCAF buildings were either torn down or moved after the War. The RCAF School of Photography re-located to Borden from RCAF Station Rockcliffe in 1950. With the coming of jet fighters, new facilities had to be constructed at Borden. Croil Hall was one of the new buildings, built in 1953 for No. 2 Technical Training School, along with two large Arch-hangars built the following year. By 1957, the Flying Control School moved into Hangar 9 at RCAF Station Camp Borden, the hangar which also included the control tower. The Steadman Building, named after Air Vice-Marshall Ernest W. Steadman, was built in 1958 as the avionics maintenance centre for the CF-105 Avro Arrow. When the Arrow was scrapped the following year, all the equipment related to the Arrow was removed and scrapped. In 1958, 13 "X" depot suffered one of the worst peacetime munitions explosions when, on 20 March 1958, an explosion demolished building #20, the receipts and issues building, which was located near the main entrance to the depot's explosives storage area, killing six civilian employees and one airman. A memorial stone was placed beside the Cenotaph in Angus in August 2005 to honour those who died that day. By the late 1950s, the threat of a nuclear war had become so great that the Canadian government decided to construct a secret underground bunker to house the major elements of the government in the event of an emergency. A four story underground bunker, officially known as No. 1 Army Signals Unit, but nick-named by the press (so much for the secret) as the "Diefen-bunker", after Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, was constructed near the Village of Carp outside of Ottawa. Most Provincial Governments followed suit by building their own bunkers. The Ontario Government chose Camp Borden for the site of their bunker. All Government bunkers also doubled as a communications station, and thus had a remote communications bunker located some distance away. This second bunker, usually a single story structure, was staffed exclusively by communications personnel. For their remote bunker, Camp Borden chose the site of the former RCAF Detachment Edenvale. In 1962, the site was re-activated as the Edenvale Transmitter Station, and a bunker was constructed beside one of the old runways. Personnel from Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, and post-Unification 700 Communications Squadron, staffed the facility. In 1966, RCAF Station Camp Borden, RCAF 13 "X" Depot and Canadian Army Camp Borden merged into one large base: CFB Borden. Several new schools were added to Borden's already large roster including Aerospace and Ordinance, Physical Education and Recreation Instructor, Instructional Techniques, CF Fire Fighting Academy, Music, Aerospace Technology, Leadership, Languages, and Chaplain Schools. No. 1 Primary Flying School re-located to Borden after the closure of RCAF Station Centralia. This move was short-lived however, as the school once again re-located to CFB Portage La Prairie in Manitoba in 1970, where it became No. 3 Canadian Forces Flying Training School. A flypast of five Chipmunk aircraft at a ceremony on April 13, 1970 signaled the end of flying training at Borden for another 26 years. The Borden Flying Club, who also re-located to Borden from RCAF Station Centralia in 1958, continued to use the airfield until re-locating again to the Lake Simcoe Regional Airport in 2002, after the closure of Borden's airfield. In 1968, the Canadian School of Aerospace and Ordnance Training was established at CFB Borden and the Air Training Wing became known as the Air Traffic Control Company. In September 1968, the Naval Supply School, originally from HMCS Hochelaga in Lasalle, Quebec, merged with the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps School and the Royal Canadian Army Service Corps School to form the new Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics at CFB Borden. Infantry training also ended at Borden in the late 1960s when the Infantry School relocated. Armoured Corps training probably enjoyed the longest continuous stay at Borden, from 1938 until the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School relocated to CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick in 1970. Worthington Park, now a part of the Base Borden Military Museum complex, was established in honour of Major-General F.F. Worthington, the father of the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. When “Worthy” died in 1967, his body was flown by a RCAF Caribou aircraft to Camp Borden and in accordance with his wishes, was interred in Worthington Park. Four Centurian tanks fired a 13 gun salute and three RCAF Chipmunk aircraft did a low-level "fly-past", in tribute to a great soldier and Canadian. In 1970, 13 "X" Depot was re-named Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Angus. In 1975, the Military Air Traffic Control Company re-located to Cornwall to join with Ministry of Transport Air Traffic Services School, where the remain today, now known as the Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations. With the end of the Cold War in 1991, several changes occurred at Borden. The Borden Bunker, which fortunately was never used for anything beyond being a communications station, was vacated in 1994. The bunker would later serve as the Headquarters for the Regional Cadet Support Unit (Central) from 2001-2004, until they re-located to the Maple Conference Centre, formerly the Officers Mess for RCAF Station Camp Borden. The Edenvale Transmitter Station bunker was occupied until 1988, but it wasn't until 1994 when the station finally closed. The bunker was sealed up and the Edenvale property was once again abandoned. The property sat empty for almost 10 years until it was finally purchased by Toronto businessman Milan Kroupa in 2002. In 2004, the property came back to life as the Edenvale Aerodrome and has gone onto become a very successful private aerodrome with 6 hangars and 3 active runways, although only runway 08/26 is an original runway. The bunker can still be seen from Highway 26 as an odd looking mound of earth in the middle of an open field, with 2 covered entrances leading into it. It was re-opened and is now used for storage. An infantry presence briefly returned to Borden in 1993 with the arrival of the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment, a 10-90 Battalion (10% Regular Force, 90% Reserve Force), but by 1997 3 RCR had departed for CFB Petawawa. In 1996, military flying training returned to Borden when 400 Squadron moved to Borden after the closure of CFB Toronto, marking the first time a flying unit had been stationed at Borden since 1970. The Squadron, a combined Regular Force - Reserve Force unit under command of 1 Wing (located at CFB Kingston), with their fleet of CH146 Griffin helicopters, operate from a helicopter pad and the two large, post-World War II "Arch-style" hangars at the east end of the airfield. The crumbling tarmac was abandoned in 1997, meaning it was no longer maintained, but it wasn't closed to air traffic until 2003. In 1999, a new aircraft control tower was constructed at the aerodrome and dedicated to the memory of Royal Flying Corps Cadet James Harold Talbot. Cadet Talbot has the unfortunate distinction of being the first aviation fatality at Camp Borden, resulting from the crash of his Curtis J.N. 4 “Jenny” aeroplane on 8 April 1917. Also in 1999, Borden briefly made a return to providing basic training to Canadian Forces recruits. The Naval Reserve Training Division Borden was established to train both Regular and Reserve Force sailors. 16 Wing also provided basic training for members of the Air Force Reserve for a period. Although NRTD remained primarily a recruit school for Reservists, it also instructed Regular Force recruits and currently runs specialized indoctrination courses for Regular Force members. This included the establishment of the Canadian Forces Leadership & Recruit School Detachment in September 2005 to handle overflow recruits from the CFL & RS in St. Jean, Quebec. This training program became a permanent part of Borden under the purview of Naval Reserve Training Division Borden. In January 2005, the Borden Bunker was closed and sealed up and with it, the door was closed on an interesting chapter in the history of CFB Borden. Only seven of the original eighteen Royal Flying Corps hangars remain today, and the existence of this important element in Canada's military and aviation history is in serious doubt. Despite the fact that the hangars have been dedicated as historic buildings, up to three more may have to be demolished. For now, those hangars have been wrapped in industrial plastic sheeting to forestall any further deterioration. Additionally, two hangars have been individually dedicated: Hangar #11 was dedicated to the memory of World War I Victoria Cross winner Lieutenant Alan McLeod, VC, on 3 April 2004 and Hangar #18 was named the Grant Building in memory of WWII hero Flight Lieutenant Duncan Marshall "Bitsy" Grant, DFC, in October 2002. The aerodrome is now a shadow of its former self as Runway 18/36 and the taxiway were ripped up and the land re-sod. A small section of the runway 05/23 remains, along with a helicopter pad. However, the aerodrome still sees occasional use by air cadet gliders and tow planes. In addition to being the home to 400 Squadron, Borden currently has 2 other operational Reserve Force units: 3 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group and 700 Communications Squadron, all of which conduct year-round training for their members at Borden. On 5 June 2006, Borden honored Wasauksing First Nation war hero Francis Pegahmagabow, Canada’s most decorated First Peoples soldier and a veteran of WWI, by naming headquarters building of the 3 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group after him. Three Canadian Ranger Patrol is a unit made up almost entirely of 400 Cree, Ojibwa and Oji-Cree reservists living in isolated communities in northern Ontario. Ontario Lt.-Gov. James Bartleman oversaw the dedication service. However, Borden's primary focus is providing training for the "Support Trades", that being administration, supply, Mobile Support Equipment Operators (MSE OPs), medical personnel, military police, firefighters, mechanics, weapons technicians and aircraft technician trades, just to name a few. These support trades are the backbone of the military. The infantry may be the ones on the front line fighting the enemy, but they wouldn't be able to do their jobs for long if not for the support trades. For example, Supply Technicians provide the infantry with things like their ammunition and food, the MSE OPs to deliver the ammunition and food to the front lines and the medical personnel to "patch them up" when they are wounded. Helicopter and fighter pilots also wouldn't be able to do their jobs if not for the Aircraft Structures Technicians. This is where Base Borden provides a vital function. The schools under the command of the Canadian Forces Support Training Group are: Canadian Forces Chaplain School, Canadian Forces Fire Academy, Canadian Forces Nuclear Biological Chemical School, Canadian Forces School of Administration & Logistics, Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineering School and Canadian Forces Training & Development Centre. The Canadian Forces Support Training Group also oversees 3 additional schools: Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence (located at CFB Kingston), Canadian Forces School of Construction Engineering (located at CFB Kingston) and Canadian Forces School of Military Engineering (located at CFB Gagetown). 16 Wing Borden, guardian of the Royal Canadian Air Force presence at Base Borden, is Canada's largest Air Force training wing. 16 Wing oversees 3 training schools: Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Technology and Engineering, which trains almost half of all Air Force personnel, RCAF Academy, which provides Air Force leadership and Professional Development training and Canadian Forces School of Aerospace Control Operations, located at the NAVCAN Training School in Cornwall, who provide training to military air traffic and weapons controllers. Other schools and units located at Base Borden include: Royal Canadian Medical Services School, Canadian Forces Language School Detachment Borden, Canadian Forces Military Police Academy, Canadian Forces Recruiting Group Headquarters, 31 Canadian Forces Health Services, Canadian Forces Health Services Training Centre, 1 Dental Unit, Canadian Forces School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, Canadian Forces Chaplain School, Canadian Forces Logistics Training Centre, Canadian Forces Fire and CBRN Academy. The Regional Cadet Support Unit (Central) Headquarters is also located at Borden, supporting the Blackdown Army Cadet Summer Training Centre, Regional Cadet Instructor School, and one of the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Central Region Gliding Centres. NRTD Borden reverted to being a Naval Reserve training facility in 2011, but stood-down a few years later. Borden has seen several new buildings being built for various schools, including the Military Police Academy, the Royal Canadian School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering School and a new base hospital, a sign of the importance of Borden as a training base. At CFAD Angus, all the WWII-era buildings and the PMQs have long since been demolished, leaving only twelve of the WWII-era the earth covered magazines. Sixteen new, larger size magazines, several work buildings and a shipping and receiving building have been added in the explosives area. A new administration building sits beside the interior gate leading into the explosives area. With the approach of the Base's centennial, another nod to the past came to fruition in November 2011 when a small section of the WWI training trenches were restored. These trenches served to prepare soldiers for life in the trenches in the European theatre. A small section of the old trench in the north-east corner of the camp was we carefully dug-out by hand, then composite boards resembling the type used during World War I were put up to brace the walls, and then sandbags were placed along the top. Flag-posts and historical plaques were put in place telling the story of the training trenches. In June 2016, the Borden Legacy Monument is unveiled just outside the north gate of Borden, coinciding with the celebration of Camp/Base Borden's 100 years of training military personnel. Connected by a foot path to the restored training trenches a short distance away, the monument features two black granite walls, one that contains an urn filled with soil from the battlefield of Vimy Ridge, representing the DNA of Canadian soldiers killed in the battle. The statue of a First World War bugler stands beside the walls and a berm directly behind the granite walls is meant to represent Vimy Ridge itself. Together, the restored WWI trenches and the Legacy Monument serve to honour Camp Borden and the brave soldiers who trained here for the Great War, some of whom never returned. In 2016, numerous events were scheduled to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the base. In the summer of 2019, Base Borden began building two new apartment blocks for military families, the first new housing units in decades, along Somme Boulevard, near the golf course. They opened for occupancy in August 2020 and the Canadian Forces Housing Agency announced they have plans to construct additional apartments, also be located on Somme Boulevard. In 2022, construction on a new five-storey barracks, near the Base Gym, began. Also in 2022, two more of the WWI Royal Flying Corps hangars were demolished, leaving just four of them standing. The current Base Commander is Colonel J.M.Y.D. Rivière, CD. Colonel D.L. Taylor, CD, is the current Wing Commander for 16 Wing Borden. Read more about the 13 "X" Depot explosion here: https://militarybruce.com/annual-base-borden-ceremony-remembers-lives-lost-in-long-ago-munitions-explosion
Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Angus:
Canadian Forces College (Camp Armour Heights): Originally established as a training camp for the newly formed Royal Flying Corps in July 1917, one of three in the Toronto area. Camp Armour Heights was built on land donated to the Royal flying Corps by Colonel Frederick B. Robins, who would later serve as the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Toronto Scottish Regiment from 1924-1931. Colonel Robins had bought the property in 1911, formerly the Armour family farm, with the intention of building a high-class residential subdivision, one that would have its own polo field and bridle path. The polo field was never built, but the bridle path is the current-day Yonge Boulevard. Colonel Robins built himself a Tudor revival home built in 1914, which he named Strathrobyn Estate, on the eastern edge of the property between the present day Yonge Street and Yonge Boulevard, a home that stands today. With the outbreak of World War I, Robins put his subdivision plans on hold. In 1917, the RFC build an airfield between the present-day Bathurst Street and Avenue Road, north of Wilson Avenue. Six hangers were build in two rows of three, about half a mile west of Strathrobyn. Other buildings were constructed such as barracks, messes and administration. These buildings were located along what is now Sandringham Drive and backing onto the valley. Flying began in July 1917, before construction of these buildings were completed. American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhardt was a regular visitor to the airfield while she stationed in Toronto with the Canadian Red Cross. In early 1918, the RFC School of Special Flying opened at the aerodrome. Student pilots received instruction on the basics of flight, aerial reconnaissance and aerial combat. After instruction in ground school, the cadet pilots received a minimum of ten hours solo flying time on the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" Canuck, before moving on to advanced training at Camp Borden. During the winter months of 1917-18, cadet pilots trained in Texas. This was an exchange agreement that saw American pilots also training in the Toronto area. However, the school had a short life as it closed around the time the Armistice was signed on 11 November 1918. In 1919, Bishop-Barker Airplanes Limited, founded by World War I Royal Flying Corps veterans William "Billy" Bishop and William Barker, took over the Armour Heights aerodrome. This business venture was also short-lived, closing in 1921, and one of Canada's busiest airfields at the time was simply abandoned. The eastern end of the property where Strathrobyn Estates stands, was acquired by the RCAF in 1942 for use as the RCAF War Staff College, which officially opened on 1 August 1943. When the War ended in 1945, the college was re-designated as simply the RCAF Staff College. The college became a tri-service college in 1966, re-named the Canadian Forces College (CFC). Today, the CFC teaches the Command and Staff course to officers of all three service branches. The Armour Heights property has changed greatly since 1917, and is now completely surrounded by residential and commercial development. Most of the college's original buildings have been demolished and replaced with modern ones like The Ralston Residence, a 95 suite barrack block and the Dextraze Fitness Centre. The only exception is Colonel Robins' former home, currently housing the Armour Heights Officers Mess. Not the slightest trace remains of the airfield today, which is now a residential community named Armour Heights. Highway 401 cuts across the lower portion of the former aerodrome site. On 26 August 2013, the Honourable Julian Fantino, Minister of Veterans Affairs, made the inaugural presentation of the new Bomber Command Bar to Veterans at a special ceremony held at the Canadian Forces College, a purposeful nod to the RCAF heritage of the college. Source Material: the Canadian Forces College web site: http://www.cfc.forces.gc.ca/home_e.html, information supplied by Major M.D. Pollard (Ret'd), Webmaster, Canadian Forces College (2004), the Lost Rivers web site - http://www.lostrivers.ca/points/air.htm, the National Archives of Canada - http://www.archives.ca/05/0518/05180203/0518020303_e.html & the personal recollections of the author (1998-2016).
22 Wing North Bay: 22 Wing North Bay has it's beginnings when the RCAF began using the North Bay Airport as a refueling and meal-stop for it's pilots. By 1942, No. 124 Squadron, RCAF, set up a seven-man detachment at the airport to handle these services. What is not 22 Wing North Bay was established as RCAF Station North Bay in 1951, a flying training school and fighter base. Several fighter squadrons were established including 430 Day (Fighter) Squadron, re-formed at North Bay 1 November 1951, transferring to 2 Wing Grostenquin a year later, 445 All Weather (Fighter) Squadron, formed on 1 April 1953 and 443 All Weather (Fighter) Squadron, who arrived from RCAF Station Cold Lake in October 1955. 419 All-Weather Fighter Squadron re-formed at RCAF Station North Bay on 15 March 1955 and shortly afterward moved to 4 Wing Baden-Soellingen. 445 All Weather (Fighter) Squadron also departed, re-locating to 1 Wing Marville, France in November 1956. 443 All-Weather Fighter Squadron moved to RCAF Station North Bay from RCAF Station Cold Lake on 15 November 1954. The squadron disbanded there on 1 August 1961. With the establishment of the North American Air Defense Command NORAD) in 1958, RCAF Station North Bay was selected as the Canadain Air Operations Control Centre. Beginning in 1959, an under ground complex was constructed 600 feet below the ground. The control centre was equipped with the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) tracking system to provide surveillance, identification, control, and warning for the defence of Canada and North America. The initial computer used was as big as 12 houses, weighing 275 tons, with a memory of 256 k. It was replaced in the 1980s with a system the size of a single garage. Air Defence Command Headquarters was established at the station in 1962. With the introduction of the BOMARC missile to Canada, one of the two sites picked was at a site north of RCAF Station North Bay on Highway 11. A small site was constructed to hold 28 missiles, held in storage units known as "coffins". The "coffins' had a retractable roof that allowed the missile, which was stored in a horizontal position, to be elevated to the upright position for launch. The BOMARC site remained operational until 1972 when the BOMARCs were de-activated and 446 Squadron disbanded. No. 131 Composite Unit was former in 1962 as a transport unit for personnel and equipment. The squadron disbanded in 1967. From December 1967 until August 1972 there were no flying units at CFB North Bay. The airfield portion of the base, at one time a thriving fighter station, fell largely into disuse. One of its main hangars, employed in the servicing and housing of heavily-armed jet interceptors, was converted into an ice rink, and saw year-round use by hockey leagues, figure skating clubs and various other civilian entities in and around the City of North Bay. In August 1972, 414 Squadron returned to North Bay from RCAF Station St Hubert,. Now an electronic warfare unit, 414 Squadron trained flying and ground air defence personnel how to fight a war when an enemy has disrupted radar systems and radio communications. The squadron earned considerable renown and notoriety for its abilities, and its services were frequently requested by the navy and by American armed forces. The squadron flew the CF-100, CC-117 and EF-101. Also re-locating were a detachment at CFB Ottawa (South), and the Air Weapons Control & Countermeasures School. In 1992, 414 Squadron was split into two parts with one part going to CFB Comox as No 414 Composite Squadron and the other part going to CFB Greenwood as 434 Composite Squadron. In 1993 the squadron changed its name to No 414 Combat Support Squadron when it was equipped with the CT-133 Silver Star, the CT 117 Falcon and the EF 101 Voodo. The Squadron was disbanded in 2002 when its duties were contracted out to a civilian company. In 2007, the squadron was re-formed at 3 Wing Bagotville. As a result of the Unification, the Station was re-named CFB North Bay in 1966. By 1976, CFB North Bay's future was in doubt and the appointment of Colonel Robert White as Base Commander was originally part of a plan to close the base. However, Colonel White convinced Air Command and NDHQ to instead upgrade and modernize the underground facility. The introduction of the Wing concept at Air Force establishments resulted in the base being re-named 22 Wing North Bay in 1993. In 1996, 22 Wing began the process of downsizing due to reductions in Canada's Air Force. All flying squadrons departed and 22 Wing ceased to be a fighter base. In 1997, the Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters re-located to 17 Wing Winnipeg, but the operations centre remanded. The Air Base Property Corporation took over the parts of the base now deemed surplus and established a new Aerospace Park. Some of the tenants of the Aerospace Park are Canadore College's School of Aviation, The Integrated Transport Initiative International Intermodal Center and Bombardier Aerospace. The airfield is now the Jack Garland Airport. Although 22 Wing North Bay is no longer a fighter base, it remains Canada's NORAD base. 21 Aerospace Control and Warning (21 AC&W) Squadron, who moved to North Bay from CF Detachment St. Margaret's in 1988, provide monitoring of North America, including assisting the RCMP with surveillance in drug interdiction operations involving aircraft crossing Canadian territory. All NORAD information collected is forwarded to the NORAD Headquarters in Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado. As well, 51 AC&W (Operational Training) Squadron conduct training for Aerospace Control and Warning at North Bay. 22 Wing even hosts a United States Air Force unit, 922 Support Squadron and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Central Region Advanced Aviation Technology Courses operates at the airport. The NORAD bunker was closed in October 2006. A formal march-out parade was held on 26 March 2006, ending 43 years of operations in the bunker. The personnel from 21 AC&W Squadron staff moved into a new, state of the art 2-story above ground complex. The new installation was named the Sgt David L. Pitcher Building, in honour of a Canadian Forces Air Defence Technician who was killed in the crash of an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft, call sign Yukla 27, at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, on 22 September 1995. The Canadian Forces Housing Agency still maintains 184 PMQs (now called Residential Housing Units) for military members. 22 Wing also is the home to the Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence, a museum dedicated to telling the story of the men and women who helped shape the emerging world of air and aerospace defence. By 2017, a plan was proposed to turn the vacant bunker into a secure repository for films and videos. On 14 June 2019, the new Mission Training Centre opened at 22 Wing, a state-of-the-art command and control centre, to train Aerospace Controllers. Source Material: 22 Wing North Bay web page - http://www.city.north-bay.on.ca/22wing/22wing.htm, the Jack Garland Airport Web Page - http://www.city.north-bay.on.ca/airport, the North Bay Integrated Transport Initiative web site - http://www.city.north-bay.on.ca/nbiti/index.htm, History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm "The Maple Leaf" magazine, dated 6 February 2002 and, information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (2011), Canadian Forces Museum of Aerospace Defence - http://www.aerospacedefence.ca, the personal observations of the author (2012), Civil Defence Museum - www.civildefencemuseum.ca& "Sentinel" Magazine from July 1976.
8 Wing Trenton: 8 Air Communication and Control Squadron (8 ACCS), located at 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, is the only high readiness, self-sustainable expeditionary air traffic control detachment in the RCAF. Twice a year, the squadron deploys a team comprising detachment commander, four controllers and four technicians to Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert. 8 ACCS maintains a transmitter site at Point Petrie and a receiver site at Carrying Place, both south-west of the base.
8 Wing Trenton Detachment Mountain View: Originally opened on 23 June 1941 under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan as No. 6 Bombing & Gunnery School (No. 6 B&GS). The station was later re-designated RCAF Station Mountain View when No. 6 B&GS became known as the Ground Instruction School and was amalgamated with the Air Armament School No. 6 B&GS from RCAF Station Trenton. Both schools moved to RCAF Station Trenton in 1947. In 1946, the RCAF Fire-fighting School moved to Mountain View from RCAF Station Trenton and remained until it moved again to RCAF Station Aylmer in 1951. That same year, Mountain View was reduced to a detachment RCAF Station Trenton and remains so to this day. Today, the main use of CFB Trenton Mountain View Detachment is the storage and overhaul of older aircraft. This facility belongs to the Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (ATESS) based at Trenton. Units located at Mountain View include Trenton's Aircraft Development Maintenance Unit and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Central Region Gliding School, who operate one of eight summer Regional Gliding Centre at the airport. Only two of the World War II era hangars remain (hangars 1 & 6), which were designated Federal Heritage buildings in 2003. Hangars 2, 3 & 5 were torn down in 2007. The airfield remains in use, but all the barracks are long gone. On 8 September 2000, the Canadian Parachute Centre at 8 Wing Trenton opened its new drop zone at Mountain View. Drop Zone Hodgson was dedicated to the memory of Chief Warrant Officer Robert Hodgson, MMM, CD, who died of cancer in November 1999 after 29 years service with the Royal Canadian Regiment. CWO Hodgson had served as the first Regimental Sergeant Major of the Canadian Parachute Centre after its move from CFB Edmonton to 8 Wing Trenton in 1996. The CPC is now known as the Canadian Forces Land Advanced Warfare Centre. In 2006, a new gravel runway was constructed parallel to the existing runway provide Hercules aircraft crews a venue to hone essential skills of landing on austere landing strips such as in Afghanistan. Source Material: "Sentinel" Magazine from July - August 1969, pg 17 & November - December 1971 pg 2, information supplied by the Camp Borden Museum, "Wings For Victory - The Remarkable Story of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan in Canada" by Spencer Dunmore, DND news release - http://www.8wing.trenton.dnd.ca/news/2000/11/cfbpec.htm, the Central Region Cadet Gliding School web site - http://www.8wing.trenton.dnd.ca/crhq/central-e.htm#top The Garrison. Newspaper from 18 October 2000, information supplied by Capt. Beth Wakulczyk, Public Affairs Officer, 8 Wing Trenton, information supplied by Drew A. Craig, 8 Wing Trenton, Wing Environmental Officer (2008) and the "RCAF Station Trenton" web site at www.rcaf.com.
Canadian Forces Support Group Ottawa-Gatineau: While not a base in the traditional sense, Canadian Forces Support Group Ottawa-Gatineau serves as the administrative, logistical and policing support unit for the Canadian Armed Forces and the Department of National Defence in the National Capital Region. The unit officially stood up on 20 July 2020, replacing Canadian Forces Support Unit (Ottawa). With a current roster of approximately 9,420 Regular Force, 2,500 Reserve Force members and 10, 050 civilian employees, the units making up CFSG (O-G) are spread out over numerous locations across the Greater Ottawa and Gatineau area, with the bulk of them located at the NDHQ Carling campus and at the former RCAF Station Uplands, known officially as CFSG (O-G) Uplands Site. CFSG (O-G) also oversees the Connaught Range and Primary Training Centre and Canadian Forces Station Leitrim. In 2021, DND entered into an agreement with the operators of Accorda Village, located around 5 minutes from NDHQ Carling, to provide affordable housing options to members posted to the National Capital Region. Sources: https://ml-fd.caf-fac.ca/en/2019/10/34677, https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/dnd-mdn/documents/bases-infrastructure/cfsuo/ncr-welcome-guide.pdf, Apartments & Townhomes for Canadian Armed Forces Members | Accora Village.
Dwyer Hill Training Centre: Established in 1993 on a former horse farm property, as the home station and training centre for the newly formed Joint Task Force 2, the counter-terrorism unit for the Canadian Forces. As early as 1996, command officers of JTF2 made it clear that the Dwyer Hill Training Centre was too small and the training centre may need to be re-located to another site, preferably in the Greater Ottawa area, if additional land is not acquired. In 2003, additional land is annexed and the government begins expropriation proceedings for the acquisition of further land owned by farmer Ron Mayhew. This plan was abandoned four years later and in 2008, the government began making plans to re-located JTF2 to 8 Wing Trenton. As with the Mayhew property, the government expropriated the 220 acre farm owned by Frank Meyers, next to the Trenton RCAF station. The plan to re-locate JTF2 was abandoned in 2019 in favour of upgrading the Dwyer Hill facility. Sources: https://nationalpost.com/news/canadian-forces-may-cancel-plan-to-relocate-special-forces-unit-from-ottawa-over-1-2-billion-price-tag?utm_term
Canadian Forces Station Leitrim: What is now Canadian Forces Station Leitrim began in October 1939 when the Canadian Army established a signals intelligent station at RCAF Station Rockcliffe. Initially 3 Royal Canadian Signals operators ran the section in the basement of the Army HQ Radio Station on the east side of the Rockcliffe property, reporting directly to the Directorate of Signals office. Early in 1941, the signals unit moved into a building vacated by the Signals Inspection and Test Department at Rockcliffe. This structure, originally a garage, became known as the Royal Canadian Signals Experimental Station. The station was renamed No.1 Special Wireless Station Rockcliffe and had a complement of 22 military radio operators and two civilian technicians. The station eventually outgrew their facilities and in 1942, moved to a new site near the Village of Leitrim. The station was re-named the Ottawa Wireless station in 1949. When the the Supplementary Radio System was created as a part of the Unification in 1966, the name was changed to CFS Leitrim. The station currently operates out of state-of-the-art facilities. The current strength is 950 military personnel and 50 plus civilian employees. Today, Leitrim’s most recent and most important mission is the interception of satellite communications. To enhance security, Leitrim Road, which used to pass directly in front of the station, was diverted a short distance south of the station in 2013.
Connaught Range and Primary Training Centre: Opened in 1920 as a training camp and rifle range for the Canadian Army, the camp as named after HRH The Duke of Connaught and Strathern. The camp replaced the Ottawa Ranges, formerly located on Range Road near Laurier Street in downtown Ottawa, and later at the Rockcliffe Air Station. Since 1989, the camp has also served as a training centre for army, navy and air force cadets. Source material: Guard of Honour web site: www.guardofhonour.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/viewer.aspx, the personal recollections of the author (2003-2009).
Kingston Garrison (4th Canadian Division Support Base Kingston): Originally opened in 1914 on the east bank of the Cataraqui River in Barriefield, just east of Kingston. The camp as named Camp Barriefield, in honour of Royal Navy Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Barrie. In 1937 the base expanded to the south side of King's Highway 2 with the opening of the Vimy Barracks, named in honour of the Battle of Vimy Ridge. Vimy Barracks became home to the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, who relocated from Camp Borden. The Signal Training Centre was established at Vimy Barracks, later re-named the Royal Canadian School of Signals. Camp Barriefield soon became one of Canada's largest training bases when the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps established a training centre during World War II. Following WWII, the original part of Camp Barriefield on the north side of the King's Highway 2 was renamed the McNaughton Barracks in honour of General Andrew McNaughton who served during the First and Second World Wars McNaughton Barracks was the home of the Royal Canadian Electrical and Mechanical Engineers School from 1945-1969, when it re-located to CFB Borden. As a result of the Unification, the base was renamed to Canadian Forces Base Kingston in 1966. CFB Kingston was placed under Training Command In September 1975, Training Command was disbanded and the base was transferred to the Canadian Forces Training System. Some of the schools located at CFB Kingston at this time were Royal Military College, the Canadian Land Force Command and Staff College and the Canadian Forces School On 1 September 1988, the 1st Canadian Division Headquarters was established to serve as a staging base for the deployment of troops and materiel on active operations; in this role it supported Operation Friction, Canada's contribution to the Persian Gulf War in 1991. On 30 March 1995, responsibility for CFB Kingston was transferred to Land Force command, which was re-named the Canadian Army in August 2011. On 26 June 26 1997, Air Command was reorganized and 10 Tactical Air Group disbanded, replaced with the newly formed 1 Wing. The headquarters for 1 Wing was relocated to CFB Kingston, however, the unit's 6 tactical helicopter squadrons flying the CH-146 Griffins were spread out at Canadian Forces bases across the country. CFB Kingston is also is the home station of the Communications and Electronics Branch and hosts the Canadian Forces School of Communications and Electronics, Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence and the Peace Support Training Centre. Source Material: Information provided by the Communications and Electronics Museum: www.c-and-e-museum.org and the seasonal recollections of the author (1995-2015).
Petawawa Garrison (4th Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa): Opened in 1905 as the Petawawa Military Camp or Camp Petawawa, the Royal Canadian Horse and Garrison Artillery were the first to train at the Camp during the summer of 1905, joined in 1906 by the Royal Canadian Engineers, who constructed huts, stables and installed water and gas systems. Also in 1906, "A" and "B" Batteries of the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery, commenced the first of many marches to Camp Petawawa for summer training from their home station at Camp Barriefield in Kingston. Camp Petawawa was the site of the worst peacetime Canadian military training accident on 8 May 1968 at around 8:30 pm, 26 paratroopers from the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment from Wollseley Barracks in London, Ontario, and 2 Signals Squadron, were participating in a training jump over Camp Petawawa. An unexpected wind sheer at around 600 feet carried 22 of the paratroopers into the nearby Ottawa River, 1000 feet off shore near Wegner Point. Weighted down by their heavy equipment and tangled in their parachutes,seven of the soldiers drowned.
4th Canadian Division Training Centre Meaford: Originally opened in 1942 as a detachment of Camp Borden, the Meaford Army Armoured Fighting Vehicle Range (also known locally as the Meaford Tank Range) served as a training camp for the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School, as well as a gunnery range for various artillery regiments. The Camp would remain open as a part of the post-war Army. In 1955, the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School was given full responsibility for the Meaford AFV Range. The Field Training Section ran the training at the camp with their fleet of Centurions & Sherman tanks and 22 Sherman APCs. Meaford was a very busy training camp until the late 1960s when all Armoured Corps activity ceased. The Royal Canadian Armoured Corps School departed Borden for CFB Gagetown in 1970. Although the site never officially closed, the guards at the main gate were all that remained until 1973, when Militia units in Southern Ontario began using the site as a training area in the early 1970s. The derelict World War II-era barracks remained empty as the troops were quartered in tents. The property was designated the Meaford Range and Training Area. In 1973 the Owen Sound Chamber of Commerce petitioned the Federal government to develop the land as a Federal park, to be named the Lester Bowles Pearson Memorial National Park, but the idea was rejected. The introduction of new vehicles and weaponry, namely the Grizzly and Cougar light armoured vehicles in the early 1980s, saw use of MRTA ranges increase substantially, particularly given that CFB Petawawa's ranges were insufficient. By the late 1980s, the Federal Government recognized a need to revitalize the neglected Militia. Subsequently, the Meaford Training Area was made a permanent establishment in 1989 for the purpose of training Militia soldiers. Named CFB Borden - Meaford Detachment, the base received more that $80 million for the construction of roads, barracks, messes, offices, recreational facilities and work-shops. The training centre was re-named Militia Training and Support Centre Meaford in 1992. In 1995, the Royal Canadian Regiment Battle School relocated to MTSC Meaford from CFB Petawawa, allowing Meaford to become a major training centre in Ontario. That same year, MTSC Meaford was once again re-named Land Force Central Area Training Centre Meaford and all support elements at the base became the responsibility of a civilian company, Canadian Base Operators, Inc. In 2013, Meaford was renamed the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre Meaford when Land Force Central Area became the 4th Canadian Division. "Today the Centre is considered to be state-of-the-art. It's primary purpose: to revolutionize the training of reserves" (ATC Meaford - A Short Base History). On 14 August 2017, Training Centre Meaford dedicated a respite/camping site on the base in memory of Owen Sound native Corporal Robert Michell, a member of the Royal Canadian Dragoons who was killed in action in Afghanistan in October 2006. The new Cpl. Robert T.J. Mitchell Memorial Respite Site is located at Vail's Point near the northernmost tip of the training centre, providing an impressive view of Georgian Bay. The respite site includes a pair of 40-foot 2017 Jayco park model trailers against a backdrop of trees and shrubs and a small sandy beach is a short walk away. It has been a seasonal campground for military personnel and their guests for years. Source Material: ATC Meaford - A Short Base History, supplied by Lieutenant-Colonel M.P. Zuwerkalow, Commanding Officer, Land Force Central Area Training Centre Meaford (1999), "The Owen Sound Sun Times" from 21 September 1995, ATC Meaford web site - http://www.meaford.com/atc2.html, the personal recollections of ex-Private Phillip Schwartz, Grey & Simcoe Foresters (2002), the Armour School web site - http://www.army.forces.gc.ca/Armour_school/histor_e.asp, information supplied by the Midland Huronia Museum (2004),the personal recollections of the author (1997 - 2013), the personal recollections of Colonel J.C. Forsyth, OBStJ, CD, Honorary Colonel, Royal Hamilton Light Infantry - 1993-2007 (1999) & "New respite site named after late Cpl. Mitchell," Owen Sound Sun Times, 15 October 2017.
Canadian Forces Reserve Barracks Hamilton: Commissioned on 1 October 1943 on the dockyards of Burlington Bay as His Majesty's Canadian Ship (HMCS) STAR, this was once the third most important Naval training facility in Canada and the fifth largest. As the new home for the Hamilton Half Company of the Royal Canadian Naval Volunteer Reserve, later re-named HMCS STAR Naval Reserve Division, this was the first place many naval recruits saw during the Second World War. This new establishment had offices, messes, a galley, barracks, a drill hall, a sports field and training areas for land and sea-based training, and was a very big improvement over HMCS STAR's previous quarters on Bay Street North. In 1952, STAR's importance as a naval training facility bolstered by the establishment of the Great Lakes Training Centre. Two reserve training ships, HMCS Porte St Louis and HMCS Porte St. Jean, were permanently stationed at HMCS STAR. The following year the Commander of Naval Divisions (COND) re-located to STAR from Ottawa. In 1953, a Naval Reserve air squadron was established at HMCS York in Toronto. Although HMCS STAR was not given its own squadron due to its close proximity to HMCS York, the unit maintained a support unit for ground crew and maintenance. No. 1 Training Air Group sent STAR one Hurricane and two Seafire aircraft for their use at RCAF Station Hamilton (now known as the Hamilton International Airport) and the unit conducted joint training with HMCS York at RCAF Station Downsview. The Unification in the mid 1960s brought change to HMCS STAR. The Hamilton Service Battalion and The Hamilton Medical Company, later re-named 23 (Hamilton) Service Battalion and 23 (Hamilton) Medical Company, moved to the site after the closure of the Burlington Street Armoury in September 1967, taking over the COND building. COND re-located to HMCS Stadacona in Halifax along with HMCS Porte St Louis and HMCS Porte St. Jean. The Great Lakes Training Centre disbanded in 1964, as did the Air Arm maintenance unit. HMCS STAR Naval Reseve Division was now simply a tenant on the base. The name of the establishment was changed to Canadian Forces Reserve Barracks Hamilton in 1969 and was placed under control of CFB Toronto. The physical size of the base was reduced, with STAR's former sports field being turned over to the City of Hamilton. It is now known as Eastwood Park. Later the Hamilton Militia District Headquarters moved to the site, also taking up space in the former COND building, staying until it disbanded in 1995. In the mid-1990s, CFRB Hamilton began to feel some of the effect of the Federal Government's commitment to revitalizing the neglected Naval Reserve. In May 1997, HMCS STAR officially opened their new state-of-the-art building, replacing all of the original World War II-era "temporary" buildings that had housed the Naval Reserve Division since 1943. On 30 August 2003, CFRB Hamilton became the new home for HMCS Haida, the last of the 27 Tribal Class destroyers built for the Royal Canadian Navy between 1937 and 1945. HMCS Haida had been moored as a floating museum in Toronto Harbour since 1965. Source Material: "HMCS STAR - A Naval Reserve History" by Commander Robert J. Williamson, CD, Commanding Officer, HMCS STAR - 1985-1988, "Sentinel" magazine from October 1966, HMCS Haida web site - http://hmcshaida.ca & the personal recollections of the author (1979-2014). - QUÉBEC
Montreal Garrison – 5 Area Support Group: CFB Montreal opened at Longue Pointe in 1966 as the home of No. 25 Supply Depot. The new base also assumed command of the HMCS Hochelaga, the Naval Supply Depot at Lasalle, re-designating the site as No. 4 Supply Depot. In 1969, CFB Saint-Hubert also became a detachment of CFB Montreal.In 1995, CFB Montreal ceased to exist as an autonomous base when No. 5 Area Support Group was established.
The Longue Point site became Montreal Garrison and today, the massive complex still functions as Eastern Canada’s supply depot, No. 25 Supply Depot, as well as serving as Headquarters of the 2nd Canadian Division, 34 Canadian Brigade Group and No. 4 Intelligence Company.
Source Material: Information provided by Captain S. Latraverse, Staff Officer, Area Support Unit Montreal (2000) and the personal recollections of the author (2003).
The Pointe-a-Carcy Naval Complex: The current naval training complex in Quebec City is on the site of the former World War II naval station HMCS Chaleur II. Established in 1939, HMCS Chaleur II served as the home of the Naval-Officer-in Charge for Quebec, one of several defence establishments in Quebec City during WWII. The NOIC was tasked with controlling shipping and organization of convoys through the St. Lawrence Seaway, local anti-submarine operations and surveillance operations, in addition to servicing newly-built ships. Chaleur II also oversaw the ammunition depots along Chemin du Foulon and at Fort de la Martinière (Fort No. 2) in Lévis-Lauzon, a fortification that provided protection for Chaleur II and the St. Lawrence Seaway, one of three forts along the south shore of the St. Lawrence. The naval base closed sometime after WWII and today, nothing remains of the original buildings. The current Pointe-a-Carcy Naval Complex opened in the spring of 1995 on the former Chaleur site, bringing together into one location Naval Reserve Headquarters, the Canadian Forces Fleet School (Quebec), HMCS Montcaln Naval Reserve Division, the Compagnie franche de la Marine, the Naval Reserve Band, the Mobile Ship Command of the Coastal Defence, the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Champlain and the Naval Museum of Quebec (Musée naval de Québec). The $41 million complex serves as another training establishment for Naval Reservists and Regular Force throughout Canada, specializing in the Hard Sea trades. Complete with residences for 237 students, eating and recreational facilities, a big focus of the Pointe-a-Carcy Naval Complex trains sailors for duties on the Maritime Coastal Defence Vessels (MCDVs). Source material: "The Naval Reserve - Link" from May 1995, "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario" & "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume II: Quebec" by Paul Ozorak and information provided by the Musée naval de Québec (2003) and Jacques Roussin (2003). information provided by the Musée naval de Québec (2003) and Jacques Roussin (2003).
Valcartier Garrison - 5 Area Support Group:
Saint-Jean Garrison - 5 Area Support Group: Opened on 7 July 1941 as No. 9 Air Observer School under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The site was later re-designated RCAF Station Saint-Jean. Although No. 9 AOS closed on 30 April 1945, No. 13 EFTS re-located to the station from Saint Eugene, Ontario. Flying training ended at No. 13 EFTS on 23 August and by 17 September, the school closed. While most WWII stations closed, Saint-Jean remained open as part of the post-war RCAF. The station later became the home of the Canadian Forces Technical, Recruit, Language and Management Schools. As a result of the Unification, the Station was re-named CFB Saint-Jean. L'Ecole Technique des Forces Canadiennes (CF Technical School) was formed in April 1969 for language instruction. The introduction of the Wing concept at Air Force establishments resulted in the base being re-named 16 Wing Saint-Jean in 1993. 16 Wing, originally formed in Hamilton in 1951 as 16 (Reserve) Wing and disbanded 13 years later, was re-formed at CFB Saint-Jean on 1 April 1993 as a non-flying Air Command unit. The unit relocated to CFB Borden in 1994, where it remains today and responsibility for the station was transferred to Land Forces Command. By 1996 more change was in the wind for CFB Saint-Jean. The Canadian Forces Technical School moved to CFB Borden and CFB Kingston and L'Ecole Technique des Forces Canadiennes relocated to various locations. CFB Saint-Jean was downsized and ceased to exist as an autonomous base when No. 5 Area Support Group was established. The base was re-named St. Jean Garrison. Although some parts of the base were severed off and sold, most of it remains intact and continues to serve as the home of the CF Recruit School and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets Regional Gliding School (Eastern). The airfield operates as the Saint-Jean Airport. Source material: DND press release from February 1994, "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore, the 16 Wing Borden web site - www.bconnex.net/~wing-hq, College Militaire Royal de Saint-Jean web site - http://www.cmrsj-rmcsj.forces.gc.ca/index-eng.asp, & the personal recollections of the author (2003).
Farnham Garrison: Originally opened south-east of Montreal on 22 August 1910 as an infantry and cavalry training centre. It closed in 1918. On 4 August 1940 as A-12 Canadian Infantry Training Centre. The camp, comprising 6000 acres, was originally commanded by Colonel A.T. Howard and training began on 9 October 1940, with the arrival of recruits from Les Fusiliers de Sherbrooke, Le Regiment de St Hyacinthe and Le Regiment de Joliette amongst the first occupants of the camp. The camp was also used as a refugee and Prisoner of War camp, with up to 2800 being housed in the camp throughout the war. Colonel Wright succeeded Col Howard in 1943 and commanded the camp until A-12 officially closed on 1 October 1946. Unlike many other WWII army training camps, Camp Farnham remained a part of the post-war Army with the establishment of a reserve training school in October 1946, run by the Royal 22e Regiment. An Army Cadet summer training camp was opened at Camp Farnham in July 1947, as was a reserve Armoured Corps training centre. In July 1966, a special parade was held at Camp Farnham when Governor General Georges Vanier presented new Colours to the 4e and 6e Bns, R22eR. The Cadet camp re-located to CFB Valcartier in 1968 summer training period Today, Farnham Garrison is used as a militia training centre and by the recruits from the CF Recruit School for field training. Many of the original WWII-era buildings have been demolished.
Camp Vimy: In 1997, more permanent facilities were opened to facilitate training of reserves and to support the existing ranges and training areas. Source material: "Le Fleur de Lys" from September 1999.
La Citadelle de Quebec: The Quebec Citadel, La Citadelle de Quebec, isn't a typical turist attraction. It is actually an active military installation, and the Home Station for the Royal 22e Régiment, Canada's only all-Francophone infantry regiment, and one of the three Regular Force infantry regiments across Canada. The fort was built in an uneven fashion, with an open end on the sea-side, and comprises four bastions and three straight curtain walls, all constructed with locally quarried sandstone. Within its walls are 24 buildings constructed mostly of grey cut stone. Built in a star-shape , the current Citadelle was built by Lieutenant Colonel Elias Walker Durnford of the Royal Engineers between 1820 and 1850, replacing previous French forts, as part of the fortifications of Quebec City against an American invasion. The Second Battalion, Royal 22e Régiment, maintain a ceremonial garrison at La Citadelle, performing guard duties at the entrance to the fort, as well as daily changing of the guard ceremonies on the parade square within the walls of La Citadelle for some of the 200, 000 annual visitors. the ceremony also includes Batisse X, a goat who is the mascot of the regiment. Located in Quebec City, beside the Plains of Abraham, Le Citadelle also serves as the secondary official residence for the Governor General of Canada and is a designated National Historic Site of Canada. The Royal 22e Régiment Regimental Museum is also contained within the walls of La Citadelle. Le Citadelle is the oldest military building in Canada and forms part of the fortifications of Quebec City, which along with Campeche, Mexico, are only cities in North America still surrounded by fortifications. During World War II, La Citadelle was the site of the Quebec Conferences of 1943 and 1944. It was during this conference that the Governor General of Canada, the Earl of Athlone, Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and American President Franklin D. Roosevelt, discussed strategy for the war, including the planning for D-Day.
Royal Military College Saint-Jean: Royal Military College Saint-Jean is a Canadian military academy located on the site of Fort Saint-Jean, originally built in 1666, now part of the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. The original college opened in 1952 as Collège Militaire Royal de St-Jean, the third military college in Canada along with Royal Military College in Kingston and Royal Roads Military College in Victoria. CMR closed in 1995, along with Royal Roads Military College due to DND budget cuts. In Fall 2007, the federal government re-opened CMR Saint-Jean. The reopening of CMR Saint-Jean in 2007 greatly differs from the original Collège militaire royal de St-Jean and from the RMC of Canada located in Kingston. The new bilingual CMR/RMC Saint-Jean encompasses the Canadian Forces Management and Development School, one of the oldest CF training establishments in the country. It is also the home to the Non-Commissioned Member Professional Development Centre, which develops the prospective future senior leaders of the Canadian Forces NCM Corps. The Commandant of Royal Military College Saint-Jean reports to the Commander, Canadian Defence Academy (CDA). RMC Saint-Jean also has its own board of governors. Cadets at RMC Saint-Jean are issued scarlet uniforms. The first-year program at RMC Saint-Jean is freeing up beds at RMC allowing more Regular Officer Training Program (ROTP) cadets to attend RMC rather than civilian universities. Although the college does not offer university-level courses as it did before 1995, credits can be applied to programs at RMC and other universities. - SASKATCHEWAN
15 Wing Moose Jaw: Originally opened on 1 June 1941 as No. 32 Service Flying Training School. Relief Landing Fields were also constructed near Buttress and Burdick. By the time the school closed 17 October 1944, 1,207 pilots had graduated. RCAF Detachments Buttress and Burdick were abandoned. No. 2 Reserve Equipment and Maintenance Unit occupied the aerodrome until it closed in 1947. The aerodrome then became a civilian airport, but the Department of National Defence retained control of the property. The post-war growth of the RCAF resulted in many WWII stations being re-activated. In July 1952 RCAF Station Moose Jaw re-opened as the new home of No. 2 Flying Training School, which re-located to the station from RCAF Station Gimli. In 1964, RCAF Station Moose Jaw became the first all-jet training station with the arrival of the Canadian-built CT-114 Tutor jets, an aircraft still flown by 431 Air Demonstration Squadron, "The Sonwbirds". As part of the Unification, the station was re-named Canadian Forces Base Moose Jaw. The end of the Cold War in 1991 placed that future of CFB Moose Jaw in doubt, but the base, re-named 15 Wing Moose Jaw in 1993, did survive. Today, 15 Wing Moose Jaw is the home of the NATO Flying Training Centre, established in July 2000, whose mandate is to train pilots not only for Canada, but for her NATO allies and friendly, non-NATO countries. On 27 May 2004, members of the Air Force Association of Canada and 15 Wing unveiled a plaque honouring the men and women who served at No. 32 SFTS. The former RCAF Detachment Burdick is now the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport, a small general aviation airport. Source Material: 15 Wing web site - www.moosejaw.dnd.ca.
17 Wing Detachment Dundurn: Originally opened in 1929 as a militia summer camp. Soldiers were quartered in tents until the construction of permanent buildings as an Unemployment Relief Effort in 1933, under the direction of Captain (later Major-General) Chris Volkes. Shooting ranges, an airstrip and 45 permanent buildings were built along with roads, railway spurs and several bridges. A field post office was set up the following year. During World War II, Camp Dundurn became a major training centre and transit point for personnel going overseas. The RCAF also built a bombing range at the camp and the Canadian Womens' Army Corps established one of its first units in Canada at Camp Dundurn . A27 Canadian Armoured Corps Training Centre re-located to Camp Dundurn on 28 January 1942 from Camp Borden. The school was re-named A27 Canadian Reconnaissance Training Centre. The camp became a transit and holding area for troops awaiting demobilization immediately after the war. 1947: No. 6 OAD (Ordinance Ammunition Depot) was formed. Although A27 CRTC closed in March 1945, the camp was used as a demobilization centre for returning soldiers. No. 6 Ordinance Ammunition Depot was formed at the camp in 1947 and Permanent Married Quarters were constructed. The ammunition magazines were expanded to become a full ammunition compound. In the early to mid 1960s, a reorganization and consolidation occurred within the Canadian Military. Several Army, Navy and RCAF bases were either downsized, merged or closed. As a result, Camp Dundurn was downsized to a detachment of CFB Moose Jaw in 1966. No. 6 Ordinance Ammunition Depot was re-named Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Dundurn. Today the camp, now a detachment of 17 Wing Winnipeg, continues to serve as the home of Canadian Forces Ammunition Depot Dundurn, a training area and rifle ranges. The Detachment has a complement of around 200 permanent personnel, with activity peaking in the summer when cadet and reserve army units arrive for extended training exercises. The Canadian Forces Housing Agency still maintains 28 PMQs (now called Residential Housing Units) for military members. The camp and training areas encompass 82, 000 acres and around 50 buildings, with CFAD Dundurn being the main lodger unit. Other units include 23 Health Services and 13 Military Police Flight. Source Material: information supplied by Will Chaburn, Member Regina Chapter, Canadian Aviation Historical Society (2001), CF Det Dundurn Detachment Fire Service web site - http://www.geocities.com/platoontwo, History of the Air Cadets Glider Training web site - http://www.mts.net/~rgspra/hist.html, information supplied by the Canadian Forces Housing Agency (2011), 17 Wing Detachment Dundurn web site - http://www.cg.cfpsa.ca/cg-pc/dundurn/en/informationandfaq/Pages/default.aspx, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CFD_Dundurn & the Town of Dundurn web site - http://sesd.sk.ca/dundurn/town/default.htm. - YUKONJoint Task Force North - Whitehorse: Established on 15 May 1970 as Canadian Forces Northern Area Headquarters in (CFNA HQ) in Yellowknife and Whitehorse, Yukon, to assist and maintain sovereignty north of the 60th parallel and support CF operations in the north. CFNA HQ was responsible for almost 4 million square kilometres of territory. The headquarters is located in downtown Yellowknife, with a detachment at the Whitehorse Cadet Summer Training Centre at Boyle's Barracks. A staff of 4 to 5 Regular Force members are posted to the Whitehorse camp year-round, with up to 20 to 25 Regular and Reserve Force member added during the summer when the cadet camp is up and running to work with the cadets. Canadian Forces Northern Area disbanded in 2006 and Joint Task Force North stood up in its place. The unit was a part of the newly-formed Canada Command, but now falls under Canadian Joint Operations Command (CJOC), established in 2012. JTF North oversees C Company, The Loyal Edmonton Regiment (4 PPCLI), 1 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group and the Canadiana Junior Rangers in Yellowknife, as well as CFS Alert and a Detachment in Nunavut. Source Material: CFS Alert web site - www.dnd.ca/eng/archive/1998/aug98/CFSAlert, History of the 400 Series Squadrons - http://www.airforce.dnd.ca/airforce/eng/history_400s/rcafsqns.htm, CPO2 (Ret'd) Chris Carnall (ret'd), Naval Storesman, formerly posted to Boyle's Barracks (1996-99) & Joint Task Force North web site - www.cfna.dnd.ca.
- ALBERTA
- Distant Early Warning Line
Map of Distant Early Warning (DEW) Line, February 1987. Photo: T/SGT Donald L. Wetterman, USAF - ID:DFST8803442
Construction began in November 1954. Operational July 1957. In all, 58 DEW Line stations were built, including 30 in Canada from Cape Dyer, NWT to Komakuk Beach, Yukon.
Between 1988 and 1993, most stations were deactivated. Those that remained were upgraded as part of the new North Warning System.
Distant Early Warning Line Stations:
Komakuk Beach, YT
DEW operations ceased 4 August 1993
NWS site established October 1990Stokes Point, YT
"I" site operations ceased 1963
NWS site established July 1991Shingle Point, YT
DEW operations ceased June 1989
NWS site established June 1989Tununuk Camp, NT
"I" site operations ceased 1963Storm Hills, NT
NWS site established November 1990Tuktoyaktuk (Tuktoyaktuk/James Gruben Airport), NT
DEW operations ceased 13 September 1993
NWS site established September 1990Atkinson Point, NT
"I" site operations ceased 1963Liverpool Bay, NT
NWS site established November 1990Nicholson Peninsula, NT
DEW operations ceased 9 September 1993
NWS site established October 1990Horton River a.k.a. Malloch Hills, NT
"I" site operations ceased 1963
NWS site established June 1991Cape Parry, NT
DEW operations ceased August 1989
NWS site established August 1989Pierce Point, NT
"I" site operations ceased 1963Fort Nelson, BC
Operations ceased 1963Keats Point, NT
NWS site established July 1991Clinton Point, NT
DEW operations ceased 3 September 1993Croker River, NU
NWS site established August 1991Clifton Point, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Harding River, NU
NWS site established September 1991Cape Young, NU
DEW operations ceased 31 August 1993Bernard Harbour, NU
NWS site established September 1991Bernard Harbour, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Lady Franklin Point, NU
NWS site established June 1989
DEW operations ceased June 1989Ross Point, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Waterways a.k.a. Stoney Mountain, AB
Operations ceased 1964Edinburgh Island, NU
NWS site established October 1991Byron Bay, NU
DEW operations ceased 21 August 1993Cape Peel West, NU
NWS operations ceased October 1991Cape Peel, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Cambridge Bay (Cambridge Bay Airport), NU
NWS site established September 1989
DEW operations ceased September 1989Sturt Point, NU
NWS site established October 1991Sturt Point, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Jenny Lind Island, NU
DEW operations ceased 1992
NWS site established October 1990Hat Island, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963
NWS site established September 1991Gladman Point, NU
NWS site established October 1990
DEW operations ceasedGjoa Haven (Gjoa Haven Airport), NU
NWS site established October 1990Matheson Point, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Bird, MB
Operations ceased 1963Shepherd Bay, NU
NWS site established July 1989
DEW operations ceased July 1989Simpson Lake, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963
NWS site established September 1991Pelly Bay (Kugaaruk Airport), NU
NWS site established September 1991
DEW operations ceased 1992Keith Bay, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Mackar Inlet, NU
DEW operations ceased 1992Cape McLoughlin, NU
NWS site established July 1992Lailor River, NU
NWS site established August 1992Scarpa Lake, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Hall Beach (Hall Beach Airport), NU
DEW operations ceased September 1989
NWS site established September 1989Rowley Island, NU
NWS site established August 1991Bray Island, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963
NWS site established August 1991Longstaff Bluff, NU
NWS site established November 1990
DEW operations ceased 1991Nudluardjk Lake a.k.a. West Baffin, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963
NWS site established October 1991Dewar Lakes, NU
NWS site established July 1989
DEW operations ceased July 1989Kangok Fjord, NU
NWS site established September 1992Ekalugad, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Cape Hooper, NU
NWS site established December1990
DEW operations ceased 1991Kivitoo, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963Resolution Island (CFS Resolution Island), NU
NWS site established September 1991
Pinetree operations ceased November 1961Loks Land, NU
NWS site established August 1992Cape Kakiviak, NL
NWS site established July 1992Brevoort Island, NU
NWS site established October 1988Broughton Island a.k.a. Qikiqtarjuaq (Qikiqtarjuaq Airport), NU
NWS site established December1990
DEW operations ceased 1991Cape Mercy, NU
NWS site established July 1992
Saglek (CFS Saglek), NL
NWS site established November 1988
Durban Island, NU
"I" site operations ceased 1963
Cape Kiglapait, NL
NWS site established August 1992
Cape Dyer, NU
NWS site established August 1989
DEW operations ceased August 1989
Big Bay, NL
NWS site established September 1992
Tukialik, NL
NWS site established October 1992
Cartwright (Cartwright Air Station), NL
NWS site established November 1988
Pinetree operations ceased June 1968 - Hamilton Militia District / Hamilton District
A Brief History:
Courtesy of Colonel (Ret'd) James C. Forsyth, CStJ, CD, CA
On 01 September 1970, Militia-lead “Areas” and “Districts” came into being. Hamilton Militia District (HMD), headquartered at Canadian Forces Reserve Barracks (CFRB) Hamilton, reported to Central Militia Area (CMA) Headquarters, located at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Downsview. The original HMD units were:
Guelph:
11 Field Regiment, RCA (with 11 Battery in Hamilton)
Hamilton:
The Royal Hamilton Light Infantry (Wentworth Regiment)
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada (Princess Louise’s)
23 (Hamilton) Service Battalion, including 16 Medical Company, RCAMC
No. 1 Independent Signals Squadron
St. Catharines:
The Lincoln and Welland Regiment (with D Company in Niagara Falls)
*******************************************************
In 1973, No. 1 Signals Squadron was transferred to the new Communications Reserve, and The Lorne Scots transferred to HMD from Toronto Militia District.
In 1977, 16 Medical Company, now part of the unified Canadian Forces Medical Service, was re-named 23 (Hamilton) Medical Company and made an independent command. 23 (Hamilton) Medical Company did remain a part of Hamilton Militia District for administrative purposes.
On 18 August 1990, CMA was replaced by Land Forces Central Area (LFCA), which was the first of the “Total Force” headquarters, bringing all Militia and Regular army units in Ontario under one command. At the same time, the word “Militia” was dropped from the district titles.
In early 1994, National Defence Headquarters, in response to the need to streamline its organization, announced that Hamilton District would be removed from the order-of-battle. The Lincoln and Welland Regiment and The Lorne Scots were transferred to Toronto District.
All other units were transferred to London District, which became 31 Canadian Brigade Group (31 CBG) on 01 April 1997. Hamilton District was reduced to nil strength on 18 June 1995 and was known temporarily as London District Detachment - Hamilton for administrative purposes.
Hamilton District officially ceased to exist on 29 September 1995.
***************************************************************
Commanders of the Hamilton Militia District / Hamilton District:
Colonel J.A. Williamson, CD - September 1970 - October 1972
Colonel H.D. Chapman, CD - October 1972 - October 1975
Colonel R.W. Yorke, CD - October 1975 - October 1978
Colonel L.M Salmon, CD - October 1978 - October 1980
Colonel F.E. Ching, CD, ADC - October 1980 - October 1983
Colonel J.C. Forsyth, CD, ADC - October 1983 - June 1987
Colonel T.K. Quinn, CD, ADC - June 1987 - September 1990
Colonel G.E. Burton, CD, ADC - September 1990 - October 1993
Colonel J.G. Ruddle, CD, ADC - October 1993 - September 1995
****************************************************************************
Photos of the Commanders of the Hamilton Militia District / Hamilton District (Photos by DND, except where noted):
****************************************************************************
Assorted photos:
*******************************************************
- Northwest Territory and Yukon Radio System
Stations of the Royal Canadian Signal Corps’ Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System. Stations of the Royal Canadian Signal Corps' Northwest Territories and Yukon Radio System, which operated from 1923 to 1959.
Camp Takhini:
On 1 April 1946, the Canadian Army assumed control of the Alaska Highway. A total of thirteen camps dotted the highway as well as numerous small airfields.
Camp Takhini was established on land once occupied by the Standard Oil Refinery, in Whitehorse, Yukon. Like all army camps, it featured the usual selection of neat and tidy, nicely painted nondescript buildings that the military considers suitable for barracks, messes, and various types of storage. It also boasted an impressive headquarters building in which were located various administrative offices, including the Signals office.
Married quarters were provided for the soldiers' families. Scattered through the camp site were trees, standing singly or in small groups between the buildings, that helped give the rather bleak camp a more pleasing aspect. The children's school, a large modern building, was in Whitehorse proper. Army buses provided transportation from the camp; their crews composed of a driver and another soldier whose business it was to keep order.
The primary Unit of NWHS was the Highway Maintenance Establishment (HME), Royal Canadian Engineers. Its headquarters was in Whitehorse and HME Maintenance Camps were located every 45 to 50 miles throughout the 1221 miles of the highway.
The Officers' Mess was, rather surprisingly, not in Camp Takhini itself, but downtown in Whitehorse, at the eastern end of Sixth Avenue. It was not a particularly memorable building but it served adequately as a home for the single officers in particular, and the regular meetings, functions, and entertainment of the officers in general..
The Army remained until 31 March 1964, when Camp Takhini close and responsibility for the road system was transferred to the federal Department of Public Works. It has subsequently been taken over by the British Columbia and Yukon Department of Highways and Public Works.
Many of the former camp buildings remain in use today.
Source Material: NWT&Y Radio System web site -http://www.nwtandy.rcsigs.ca/stations.htm, Canadian Provot Corps web site - http://canadianprovostcorps.ca/history-10.htm, Yukon Nuggets – Facts, Photos and News Radio.
- Pre-Unification to Post-UnificationPrior to the Unification, military establishments across the country were identified as either Royal Canadian Air Force Station for the Air Force, His/Her Majesty's Canadian Ship or Naval Radio Station for Naval shore stations or Camp or Barracks for the Army. Eg: RCAF Station Rockcliffe, HMCS Stadacona, Naval Radio Station Aldergrove, Camp Borden, Work Point Barracks. After Unification all military establishments were classed as either Canadian Forces Base, for establishments with 2 or more major units, or Canadian Forces Station, for establishments with only one major unit, such as a radar station. Eg: CFB Toronto, CFS Kamloops. Into the 1990s and the 21st Century, while all bases were still officially Canadian Forces Bases or Canadian Forces Stations, there was somewhat of a push towards re-establishing a separate service identity for Canada's military bases. Air Force Bases referred to as "Wings". Army bases are referred to as "Barracks", "Garrison", "Camp" or "Area Training Centre". Even Canada's two major Navy bases made their former names prominent once again. Eg: Canadian Forces Base Trenton is commonly known as 8 Wing Trenton. Canadian Forces Base Edmonton (the former RCAF Station Namao) was referred to as Steele Barracks. Two of the Army's Training Centres were Camp Wainwright and Land Force Central Area Training Centre Meaford. The sign outside CFB Halifax (formerly HMCS Stadacona) reads "Maritime Forces Atlantic Stadacona". Although CFS Mill Cove closed, the radio unit that ran the station was re-named Naval Radio Section Mill Cove to reflect its Naval heritage. With the restoration of the RCAF, RCN and the Canadian Army names, the army re-named their bases according to divisions reminiscent of First or Second World War divisions. Land Force Quebec Area was re-named 2nd Canadian Division, Land Force Western Area as 3rd Canadian Division, Land Force Central Area as 4th Canadian Division, and Land Force Atlantic Area as 5th Canadian Division. Eg: CFB Petawawa has been re-named 4th Canadian Division Support Base Petawawa, but is commonly called Petawawa Garrison. CFB Gagetown was re-named 5th Canadian Division Support Base Gagetown.
- The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
Harvard flying over a typical BCATP station. 
RCAF Goldilocks Aerobatic Display Team at RCAF Station Moose Jaw, 1963. Photo: Cpl Wright. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada. In 1939, the Canadian Government, in an effort to play an important role in the imminent war with Germany, conceived a plan to train pilots, navigators, air gunners, air bombers and flight engineers for the Royal Canadian Air Force, the Royal Air Force, and other Commonwealth air forces. Although the original intent of this plan was to keep as many Canadian servicemen close to home as possible to avoid the great loss of life experienced in World War I, what became of this plan was nothing short of remarkable.
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan saw more than 130,000 personnel from Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand graduate from 107 training schools across Canada - a remarkable feat by any standards; one that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called the "Aerodrome of Democracy".
Canada was an ideal location to train aircrew as it was far enough away from the fighting, with plenty of land away from towns and cities to build training schools. Dozens of airfields were constructed in specific locations across the country, seemingly random, but with an eye to the post-war years when the airfields would be turned over to the local communities. Many municipal airports were originally RCAF aerodromes.
Author's note: unless otherwise indicated, the source material for this section comes from the book "Wings For Victory" by Spencer Dunmore.
Canada's British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Stations:
Most Elementary Flying Training Schools (EFTS) & Service Flying Training Schools (SFTS) had one or two relief landing fields located nearby. The relief field usually consisted of one hangar, maintenance facilities and a barracks for overnight stays. Some of these relief fields also housed advanced training units for bombing training.
The instructors at the EFTS and Air Observer Schools (AOS were mostly civilian pilots employed by various flying training schools from across Canada, hired on contract to the RCAF to train the student pilots, with RCAF supervisory staffs overseeing the operation.
No. 1 Training Command
Headquarters in Toronto
Elementary Flying Training Schools:No.1 Malton 1940-1942.
No. 2 Thunder Bay 1940-1944.
No. 3 London 1940-1942.
No. 7 Windsor 1940-1944. Relief Landing Field located at Maidstone.
No. 9 St Catharines 1940-1944. Relief Landing Field located at Willoughby.
No. 10 Mount Hope. 1940-1942.
No. 10 Pendleton. 1942-1945. Relief Landing Field located at Limoges.
No. 12 Goderich 1940-1944. Relief Landing Field located at Goderich South.
No. 13 St. Eugene. 1940-1945. School moved to St. Jean. Relief Landing Field located at Hawksbury.
No. 20 Oshawa 1941-1944. Relief Landing Field located at Whitby, near Camp X.
Service Flying Training Schools:
No. 1 Camp Borden 1939-1946. No. 1 Relief Landing Field located at Edenvale. No. 2 Relief Landing Field located at Alliston.
No. 2 Ottawa 1940-1945. No. 1 Relief Landing Field located at Carp. No. 2 Relief Landing Field located at Edwards.
No. 5 Brantford 1940-1944. No. 1 Relief Landing Field located at Burtch.
No. 6 Dunnville 1940-1944. No. 1 Relief landing field located at Welland.
No. 9 Centralia 1942-1945. No. 1 Relief Landing Field located at Grand Bend. No. 2 Relief Landing Field located at St. Joseph.
No. 14 Aylmer 1940-1944. School re-located to Kingston in 1944. No. 1 Relief Landing Field located at St. Thomas. No. 2 Relief Landing Field located in Tilsonburg.
No. 16 Hagersville 1942-1945. No. 1 Relief Landing Field located at Kohler. No. 2 Relief Landing Field located at Dufferin.
No. 31 Kingston 1940-1944. Redesigned No. 14 SFTS from 1944-1945. Relief Landing Fields located at Sandhurst & Gananoque.
Instrument Flying School:
Deseronto 1943-1945.
Air Navigation Schools:
No. 31 Port Albert 1940-1945.
No. 33 Hamilton 1941-1944.
Air Observers:
No. 1 Malton 1940-1945.
No. 4 London 1940-1944.Bombing and Gunnery Schools:
No. 1 Jarvis 1940-1945.
No. 4 Fingal 1940-1945.
No. 6 Mountain View 1941-1947.
No. 31 Picton 1941-1944.
Initial Training School:
No. 1 Toronto 1940-1945.
No. 6 Toronto 1941-1944.
Technical Training School:
St Thomas 1939-1945.
Technical Detachment:
No. 12 Toronto
AID Inspector Schools:
Toronto
Administration School:
Trenton
Equipment & Accounting School:
St Thomas 1940-1942.
Air Armament School:
Mountain View 1941-1947.
Equipment Depot:
No. 1 Toronto. Relocated from Ottawa in 1940. Located at Queens Quay until 1946. Moved to new facilities in Weston. This facility closed in 1954. Now Knob Hill Farms.
Repair Depot:
No. 6 Trenton
Central Flying School:
Trenton. Opened in 1940. Still active.
Wireless School:
No. 1 Hamilton 1944-1945.
No. 4 Guelph 1941-1945.
Radio School:
No. 31 Clinton. 1941-1971.
School of Aviation Medicine :
Toronto
Composite Training School:
Trenton.
X Depot:
No. 13 Camp Borden.
Link Trainer Instructor School:
No. 1 Toronto.
Flight Engineer School:
No. 1 Aylmer 1944-1945.
Flight Instructor School:
No. 1 Trenton 1942-1945.
No. 3 Arnprior 1942-1944. Relief Landing Field located at Pontiac, Quebec.
Recruiting Centres:
No. 7 North Bay.
No. 8 Windsor.
No 9 London.
No. 10 Hamilton.
No. 11 Toronto.
Manning Depot:
No. 1 Toronto 1939-1944.
Women's Division:
No. 6 Toronto.
School of Cookery:
Guelph.
No. 1 Winter Experimental & Training Flight:
Kapaskasing 1943-1944.
No. 2 Training Command
April 15, 1940 first formed at Winnipeg, Manitoba
April 15, 1940 Training School Number 7 set up in Saskatoon
Elementary Flying Training Schools:
No.2 Fort William, Saskatchewan. Relief Landing Field at
No. 6 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan 1940-1944. Relief Landing Field located at Hagan.
No. 14 Portage la Prairie, Manitoba 1940-1942.
No. 19 Virden, Manitoba 1941-1944. Relief Landing Field at Lenore.
No. 23 Davidson, Saskatchewan 1941-1945. Relief Landing Field at Davidson West. School moved to Yorkton, Saskatchewan.
No. 23 Yorkton, Saskatchewan 1941-1945. Relief Landing Fields at Sturdee and Rhein.
No. 26 Neepawa, Manitoba 30 Jan-25 Aug 1944. Relief Landing Field at
No. 35 Neepawa, Manitoba (RAF school re-formed as No.26 EFTS) 1941-1944.
Service Flying Training Schools:
No. 4 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 1940-1945. Relief Landing Fields at Osler and Vanscoy.
No. 10 Dauphin, Manitoba 1940-1945. Relief Landing Fields at North Junction & River Valley.
No. 11 Yorkton, Saskatchewan 1941-1945. Relief Landing Fields at Sturdee and Rhein.
No. 12 Brandon, Manitoba 1941-1945. Relief Landing Fields at Chater and Douglas.
No. 13 North Battleford, Saskatchewan 1944-1945. Relief Landing Fields at Hamlin and Brada.
No. 17 Souris, Manitoba 1943-1945. Relief Landing Fields at Hartney and Elgin.
No. 18 Gimli, Manitoba 1943-1945. Relief Landing Field at Netley.
No. 33 Carberry, Manitoba (RAF) 1940-1944. Relief Landing Fields at Oberon and Petrel.
No. 35 North Battleford, Saskatchewan (RAF school incorporated into No.13) 1941-1945. Relief Landing Fields at Hamlin and Brada.
Air Observers:
No. 5 Winnipeg, Manitoba 1941-1945.
No. 6 Prince Albert, Saskatchewan 1941-1942.
No. 7 Portage la Prarie, Manitoba 1941-1945.
Central Navigation School:
No. 1 Rivers, Manitoba 1942-1945.
Wireless School:
No. 3 Winnipeg, Manitoba 1941-1945.
Bombing and Gunnery Schools:
No. 3 MacDonald, Manitoba 1941-1945.
No. 5 Dafoe, Saskatchewan 1941-1945.
No. 7 Paulson, Manitoba 1941-1945.
Initial Training School:
No. 7 Saskatoon, Saskatchewan 1941-1944.
No. 3 Training Command
Initial Training School:
No. 3 Victoriaville 1941-1944.
Elementary Flying Training Schools:
No. 4 Windsor Mills, Quebec 1940-1944.
No. 11 Cap de la Madeline, Quebec 1940-1944. Relief landing Field located at Maurice.
No. 17 Stanley, Nova Sotia 1941-1944.
No 21 Chatham, New Brunswick 1941-1942.
No. 22 Ancienne Lorette, Quebec 1941-1942.
Service Flying Training Schools:
No. 2 Ottawa, Ontario 1940-1945.
No. 8 Moncton, New Brunswick 1940-1944. Relief Landing Field at Sailsbury. School moved to Weyburn, Saskatchewan.
No. 9 Summerside, Prince Edward Island 1941-1942. Relief Landing Field at Wellington, PEI.
No 13 St. Hubert, Quebec 1941-1944. No. 2 Relief Landing Field located at Farnham.
Air Observer School:
No. 8 Quebec 1941-1945.
No. 9 St Jean, Quebec 1941-1945.
No. 10 Chatham, New Brunswick 1941-1945.
Air Navigation Schools:
No. 2 Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick 1941-1944.
No. 32 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 1944-1945.
Naval Air Gunners School:
No. 1 Yarmouth, Nova Scotia 1943-1945.
Operational Training Units:
No. 1 Baggotville, Queubec. Relief Landing Fields located at St-Homore.
No. 8 Greenwood, Nova Scotia 1942-1944.
No. 31 Debert, Nova Scotia 1941-1945.
No. 34 Pennfield Ridge, New Brunswick 1942-1944.
No. 36 Greenwood, Nova Scotia 1942-1944.
Repair Depot:
No. 9 St Johns, Quebec.
Wireless School:
No. 1 Moncton, New Brunswick 1940-1944.
Bombing & Gunnery Schools:
No. 9 Mount Joli, Quebec 1941-1945.
General Reconnecence School:
No. 1 Summerside, Prince Edward Island 1942-1945.
No. 31 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island 1941-1944.
Equipment Depot:
No. 12 Montreal, Quebec.
Equipment Unit:
No. 17 Ottawa, Ontario.
No. 18 Moncton, New Brunswick.
School of Aeronautical Engineering:
Montreal, Quebec.
Technical Detachment:
No. 14 Ottawa, Ontario.
No. 17 Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Movements Group:
No. 11 Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Y Depots:
No. 1 Moncton, New Brunswick.
RAF Personnel Depot:
No. 31 Moncton, New Brunswick 1941-1945.
Manning Depots:
No. 4 Quebec, Quebec.
No. 5 Lachine, Quebec.
Recruit Depots:
No. 12 Ottawa, Ontario.
No. 13 Montreal, Quebec.
No. 14 Quebec City, Quebec.
No. 15 Moncton, New Brunswick.
No. 16 Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Womens Division:
No. 7 Rockcliffe, Ontario.
Officer Training School:
No. 1 Ste Marguerite, Quebec 1943-1944.
No. 4 Training Command
April 29, 1940 first formed at Regina, Saskatchewan
October 1, 1941 moved to Calgary Alberta
Initial Training Schools:
No. 2 Regina Saskatchewan.
No. 4 Edmonton, Alberta.
Elementary Flying Training Schools:
No. 5 Lethbridge, Alberta 1940-1941. School moved to High River, Alberta June 1941.
No. 5 High River, Alberta 1941-1945. Relief Landing Field at Frank's Lake.
No. 8 Vancouver, B.C. 1940-1941.
No. 15 Regina, Saskatchewan 1941-1944. Relief Landing Field at Brora.
No. 16 Edmonton, Alberta 1940-1942. Relief Landing Field at
No. 18 Boundary Bay, B.C. 1941-1945. Relief Landing Field at Langley.
No. 24 Abbotsford, B.C. 1943-1944. Relief Landing Field at Sumas.
No. 25 Assiniboia, Saskatchewan Jan-July 1944. Relief Landing Field at Lethburn.
No. 31 De Winton, Alberta (RAF school) 1941-1944. Relief Landing Field at Gladys & Shepard.
No. 32 Bowden, Alberta (RAF school) 1941-1944. Relief Landing Field at Netook.
No. 33 Caron, Saskatchewan (RAF school) 1942-1944. Relief Landing Field at Boharm.
No. 34 Assiniboia, Saskatchewan (RAF school incorporated into No. 25) 1942-1944. Relief Landing Field at Lethburn.
No. 36. Pearce, Alberta (RAF school) March-Aug 1942. Relief Landing Field at
Service Flying Training Schools:
No. 3 Calgary, Alberta 1940-1945. Relief Landing Field at Shepard & Gladys.
No. 7 Fort Macleod, Alberta 1940-1944. Relief Landing Field at Granum.
No. 8 Weyburn, Saskatchewan Jan-June 1944. Relief Landing Field at Halbrite.
No. 15 Claresholm, Alberta 1941-1945. Relief Landings Field at Woodhouse & Pultney.
No. 19 Vulcan, Alberta 1943-1945. Relief Landing Fields at Ensign & Champion.
No. 32 Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan (RAF school) 1940-1944. Relief Landing Fields at Buttress and Burdick.
No. 34 Medicine Hat, Alberta (RAF school) 1941-1944. Relief Landing Fields at Holsom & Whitla.
No. 36 Penhold, Alberta (RAF school) 1941-1944. Relief Landing Fields at Inisifail & Blackfalds.
No. 37 Calgary, Alberta (RAF) 1941-1944. Relief Landing Fields at Airdire & Inverlake.
No. 38 Estevan, Saskatchewan (RAF School) 1941-1944. Relief Landing Fields at Shand, Outram and Chandler.
No. 39 Swift Current, Saskatchewan 1941-1944. Relief Landing Fields at St Aldwyn and Wymark.
No. 41 Weyburn, Saskatchewan (RAF school incorporated into No. 8) 1942-1944. Relief Landing Field at Halbrite.
Flying Instructor School:
No. 2 Vulcan, Alberta 1942-1943. Moved to Pearce, Alberta.
Operational Training Squadron (WAC):
No. 13 Sea Island, B.C. (moved to Patricia Bay, B.C. November 1940)
Operational Training Unit (WAC):
No. 3 Patricia Bay & Jericho Beach, B.C. 1942-1945.
No. 5 Boundary Bay, B.C. & Abbottsford, B.C. 1942-1945.
No. 6 Patricia Bay, B.C. 1941-1942.
No. 6 Comox, B.C. 1942 -1944.
No. 32 Patricia Bay, B.C. (RAF school incorporated into No.3) 1944, part of post-war RCAF.
Air Observers Schools:
No. 2 Edmonton, Alberta
No. 3 Regina, Saskatchewan (moved to Pearce, Alberta in September 1942).
Wireless School:
No. 2 Calgary, Alberta 1940-1945.
Bombing and Gunnery Schools:
No. 2 Mossbank, Saskatchewan 1940-1944.
No. 8 Lethbridge, Alberta 1941-1944.
Radio Mechanics Depot:
University of British Columbia 1941-1943.
Repair Depot:
No. 3 Vancouver, BC 1937-1945.
No. 22 Sea Island, BC 1944-1945.Wikipedia has a page that lists the GPS locations for most of the BCATP schools, along with the Relief Landing Fields:
List of British Commonwealth Air Training Plan facilities in Canada - Wikipedia.
- The Mid-Canada Line
Mid Canada Line stations. Photo Credit: Unknown. Source material (unless noted): Larry Wilson's Mid-Canada Line web site - Mid Canada Line | The DEWLine (dewlineadventures.com).
Between the DEW Line and the Pinetree Line was the Mid-Canada Line, consisting of 8 Sector Control Stations and approximately 90 unmanned Doppler radar sites. The line operated for a very brief time from 1956 until 1965, when improvements in technology made the line unnecessary. All the stations are now closed there is no military presence at any of the former stations today.
The Mid-Canada Line sites were:
*********************************************************************************************************************************
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Dawson Creek (British Columbia):
Opened on 1 October 1956, as part of the Mid-Canada Line, the second of three Early Warning Lines under command of NORAD, which stretched along the 55th parallel. Like all MCL stations, Dawson Creek was responsible for the maintenance of ten Doppler Detection Stations, small unmanned stations consisting of radar and communications equipment.
As there was no airfield at RCAF Station Dawson Creek (only a helicopter pad), the local municipal airport, a former WWII RCAF station used as part of the North-West Staging Route, was utilized for aircraft. The station did have all the usual amenities of a small RCAF Station.
With advances in technology, the MCL eventually became redundant and associated stations were closed. RCAF Station Dawson Creek closed on 31 March 1964.
The British Columbia government purchased the former station and in September 1966, the property became the Dawson Creek Campus of Northern Lights College.
Most of the buildings remain, including the helicopter hangar, which now houses the Aircraft Maintenance Engineering faculty, the communications building, which is now the college administration building and the messes, which house the Professional Cook faculty.
The former barracks now serve as student residences and the 22 PMQs were turned over to the RCMP for use by their members posted the area.
Additional source material: information supplied by Northern Lights College (2004).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Cranberry Portage (Manitoba):
Opened in 1 October 1956 as one of eight Sector Control Stations (SCS 700) on the Mid-Canada Line system of early warning radar stations.
RCAF Station Cranberry Portage had a brief eight-year life, closing on 31 March 1964. The rest of the Mid-Canada Line ceased operations the following year. The former station was turned over to the Government of Manitoba for civilian use.
In the late 1960s, the Frontier Collegiate Institute was established at the site, using one of the barracks as the Frontier Collegiate Residence, as well as the Area Four Administrative Office.
Today, most of the station remains. The former mess hall serves as the cafeteria to high school students who reside on campus. The former Officers' Mess is utilized primarily as a meeting room and location for large group presentations. The helicopter hangar is now used by Area Four school buses. The Officers' PMQs are now homes provided to teachers at subsidized rents, while the three barracks are used only for storage.
Additional source material: “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak.
Additional source material: Frontier Collegiate web site - http://home.merlin.mb.ca/~froncoll/fcihistory.htm.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Winisk (Ontario):
Opened near the mouth of the Winisk River in January 1957, RCAF Winisk was one of eight Sector Control Stations on the Mid-Canada Line system of radar stations. Each SCS received signals from a series of unmanned detection sites located approximately 50 km apart.
In Winisk, radio wave signals were transmitted along the chain of stations to the SCS, then to RCAF Station Ramore via tropospheric scatter system and finally to RCAF Station North Bay by land line. As there is no road or rail access to Winisk, a 6000-foot airstrip was also built to serve the base.
The eastern portion of the Mid-Canada Line was shut down in 1965 and as a result, the Winisk base was closed.
Today, many buildings remain, abandoned and rapidly deteriorating. Serious environmental issues also remain at the abandoned base.
When many of the Mid-Canada Line stations closed, clean-up agreements between the military and the provinces were drafted, but partly due to the remote nature of Winisk, no agreement was ever reached and the environmental damage was allowed to fester while governments disputed who should be responsible for the remediation of the site.
In 2006, the Member of Parliament for the area, Charlie Angus, stated that there are over 50,000 barrels of toxic material and that PCB levels in the soil are 16,000 times acceptable levels.
Additional source material: A toxic legacy in the heart of the wilderness - The Globe and Mail.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Knob Lake (Quebec):
Originally the station consisted of a group of general purpose huts on the north-west shore of Knob Lake, near Schefferville, bordering the northern Quebec mining community of Schefferville, with a small RCAF Detachment. A permanent station was built on the opposite shore and became operational 20 June 1957.
The station had the usual amenities of an RCAF station, such as a theatre, recreation centre, library and churches.
The area was serviced by a 4600 foot airfield beside the station, along with railway tracks to ship the iron ore mined in the area. The Quebec Department of Transport and the Schefferville Flying Club operated from the airport.
McGill University also maintained a Sub-Arctic Research Laboratory at the airfield.
RCAF Station Knob Lake closed in April 1965
The former station is now the Schefferville Airport.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Stoney Mountain (Alberta):
RCAF Station Stoney Mountain was opened on 1 March 1957, 24 miles south of Fort McMurray, as a Sector Control Station. Due to its remote location, an airstrip was built to transport personnel and supplies. A United States Army base had previously been established in the area during World War II.
In June 1963, the detection function ceased due to a relocation of the Canadian Air Defence Identification Zone (CADIZ) north of the Mid-Canada Line in its area.
RCAF Station Stoney Mountain closed on 1 March 1964 and nothing remains of the former station today.
The Town of Anzac was established on the station property in August 1979, which is now accessible by highway.
In 1991, Alberta Forest Service moved their nearby fire lookout and cabin to the old RCAF station site.
Additional source material: “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Bird (Manitoba):
RCAF Station Bird was established on 1 December 1956. As it was accessible only by the railway, an airstrip was built to transport personnel and supplies, in addition to the railway.
The station has all the usual amenities, including three large barracks, a mess hall, administration building, garages, power plant and gymnasium.
The station had a compliment of around 100 men; around 12 who were RCAF, with the rest being civilians.
RCAF Station Bird closed on 31 March 1964, after a brief seven years of operation. All the buildings were demolished, leaving only the concrete foundations and roads.
Today, the Fox Lake Cree Nation part of the property, to the south-east of the domestic area of the former station.
Additional source material: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_railway_station, Historic Sites of Manitoba: RCAF Station Bird (Fox Lake Cree Nation) (mhs.mb.ca), “Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume 4: Western and Northern” by Paul Ozorak.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Great Whale River (Quebec):
RCAF Station Great Whale River was established in 1955 on the shores of Hudson Bay at the mouth of the Great Whale River. Originally a detachment, it but became a full station in 1957 as Sector Control Station 400.
The station was supported by RCAF Station St. Hubert, with a 5100 foot airfield servicing the station.
RCAF Station Great Whale River closed on 2 April 1965.
Nothing remains of the station today, other than building foundations and roadways. The station's gravel runway is now operated by the Quebec Government as the Kuujjuarapik Airport, servicing the Village of Kuujjuarapik.
Additional source material: www.snipview.com, RCAF Station Great Whale River - Wikipedia,
- The Northwest Staging Route
Map of the Alaska Highway / Northwest Staging Route, Photo provided by Connie Ross. Established in 1942, the Northwest Staging Route was a chain of aerodromes at 100 mile intervals from Edmonton to Fairbanks for the purpose of transporting aircraft and supplies from the continental US to Alaska and radio ranging stations at 200 mile intervals. Edmonton became the headquarters for the Alaskan Wing of Air Transport Command
Unless indicated, there is no military presence at the former NWSR stations today.
Some of the main stations in the NWSR:
RCAF Station Lethbridge,
RCAF Station Claresholm
RCAF Station Namao
Relief Landing Fields:
RCAF Detachment Grande Prairie:
RCAF Detachment Fort St. John:
RCAF Detachment Fort Nelson:
RCAF Detachment Watson Lake:
RCAF Detachment Whitehorse:Beaver Creek, YT
Snag, YT
Burwash Landing, YT
Silver City, YT
Aishihik, YT
Pine Lake, YT
Champagne, YT
Cousins, YT
Squanga Lake, YT
Teslin Lake, YTSee "ABANDONED BASES - YUKON" for descriptions of the bases.
- The Pinetree Line
Map of the Pinetree Line, Mid-Canada Line and Distant Early Warning Line Stations at the Base Borden Museum. Photo: Bruce Forsyth. In the early 1950s, the Pinetree Line network of radar stations was established. This line, which featured a total of 44 stations, stretched along the 50th parallel, down the eastern coast and into southern Ontario and Quebec, and acted as an early warning detection system against a Soviet air attack.
In addition to the main radar stations, numerous un-manned Gap-filler radar sites were situated between each of the stations to fill in holes in coverage areas and detect any aircraft that were flying too low for detection by the main stations. Advances in Gap-filler radar technology led eventually to the disbandment of the volunteer civilian organization, the Ground Observer Corps, who were ordinary citizens trained to spot enemy and other unknown aircraft and report them to their local Filter Stations for action.
Advances in radar technology eventually enabled radars to increase their coverage areas, and radar stations were slowly closed as other stations were able to cover their area of responsibility.
Further technological advances would eventually lead to the demise of The Pinetree Line. Starting in the mid-1980s, the remaining Pinetree stations were all shut down as part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan, with the final stations closing in 1991.
For the full history of the following former Pinetree Radar stations, visit Ren L'Ecuyer's Pinetree Line web site (now archived and run by the Communications & Electronics Museum in Kingston, Ontario) - The Pinetree Line Home Page (c-and-e-museum.org) or Larry Wilson's Radar Tech Page - http://www.lswilson.ca/page5.htm.
or read "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume I: Ontario", "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume II: Quebec", "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume III: Atlantic and "Abandoned Military Installations of Canada Volume IV: Western and Northern, all author Paul Ozorak.
The source material that I used is from the above sources and any others listed in the individual entry.
No military presence remains at the former Pinetree stations, although four sites have been retained by the DND as remotely-operated costal radar detachments.
Chart showing the rise and fall of the Pinetree Line. Photo: Bruce Forsyth. 
Chart showing the rise and fall of the Pinetree Line. Photo: Bruce Forsyth. - ALBERTA42 Radar Squadron Cold Lake See “Abandoned Military Bases - Alberta”
43 Radar Squadron: One of the last Pinetree stations to open, the facility opened in 1964 at a site 14 miles from RCAF Station Penhold, who provided support to the facility. The radar station was SAGE-capable station with the FPR-27 Search, FPS-26 and FPS-506 Height Finder radars as well as the FTS-2 Data Processor and the GATR site. The squadron had actually opened 2 years earlier and operated out of a hangar at Penhold until the new site opened. Most radar personnel lived at the newly constructed Vista Village PMQ area in Red Deer until the mid 1970s. During 1973-74, an Air Defence Command school was formed to administer the Junior Leadership Course offered to Non-Commissioned Officers within ADC. The school was closed on 23 June 1986. In August 1984, the squadron became part of Canada West ROCC. 43 Radar Squadron disbanded on 1 August 1986 and the radar site was closed. All the buildings were demolished in 2001 and other than the road leading to the radar site, nothing remains of it today. The station's FPS-6X Height Finder radar was moved and mounted at CFB Penhold as a monument to the men and women of 43 Radar Squadron.
Canadian Forces Station Beaverlodge: Opened 5 miles northeast of Beaverlodge in February 1953 as Saskatoon Mountain Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 919 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. The station was equipped with AN/FPS-3C, AN/FPS-502, AN/FPS-20A; AN/TPS-502, and AN/FPS-6B radars. As a GCI base, the 915th's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were based at Larson Air Force Base in Washington. The Ground Air Transmitting Receiving (GATR) Site for communications was located approximately 1 mile southwest from the main site. Control of the station was transferred to the RCAF on 1 April 1963, with the radar functions being run by No. 57 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. This was part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases. The operating unit was re-designated 57 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron and the base, RCAF Station Saskatoon Mountain. In November 1963, 57 AC&W Squadron, RCAF Station Saskatoon Mountain became 57 Radar Squadron, RCAF Station Beaverlodge. On 1 May 1964 radar operations at 57 Squadron were automated with the implementation of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, and the station became a long-range radar site. It would no longer guide interceptors but only look for enemy aircraft, feeding data to the Spokane Air Defense Sector SAGE DC-15 Direction Center of the 25th NORAD Region at Larson AFB, Washington. As a result of the Unification of the Forces, the station was re-named Canadian Forces Station Beaverlodge in 1966. Also in 1966, the facilities at Larson AFB were closed, and CFS Beaverlodge was switched to the SAGE Direction Center at McChord AFB, Washington. The station was administratively accountable to Canadian Forces Air Defence Command, and its successor Fighter Group. In August 1984, Beaverlodge became part of the Canada West ROCC. The station carried on its assigned duties until operations ceased on 1 April 1988. Several of the former CFS Beaverlodge's buildings remained until the mid 1990s, when they were all demolished, except for the recreation centre, which was moved to Beaverlodge. Not even building foundations remain. - BRITISH COLUMBIACanadian Forces Station Kamloops: Established as part of the Pinetree Line of radar stations in 1958 as Kamloops Air Station and operated by No. 825 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron of the United States Air Force, one of the many that would make up the Pinetree Line of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites. As a GCI base, the 918th's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were based at the 25th Air Division, Larson Air Force Base in Washington. On 1 April 1962, the USAF transferred control of the base to the Royal Canadian Air Force as a part of an agreement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases. Colonel G.G. Atkinson, Commander of Spokane Air Defence Sector formally handed over control of the station to Group Captain D.L. MacWilliam, representing the RCAF. Radar operations were taken over by 56 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron and the base became RCAF Station Kamloops. Most of the married personnel from the station were housed in the Hidden Valley trailer court in the Rose Hill subdivision of Kamloops. Some families were housed closer to the station in the 8 trailers in a trailer park named McNair Park, in honour of Second World War flying ace Robert (Buck) McNair. The vacant PMQs at the former No. 15 "X" Depot at Rayleigh had under consideration for use by personnel at RCAF Station Kamloops. As recorded in the station diary for 13 Feb 62, "F/L Stewart visited the former RCAF ammunition depot at Rayleigh, ten miles north of Kamloops with a view to obtaining married quarters area for possible use by RCAF Station Kamloops. He found out that the buildings were on a caretaker basis and in poor state of repair. As the buildings were not habitable and renovation costs would be too high, the project was dropped." Radar operations at 56 Squadron were automated on 1 May 1963 with the implementation of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, and the station became a long-range radar site. It would no longer guide interceptors but only look for enemy aircraft, feeding data to the Spokane Air Defense Sector SAGE DC-15 Direction Center of the 25th NORAD Region. As a result of the Unification of the Forces, the station was re-named CFS Kamloops in 1967. Beginning in 1983 the station began reporting to Canada West ROCC. CFS Kamloops closed on 1 April 1988, the 64th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force as advances in technology made the station redundant. The Station briefly came back to life when the movie "Cadence", staring Charlie Sheen and Lawrence Fishburne, was filmed at the site in 1990. The site is now virtually abandoned, except for areas used by Telus, the local TV Station, Kamloops Airport, Forestry, RCMP, and the local Amateur Radio Club for radio communications. The buildings in the domestic stood until 2005 when they were all demolished, leaving nothing at the site. The city of Kamloops moved the last search antenna to be used at CFS Kamloops, an FPS-20, to Riverside Park as a memorial to the former radar station. In March 2012, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada returned the land to the Tk'emlups Indian Band from whom it had been expropriated and it officially became part of Kamloops Indian Reserve No. 1 in July 2012. An AN/FPS-20 radar antenna was placed in River Street Dog Park in Kamloops, as a monument to the men and women who served at RCAF Station Kamloops. Additional source material: DND press release from July 1989, "What's the story behind that old McNair Park sign?" Kamloops Daily News, 14 March 2012 - What's the story behind that old McNair Park sign? | Kamloops Daily News (kamloopsnews.ca), information provided by Warrant Officer (Ret'd) Peter Hayes & Mount Lolo - http://wikimapia.org/1246321/Mount-Lolo.
Canadian Forces Station Baldy Hughes: Opened in June 1953 as Baldy Hughes Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 918 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, one of the many that would make up the Pinetree Line of Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) radar sites. The squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were based at the 25th Air Division at McChord Air Force Base in Washington. Control of the station was transferred to the RCAF on 1 March 1963, radar functions taken over by No. 54 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, as part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases. As a result, the station was designated RCAF Station Baldy Hughes. Radar operations at 54 Squadron were automated on 1 June 1966 with the implementation of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, and the station became a long-range radar site. It would no longer guide interceptors but only look for enemy aircraft, feeding data to the Seattle Air Defense Sector SAGE DC-12 Direction Center of the 25th NORAD Region at McChord AFB, Washington. As a result of the Unification of the Forces, the station was re-named CFS Baldy Hughes in 1967. The station began reporting to the Canada West ROCC in 1983. In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. As a result, CFS Baldy Hughes closed in 1988. Today the former station is The Baldy Hughes Therapeutic Community and Farm, an addiction treatment centre. Most of the buildings remain, renovated with new façades. Additional source material: www.baldyhughes.ca
Canadian Forces Station Holberg: Opened 1 January 1954 as RCAF Station Holberg, with the radar functions being run by No. 501 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, reporting to 5 Air Division located in Vancouver. The station was declared operational on 25 April 1954. On 1 August 1956, the radar unit became known as 53 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. Holberg was later assigned the duties of EW and Ground Control Intercept (GCI). On 30 September 1957, the squadron took over the area-of-responsibility for RCAF Station Tofino after its closure. The stations role evolved to one of providing data to the SAGE system of the North American Air Defence Command. In 1958, 53 AC&W became 53 Radar Squadron. Holberg reported directly to the Seattle NORAD Sector of the 25th Air Division and in June 1963, Holberg was equipped with the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. As a result of the Unification in October 1967, RCAF Station Holberg became Canadian Forces Station Holberg. Holberg had been a BUIC site but terminated that phase of its operations on 31 December 1973. They did, however, remain as the back-up to 25 Division at McChord. McChord transferred the 25th Division to Malmstrom AFB, Montana on 21 August 1981 as part of the Regional Operations Control Centre (ROCC) concept. Holberg began to transmit radar data to the Canada West ROCC at North Bay on 18 June 1983. Holberg was unique within all of Air Defence Command since it had its own Marine Section due to its remote location on the northern tip of Vancouver Island. When first formed, the Marine Section was fully manned by RCAF personnel. However, after the Unification, the RCAF Marine Sections were disbanded or turned over to Naval personnel. As a result, CFS Holberg became the only station within the Air Defence community to have Naval personnel assigned. CFS Holberg closed on 17 January 1991, one of the last Pinetree radar stations to close. Holberg was selected as the site for a Canadian Coastal Radar sites, one of four on Canada's coastlines. Other than the radar towers, nothing of the former CFS Holberg remains today. Additional source material: www.holberg.ca
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Puntzi Mountain: Opened in 1952 as Puntzi Mountain Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run first by No. 917 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, then 55 AC &W Squadron. As a Ground Control Intercept base, the 917th's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were based at the 26th Air Division, McChord Air Force Base in Washington. On 1 February 1963, the station was turned over to the Royal Canadian Air Force as part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases. The operating unit was re-designated 55 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron and the base became RCAF Station Puntzi Mountain. Radar operations at 55 Squadron were automated on 1 October 1963 by the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, and the station became a long-range radar site. It would no longer guide interceptors but only look for enemy aircraft, feeding data to the Seattle Air Defense Sector SAGE DC-12 Direction Center of the 25th NORAD Region at McChord AFB, Washington. RCAF Station Puntzi Mountain closed on 1 October 1966. The closure was not expected and the community was shocked. Very little remains of the former station today. The mobile equipment garage was left standing, destined to become a community hall for those who remained in the area. The gatehouse was turned into a pump house. BC Telephone use a small portion for their communications equipment.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Tofino: Originally opened 1943 as a "Radio Detachment", part of a chain of radar stations conducting surveillance of the Pacific Coast. The threat of Japanese incendiary balloons was a significant threat at the time. Due to it's remote location, the station had its own airfield, with a squadron for rapid response. Due to the flying hazards presented by the mountainous terrain, a secondary responsibility was crash sight location and investigation. Not one single incendiary balloon was ever recorded in our area. The radar chain was disbanded in 1945 and the station closed. The station had a very brief existence as it closed on 10 January 1958. The airfield was transferred to the Department of Transportation. It sat virtually abandoned for many years, but is now the Tofino Airport. Some of the old buildings remain, such as the former maintenance and administration buildings. Nothing remains of the Operations site today. A plaque was placed on Radar Hill to commemorate the men & women who served with No. 52 AC & W Squadron. Additional information supplied by Thomas Wagner.
51 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron - Royal Canadian Air Force Station Comox: 51 AC&W Squadron opened in November 1954, originally just outside the north boundary of RCAF Station Comox. As the radar station was close to two other Pinetree stations at Tofino and Holberg, it had a very brief life as advances in radar technology made it redundant less than 4 years later. As a result, 51 AC&W Squadron ceased operations in June 1958, but the facilities did continue to be used by the Comox Air Traffic Control as a Radar Approach Control (RAPCON) facility on the station. What's left of the former 51 AC&W Squadron site can be found along Kilmorley Road, at the north end of the airfield. The FPN-504 radar equipment was installed in 1968. It has been said that the wind played hell with the huge solid sail, and in a few short years nearly took the top roof off the tower. The following pictures show the system coming down in 1983 in time for TRACS. Although 51 AC&W Squadron had a brief life at Comox, the squadron was re-formed at 22 Wing North Bay in 1989 where it continues to operate today. In July 1994, the role of the squadron changed to an Operational Training (OT) squadron and it is now responsible for all operational and general training at 22 Wing. - MANITOBACanadian Forces Station Beausejour: Opened in 1953 as Beausejour Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 916 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. As a Ground-Control Intercept base, the 915th's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were based at Duluth, Minnesota under the 31st Air Division. Control of the station was transferred to the RCAF 1 October 1961. The station was re-named RCAF Station Beausejour, with the radar functions being run by No. 48 Radar Squadron. This was part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases. Radar operations at 48 Squadron were automated on 1 May 1963 by the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, and the station became a long-range radar site. It would no longer guide interceptors but only look for enemy aircraft, feeding data to the Grand Forks Air Defense Sector SAGE DC-11 Direction Center of the 31st NORAD Region. It was later switched to the Duluth Air Defense Sector SAGE DC-10 Direction Center of the 29th NORAD Region. As a result of the Unification of the Forces, the station was re-named Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Beausejour in 1966. In August 1984, the station became part of Canada West ROCC. In January 1985 the word came out that CFS Beausejour's days were numbered. The station closed on 31 July 1986. The former station then became the Manitoba Regional Correctional Centre, later renamed the Milner Ridge Correctional Centre. Most of the buildings remain and one of the radar towers, minus the radome. The former gatehouse converted into a staff lounge when a new gatehouse was built.
Canadian Forces Station Gypsumville: Opened in 1962 as RCAF Station Gypsumville, the last of the Pinetree radar stations to become operational, with the radar functions being run by No. 47 Radar Squadron. As with all Pinetree stations, Gypsumville was a virtual self-contained town with a fire hall, power plant, messes, a school, Canex, Gym, barracks and Permanent Married Quarters. As a result of the Unification of the Forces, the station was re-named CFS Gypsumville in 1968. In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. As a result, the station closed in 1987. Very little remains of the former station, of either the domestic site on the east side of Highway 6, or the operations site on the west side. Most the roads have degraded to essentially wagon trails. The former station is now Benson's Big Rock Camp. About a dozen new houses have been built in the PMQ area for the Lake St Martin First Nation. A FPS 507 HF Radar remains at the entrance to the former station as a memorial to the men and women who served at RCAF/CFS Gypsumville. Additional information supplied by MCpl Ken Anderson, Radar Tech, Gypsumville (2015). - NEW BRUNSWICKCanadian Forces Base Chatham - St Margaret's Detachment: Opened in 1952 as RCAF Station St Margaret's, the home of No. 2 Aircraft Control & Warning Unit (AC&W), which replaced the disbanded 2 ADCC from RCAF Station Chatham. In 1953, RCAF Station St Margaret's became part of the newly formed Pinetree Line, a network of radar stations established as an early warning detection system against a Soviet air attack. In August 1957, the James Park School opened at the station, named in honour of Air Vice-Marshal Arthur James. Similarly, the station post office was also named the James Park Post Office in 1966, two years after the death of A/V/M James. As a result of the Unification, St. Margaret's became a Detachment of CFB Chatham. In 1974, Detachment St. Margarets became a Satellite Identification Tracking Unit (SITU), a part of Air Defence Command, which became Air Command later that year. The SITU collected and analyzed satellite tracing and optical date and transmitted the information to the NORAD Space Tracking Wing in Colorado Springs, Colorado. St. Margarets functioned as the controller site for the 22nd NORAD Region until August 1984 with St. Margarets incorporated into Canada East as a part of the consolidated Regional Operational Control Centre (ROCC) for the realigned Canadian NORAD Region based at CFB North Bay. St. Margarets then reverted to being just a long range radar site. In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. Radar equipment at many Canadian Forces Stations was replaced with a new automated system. As a result, CF Detachment St. Margaret's closed on 31 August 1988. 21 AC&W Squadron re-located to 22 Wing North Bay on 6 October 1988 and was re-designated as 21 Aerospace Control & Warning Squadron. Today the facility has been renamed to James Park in honour of Air Vice-Marshal Arthur Lorne James. James Park is operated by a local development authority which has sold or rented many of the residential units. Most of the military buildings have been demolished. The station's former receiver site located on Route 11 between Chatham and St. Margaret's still exists, but the small brick building that housed the radio equipment is to be demolished. The Transmitter site was demolished many years ago. Additional Source Material: DND press release from May 1989 & information supplied by Sherman Fisher, local resident involved in the construction of RCAF Station Chatham and RCAF Station St. Margaret's (2001).
- NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADORCartwright Air Station (United States Air Force): Opened in 1953 as Cartwright Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 922 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. Advances in radar technology eventually made the station unnecessary and as a result. the station closed in June 1968. Only ruins and building foundations remain today. A North Warning System radar site was established 13 miles south of the former station site in November 1998.
Hopedale Air Station (United States Air Force): Opened in 1953 as Hopedale Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 923 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. Personnel stationed at Hopedale lived in the village of Hopedale, about one-half mile south-southeast of the site. A small airstrip on Ribback Island provided air support to the station. The station closed 30 June 1968. The Americans closed down the base in June of 1969 and they took the radome and the radar antennae when they left. The remains of the complex was initially handed over to Canadian Marconi who operated it for about three years, and then subsequently handed over to ITT who operated the complex for a additional two years. Best guess is that these organizations were involved in a telecommunications aspect. The complex was finally closed in 1975, and what remained was handed over to the provincial government for disposal in 1976. Most of the buildings were left abandoned until the summer of 1986 when they were finally demolished. Since 1992, the Canadian Forces have operated a Short Range Radar facility at a nearby site, a part of the North Warning System. In 2009, a serious PCB contamination was identified at the former Hopedale station. Additional source Material: “Black ooze at old Cold War station frightens Labrador town”, 15 June 2009, CBC News.
Red Cliff Air Station (United States Air Force): Opened in June 1954 as Red Cliff Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, on a hill located approximately five miles northeast of Pepperrell AFB in St. John's, at the site of a former WWIi coastal artillery site. The only remaining part of the World War II coast artillery site at Red Cliff was a single gun placement where the original CPS-5 antenna tower was located. Radar functions were initially to be run by No. 108 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, but by the time the station opened, 108 AC & W was re-designated as 642 AC & W Squadron. Red Cliff was to be a part of the North East Air Command and served as an Air Defence Direction Centre. The buildings included barracks, shops, warehouses, mess halls, recreational areas and the operations site. Because of its location on an open hill near the ocean, the station was subject to severe winds, snow accumulations and extremely low temperatures. A gap filler station was opened at Elliston Ridge (Bonavista Bay) in April 1957 and designated as No. 1 Detachment. The detachment operated for a very bried 3 years, closing in 1960. Advances in radar technology eventually made the station unnecessary and as a result. the station closed in October 1961 after a brief 7 year life. The former station in now used by local militia units as a Fighting in Built-up Areas (FIBA) training area. Some of the buildings remain at the operation site remain, but as abandoned shells, along with concrete foundations of the other demolished buildings.
St. Anthony Air Station (United States Air Force): Opened in November 1953 as St. Anthony Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run first by No. 921 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, then 642 AC & W Squadron. Advances in radar technology eventually made the station unnecessary and as a result. the station closed in June 1968. The former station in now used by local militia units as a Fighting in Built-up Areas (FIBA) training area. All that remains of the station's buildings are the concrete foundations.
Seglak Air Station (United States Air Force): Originally opened in 1953 as Seglak Air Station of the United States Air Force as a part of a the Pinetree Line, with the radar functions being run by No. 924 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron and supported by Pepperrell AFB at St. John's, a part of the 64th Air Division. The station was built on the summit of a 500 metre cliff overlooking Saglek Bay. The radars were shut down on 30 June 1970 and the station closed on 15 September 1970.. Today, there is nothing left of the former Seglak Air Station. A new North Warning System long-range radar station was built several miles away in 1986.
Stephenville Air Station (United States Air Force): Opened in 1953 as Stephenville Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run originally by No. 105 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, then No. 640 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. Advances in radar technology eventually made the station unnecessary and as a result. the station closed in June 1971. The operations building and one of the radar towers remain, along with the foundations of other buildings. What remains can be found on Pine Tree Road, north of Port au Port.
Canadian Forces Station Melville: Originally opened near Goose Bay in 1953 as Melville Air Station of the United States Air Force as a part of a the Pinetree Line, with the radar functions being run by No. 641 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. The station was a totally self contained facility with fire/rescue, messes, quarters and even a bowling alley. The USAF's 641st AC&W Squadron was supported by Pepperrell AFB at St. John's and part of the 64th Air Division. Northeast Air Command was deactivated 1 April 1957 and replaced by the 64th Air Division; however, all NEAC assets were split up between Strategic Air Command and Air Defence Command (USAF). ADC (USAF) took over the USAF Air Defense Forces including the 64th Air Division. On 1 July 1971, the USAF relinquished control of the Melville Air Force Station to the Canadian Forces Air Defence Command and re-named CFS Melville, a lodger unit of CFS Goose Bay. After all the years as a manually operated site, Melville Radar, as it was better known by, was finally SAGE-capable in 1976. This automation considerably reduced the number of personnel assigned to the site. In August 1984, Melville Radar was brought into the Canada East ROCC. In 1985 the radar station acted as a tactical control agency in a series of low level flying proof of concept flights with NATO allies. By 1988, the station was declared redundant with the North Warning System site, located at Cartwright, coming on line. The radar site ceased operations in July 1988. Little remains today. Additional source Material: Melville Air Force Station web site - http://www.melvilleairstation.org.
Canadian Forces Station Gander: In February 1954, a Pinetree Line radar station was established at the site of Naval Radio Station Gander, operated by 226 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (226 AC&W) of the RCAF. The establishment RCAF Station Gander resulted in the construction of several new buildings, along with 123 PMQs for RCAF personnel, and the renovation of several existing buildings such as the old USAAF hospital, which was converted in HQ, Corporals Club, Airmen’s Mess and CE storage. This building was again renovated in 1958 and accommodations were added for Senior NCOs and Officers. As a result of the Unification, RCAF Station Gander was re-named CFS Gander in 1966. In 1985, the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan resulted in the radar equipment at many Canadian Forces Stations was replaced with a new automated system. As a result, the Pinetree station was slated for closure. The long-range radar equipment was replaced with an automated Minimally Attended Radar system in 1990 and today, the station operates as a Canadian Coastal Radar station. CFB Gander became 9 Wing Gander in 1993 and today remains a very busy RCAF station. - NORTHWEST TERRITORIESResolution Island Air Force Station (United States Air Force): Opened in 1954 as Resolution Island Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 920 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. The station would guide interceptors from the 64th Air Division at RCAF Station Goose Bay. Although officially a Pinetree site, it was rumored to be a listening post for spying on the Russians. The station closed in 1961. The site was re-activated by the Canadian Government as an unmanned North Warning System radar site in 1991. Most of the original buildings remain, mixed with new radar towers.
- NOVA SCOTIACanadian Forces Station Sydney: Opened as part of the Pinetree Line of radar stations on the On 15 March 1953, located on the northern fringes of the city, with the radar functions being run by No. 221 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. The station was re-named CFS Sydney. Canadian Forces Station Sydney closed in 1993. Today, the former CFS Sydney is known as Pine Tree Park Estates. Carefield Manor, a nursing home, occupies the former station HQ building. Some of the station's buildings remain, including the PMQs. An unmanned Canadian Coastal Radar station, one of three on Canada's East Coast, was also established to carry on with CFS Sydney's radar duties. Additional Source material: The Communications & Electronics Museum site's www.c-and-e-museum.org, DND press release from July 1989.
Canadian Forces Station Barrington: Originally opened in 1957 near Baccaro, Nova Scotia, as Barrington Air Force Station of the United States Air Force, near the site of a former World War II Royal Canadian Navy radar station, with the radar functions being run by No. 627 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. As a Ground Control Intercept base, the role of 627 AC&WS was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes. These interceptors were based at the 26th NORAD Region bases at Loring AFB and Dow AFB, Maine. Control of the station was transferred to the RCAF on 1 June 1962, with the radar functions being run by No. 23 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. This was part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases. The operating unit was re-designated 23 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron and the base became RCAF Station Barrington. Radar operations at 23 Squadron were automated on 1 July 1964 by the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, and the station became a long-range radar site. It would no longer guide interceptors but only look for enemy aircraft, feeding data to the Boston Air Defense Sector SAGE DC-02 Direction Center of the 26th NORAD Region. With the Unification of the Forces, the station was renamed CFS Barrington. The newly established 213 Radar Squadron reported to the 21st NORAD Region SAGE DC-03 Direction Center at Syracuse AFS. In 1971, the Canadian Forces constructed a mobile home subdivision on Sherose Island 27 km west of the station for housing personnel and their families. Beginning in 1983, CFS Barrington began reporting to Canada East ROCC at CFB North Bay. The long range early warning radar became obsolete by the late 1980s and the facility was decommissioned on August 1, 1990. The Baccaro Point site currently hosts an unmanned Canadian Coastal Radar station, one of three on Canada's East Coast, was established at the site (Fighter Group / Canadian NORAD Region - Detachment Barrington) to carry on with CFS Barrington's radar duties. The site is controlled remotely from the NORAD bunker at 22 wing North Bay.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Beaverbank: Opened in 1954 as RCAF Station Beaverbank, with the radar functions being run by No. 22 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. RCAF Station Beaverbank occupied a unique location in proximity to Canada's largest Atlantic seaport and its biggest naval base, making it an important early warning radar during the manual environment of the 1950s. Since manned bomber raids by the Soviet Union in the area were considered quite likely, it was felt that RCAF Station Beaverbank fulfilled a critical role in the early days of Canada's and North America's air defence. The radar unit itself was manually operated and reported to the Fredericton NORAD Sector at RCAF Station St. Margarets until September 1962, when this was changed to the Bangor NORAD Sector at Topsham AFS. The station had a short life as it closed in 1 April 1964, made redundant by technological advances such as the implementation of the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. When the Royal Canadian Navy were looking for a replacement site for Naval Radio Station Albro Lake, the Beaverbank site was considered, but ultimately it was not chosen. In the mid 70s the base was converted to a concrete plant. This was only used for a few years before the base was abandoned then resold. Today, all that remains is the operations building, abandoned and crumbling, and the base headquarters, which was turned into a nursing home called Ivy Medows Retirement Homes. The remaining buildings and PMQs were demolished in the fall of 2004. It is noteworthy that Warrant Officer 1 (Ret'd) C.L. Grocer, holds the distinction of being the one man who saw both the birth and death of RCAF Station Beaverbank. The "unofficial first CO" of Beaverbank, WO1 Grover was the first and only RCAF member on-site, serving as foreman of works from September to December 1953, when the buildings were being accepted by the RCAF from the civilian contractor. After serving three years at Beaverbank, WO1 Grover was posted to No. 1 Air Division in Eurpoe. Upon his retirement from the RCAF in 1963, WO1 Grover accepted a position with the Corps of Commissionaires, manning the main gate at Beaverbank. When the station closed in 1964, Grover was there to close the station. "I was here to open the station and I'll be her to close it," said Grover; "the first and last CO of RCAF Station Beaverbank". Visit - http://community.livejournal.com/abandonedplaces/1744773.html - ONTARIO
Canadian Forces Station Armstrong:
Opened in 1954 as Armstrong Air Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 914 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
On 1 April 1963 Armstrong was connected to the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system, and the station became a long-range radar site.
Corresponding with the SAGE conversion, the station was handed over to the Royal Canadian Air Force and re-named RCAF Station Armstrong. This was part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases. The new radar unit, 38 AC&W Squadron, continued in the early warning role. It would later be known as 38 Radar Squadron.
The station was re-named CFS Armstrong in 1968.
Improvements in radar technology made the site redundant and the station closed on 1 September 1974.
A recommendation had been made in May 1974 by the last commanding officer of the station, Lieutenant-Colonel J.A. Mitchell, to Air Defence command Headquarters at RCAF Station North Bay, that the Department of National Defence make the property available to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development for use as a residential school, but this was ultimately rejected.
The former station was sold to private owners, who converted it into a residential community, D & L Estates. Most of the buildings were converted into small apartment units and short-term hotel units. The PMQ trailers were retained as single-family residences, and the combined mess was converted into a restaurant and store.
One of the old radar units was converted into a sign, advertising "Welcome to D & L Estates Host to the North."
This venture closed in 1993 and the property has been abandoned ever since.
Most of the buildings still remain, but are in poor shape. All but one building appears to remain at the operations site, but the remaining ones are also deteriorating, although not as bad as the wood-frame buildings in the domestic area. Some of the trailers in the PMQ area remain, but are in poor condition.
In December 2013, the then-owners of the property were fined $25, 000 in court after being charged by Environment Canada enforcement officers for failing "...to remove all of the PCB contaminated equipment from the property and to have the PCBs destroyed."
Additional source material: https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/services/environmental-enforcement/notifications/d-l-estates-fined-violation.html, Armstrong, ON - 1974 - Disposal of Property - National Archives of Canada (c-and-e-museum.org).
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Edgar:
Originally designated No. 204 RCAF Radio Station, RCAF Station Edgar was the southern most station in the Pinetree Line. No. 204 became operational in September 1952 and one month later, the unit was re-designated No. 31 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron and the station itself RCAF Station Edgar.
Although Pinetree stations were much smaller than full-size bases like Camp Borden, they were still self-contained cities featuring standard military housing & barracks, a school, a recreation centre with a bowling alley & swimming pool, tennis courts, a baseball diamond, an infirmary, a chapel, a firehall, a water treatment & distribution facility, a central heating plant, auto repair shops, cafeteria facilities and sports fields.
All Pinetree stations were equipped with one Search Radar, one Height-Finder Radar and a third back-up radar, and were situated at 150-mile intervals mostly along the 50th parallel, but also down the eastern coast and into southern Ontario and Quebec.
Unlike most Pinetree stations, RCAF Station Edgar also served as a Ground-Control Intercept station in addition to its primary function as an Early Warning Detection station. It was the job of No. 31 AC&W Squadron to track any incoming Soviet threats and then dispatch and direct fighter interceptors to head-off inbound Soviet bombers or missiles.
Overseeing No. 31 AC&W Squadron was No. 3 Air Defence Control Centre, also located at RCAF Station Edgar. No. 3 ADCC also coordinated the operations of No. 32 Squadron at RCAF Station Foymount, No. 33 at RCAF Station Falconbridge, No. 34 at RCAF Station Senneterre and 912th Squadron of and the United States Air Force' at the Ramore Air Station (later taken over by the RCAF and re-named RCAF Station Ramore). With the creation of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) in the late 1950s, No. 3 ADCC was re-designated the Ottawa NORAD Sector Headquarters.
When the Pinetree Line was first established, the RCAF utilized a manual system of plotting the movement of all aircraft on a large plotting board in the Operations Control Centre, situated inside a large reinforced concrete building, with Fighter Control Operators directing this process. In 1961, this system was replaced by the new Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system. A computer now determined the height, speed and direction of enemy targets and relayed the information to the Sector Control Headquarters. This change of operating procedures also lead to No. 31 AC&W Squadron being re-named No. 31 Radar Squadron and RCAF Station Edgar being placed under supervision of the Syracuse NORAD Sector Headquarters.
In May 1963, Ottawa NORAD Sector Headquarters re-located to RCAF Station North Bay and No. 31 Radar Squadron was later put under control of the Detroit Sector.
Continued upgrades in radar equipment lead to greater coverage areas for Pinetree stations. As a result, stations like RCAF Station Edgar were now deemed unnecessary as neighboring RCAF Stations Foymount and Falconbridge were now able to cover Edgar's area of responsibility. As a result, operations at RCAF Station Edgar were terminated on March 20, 1964 and the station closed at the end of the month. A station disbandment parade was held on 8 April 1964, with the RCAF flag being lowered for the last time.
The Ontario Government purchased the property for just over $218,000 and in 1965, the former station became the Edgar Adult Occupational Centre for handicapped adults. This facility closed in 1999 and the Ontario Realty Corporation put up the property for sale, marketing it for possible industrial or institutional usage.
From 1999 - 2011, the station sat vacant, except for the security guards guarding the property. The Department of National Defence made a return of sorts to Edgar, as various Army Reserve units occasionally utilized the property for training. All of the station's buildings remained at that time, except for the Operations Control Centre building and the radar towers (they were demolished long ago), but all were slowly deteriorating.
In November 2010, the Township of Oro-Medonte has acquired 42 acres of forested land at the north end of the property for passive recreational and leisure activities.
In July 2011, Developer Miya Consulting purchased the remainder of the property for $2,500 and by the fall of 2011, all the buildings had been demolished, except for the gatehouse, the sewage plant, a pump house near where the long-demolished Operations Building and radar towers once stood, and the chapel. Miya Consulting announced plans to build 82 houses on the property, but the property remains vacant.
In 2017, the gatehouse was burned down by vandals. The chapel and the sewage plant were demolished a few years later.
In March 2021, Miya Consulting began the process of clearing the land for the new housing development.
Additional source Material: the personal recollections of the author (1998-2021), Township of Oro-Medonte media release - http://www.oro-medonte.ca/Newsroom/MediaRelease/index.htm , The Barrie Examiner - http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2873236 & Developer buys piece of former Edgar centre, Barrie Examiner, 21 July 2011.
Canadian Forces Station Falconbridge:
Opened in 1952 as RCAF Station Falconbridge, with the radar functions being run by No. 33 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
Falconbridge, like many other similar facilities was a fully self-contained community. In addition to shared quarters, the station included 101 PMQs, some of them trailers, water and sewage facilities, a school, library, church, an infirmary, and a slew of recreational facilities including a bowling alley, recreational hall, gymnasium, sauna and children's wading pool. A post office operated from 1955 to 1960.
Following the Unification, the station was re-named CFS Falconbridge.
During the 1970s, Falconbridge also became as a training facility, specializing in basic and advanced instruction of Air Defence Technicians' courses. Following the closure of CFS Foymont in 1974, Falconbridge expanded it's area of responsibility.
Falconbridge was also home to a training school, a Detachment of the Air Weapons Control and Countermeasures School from CFB North Bay, opened at the station in 1975.
On 11 November 1975, CFS Falconbridge became involved in tracking what many believed to be a UFO. Two U.S. Air Force F-106 jet fighters were dispatched to the scene, along with Air National Guard and Strategic Air Command helicopters, but none was ever able to make a positive identification.
In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. As a result, CFS Falconbridge ceased operations and closed in 1986. The RCAF departed and the station was put up for sale.
Appraised between $1.3 and $1.6 million based on potential rental income from the 97 PMQs, the property was essentially a complete town featuring all the same amenities of the other Pinetree stations, including a library, recreational building with snack bar, theatre, bowling alley, sauna, medical building, school, church, garage, office building, barracks that could be turned into apartments, the combined mess with kitchens and social areas, pump station, driving range, soccer field, two ball parks, ski tow and downhill ski area and a football field.
General Leaseholds won the bid for a paltry $140,000, generating much controversy for the low sale price. The controversy escalated when the property was sold shortly afterwards to a local trailer park owner, Henry Shepherd for $190,000, only to sell it in 1988 for well over a million to Pine Ridge Developments.
Pine Ridge Developments began renting out the former PMQs as private residences.
The radomes were removed but the radar towers and the operations centre remained as did all the other station buildings.
Some of the buildings were rented out, but the remainder of the buildings were allowed to deteriorate. By 2003, Pine Ridge Development were the subject of criticism for making only minimal safety improvements to the base's badly deteriorated former barracks and mess hall despite having rented out homes on the site to tenants with children. The sports field, park and playground slowly became overgrown.
In 2007, the property was purchased by Kona Management, who immediately began the process of making improvements to the property. The homes were improved and the deteriorated buildings sealed up to prevent intrusion. Most were turned into rental storage buildings. The operations centre and the remains of the radar towers were demolished in 2007.
As with a lot of the former Pinetree Line stations, neglect and ambivalence have hampered the opportunity to turn the remains of CFS Falconbridge into a viable and lucrative self-sustaining community and industrial park.
Additional sources: www.ghosttownpix.com/ontario/towns/falconbridge.html, https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/radar-base-no-bargain-for-tenants-206289.
Canadian Forces Station Foymount:
Opened in 1952 as RCAF Station Foymount, with the radar functions being run by No. 32 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
The radar itself was situated at the top of a 523 metre hill, one of the highest points in southern Ontario. The main lodger unit was No. 32 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, later renamed No. 32 Radar Squadron when the Semi Automatic Ground Environment system was implemented in 1961.
In 1967, RCAF Station Foymount was renamed CFS Foymount with the unification of the Canadian Forces. By the early 1970s, the base became redundant as radars at CFS Falconbridge and CFS Lac St. Denis were deemed sufficiently powerful to monitor Foymount's coverage area.
The station shut down their radars on 1 April 1973 and closed six months later on 1 October.
The former station is now a commercial-residential complex and most of the buildings remain and in use.
The PMQ homes are private residences, but 3 apartment-style residences are vacant and deteriorating.
The operations centre was demolished years ago, leaving only the concrete pilings that once supported enclosed walkways between the operations buildings and the radar towers.
The GATR site was located on Highway 515, on the west side of the road, two miles south of the intersection of Highway 516. Only the building foundation remains.
Additional source: https://campingcdn.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-cfs-foymount-gatr-site.html
Canadian Forces Station Lowther:
Opened in 1957 as Lowther Air Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 639 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
In March 1963, Lowther AS was connected to the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system and the station became a long-range radar site.
On 1 July 1963, the station was turned over to the RCAF, the final Pinetree Line site to be transferred. Under RCAF jurisdiction, the station was renamed RCAF Station Lowther, with No. 36 Radar Squadron as the operating unit. This was part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases.
In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. As a result, CFS Lowther closed on 1 April 1987.
All that remains of remains CFS Lowther today are the abandoned roadways and building foundations.
The old gymnasium had been moved approximately 6 kilometres to the east to the nearby town of Opasatika where it was turned into Opasatika Mushroom farm. The GATR site building is still standing and the property was taken over by Hyundai for use as a winter test facility.
As a memorial an AN/FPS-26 Height Finder antenna was relocated to the main throughway in Kapuskasing, where the many children who lived on base went to school and the majority of the families shopped and carried out other business.
Additional sources: Google Maps.
Canadian Forces Station Moosonee:
Opened in 1961 as RCAF Station Moosonee, with the radar functions being run by No. 15 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
In 1967, RCAF Station Moosonee was renamed CFS Moosonee with the Unification of the Forces.
By 1975, advances in radar technology made the station redundant, and it was subsequently closed, as other stations could handle its area of responsibility. Some buildings were used by the Town after the closure, including the base swimming pool and recreation centre.
Parts of the station remain in use as the Northern Lights Secondary School, with the PMQs serving as housing.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Pagwa:
Opened in 1953 as Pagwa Air Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 913 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
Control of the station was transferred to the RCAF on 29 May 1963 and the station was re-named RCAF Station Pagwa. This was part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow that saw Canada lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases.
Also in 1963, Pagwa was upgraded to the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system and the station became a long-range radar site.
The radar squadron was disbanded on 1 October 1966. The last RCAF personnel left the station on 15 December 1966 bringing to a close one of the shortest, in time, RCAF manned site in the NORAD system.
All that remains are building foundations and the roadways.
Canadian Forces Station Ramore:
Opened in 1953 as Ramore Air Station of the United States Air Force. The base station was manned by members of the USAF 912th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron.
Ramore was also used as a relay station for the newly established Mid-Canada Line, between the Sector Control Site at RCAF Station Winisk and Regiona Control Centre at RCAF Station North Bay. A large parabolic antenna was installed nearby at Mount Kempis.
In early 1962, operation of the station was transferred to the RCAF as part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 USAF Pinetree radar stations including Ramore.
The station was renamed the site RCAF Station Ramore, with No. 35 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron taking over the radar functions.
The relay functions at Ramore ceased when the Mid-Canada Line shut down in 1965.
With the Unification of the Forces, the station was re-named CFS Ramore on 10 August 1967.
Advances in radar technology made Ramore redundant, as CFS Lowther and CFS Senneterre were now able to cover the area that Ramore had previously monitored. As a result, CFS Ramore closed on 1 April 1974.
In 1975, the station was sold to the Black River-Matheson Township for $100,000, who operated the Lava Mountain Lodge at the former station for several years before closing.
The part of the domestic site, including the former PMQ area, is now a trailer campground. None of the trailer-style PMQs remain today, nor does The Ponderosa building beside the lake.
Today, only a handful of buildings remain, ranging from badly deteriorated to falling down and slowly being consumed by vegetation. Only the MSE nine-bay garage appears to still be in use. The foundations of several buildings also dot the property.
The plotting room section of the operations building remains, along with one of the radar towers and several foundations at the top of Lava Mountain.
Two of the radar antennas were donated to the Military Communications and Electronics Museum at the 4th Canadian Division Support Base Kingston.
Additional source material: the personal recollections of the author (2018), Wikipedia, The Legend of Lava Mountain - http://www.flickr.com/photos/axle81401/sets/72157618431328105/
Canadian Forces Station Sioux Lookout:
Opened in 1952 as Sioux Lookout Air Station of the United States Air Force, with the radar functions being run by No. 912 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
The station was turned over to the RCAF on 1 October 1962. The operating unit was re-designated 39 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron and the base, RCAF Station Sioux Lookout. This was part of an arrangement with the United States that came as a result of the cancellation of the Avro Arrow. Canada would lease 66 F-101 Voodoo fighters and take over operation of 12 Pinetree radar bases.
In 1963, was upgraded to the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) system and became a long-range radar site. The station was assigned to the 30th NORAD Region. As a consequence of the change, the operating unit was once again renamed, this time as 39 Radar Squadron.
In 1966, Sioux Lookout was reassigned to the 29th NORAD Region, and in October 1967, Sioux Lookout was re-named CFS Sioux Lookout in accordance with the Unification of the Forces.
In 1969, Sioux Lookout was again switched to the 23d NORAD Region and in 1983 it began reporting to Canada West ROCC.
In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. As a result, CFS Sioux Lookout closed in July 1987.
Most of the station's buildings remain, including the operations site. The property is now privately owned. The property owner lives in one of the old barracks.
Additional source material: information provided by Michelle Hrynchuk, current property owner (2013).
*******************************************************
Lost Trails:
Searching for info, friends and people who knew Shirley Trueman-Ward. I have 2 photos with Shirley & a friend & would like to know who the friend is. They trained and/or served with the RCAF in Clinton and Foymount, Ontario and St. Jean, Quebec bases, in the mid 1950s. Shirley served from Aug. 21, 1953-Jan. 25, 1955, as an Airwoman First Class Fighter Controller Operator 1 working with the radars. I believe she worked as part of the Pine Tree radar line. Thank you for your assistance. Brenda Harrison, Oshawa, Ontario 905-728-6890 chicoyne19@gmail.com
- QUÉBEC
Canadian Forces Station Senneterre:
Opened as Royal Canadian Air Force Station Senneterre on 1 June 1953, the home of No. 34 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, one of Canada's Pinetree Line radar stations.
After the closure of CFS Val d'Or in 1976, CFS Senneterre took over Search and Rescue operations for Quebec's northwestern region.
In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. As a result, CFS Senneterre closed on 1 August 1988.
Most of the buildings remain today. The operations building was demolished after a fire in the early 1990s. The height finder radar tower was demolished, but the other 2 radar towers remain.
Additional Source Material: DND Press Releases from June 1989.
Canadian Forces Station Mont Apica:
Opened in 1952 as RCAF Station Mont Apica, with the radar functions being run by No. 201 Radio Station. No. 201 Radio Station was itself re-named No. 12 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. Part of the Station's role was as a control centre for the fighter squadrons of Air Defence Command and a long-range radar station.
In 1963, the Intercept Controller School was established at the station, remaining until disbanding in 1969.
Technological changes made the station redundant and it closed in 1990. No. 12 Radar Squadron maintained the radars at the station, providing radar tracking for fighter aircrew training re-located to CFB Bagotville, until 1993, when it re-located to Bagotville.
Nothing remains of CFS Mont Apica today. The property now features the Belvédère du Mont-Apica, a small observation post-style structure that allows visitors to the remote location to take advantage of the spectacular view.
Additional Source Material: DND press release from May 1989 & July 1989, 12 Radar Squadron | Royal Canadian Air Force (forces.gc.ca).
Canadian Forces Station Chibougamau:
Opened on 1 May 1962 as RCAF Station Chibougamau, with the radar functions being run by No. 10 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron, a Ground-Control Intercept unit with the job of directing fighter interceptors to oncoming enemy bombers. Chibougamau differed in layout in that while station headquarters and the domestic area was in the town proper, the operations site was some distance away a few miles north on a mountain-top.
The operating unit was re-designated 10 Radar Squadron in 1963 upon its automation.
The station was re-named CFS Chibougamau in 1968 as a result of the Unification.
In 1985, DND announced that the Pinetree Line would be shut down as a part of the North American Air Defence Modernization Plan. As a result, CFS Chibougamau closed 1 April 1988.
Most of the former station remains, with parts being used by the City of Chibougamau. The former PMQ area is now a golf course and the Officers' Mess serves as the clubhouse.
The operations building was used briefly by Transport Canada, but was demolished in 1993.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station St Sylvester:
Opened in 1953 as RCAF Station Ste.-Marie, with the radar functions being run by No. 206 RCAF Radio Station. The radar unit was later re-named No. 13 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. The station itself was later re-named RCAF Station St.-Sylvestre.
Continued upgrades in radar equipment lead to greater coverage areas for Pinetree stations. As a result, stations like RCAF Station St.-Sylvestre were now deemed unnecessary as neighboring RCAF Stations were now able to cover St.-Sylvestre's area of responsibility. As a result, St.-Sylvestre closed in 1964.
All that remains of RCAF Station St.-Sylvestre today is the operation centre, one radar tower and the recreation centre.
The former station is now owned by Radar Domaine, an outdoor recreational tourism centre dedicated to providing a range of year-round activities and events for outdoor enthusiasts.
Additional source: Radar Domaine - www.domaineduradar.com
Canadian Forces Station Lac St Denis:
Opened in 1952 as RCAF Station Lac St Denis, with the radar functions being run by No. 201 RCAF Radio Unit, later re-designated No. 11 AC & W Squadron. At the same time, 1 AC&W Squadron was re-designated 1 Air Defence Control Centre and remained as such until its disbandment, as the Montreal NORAD Sector, on 15 September 1962.
The station became SAGE capable on 15 September 1962 and began to report to the Bangor Sector at Topsham AFS, Maine. In September 1963, 11 AC&W began reporting to the Ottawa Sector at CFB North Bay. At one time a detachment of 1 Radar and Communications School RCAF Station Clinton Ontario were training enlisted personnel as Fighter Control Operators at the station. In September 1965, a new basic trade school to train Air Defence Technicians was formed to meet the forecast trade shortage. By 1973, over 25 courses had been run with almost 500 graduates.
11 AC&W was the operation responsible for the control of all test flights of the CF-104 Starfighters being built at Canadair in Montreal. The aircraft would leave the Cartierville Airport and proceed to the testing area under positive control of Lac St. Denis.
With the Unification of the Forces, the station was re-named CFS Lac St. Denis.
In March 1972, CFS Lac St. Denis became a detachment of the North Bay based Air Weapons Control and Countermeasures School (AWC&CS). Eventually Lac St. Denis acquired the Air Weapons Control and Countermeasures School and they carried on training Air Defence Technicians for two more years. The school was later moved to CFB Falconbridge and then to its current location at North Bay, Ontario.
The Canadian NORAD Region's ROCCs, both Canada East and Canada West, commenced operations in August 1984, with Lac St. Denis attached to Canada East.
The station ceased operations in December 1985 and finally closed on 1 August 1986.
Various business have occupied the site without ever achieving any long-term success, including transforming the former operations building into a medieval castle-themed restaurant called "Chateau Medieval Sire d'Howard (le)" ("The Medieval Castle of Sir Howard').
The operations site is now abandoned. All that remains is the abandoned and crumbling operations building, the concrete bases of the radar towers.
The PMQs are all that remain in the domestic area, some extensively remodeled, and are now private residences. Some of the other buildings remain, including one of the airmens' barracks has been extensively remodeled into apartments, called St-Adolphe Manor, the airwomens' barracks, which is now a music school, L'Ecole de musique des Laurentides, and the Headquarters building, which is now offices for a mini-storage facility. Systemes Action Air, an HVSC company, occupies the former chapel.
Interesting fact: "Airwomen were being phased out of Lac St. Denis in September 1962. At the beginning of the month, there were were 126 Airwomen on strength and by the 15th of September all of them had departed. Prior to leaving, they had a parade, and following the parade, they presented the Station with a bronze plaque to be mounted at the entrance of the Station. They also donated an "Airman of the Year Trophy" to the Station. When Lac St. Denis was closed out (in 1986), LCol Doris Toole (who was Acting Director of Women Personnel at NDHQ in the mid 1980s) made arrangements for the plaque to go to the RCAF Museum in Trenton, and it is still there to this date." Details courtesy of Penny King.
Source material: the personal recollections of the author (2004).
Canadian Forces Station Moisie:
Opened in 1953 as RCAF Station Moisie with the radar functions being run by No. 211 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
The station was re-named CFS Moisie in 1968.
CFS Moisie closed on 1 April 1986 and the property was sold.
The PMQs remain, as do some of the station’s buildings, but the main operations site was demolished in the 1980s.
Royal Canadian Air Force Station Parent:
Opened in 1953, with radar functions being run by No. 207 RCAF Radio Station. This was one of the last Pinetree stations to be built. The radar unit was later re-designated 14 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron.
Continued upgrades in radar equipment lead to greater coverage areas for Pinetree stations. As a result, stations like RCAF Station Parent were now deemed unnecessary as neighboring RCAF Stations were now able to cover Parent's area of responsibility. As a result, Parent closed in 1964.
Only the PMQs remain today, some still inhabited, but none of the other buildings remain; only the foundations of the demolished buildings.
All that remains of the operational site are the foundations and paved parking lot at the top of the mountain. A communications antenna now occupies the site.
Aerial of RCAF Station Parent, 1961. Photo: ADC Museum. 
Remains of the Headquarters/Administration building which was constructed around 1960. PMQs in the background, August 1999. Photo: Sue Dewar (now Kennedy). 
Foundation remains of the Protestant school looking at PMQs. The blue house in the middle was the COs residence, August 1999. Photo: Sue Dewar (now Kennedy). 
Foundation remains of the station Hospital/MIR, August 1999. Photo: Sue Dewar (now Kennedy). 
Remains of the cement foundation of the right radar tower. Photo: Sue Dewar (now Kennedy). 
Barracks in Domestic site, February 1957. Photo: National Archives of Canada. 
Operations site, February 1957. Photo: National Archives of Canada. 
PMQs in Domestic site with Operations site on hill in background, February 1957. Photo: National Archives of Canada. 
Airmen's Mess and Club 14 at Parent, May 1963. Photo: Vern Green. - SASKATCHEWANCanadian Forces Station Yorkton: RCAF Station Yorkton opened as a Pinetree Line radar station on 15 October 1962, about 10 miles west of the former wartime training base No. 11 Service Flying Training School. 46 Radar Squadron was formed to handle the radar duties, reporting to the Central NORAD Region. The station was re-named CFS Yorkton in May 1967, as a part of the Unification of the Forces. Improvements in radar equipment lead to the closure of some radar stations throughout the 1960s and 1970s as fewer stations were needed to cover the same area. By the mid-1980s, technology had improved to such a degree that only the far-north Distant Early Warning Line was needed. CFS Yorkton closed on 1 August 1986. The site is now the Whitespruce Centre, a youth addiction facility. Most of the original buildings remain and are in good condition, but the Operations Centre and radar towers are gone. Additional source material: "Sentinel" Magazine from June 1968, pg 46, History of 2CFFTS web site - http://www.moosejaw.dnd.ca/2his_e.asp#to_top, the Pinetree Line web site - http://www.pinetreeline.org & the Air Cadets Glider Training web site - http://www.mts.net/~rgspra/hist.html.
Canadian Forces Station Alsask: Opened in 1962 and designated as 44 Radar Squadron in 1962, the station became operational in May 1963 and was re-designated RCAF Station Alsask, with the radar unit being re-named No. 44 Aircraft Control & Warning Squadron. The Alsask towers were the last of the Pinetree Line to be built, closing the last gap in coverage across the prairies. Sitting on steel beams and covered in corrugated steel sheets, the tower was divided into two levels; a lower level housing the computer equipment and an upper level serving as the command centre. Sitting at the top of the tower was a radar unit, covered with a fiberglass dome resembling a giant golf ball. As a part of the Unification of the Forces in 1966, the station was re-named Canadian Forces Station Alsask. Improvements in radar equipment lead to the closure of some radar stations throughout the 1960s and 1970s as fewer stations were needed to cover the same area. By the mid-1980s, technology had improved to such a degree that only the far-north Distant Early Warning Line was needed. Throughout the rest of the 80s, the remaining Pinetree Line stations were gradually closed, with the last ones shut down by the early 1990s. CFS Alsask closed in 1987 and the land was sold to the Village of Alsask. The concrete operations building and two of the three radar towers up on the hill were demolished. The remaining tower was turned over to Transport Canada for use civilian aircraft control. It was finally decommissioned in 1996. Most of the buildings in the domestic area remain today; some occupied and some vacant. The PMQ trailers were once a senior’s village, but most are gone and the remaining ones are now vacant. The old school became a senior’s centre but too has been vacant since the 1990s. The gym and pool are also still in use as a public community centre for the Village of Alsask.The former Construction Engineering building is a mechanical shop and one of the old buildings is used as offices for the Alsask Golf Club and a craft centre.
The single-members barracks have been remodeled into single-family row-houses.
The remaining tower was turned over to Transport Canada after Alsask closed in 1987 and finally decommissioned in 1996. Despite being abandoned, the Alsask tower remained unchanged for two decades after its decommissioning, with its original dome remaining relatively intact. The Edmonton-based Canadian Civil Defence Museum and Archives took over the site in 2018, and after a year of restoration work, was finally able to open the site for public tours through the spring, summer and fall, with future plans for the site to be used for events. Although much of the Pinetree Line has been demolished, or allowed to slowly crumble to pieces, this piece of Cold War history will be preserved to honour the men and women who served at these isolated sentinels. Author's note: When I was driving around the domestic area, I was approached by a man in a truck, who wanted to know what I was doing. When I told him, he advised me that he was the mayor of Alsask ( I can't remember his name), and we chatted for a few minutes. He told me that the town was being sued by a fellow who had climbed to the top of the radar tower, after climbing over the fence with the razor wire on top and ignoring the No Trespassing signs, but was so drunk that he fell off the tower, and was now suing for his injuries. Yep, you can't save everyone from their own stupidity. Additional source material: the personal recollections of the author (2004), Google Maps (2017), https://thestarphoenix.com/news/local-news/museum-preserves-promotes-cold-war-history-in-sask.
Canadian Forces Station Dana: Opened in 1962 as RCAF Station Dana (also known as Sage Hill), with the radar functions being run by No. 45 Radar Squadron. The station consisted of three pulsed radars, and support facilities, including barracks, married quarters (trailers), a school, chapel, bowling alley and gym. The site was powered by a natural gas-fired power plant, that also generated steam for heating some of the buildings. The Junior Ranks Mess was known as “The Pink Panther Club”, with pink leather on the seats in the dance area. The Pink Panther Club held dances, darts, cards and movies one night a week. With the Unification of the forces, the station was re-named CFS Dana in 1968. By the mid-1980s, technology had improved to such a degree that only the far-north Distant Early Warning Line was needed. As a result, CFS Dana closed on 1 August 1987. The Sagehill Development Corporation bought the base for $180, 000. For many years the PMQs (trailers) were rented out to civilians, but they are no longer there. For a time in the early 90s, a food company operated out of the site, but went out of business within a couple years. In the mid 90s, the base was sold again and became the Signal Hill Buffalo Farm. As of 2011, the buildings are in disrepair, with roofs collapsing on some of them. Only one radar tower remains, and its radome has been deflated. The owner died in 2011 and current ownership is unknown, but it is still a buffalo ranch. The abandoned building at the GATR site also remains. Additional source material: information provided by Norm Rump
- ALBERTA
- Abandoned Armouries
