Canadian Forces Base St. Hubert was a

Canadian Forces Base A Canadian Forces base or CFB () is a military installation of the Canadian Armed Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces base, it must station one or more major units (e.g., army regiments, navy ships, air force wings). Minor i ...

in the city of Saint-Hubert,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The base began as a civilian airfield in the 1920s and was later also used by RCAF auxiliary (reserve) squadrons, beginning in the mid-1930s. It became a fully-fledged RCAF station early in World War II, being extensively used for training as part of the

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a large-scale multinational military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand during the Second Wo ...

. After the war, it grew into one of the most important air bases in Canada, and remained so for decades. In its heyday as an operational air force station, it was host to multiple jet fighter squadrons flying the

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland DH100 Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteo ...

and later the CF 100 in all-weather fighter squadrons, and two Royal Canadian Air Force Reserve

Sabre A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

squadrons and two multi-engine transport squadrons. It was the host station to RCAF

Air Defence Command Air Defence Command was a command of the Royal Canadian Air Force and later the Canadian Armed Forces, active from 1951 to 1975. Originally, post-war plans called for air defence to be the responsibility of reserve, auxiliary squadrons only. Vamp ...

Headquarters. It became part of

CFB Montreal 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier, Detachment Montreal, formerly known as and commonly referred to as Canadian Forces Base Montreal (also CFB Montreal or Longue-Pointe) is a Canadian Forces base, Canadian Forces Base network located in ...

upon the

unification of the Canadian Forces The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces took place on 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form the Canadian Armed Forces. History A white paper was tabled in the Parliame ...

in 1968, with the headquarters now serving as the Mobile Command Headquarters. The main base was decommissioned by the Canadian Forces in the mid-1990s, being downsized to a garrison under the administrative control of CFB Montreal. 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron operates from the former base's airfield.

History

World War II

RCAF Station St HubertMilitary Bruce Historical Writings by Bruce Forsyth
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Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

(RCAF) airbase established in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

at the Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport. The station was home to the

No. 13 Service Flying Training School (13 SFTS) from 1 September 1941 to February 1944 when it moved to

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The B ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. It had a relief field located at

Farnham, Quebec Farnham is a city in Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 10,149, making it the second most populated community in the RCM. History The city of ...

. It operated the

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft, which was used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Air Force (USAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Ro ...

and the

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), R ...

as advanced training aircraft. In 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - St.Hubert, Province of Quebec at with a variation of 16 degrees west and elevation of . Three runways were listed as follows:

Postwar

As early as 1946, RCAF squadrons previously disbanded overseas the year before following the end of hostilities, were being reformed in Canada. Both regular and auxiliary units were reactivated in St-Hubert. 410 Sqn, a regular RCAF unit on the new British designed

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and c ...

jet fighter, and 401 and

438 Year 438 (Roman numerals, CDXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius II, Theodosius and Anicius Acilius Glabrio Faustus, Glabrio (or, less frequ ...

(Aux) squadrons flying the

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

and then also converting to Vampires. In its heyday as an operational air force station, it was host to multiple jet fighter squadrons flying the de Havilland Vampire and later the CF 100 in all-weather fighter squadrons, and two Royal Canadian Air Force Reserve

squadrons and two multi-engine transport squadrons. It was the host station to RCAF

Headquarters. It became part of

upon the

in 1968, with the headquarters now serving as the Mobile Command Headquarters. The main base was decommissioned by the Canadian Forces in the mid-1990s, being downsized as a garrison.

Post-decommissioning

The airport remains in use as Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport. The married quarters housing area remains under military control. Several of the buildings were taken over by the city of St-Hubert for their police and civic administration. Some of the hangars have been converted to motion picture sound stages. Barracks blocks and dining facilities have either been demolished or converted to commercial spaces.

Operations

A Canadian Forces garrison remains at the airport, including 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron and 34 Service Battalion. No longer using the runways, 438 Squadron has separate helipads located next to a hangar on rue Leckie. New army recruits in the

Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces () is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the Cadet Organizations Administration and Training Service (f ...

often take their BMQ (

Basic Military Qualification Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) refers to both the basic training course, and the graduation qualification, received by non-commissioned recruits or reservists seeking entry to the Canadian Forces. The course is 9 weeks in length and conducted at ...

) course under the supervision of 34 Service Battalion at this location.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Hubert Defunct airports in Quebec Canadian Forces bases in Quebec Royal Canadian Air Force stations Former Canadian Forces bases in Canada Transport in Longueuil Buildings and structures in Longueuil Military history of Quebec Military airbases in Quebec Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1997 disestablishments in Quebec