CMC78-461-9B CF101B Voodoo 416 AWF Sqn RCAF

Canadian Forces Base Chatham or CFB Chatham was a Canadian Forces Base located immediately south of the town of Chatham,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, Canada. Parts are now operating as Miramichi Municipal Airport since 1974 with a partial runway available (09/27 - asphalt). From 1970 until 1985 Chatham had a Base Rescue Flight operating three CH-118 Iroquois helicopters. When the CF-101 Voodoo interceptors were retired, the CH-118s were redeployed to Base Flight Cold Lake.

History

Second World War

Air training facilities were established across Canada during the

Second World War 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 ...

as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and local MLA William Stafford Anderson applied for two schools in the Miramichi Valley region. The site was on level, cleared land with ready rail and road access. The Canadian government initially balked at paying for more expensive farmland, but the

Government of New Brunswick The Government of New Brunswick () is the provincial government of the province of New Brunswick. Its powers and structure are set out in the Constitution Act, 1867. The Provinces and territories of Canada, Province of New Brunswick has a unicam ...

agreed to front a portion of the cost. Construction began in the summer of 1940 and the airfield was ready by the following spring. No. 21 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) began operations on 3 July 1941 using 31 Fleet Finch loaned from the RCAF, while No. 10 Air Observer School (AOS), flying the Avro Anson, opened the following month. 21 EFTS was disbanded in August 1942 and re-established in Neepawa, Manitoba as No. 35 EFTS. 10 AOS remained at Chatham until it was disbanded in April 1945. On 7 May 1943, a flight of 14 Ansons took off from Chatham. Heavy fog rolled into the area soon afterward, obscuring the airfield. Two aircraft ditched in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and a third crashed in a field near Elgin, New Brunswick. Four trainee aircrew and one instructor were killed. Detachments of No. 113 Squadron and No. 119 Squadron patrolled the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Chatham in 1942 and 1943 flying Lockheed Hudsons. U-Boats were active in the Gulf and both U-165 and U-517 were attacked by Chatham-based aircraft, although neither were sunk.

Aerodrome Information

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at with a Var. 24 degrees 30' W and elevation of . Three runways were listed as follows:

Squadrons

* 1942 No. 113 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron - Lockheed Hudson * 1943 No. 119 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron - Lockheed Hudson * 1941-1942 No. 21 Elementary Flying Training SchoolMilitary Bruce Historical Writings by Bruce Forsyth
/ref> * 1941-1945 No. 10 Air Observer SchoolHatch, F. J. (1983).''The Aerodrome of Democracy: Canada and the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, 1939-1945''. Ottawa: Directorate of History, Department of National Defence. * 1949-1950s - airbase with Canadair Sabre and

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 ...

** 1949-1951 No. 421 Squadron RCAF * late 1950-1960s

Golden Hawks The Golden Hawks were a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) aerobatic flying team established in 1959 to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the RCAF and the "Golden" 50th anniversary of Canadian flight, which began with the AEA Silver Dart in 1909. ...

- Canadair Sabres * 1962-1984

No. 416 Squadron RCAF The numero sign or numero symbol, (also represented as Nº, No̱, No., or no.), is a Typography, typographic abbreviation of the word ''number''(''s'') indicating Ordinal numeral, ordinal numeration, especially in names and titles. For example ...

McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo The McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo was an all-weather interceptor aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force and the Canadian Forces between 1961 and 1984. They were manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri for ...

and Base Rescue Flight - CH-118 Iroquois * 1984-1989 No. 434 Squadron RCAF - Canadair CF-5 and Base Rescue Flight - CH-118 Iroquois

References

Bibliography

* Lee, A.M. ''Chatham: An Airfield History.'' Fredericton, New Brunswick: Unipress Ltd., 1989. .

External links

New Brunswick Aviation Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatham Canadian Forces bases in New Brunswick Former Canadian Forces bases in Canada Buildings and structures in Miramichi, New Brunswick Transport in Miramichi, New Brunswick Royal Canadian Air Force stations Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Military airbases in New Brunswick Military history of New Brunswick