Canadian Forces Base Bagotville , commonly referred to as CFB Bagotville, and also known as Bagotville Airport or Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, is 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 ...

west of Bagotville in the city of Saguenay. Located in the centre of

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, ...

, less than north of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, CFB Bagotville is operated as an air force base by the

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) and is one of two bases in the country using the

CF-18 Hornet The McDonnell Douglas CF-18 Hornet (official military designation CF-188) is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) variant of the American McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet fighter aircraft. In 1980, the F/A-18 was selected as the winner of the New ...

fighter/interceptor, the other being

CFB Cold Lake Canadian Forces Base Cold Lake , abbreviated as CFB Cold Lake, is a Canadian Forces Base in the City of Cold Lake, Alberta. The facility is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is approximately south of the ...

. Its primary RCAF lodger units are 2 Wing and 3 Wing. CFB Bagotville's airfield is also used by civilian aircraft, with civilian operations at the base referring to the facility as Saguenay-Bagotville Airport (). The airport is classified as an

airport of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internatio ...

Nav Canada Nav Canada (styled as NAV CANADA) is a privately run, non-profit corporation that owns and operates Canada's civil air navigation system (ANS). It was established by statute in accordance with the ''Civil Air Navigation Services Commercializati ...

and is staffed by the

Canada Border Services Agency The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA; , ''ASFC'') is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border guard, border control (i.e. protection and surveillance), immigration enforcement, and Customs, customs services in Canada. ...

(CBSA). CBSA officers can handle civilian aircraft with no more than 30 passengers between 0800-1630 on weekdays. , approximately 1,700 military and civilian people work at CFB Bagotville. A quick reaction facility is being built to support the new

Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is an American family of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth strike fighters. A multirole combat aircraft designed for both Air superiority fighter, air superiority and att ...

fighters.

History

World War II (1941–1945)

At the height of 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 ...

, the RCAF selected a relatively level farming area at the head of navigable waters in the

Saguenay River __NOTOC__ The Saguenay River (, ) is a major river of Quebec, Canada. It drains Lac Saint-Jean in the Laurentian Highlands, leaving at Alma and running east; the city of Saguenay is located on the river. It drains into the Saint Lawrence River. ...

to be the site of several aerodromes during 1941. This area was considered useful for RCAF purposes, given the amount of cleared land in the region, its relative geographic isolation and proximity to the deepwater port of Port-Alfred, as well as access to the adjacent railway network. Construction began that summer and continued through the winter and following spring on RCAF Station St-Honoré near

Chicoutimi Chicoutimi ( , ) is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and ...

and RCAF Station Bagotville in La Baie. The base at St-Honoré opened in June 1942, followed by Bagotville on 17 July 1942; St-Honoré being operated as a sub-base to Bagotville. RCAF Station Bagotville hosted the 1 Operational Training Unit (1 OTU) which trained pilots from commonwealth nations under 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 ...

(BCATP), as well as the 130 Panthère Squadron, which was an operational RCAF air defence unit intended to protect the massive

Alcan Alcan was a Canadian mining company and aluminum manufacturer. It was founded in 1902 as the Northern Aluminum Company, renamed Aluminum Company of Canada in 1925, and Alcan Aluminum in 1966. It took the name Alcan Incorporated in 2001. During ...

aluminum smelter in nearby

Arvida Arvida ( ) is a settlement of 12,000 people (2010)Peritz, Ingrid, "Saguenay 'utopia' dreaming big again", ''The Globe and Mail'', 13 November 2010, p. A31 in Quebec, Canada, that is part of the City of Saguenay. Its name is derived from the name ...

(one of the largest industrial facilities in Canada at the time), and associated hydro-electric facilities in the Saguenay region. During 1942

's coastal regions along the lower

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

and

Gulf of Saint Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in ...

were witnessing the Battle of the St. Lawrence as

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

s were sinking Canadian shipping throughout the area. RCAF Station Bagotville was established, along with RCAF Station Mont-Joli to counter the U-boat menace to Canada's war effort and placate local fears. Early training aircraft operating from RCAF Station Bagotville included Curtiss Kittyhawk,

Westland Lysander The Westland Lysander is a British Army cooperation aircraft, army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft that was used immediately before and during the Second World War. After becoming obsolete in the army co-operat ...

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

Hawker Hurricane The Hawker Hurricane is a British single-seat fighter aircraft of the 1930s–40s which was designed and predominantly built by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. for service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was overshadowed in the public consciousness by ...

. 130 Squadron, which was deployed at the base to provide regional air defence to key industrial facilities, used the motto "Défendez le Saguenay", which was later adopted by the entire base. On 1 August 1942 the 12 Radar Detachment was deployed to provide air traffic control. On 24 October 1943 129 Squadron took over from 130 Squadron as the regional air defence unit; two months later in December 129 Squadron was redeployed from Saguenay and the 1 OTU was retasked with regional air defence duties. Toward the end of the war, RCAF Station Bagotville began to decline in activity as the requirement for BCATP training decreased. On 28 October 1944 the 1 OTU ceased operations, followed by the 12 Radar Detachment. In 29 pilot training courses given by 1 OTU at RCAF Station Bagotville (and St-Honoré), 940 pilots graduated and 41 were killed during training. In November 1944 1 OTU was disbanded and the closure of RCAF Station Bagotville and its secondary facilities at RCAF Station St-Honoré was announced; they were closed and mothballed on 5 January 1945. file:Curtiss P-40E Warhawk 2 USAF.jpg, Curtiss Kittyhawk file:Lysander 5 Aug 2012 a.jpg,

file:AT-6C Texans in flight 1943.jpg,

file:RCAFskylancers.jpg,

Canadair Sabre The Canadair Sabre is a Jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force ...

file:CF-188A BANKING.jpg,

Aerodrome

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as ''RCAF Aerodrome - Saguenay, Province of Quebec'' at with a variation of 23 degrees E and elevation of . Three runways were listed as follows:

Cold War (1951–1993)

The escalating tensions brought about by the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

and the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

saw RCAF Station Bagotville reactivated on 1 July 1951 as a training base for air defence squadrons deploying in support of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

's defence of western Europe from the

Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...

. Two squadrons, 413 and 414, initially operated at Bagotville using

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

F-86 Sabre The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing Sov ...

aircraft ( * logs from 413 during this period detail no Vampires, only Sabres, Harvard, T33 and Expeditor). During this time squadrons were deployed on Operation Appletree visiting a number of cities and towns in the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario, and to the Toronto CNE to promote the RCAF. 2 Flying Officers were lost; F/O Robert Verne "Hank" Snow and Robert "Mongoose" Moncrieff. There were other incidences of engine failures requiring emergency procedures. On 7 March 1953 both squadrons deployed to Europe on the month long Leagfrog III and the base was quiet through the rest of that year. NATO OTAN landscape logo

No. 431 (Fighter) Squadron re-formed at RCAF Station Bagotville on 18 January 1954 using the Sabre. The squadron was formed on a temporary basis until there were enough new

CF-100 The Avro Canada CF-100 Canuck (affectionately known as the "Clunk") is a Canadian twinjet interceptor/ fighter designed and produced by aircraft manufacturer Avro Canada. It has the distinction of being the only Canadian-designed fighter to ent ...

s available to fulfill RCAF squadron needs and was deactivated on 1 October 1954. Also in 1954 432 and

440 Year 440 (Roman numerals, CDXL) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Valentinian III, Valentinianus and Anatolius (consul), Anatolius (or, less frequently, year ...

squadrons were transferred to RCAF Station Bagotville flying the CF-100 Canuck all-weather fighter. In 1957 440 squadron deployed to

RCAF Station Zweibrücken 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 Canad ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and on 1 May 1957 413 squadron returned to the base flying the Canuck. That year also saw the

CT-133 Silver Star The Canadair CT-133 Silver Star (company model number CL-30) is the Canadian license-built version of the Lockheed T-33 jet trainer aircraft, in service from the 1950s to 2005. The Canadian version was powered by the Rolls-Royce Nene, Rolls-Roy ...

arrive at the base as a training aircraft. In 1961, 413 and 432 squadrons disbanded and 416 Squadron was formed at Bagotville flying the CF-101 Voodoo. 416 squadron was moved to RCAF Station Chatham the following year in 1962. In summer of 1962 the 425 Alouette squadron transferred to RCAF Station Bagotville flying the Voodoo; its aircraft were modified to carry the

AIR-2 Genie The Douglas Aircraft Company, Douglas AIR-2 Genie (previous designation MB-1) was an unguided air-to-air rocket with a 1.5 kt W25 (nuclear warhead), W25 nuclear warhead. It was deployed by the United States Air Force (USAF 1957–1985) and Cana ...

- a nuclear-tipped air-to-air missile, with nuclear warheads being stored at Bagotville until the weapon's decommissioning in the early 1980s. On 1 February 1968 the RCAF merged with the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

and

Canadian Army The Canadian Army () is the command (military formation), command responsible for the operational readiness of the conventional ground forces of the Canadian Armed Forces. It maintains regular forces units at bases across Canada, and is also re ...

to form the

Canadian Armed Forces The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...

; RCAF Station Bagotville changed its name to ''Canadian Forces Base Bagotville''. Later that year 410 squadron formed at CFB Bagotville to provide training. In September 1969 433 "Porc-Épic" squadron was transferred to Bagotville flying the CF-116 Freedom Fighter. In 1982 410 squadron moved to

and was replaced by 434 "Bluenose" squadron. On 1 July 1984 425 squadron changed from the CF-101 Voodoo to the CF-188 Hornet. On 9 July 1985 434 squadron moved to

CFB Chatham Canadian Forces Base Chatham or CFB Chatham was a Canadian Forces Base located immediately south of the town of Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada. Parts are now operating as Miramichi Municipal Airport since 1974 with a partial runway available ...

. In 1986 433 squadron ceased operations to restructure and reactivated in January 1988 equipped with the CF-188 Hornet.

1993–present

On 1 April 1993 CFB Bagotville became home to 3 Wing, which administers all Air Command units on base. The same day 439 "Tiger" squadron was reformed from elements of the existing ''Base Flight Bagotville'', flying the

and CH-118 Huey. The CT-133 fleet was retired in 2001 and in 1996 439 squadron's four CH-118s were replaced by three CH-146 Griffons. In July 1996, the base helped locals during the Saguenay flood. On 1 March 1999, 12 Radar Squadron was formed at CFB Bagotville to provide tactical control of fighter/interceptor aircraft; it replaced a radar station at RCAF Station Mont Apica which was closed. 433 Squadron disbanded in 2006 with its aircraft and personnel absorbed by 425 Squadron as a dual language Francophone/Anglophone unit. The squadron was reactivated on 9 June 2015. On October 2, 2020, the Government of Canada awarded EllisDon-EBC Inc. Joint Venture of Ottawa with the $12.1 million construction of new facilities to house the Royal Canadian Air Force's Future Fighter. The Future Fighter, to be housed at

and CFB Bagotville, will require facility upgrades before the first delivery of the fighter in 2025. A $131 million contract was awarded to construct a 15,000 m² facility to house the 2 Air Expeditionary Wing. The construction began in 2023.

Present units

CFB Bagotville has the following squadrons and units: *2 Wing Bagotville ** 2 Mission Support Squadron ** 2 Air Expeditionary Training Squadron ** 2 Operational Support Squadron ** 4 Construction Engineering Squadron ** 8 Air Communication and Control Squadron ** 2 Air Support Operations Squadron ** 14 Construction Engineering Squadron *3 Wing Bagotville ** 425 Tactical Fighter Squadron (CF-18) **

433 Tactical Fighter Squadron 433 Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It operates CF-18 Hornet fighter jets from CFB Bagotville in Quebec, Canada. As of 2024, its Commanding Officer is Lieutenant Colonel Aaron Dhillon. History No. 433 Squadron formed at ...

(CF-18) **

439 Combat Support Squadron 439 Combat Support Squadron (French: is a squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force, based in CFB Bagotville, Bagotville, Quebec. It was formed as No. 123 (Army Co-operation) Squadron in early 1942 for army training operations in eastern Canada d ...

( CH-146 Griffon) **3 Air Maintenance Squadron **12 Radar Squadron **3 Wing Air Reserve Flight ** Forward Operating Location Iqaluit Bagotville also supports 414 Electronic Warfare Support Squadron. Re-formed on 20 January 2009 this squadron is based in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and is composed of military electronic warfare officers who fulfill the combat support role, flying on civilian contracted aircraft. The

Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jet is a attack aircraft, light attack jet aircraft, jet and advanced jet trainer co-manufactured by Dassault Aviation of France and Dornier Flugzeugwerke of Germany. It was developed specifically to perform trainer a ...

s that form part of Top Aces fleet are based here as part of the CF jet training program Contracted Airborne Training Services. CFB Bagotville hosts the Bagotville Air Cadet Summer Training Centre. Air Cadets from across Canada attend the summer training centre to qualify in a variety of courses ranging from the one-week General Training Course, to the six-week Survival Instructor Course.

International commitments

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ; , CDAAN), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a Combined operations, combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air ...

(NORAD) *

* UNO

Airlines and destinations

Museum

The base is also home to the Musée de la Défense aérienne. A number of Canadian and foreign military aircraft are on static display outside of the main museum building.

International Air Show Bagotville

Since 1953 the base has hosted an

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are trade fair, exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without which they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The ...

on a biannual schedule. The event is known as the ''International air show of Bagotville''. Each air show showcases various military aircraft, including those of the

. The air show averages 100,000 visitors over the weekend.

References

External links

Aéroport Saguenay-BagotvilleCFB Bagotville
Base presentation — Gouvernment of Canada *
CFB Bagotville
Presentation on Bagotville selection — CAF Connection
Air Defense Museum — CFB Bagotville
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagotville Canadian Forces bases in Quebec Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Military airbases in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean Buildings and structures in Saguenay, Quebec Transport in Saguenay, Quebec Cadet Instructors Cadre (Canada)