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

Canadian Forces Base Chatham or CFB Chatham 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 ...

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 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 ...

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 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 ...

and local MLA

William Stafford Anderson William Stafford Anderson (February 16, 1884 – March 28, 1980) was a lumberman and political figure in New Brunswick, Canada. He represented Northumberland County in the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick from 1930 to 1956 as a Liberal ...

applied for two schools in the

Miramichi Valley The Miramichi Valley is a Canadian river valley and region in the east-central part of New Brunswick. It extends along both major branches of the Miramichi River and their tributaries, however it is generally agreed that the much larger Southw ...

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 The Fleet Finch (Fleet Model 16) is a two-seat, tandem training biplane produced by Fleet Aircraft of Fort Erie, Ontario. There were a number of variants mainly based on engine variations. Over several years beginning in 1939, a total of 447 ...

loaned from the RCAF, while No. 10 Air Observer School (AOS), flying 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 ...

, opened the following month. 21 EFTS was disbanded in August 1942 and re-established in

Neepawa, Manitoba Neepawa () is a town in Manitoba, Canada, on the Yellowhead Highway at the intersection with Highway 5. its population was 5,685. Neepawa was incorporated as a town in 1883. Located in western Manitoba, it is bordered by the Municipality of N ...

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 Elgin, sometimes referred to as Elgin Centre, is a small Unincorporated area, unincorporated Rural area, rural village located in Albert County, New Brunswick, Albert County, New Brunswick, Canada. It was first settled in 1811 by John Geldart, ...

. 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 Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and ...

s. U-Boats were active in the Gulf and both U-165 and

U-517 German submarine ''U-517'' was a Type IXC U-boat of the Nazi Germany's ''Kriegsmarine'' during World War II. She was laid down at the Deutsche Werft in Hamburg as yard number 313 on 5 June 1941, launched on 30 December 1941 and commissioned o ...

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 -

* 1943 No. 119 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron -

* 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 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 ...

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. ...

s * 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 The Canadair CF-5 (officially designated the CF-116 Freedom Fighter) is a Canadian licensed-built Northrop F-5 Freedom Fighter. It is a light, supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twin engine, daylight air superiority fighter primarily for the Cana ...

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