RCAF Station Lachine was a

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 ...

station located near Lachine and

Dorval Dorval (; ) is an Greater Montreal, on-island suburban City (Quebec), city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has t ...

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, ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

, to the west of

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. The location of the station was Dorval Airport, which became the Montréal-Dorval International Airport (now Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport). RCAF Station Lachine began operation in 1941 as a transit point for the ferrying of aircraft and the transportation of supplies to Europe 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 ...

. Until 1943, Lachine was the location of one of five

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) manning depots, No. 5 Manning Depot.

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies a ...

, which had been based at

RCAF Station Rockcliffe 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 ...

, moved to Lachine in 1951. No. 426 Transport Squadron and

436 Transport Squadron 436 Transport Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. It currently operates the CC-130J Super Hercules from 8 Wing Trenton in Trenton, Ontario. History 436 Transport Squadron was originally a squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Forc ...

were re-established at Lachine in March 1947 and April 1949 respectively. No. 426 Squadron moved to Trenton in 1959; No. 436 Squadron moved to

RCAF Station Downsview Canadian Forces Base Toronto (also CFB Toronto) is a former Canadian Forces base that operated at the site of Downsview Airport in Toronto, Ontario. The airfield is currently referred to as the 'YZD district' for residential and commercial redev ...

in July 1956. No. 2 Air Movement Group (2 AMU) was formed at Lachine in 1951 and provided support to these squadrons. Air Transport Command moved to Trenton in September 1959 when the station closed.

References

RCAF Station Lachine
Military Bruce - Canadian Military History. Retrieved 2014-06-16 Lachine Buildings and structures in Dorval Buildings and structures in Lachine, Quebec 1941 establishments in Quebec Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport Lachine Lachine Lachine {{Canada-mil-hist-stub