Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , or CFB Greenwood, 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 ...

located east of

Greenwood Green wood is unseasoned wood. Greenwood or Green wood may also refer to: People * Greenwood (surname) Settlements Australia * Greenwood, Queensland, a locality in the Toowoomba Region * Greenwood, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

. It is primarily 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 ...

and is one of two bases in the country using the

CP-140 Aurora The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the Lockheed S-3 Viking. "Aurora" refers to the R ...

and

CP-140A Arcturus The Lockheed CP-140 Aurora is a maritime patrol aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. The aircraft is based on the Lockheed P-3 Orion airframe, but mounts the electronics suite of the Lockheed S-3 Viking. "Aurora" refers to the R ...

anti-submarine/maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft, the other being

CFB Comox Canadian Forces Base Comox , commonly referred to as CFB Comox or 19 Wing, is a Canadian Forces base on Vancouver Island in the Comox Valley, north northeast of Comox, British Columbia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Roy ...

. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 14 Wing, commonly referred to as 14 Wing Greenwood.

RAF Station Greenwood

The relatively fog-free climate of the farming hamlet of Greenwood was selected by the

(RCAF) and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

for an airfield 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 ...

(BCATP), following the signing of that formal agreement on December 17, 1939. The airfield for RAF Station Greenwood was constructed between 1940 and 1942 with the first training units arriving as part of No. 36 Operational Training Unit (OTU) on March 9, 1942. Early training aircraft types included the

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 ...

MK III, 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 ...

, and the

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 ...

, all from Britain's

. By the end of August 1942 there were 36 aircraft, and 194 trainees out of a total of 1,474 RAF personnel. By November 1942 the number of trainees had doubled and aircraft had expanded to 80. In addition to the BCATP program, RAF Station Greenwood was involved in combat operations through maritime reconnaissance to counter

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 ...

activity in the western Atlantic. These wartime anti-submarine patrols, combined with BCATP training, led to dozens of aircraft crashes throughout the first year of the base being operational, resulting in the deaths of Canadians, as well as 31 airmen from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. On December 4, 1942, the

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 ...

provided an anti-aircraft searchlight battery, the 5th Special Mobile Anti-Aircraft Search Light Troop, to provide realistic night training to aircrews. By the end of 1942, the BCATP was changing across Canada in light of Allied successes in Europe. RAF Station Greenwood was selected to train aircrew on the

de Havilland Mosquito The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its airframe was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or " ...

, beginning July 3, 1943. The last Hudson left the base on October 3 of that year. Supporting the Mosquito BCATP training were the

Airspeed Oxford The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford is a twin-engine monoplane aircraft developed and manufactured by Airspeed Ltd, Airspeed. It saw widespread use for training Commonwealth of Nations, British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombin ...

and

Bristol Bolingbroke The Bristol Fairchild Bolingbroke is a maritime patrol aircraft and trainer used by the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. Produced by Fairchild Aircraft Ltd. (Canada), Fairchild-Canada, it was a license-built version of the ...

. The base also became home to

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 ...

s and

Lockheed Ventura The Lockheed Ventura is a twin-engine medium bomber and patrol bomber of World War II. The Ventura first entered combat in Europe as a bomber with the RAF in late 1942. Designated PV-1 by the United States Navy (US Navy), it entered combat in ...

Aerodrome

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Greenwood, Nova Scotia at with a variation of 23 degrees west and elevation of . The field was listed as "all hard surfaced" and had three runways listed as follows:Staff Writer c.1942, p. 20

RCAF Station Greenwood

On July 1, 1944, RAF Station Greenwood transitioned to the RCAF, becoming RCAF Station Greenwood with No. 36 OTU (RAF) disbanding and No. 8 OTU (RCAF) forming in its place. Under the RCAF, BCATP training continued unabated throughout the course 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 ...

, with a total of 57 airmen killed in 25 crashes between June 1942 and April 1945. The BCATP program was disbanded on March 31, 1945. A proposed

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an international association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire The B ...

very long range (VLR)

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft that utilizes air-to-ground weaponry to drop bombs, launch aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploy air-launched cruise missiles. There are two major classifications of bomber: strategic and tactical. Strateg ...

group named "

Tiger Force Tiger Force was the name of a long-range reconnaissance patrol (LRRP) unit of the 1st Battalion (Airborne), 327th Infantry, 1st Brigade (Separate), 101st Airborne Division, which fought in the Vietnam War from November 1965 to November 1967. Th ...

" was scaled down through the spring of 1945. Following

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

on May 8, 1945, the RCAF units that were to be part of Tiger Force were converted to the

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...

and returned to Canada for training and reorganization as part of a planned Allied invasion of Japan (

Operation Downfall Operation Downfall was the proposed Allied plan for the invasion of the Japanese home islands near the end of World War II. The planned operation was canceled when Japan surrendered following the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki ...

). The RCAF disbanded No. 8 OTU on July 31, 1945, and created No. 6614 Wing at RCAF Station Greenwood the following day on August 1, 1945, with plans for the bomber wing to start training August 24, 1945 and deploy its first Lancaster crews to the Pacific Theatre by December 1945. The

atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civili ...

and subsequent capitulation of Japan on August 14, 1945, resulted in No. 6614 Wing disbanding as part of Tiger Force on September 5, 1945.

Cold War

Between the fall of 1945 and March 31, 1946, RCAF Station Greenwood maintained a nominal training complement of personnel and aircraft. Effective May 1, 1946, the base was mothballed with numerous buildings being closed. By the end of June the base was down to a skeleton staff of 72 personnel. RCAF Station Greenwood would remain this way until February 17, 1947. On that date the RCAF's AFHQ Organization Order 854 was executed which activated RCAF Station Greenwood on April 1 of that year. RCAF 10 Group, Halifax announced in mid-October 1947 that No. 103 Rescue Unit would move from RCAF Station Dartmouth (now

CFB Shearwater Shearwater Heliport , formerly known as Canadian Forces Base Shearwater and commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater and formerly named HMCS ''Shearwater'', is a Canadian Forces facility located east-southeast of Shearwater, Nova Scotia, on the ...

) to Greenwood by the end of the month. No. 103 RU had been conceived in January 1947 at RCAF Station Dartmouth to aid aircraft in distress on Trans-Atlantic service. By October 29, 1947, 100-150 airmen and officers, 2

PBY Canso The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the OA- ...

, 1

Noorduyn Noorduyn is a Canadian manufacturer of aircraft products and accessories, specializing in high performance composites. It is headquartered in Montreal, and has offices worldwide serving the commercial, business and military aviation markets. T ...

Norseman, and 1

Sikorsky S-51 The Sikorsky H-5 (initially designated R-5 and also known by company designations S-48, S-51 and VS-327Fitzsimons, Bernard, (general editor). ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 20, p ...

helicopter. In September 1948, the No. 103 RU at RCAF Station Greenwood deployed a Lancaster and Canso to Goose Air Base to work with

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 ...

(RCN) units on a northern exercise, followed in October 1948 with participation in joint naval manoeuvres with the RCN and

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

(USN). 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 ...

was in its infancy during the late 1940s when Canada signed the North Atlantic Treaty with the western war-time Allies, becoming part 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 ...

. RCAF Station Greenwood was selected as Canada's site for a maritime reconnaissance training unit for anti-submarine warfare, the No. 2 Maritime (M) Operational Training Unit, and the nation's first operational squadron, 405 Squadron. 2 (M) OTU became operational on December 12, 1949, the same day that 405 Squadron reactivated, using modified Avro Lancaster bombers as maritime reconnaissance aircraft. Part of 2 (M) OTU became 404 Squadron, the base's second operational maritime reconnaissance squadron on April 30, 1951, with the 2 (M) OTU continuing to train units at RCAF Station Greenwood. The base was experiencing a crowding problem, thus the 2 (M) OTU was moved to

RCAF Station Summerside Canadian Forces Base Summerside (CFB Summerside) was an air force base located in St. Eleanors, Prince Edward Island, Canada, now part of the city of Summerside. RCAF Station Summerside World War II The airfield was constructed by the Royal Ca ...

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

effective November 14, 1953. The

Lockheed P2V Neptune The Lockheed P-2 Neptune (designated P2V by the United States Navy prior to September 1962) is a maritime patrol and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft. It was developed for the US Navy by Lockheed to replace the Lockheed PV-1 Ventura and P ...

replaced Greenwood's Lancasters beginning March 30, 1955 as the operational maritime reconnaissance aircraft. On January 17, 1955, the No. 103 Rescue Unit received a Piasecki H-21/H-44, known as a "flying banana". The first

CP-107 Argus The Canadair CP-107 Argus (company designation CL-28) is a maritime patrol aircraft designed and manufactured by Canadair for the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). The Argus served throughout the Cold War in the RCAF's Maritime Air Command and l ...

arrived at RCAF Station Greenwood on May 1, 1958. The No. 2 (Maritime) OTU at RCAF Station Summerside created the No. 2 (Maritime) OTU Detachment at Greenwood to train Argus aircrews. 405 Squadron became the first operational RCAF unit to receive the Argus in July 1958. On April 15, 1959 404 Squadron received its first Argus and on May 1, 1961, the 415 Squadron was reactivated at RCAF Station Summerside to become the third operational unit to fly the aircraft. The Neptunes at Greenwood were transferred to 407 Squadron at RCAF Station Comox starting in May 1958, replacing the last Lancasters.

Canadian Forces

On February 1, 1968, the RCN, RCAF and Canadian Army were unified into the

Canadian 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 ...

, and RCAF Station Greenwood name was changed to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Greenwood. That year many decisions were made that reduced duplication among the services, with various units being reorganized, moved, or disbanded. To alleviate further overcrowding at CFB Greenwood, 103 RU was moved to CFB Summerside. By the mid-1970s, 6 of Greenwood's 18 Argus aircraft were mothballed and 242 personnel cut from all ranks. By the late 1970s, the Argus was identified as a candidate for replacement and the

was selected. In September 1978, the Maritime Patrol and Evaluation Unit transferred from CFB Summerside. 415 Squadron flew the Argus out of CFB Summerside until the spring of 1981 when the unit transferred to Greenwood and converted to the Aurora. The first Auroras replaced the Argus at Greenwood and Comox with 14 and 4 respectively. Greenwood received its first Aurora on May 27, 1980, and the last one arrived on July 10, 1981. The 1989 federal budget cuts to the

Department of National Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

identified CFB Summerside as a candidate for base closure. In 1991 the base was closed and the majority of military personnel were transferred to CFB Greenwood, with Summerside's only operational unit, 413 Squadron (successor to No. 103 RU) moving its

CH-113 Labrador The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is an American medium-lift tandem rotors, tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft aircraft engine, engines. It was designed by Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Helico ...

and

CC-115 Buffalo The de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo is a short takeoff and landing (STOL) utility transport turboprop aircraft developed from the earlier piston-powered DHC-4 Caribou. The aircraft has extraordinary STOL performance and is able to take off ...

aircraft on June 10, 1991; the Buffalo were replaced by the CC-130 Hercules shortly after 413 transferred. Further defence cuts and reorganization in 1995 moved the 434 Squadron from

to Greenwood, bringing its Canadair CE/CT-133 Silver Star and Canadair CC/CP/CE-144 Challenger combat support aircraft to the base. This squadron was disbanded on April 28, 2002. Later in 2002, 413 Squadron's CH-113 Labrador helicopters were replaced by the new CH-149 Cormorant, a version of the

EH-101 The AgustaWestland AW101 is a medium-lift helicopter in military and civil use. First flown in 1987, it was developed by a joint venture between Westland Helicopters in the United Kingdom and Agusta in Italy in response to national requirement ...

helicopter. On 9 January 2008, Defence Minister

Peter MacKay Peter Gordon MacKay (born September 27, 1965), a Canadian lawyer and politician, served as Member of Parliament (Canada), Member of Parliament from 1997 to 2015 and as Minister of Justice (Canada), Minister of Justice and Attorney General (20 ...

appointed Canadian country singer-songwriter

George Canyon George Canyon (born Frederick George Lays, August 22, 1970) is a Canadian country music singer. He was the runner up on the second season of ''Nashville Star'' in 2004. He grew up in Fox Brook, Pictou County, Nova Scotia before he moved west t ...

to the position of honorary colonel at 14 Wing. In December 2011

Barb Stegemann Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

replaced Canyon as honorary colonel of the wing. Dr. Terry Kelly, best known as a singer, songwriter, was appointed as the Honorary Colonel of 14 Wing Greenwood, N.S. in May 2015.

Present operations

Canadian Forces

Today CFB Greenwood remains Canada's largest operational air force base on the Atlantic coast, based on numbers of aircraft and personnel. The following aircraft types are permanently stationed at the base: *

, anti-submarine warfare/long-range maritime patrol * CH-149 Cormorant,

air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergenc ...

* CC-130 Hercules, air-sea rescue, transport With

CFB Gander Canadian Forces Base Gander (also CFB Gander, ), is a Canadian Forces base located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is home to search and rescue operations that cover a ...

and

CFB Goose Bay Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , commonly referred to as CFB Goose Bay, is a Canadian Forces Base located in the municipality of Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by ...

, CFB Greenwood is being used as a forward deployment base for CF-188 Hornet fighter/interceptor aircraft rotating in from

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

as part of

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

's post-

9/11 The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

response to concerns about civilian airline security along North America's east coast.

Air Cadets

CFB Greenwood hosts a

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets () is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, ''National Defence Act'', the program is administered by the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) ...

summer training centre known as CTC Greenwood. Currently the

Commanding Officer The commanding officer (CO) or commander, or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually give ...

(CO) of CTC Greenwood is Lieutenant-Commander V. Wojdylak, the Deputy Commanding Officer (DCO) is

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

N. Hargreaves, the Chief Training Officer (C Trg O) is

J.B. Gale, the

Chief Warrant Officer Chief warrant officer is a senior warrant officer rank, used in many countries. Canadian Armed Forces In the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), a chief warrant officer or CWO is the most senior non-commissioned member (NCM) rank for army and air fo ...

Chief Petty Officer 1st Class Chief petty officer, 1st class (CPO1) is the most senior non-commissioned member (NCM) rank of the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN). It is equivalent to a chief warrant officer (CWO) in the Canadian Army and Royal Canadian Air Force. It is immediately se ...

(CPO1) K. Ellerbeck. CFB Greenwood is also the home of 517 Flight Lieutenant Graham Squadron, a local air cadet unit. In 2016, members of the

Royal Canadian Army Cadets The Royal Canadian Army Cadets (RCAC; ) is a national Canadian youth program sponsored by the Canadian Armed Forces and the civilian Army Cadet League of Canada. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by th ...

began attending CSTC Greenwood. CSTCs across Canada are also bringing in Cadets from other branches.

Civilian use

Until 2005, CFB Greenwood's airfield was home to the Greenwood Flying Club for civilian general aviation. The Greenwood Flying Club changed its name to the Greenwood Flight Centre and operated out of the Waterville/Kings County Municipal Airport, a small civilian airport located east of CFB Greenwood. Since the closure of the Kings County Municipal Airport in April 2016, civilian operations have moved back into CFB Greenwood. The civilian facilities are operated by Freedom AviationFreedom Aviation
/ref> with separate parking area and access to the airport runways. Use of the airport by civilian aircraft requires registration with Freedom Aviation to operate there or must obtain prior permission. These operations occur under a lease agreement between Canadian DND and the Municipality of Kings and the initial terms are for 25 years.

References

External links

14 Wing Greenwood
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenwood Military airbases in Nova Scotia Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan Canadian Forces bases in Nova Scotia Transport in Kings County, Nova Scotia Buildings and structures in Kings County, Nova Scotia

RAF Station Greenwood

Aerodrome

RCAF Station Greenwood

Cold War

Canadian Forces

Present operations

Canadian Forces

Air Cadets

Civilian use

See also

References

External links