CFB Bagotville

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Canadian Forces Base Bagotville Bagotville Airport

IATA: YBG - ICAO: CYBG
Summary
Airport type		Military
Operator		DND
Serves		Bagotville, Quebec
Elevation AMSL		522 ft (159 m)
Coordinates		48°19′50″N, 070°59′47″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
11/29	10,000	3,048	Concrete
18/36	6,000	1,829	Asphalt

Canadian Forces Base Bagotville (IATA: YBG, ICAO: CYBG) (also CFB Bagotville), is a Canadian Forces Base located approximately 4.5 nautical miles (8.33 km) west of Bagotville in the city of La Baie, Quebec. It is operated as an air force base by Canadian Forces Air Command and is one of two bases in the country using the CF-18 Hornet fighter/interceptor; its primary lodger unit is 3 Wing.

CFB Bagotville's airfield is also used by civilian aircraft, with civilian operations at the base referring to the facility as Bagotville Airport.

1 RCAF Station Bagotville
2 CFB Bagotville
3 References
4 External links

[edit] RCAF Station Bagotville

At the height of the Second World War, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) selected a relatively level farming area at the head of navigable waters in the Saguenay Fjord 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 and RCAF Station Bagotville in La Baie.

The base at St-Honoré opened in June, 1942, followed by Bagotville on July 17, 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 (BCATP), as well as the 130 Panthère Squadron, which was an operational RCAF air defence unit intended to protect the massive Alcan aluminum smelter in nearby Arvida (one of the largest industrial facilities in Canada at the time), and associated hydro-electric facilities in the Saguenay region. During 1942, Quebec's coastal regions along the lower St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St. Lawrence were witnessing the Battle of the St. Lawrence as German U-boats 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, North American Harvard and Hawker Hurricane. The 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 August 1, 1942 the 12 Radar Detachment was deployed to provide air traffic control. On October 24, 1943 the 129 Squadron took over from 130 Squadron as the regional air defence unit; 2 months later in December the 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 October 28, 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 successfully 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 officially closed and mothballed on January 5, 1945.

The escalating tensions brought about by the Cold War and the Korean War saw RCAF Station Bagotville reactivated on July 1, 1951 as a training base for air defence squadrons deploying in support of NATO's defence of western Europe from the Warsaw Pact. 413 and 414 squadrons initially trained at Bagotville using De Havilland Vampire and F-86 Sabre aircraft. On March 7, 1953 both squadrons deployed to Europe and the base was quiet through the rest of that year.

In 1954, 432 and 440 squadrons were transferred to RCAF Station Bagotville, flying the CF-100 Canuck all-weather fighter. In 1957, 440 squadron deployed to France and on May 1, 1957 413 squadron returned to the base flying the Canuck. That year also saw the CT-133 Silver Star 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 Allouette squadron transferred to RCAF Station Bagotville, flying the Voodoo; its aircraft were modified to carry the AIR-2 Genie - a nuclear-tipped air-to-air missile, with nuclear warheads being stored at Bagotville until the weapon's decommissioning in the early 1980s.

[edit] CFB Bagotville

On February 1, 1968 the RCAF merged with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Army to form the Canadian Armed Forces; 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 the 433 "Porc-Épic" squadron was transferred to Bagotville, flying the CF-116 Freedom Fighter. In 1982, 410 squadron moved to CFB Cold Lake and was replaced by 434 "Bluenose" squadron.

On July 1, 1984 425 squadron changed from the CF-101 Voodoo to the CF-188 Hornet. On July 9, 1985 434 squadron moved to CFB Chatham. In 1986 433 squadron ceased operations to restructure and reactivated in January 1988, equipped with the CF-188 Hornet.

On April 1, 1993 CFB Bagotville became home to 3 Wing, which administers all Air Command units on base. The same day, 439 "Tiger" squadron was reformed, flying the CT-133 Silver Star and CH-135 Twin Huey; in 1996 439 squadron's CH-135's were replaced by the CH-146 Griffon.

On March 1, 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 aircraft and personnel absorbed by 425 Squadron as a dual language Francophone/Anglophone unit.

Today, CFB Bagotville has the following Squadrons and Units:

425 Tactical Fighter Squadron
439 Combat Support Squadron
3 Air Maintenance Squadron
12 Radar Squadron

[edit] References

Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 15 March 2007 to 0901Z 10 May 2007.

[edit] External links

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