CFB Greenwood
Encyclopedia
Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , commonly referred to as "14 Wing Greenwood" or CFB Greenwood, is a Canadian Forces Base
located in Greenwood, Nova Scotia
. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force
and is one of two bases in the country using the CP-140 Aurora
and CP-140A Arcturus
anti-submarine/maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft. Its primary lodger unit is 14 Wing.
(RCAF) and Royal Air Force
for an airfield as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
(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. 8 Operational Training Unit (OTU) on March 9, 1942. Early training aircraft types included the Lockheed Hudson
MK III, the Avro Anson
, and the Westland Lysander
, all from Britain's Royal Air Force
. 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
activity in the western Atlantic. These war-time 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
, Australia
and New Zealand
.
On December 4, 1942, the Canadian Army 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 program was changing across Canada in light of Allied successes in Europe
. RAF Station Greenwood was selected to train aircrew on the De Havilland Mosquito
, 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
and Bristol Bolingbroke. The base also became home to several North American Harvard and Lockheed Ventura
.
A proposed British Commonwealth
very long range (VLR) bomber group named "Tiger Force
" was scaled down through the spring of 1945. Following VE Day on May 8, 1945, the RCAF units that were to be part of Tiger Force were converted to the Avro Lancaster
and returned to Canada for training and reorganization as part of a planned Allied invasion of Japan
(Operation Downfall
).
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 and subsequent capitulation of Japan on August 14, 1945 resulted in No. 6614 Wing disbanding as part of Tiger Force on September 5, 1945.
That date saw the RCAF's AFHQ Organization Order 854 executed which would see RCAF Station Greenwood activated 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
) 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, 1 Noorduyn
Norseman, and 1 Sikorsky S-51 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
(RCN) units on a northern exercise, followed in October 1948 with participation in joint naval manoeuvres with the RCN and United States Navy
(USN).
The Cold War
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. 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 in Prince Edward Island
effective November 14, 1953. The Lockheed P2V Neptune 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
HRP-1, known as a "flying banana".
The first CP-107 Argus 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.
. The same day saw RCAF Station Greenwood change its name to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Greenwood.
That year saw many decisions aimed at reducing 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 CP-140 Aurora
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 saw its first Aurora on May 27, 1980 and the last one arriving July 10, 1981.
The 1989 federal budget cuts to the Department of National Defence
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
and CC-115 Buffalo 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 saw the 434 Squadron move from CFB Shearwater
to Greenwood, bringing its Canadair CE/CT-33 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 at CFB Greenwood saw its CH-113 Labrador helicopters replaced by the new CH-149 Cormorant
, a version of the EH-101 helicopter.
On 9 January 2008, Defence Minister Peter MacKay
appointed Canadian country singer-songwriter George Canyon
to the position of Honourary Colonel at 14 Wing.
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:
Together with CFB Gander
and CFB Goose Bay
, CFB Greenwood is presently being used as a forward deployment base for CF-188 Hornet fighter/interceptor aircraft rotating in from CFB Bagotville
as part of NORAD's post-9/11
response to concerns about civilian airline security along North America's east coast.
Air Cadets
CFB Greenwood hosts a Royal Canadian Air Cadets
summer training centre known as CSTC Greenwood. CFB Greenwood is also the home of 517 F/Lt. Graham Squadron, an air cadet organization.
Civilian use
Until 2005, CFB Greenwood's airfield was home to the Greenwood Flying Club for civilian general aviation. However, civilian aircraft are no longer permitted to operate at the base. The Greenwood Flying Club has changed its name to the Greenwood Flight Centre and operates out of the Waterville/Kings County Municipal Airport
, a small civilian airport located 12 NM east of CFB Greenwood.
Canadian Forces base
A Canadian Forces Base or CFB is a military installation of the Canadian Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces Base, it must station one or more major units .Minor installations are named Canadian Forces Station or CFS A Canadian Forces Base or CFB (French Base des forces...
located in Greenwood, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
and is one of two bases in the country using the CP-140 Aurora
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 S-3 Viking...
and CP-140A Arcturus
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 S-3 Viking...
anti-submarine/maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft. Its primary lodger unit is 14 Wing.
RAF Station Greenwood
The relatively fog-free climate of the farming hamlet of Greenwood was selected by the Royal Canadian Air ForceRoyal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
(RCAF) and Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
for an airfield as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan
The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan , known in some countries as the Empire Air Training Scheme , was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, during the Second World War...
(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. 8 Operational Training Unit (OTU) on March 9, 1942. Early training aircraft types included the Lockheed Hudson
Lockheed Hudson
The Lockheed Hudson was an American-built light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built initially for the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and primarily operated by the RAF thereafter...
MK III, the Avro Anson
Avro Anson
The Avro Anson is a British twin-engine, multi-role aircraft that served with the Royal Air Force, Fleet Air Arm and numerous other air forces prior to, during, and after the Second World War. Named for British Admiral George Anson, it was originally designed for maritime reconnaissance, but was...
, and the Westland Lysander
Westland Lysander
The Westland Lysander was a British army co-operation and liaison aircraft produced by Westland Aircraft used immediately before and during the Second World War...
, all from Britain's Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
. 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-boat
U-boat is the anglicized version of the German word U-Boot , itself an abbreviation of Unterseeboot , and refers to military submarines operated by Germany, particularly in World War I and World War II...
activity in the western Atlantic. These war-time 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
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
.
On December 4, 1942, the Canadian Army 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 program was changing across Canada in light of Allied successes in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. RAF Station Greenwood was selected to train aircrew on the De Havilland Mosquito
De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito was a British multi-role combat aircraft that served during the Second World War and the postwar era. It was known affectionately as the "Mossie" to its crews and was also nicknamed "The Wooden Wonder"...
, 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
Airspeed Oxford
The Airspeed AS.10 Oxford was a twin-engine aircraft used for training British Commonwealth aircrews in navigation, radio-operating, bombing and gunnery during the Second World War.-Design and development:...
and Bristol Bolingbroke. The base also became home to several North American Harvard and Lockheed Ventura
Lockheed Ventura
The Lockheed Ventura was a bomber and patrol aircraft of World War II, used by United States and British Commonwealth forces in several guises...
.
RCAF Station Greenwood
On July 1, 1944, RAF Station Greenwood transitioned to the RCAF, becoming RCAF Station Greenwood with No. 8 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, 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
Commonwealth of Nations
The Commonwealth of Nations, normally referred to as the Commonwealth and formerly known as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-four independent member states...
very long range (VLR) bomber group named "Tiger Force
Tiger Force (air)
Tiger Force, also known as the Very Long Range Bomber Force, was the name given to a World War II British Commonwealth long-range heavy bomber force, formed in 1945, from squadrons serving with RAF Bomber Command in Europe, for proposed use against targets in Japan...
" was scaled down through the spring of 1945. Following VE Day on May 8, 1945, the RCAF units that were to be part of Tiger Force were converted to the Avro Lancaster
Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster is a British four-engined Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force . It first saw active service in 1942, and together with the Handley Page Halifax it was one of the main heavy bombers of the RAF, the RCAF, and squadrons from other...
and returned to Canada for training and reorganization as part of a planned Allied invasion of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
(Operation Downfall
Operation Downfall
Operation Downfall was the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The operation had two parts: Operation...
).
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
Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
of Hiroshima
Hiroshima
is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chūgoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It became best known as the first city in history to be destroyed by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M...
and Nagasaki 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.That date saw the RCAF's AFHQ Organization Order 854 executed which would see RCAF Station Greenwood activated 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
CFB Shearwater
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater , commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater, was a Canadian Forces Base located in Shearwater, Nova Scotia on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality....
) 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, 1 Noorduyn
Noorduyn
The Noorduyn Aircraft Ltd., founded by Robert B. C. Noorduyn, was established in Canada in early 1934 by taking over the Curtiss-Reid factory outside of Montreal, Quebec. Work soon started on the Noorduyn Norseman I...
Norseman, and 1 Sikorsky S-51 helicopter. In September 1948, the No. 103 RU at RCAF Station Greenwood deployed a Lancaster and Canso to Goose Air Base
CFB Goose Bay
Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , is a Canadian Forces Base located in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador....
to work with Royal Canadian Navy
Royal Canadian Navy
The history of the Royal Canadian Navy goes back to 1910, when the naval force was created as the Naval Service of Canada and renamed a year later by King George V. The Royal Canadian Navy is one of the three environmental commands of the Canadian Forces...
(RCN) units on a northern exercise, followed in October 1948 with participation in joint naval manoeuvres with the RCN and United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
(USN).
The Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
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. 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 in Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
effective November 14, 1953. The Lockheed P2V Neptune 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
Piasecki Helicopter
The Piasecki Helicopter Corporation was a designer and manufacturer of helicopters located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s. The company was renamed Vertol Aircraft Corporation in the mid-1950s...
HRP-1, known as a "flying banana".
The first CP-107 Argus 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
CFB Comox
Canadian Forces Base Comox , commonly referred to as CFB Comox, is a Canadian Forces Base located north northeast of Comox, British Columbia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CP-140 Aurora...
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 ForcesCanadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
. The same day saw RCAF Station Greenwood change its name to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Greenwood.
That year saw many decisions aimed at reducing 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 CP-140 Aurora
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 S-3 Viking...
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 saw its first Aurora on May 27, 1980 and the last one arriving July 10, 1981.
The 1989 federal budget cuts to the Department of National Defence
Department of National Defence (Canada)
The Department of National Defence , frequently referred to by its acronym DND, is the department within the government of Canada with responsibility for all matters concerning the defence of Canada...
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
CH-113 Labrador
|-See also:-External links:* * * *...
and CC-115 Buffalo 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 saw the 434 Squadron move from CFB Shearwater
CFB Shearwater
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater , commonly referred to as CFB Shearwater, was a Canadian Forces Base located in Shearwater, Nova Scotia on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality....
to Greenwood, bringing its Canadair CE/CT-33 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 at CFB Greenwood saw its CH-113 Labrador helicopters replaced by the new CH-149 Cormorant
CH-149 Cormorant
The AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant is the Canadian Forces designation for the AgustaWestland AW101 , a helicopter used for air-sea rescue in Canada...
, a version of the EH-101 helicopter.
On 9 January 2008, Defence Minister Peter MacKay
Peter MacKay
Peter Gordon MacKay, PC, QC, MP is a lawyer and politician from Nova Scotia, Canada. He is the Member of Parliament for Central Nova and currently serves as Minister of National Defence in the Cabinet of Canada....
appointed Canadian country singer-songwriter George Canyon
George Canyon
George Canyon is a Canadian country music singer. He was runner up Nashville Star 2 in 2004. He grew up in Fox Brook, Pictou County, Nova Scotia and later lived in Hopewell, Nova Scotia before he moved west. He currently lives in High River, Alberta...
to the position of Honourary Colonel at 14 Wing.
Present operations
Canadian ForcesToday 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:
- CP-140 AuroraCP-140 AuroraThe 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 S-3 Viking...
, anti-submarine warfare/long-range maritime patrol - CP-140A Arcturus, long-range maritime/Arctic patrol
- CH-149 CormorantCH-149 CormorantThe AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant is the Canadian Forces designation for the AgustaWestland AW101 , a helicopter used for air-sea rescue in Canada...
, air-sea rescueAir-sea rescueAir-sea rescue is the coordinated search and rescue of the survivors of emergency water landings as well as people who have survived the loss of their sea-going vessel. ASR can involve a wide variety of resources including seaplanes, helicopters, submarines, rescue boats and ships... - CC-130 Hercules, air-sea rescue, transport
Together with CFB Gander
CFB Gander
Canadian Forces Base 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 air/marine search and rescue operations that cover a vast swath of the western North Atlantic and southern Arctic...
and CFB Goose Bay
CFB Goose Bay
Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay , is a Canadian Forces Base located in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador....
, CFB Greenwood is presently being used as a forward deployment base for CF-188 Hornet fighter/interceptor aircraft rotating in from CFB Bagotville
CFB Bagotville
Canadian Forces Base Bagotville , commonly referred to as CFB Bagotville, is a Canadian Forces Base located west of Bagotville in the city of Saguenay, Quebec. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the CF-18 Hornet...
as part of NORAD's post-9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
response to concerns about civilian airline security along North America's east coast.
Air Cadets
CFB Greenwood hosts a Royal Canadian Air Cadets
Royal Canadian Air Cadets
Royal Canadian Air Cadets is a Canadian national youth program for persons aged 12 to 18. It is administered by the Canadian Forces and funded through the Department of National Defence with additional support from the civilian Air Cadet League of Canada...
summer training centre known as CSTC Greenwood. CFB Greenwood is also the home of 517 F/Lt. Graham Squadron, an air cadet organization.
Civilian use
Until 2005, CFB Greenwood's airfield was home to the Greenwood Flying Club for civilian general aviation. However, civilian aircraft are no longer permitted to operate at the base. The Greenwood Flying Club has changed its name to the Greenwood Flight Centre and operates out of the Waterville/Kings County Municipal Airport
Waterville/Kings County Municipal Airport
Waterville/Kings County Municipal Airport is located adjacent to Waterville, Nova Scotia, Canada....
, a small civilian airport located 12 NM east of CFB Greenwood.