# Where has Canada's Military Gone?



## George Wallace (29 Jan 2007)

Many on this site are too young to remember, but at one time Canada's Military was very well represented in most communities across the land.  Since the early 1950's, susecative Governments have cut the Defence Budget and closed down Bases from coast to coast.  In Ottawa alone there have been several base closures.  

Places like Souix Lookout, ON; Yorkton, Alsask, and Dana in SK; Sydney, NS; Foymont, ON; Summerside and Charlottetown, PEI; Chatham, NB and Chatham, ON; Saint Hubert, PQ; Penhold, AB; Picton, ON; Senetere, PQ; Val D'Or, PQ; Gander, NF;................................the list is pages long.  So long has this been going on, that many Canadians don't even know that they lived near or are living on what was once a military Base.  

Many Canadians have never even heard of Camp X.  Many don't know anything of the numerous Commonwealth Air Training Command Bases that dotted the country.  There is a former base in Ontario, near the Quebec border, just south of the 417 that once had a population of over 30,000.  Now its' landing strips are hidden in the woods and covered by piles of manure.  A few concrete small arms butts are visible in the woods.  All its buildings are gone.  Totally forgotten in time.   Military installations were very common across Canada in the 1950's.  Today they are very rare.

With the disappearance of the Bases, we have seen the disappearance of a knowledgeable Public.  There are Canadians who to this day, do not even know that Canada has a military.

Do you know what military installations were located near your home?


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## Franko (29 Jan 2007)

I know that there was a tank range in Dieppe NB that ran from about where the CCNB (Rue de la College)is to the airport terminal is currently ( Aviation Ave).

Don't believe me? 

Go to the church basement in Dieppe on the corner of Acadia and St. Theresa St....the old WW2 town map is still on the wall, painted on a sheet of plywood.

It was cleared shortly after the war and seldome used during it....interesting none the less.

Regards


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## PMedMoe (29 Jan 2007)

Gander is closed?? Holy crap!!   
I remember a lot of those bases/stations.  We lived in Alsask, SK (I was born in Kindersley) when I was knee-high to a grasshopper....gopher.  My Dad had been transferred there from Foymount, ON.  I also lived in St Margaret's (Radar station) and Chatham, N.B. (when it was an Air base).  Boy, that was a big posting! A whole 15 miles up the road!    Can't forget the sound of those Voodoos, though!!
Hubby was born in Senneterre, PQ and wants to know if he can legally change his place of birth.  
There's Picton, SE of Trenton, ON that I didn't even know about until we went up there for pre-deployment training for Palladium, Roto 8.  I don't know of any places around Kingston.


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## medaid (29 Jan 2007)

Funny thing I did a paper on the demise of the CF after WWII, the glory of our military will be unparalleled for some time to come. I'm sitting in my office here in Vancouver, and I almost everywhere I look for almost a 10 block radius all used to be part of the base. Now, well now, there's a private school, new shops, restraints so on and so forth. The glory of Jericho is gone... it's so sad...


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## Franko (29 Jan 2007)

Oh, almost forgot.

CFB Moncton had a drill hall just off of Vaughn Harvey Blvd, along with enough buildings to house an entire Svc Btn complete.

Unfortunatly, in the late 90s some punk thought that it would be funny to torch the drill hall. 

This was just after it was re-opened after a 4 million dollar renovation.

The site is now being used by the YMCA and Legion Veterans retirement home. Botsford street Legion is now located in the old Officers Mess.

The base proper, located just off of St George St was downsized just after a 10 million upgrade to systems and a renovation to the mess hall.

Sad really.

Regards


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## rmacqueen (29 Jan 2007)

The old air base in Centralia, ON (Huron Park) closed in the sixties and is now owned by the province.  Even though it is all civilian companies in there it has changed very little and still looks like a base.  The pmq's have been sold as private housing.

The base in London has shrunk down to a small part of Wossley Barracks with the last of the Highbury portion closing last fall.  What was once one of the largest supply bases in the country is now civilian warehousing and, again, the pmq's were sold as private houses.

The air tech training school in St Thomas, ON was converted to a psych hospital but the buildings are basically the same and the air station in Aylmer, ON is now the Ontario Police College.  They use the old runways for driving training.  There is a plaque just outside the small town of Frome, ON indicating that there was once a air gunnery or bombing school there at one time.

I always find it interesting to be driving along someplace that I was not aware there was a base and suddenly see the buildings and know.  This was how I discovered that Foymont was one.


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## peaches (29 Jan 2007)

Many of the bases were victims of unification, and also technology.  The old radar stations were eclipsed by new technology.  They actually still exist, some have moved, but they are automated.

Some air bases closed because air fleet they supported was retire, Summerside.  No Trackers, no Summerside.  A smaller CF means fewer bases, therefore a smaller footprint across Canada.  I put forward an idea to change this in another thread, but it was shot down.  Besides, I really have no say anyhow....


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## IN HOC SIGNO (29 Jan 2007)

Here's one that few people know about. I used to ride my motorcycle past this old base when I was stationed at Gagetown and did a triangle circuit on my day off (Oromocto to St Stephen ...stop at Ganong Choclates....Saint John and then home throught the Training area on the number 7). The runways are still there as it was used by the Feds and NB Government for a few years. there are about two or three old PMQs still visible there too.

RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge
Pennfield

As the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan developed, it was decided to move four operational training units (OTU) from Great Britain to Canada. Once airmen had successfully learned their trade, they were sent to an OTU for operational training on a particular aircraft and for a particular task. No 34 Operational Training Unit was sent from Greenoch, Scotland to RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge in April 1942. This RCAF Station was part of No 3 Training Command of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. It had Lockheed Venturas, a light bomber, for the training of four man-crews for Bomber Command. The course for pilots and wireless operators was 12 weeks long and for air observers it was 8 weeks. Each group trained separately at first and in the final stage trained as a crew. It was operational from May 1942 to Jun 1944. From mid 1941 to May 1942 the station was also home to No 2 Air Navigation School. This school conducted a four week intensive course on astro navigation, designed to qualify students for night navigation. From Pennfield Ridge it was moved to Rivers, Manitoba. Occasional operational missions were flown from this airfield. This station experienced a number of difficulties due to serviceability problems with Venturas, persistent fog and a lack of operationally trained instructors.


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## Mike Baker (29 Jan 2007)

Gander is closed ??? How come I never knew that?!?


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## IN HOC SIGNO (29 Jan 2007)

Michael Baker said:
			
		

> Gander is closed ??? How come I never knew that?!?



It's not fully closed we have a SAR Sqn there....they are a detachment of Greenwood.


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## aesop081 (29 Jan 2007)

Here is an Obscure one....CFB Clinton , ON


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## Mike Baker (29 Jan 2007)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> It's not fully closed we have a SAR Sqn there....they are a detachment of Greenwood.


Well that's a relief, I guess


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## IN HOC SIGNO (29 Jan 2007)

Michael Baker said:
			
		

> Well that's a relief, I guess



It's now known as 9 Wing Gander....you can Google it and see lots of info.


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## aesop081 (29 Jan 2007)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> It's now known as 9 Wing Gander....you can Google it and see lots of info.



Home of 103 sqn....CH-149s


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## old medic (29 Jan 2007)

Lots of photos :

http://www.pinetreeline.org/locations.html


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## rmacqueen (29 Jan 2007)

cdnaviator said:
			
		

> Here is an Obscure one....CFB Clinton , ON


Forgot about that when I was doing Centralia.


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## Mike Baker (29 Jan 2007)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> It's now known as 9 Wing Gander....you can Google it and see lots of info.


Thanks for the info!


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## IN HOC SIGNO (29 Jan 2007)

rmacqueen said:
			
		

> Forgot about that when I was doing Centralia.



Ah yes....wasn't Clinton where Stephen Truscott's family was posted? It was quite a going concern that Base at one time as I remember.


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## peaches (29 Jan 2007)

Here is a rare "old base" story.  The old BOMARC missile base north of North Bay is still there, abandonded.  The whole base is there, MP shack, missile hard-stands, launch silos, warhead storage sheds etc....


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## aesop081 (29 Jan 2007)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> Ah yes....wasn't Clinton where Stephen Truscott's family was posted? It was quite a going concern that Base at one time as I remember.



That is correct


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## George Wallace (29 Jan 2007)

There were all those "Diefenbunkers".  The big one in Carp, just outside of Ottawa (now part of Ottawa); Penhold, Alberta; and Debert, Nova Scotia.  All closed.  The one is Shilo, Manitoba, is pretty well done for, but still located on a open Base.

Rockcliffe and LETE are closed in Ottawa.  Uplands is a shell of it's old grandeur.

Arnprior airfield has been closed for ages.


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## COBRA-6 (29 Jan 2007)

Somewhere in my basement is a book that I read years ago: Abandoned Military Installations of Canada, Volume 1: Ontario. 

There are old bases and stations everywhere, from the Pinetree-Line radar stations to the CATP sites and so on... my favorite is still CFS Carp, the Diefenbunker! The tour is very interesting...


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## IN HOC SIGNO (29 Jan 2007)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> There were all those "Diefenbunkers".  The big one in Carp, just outside of Ottawa (now part of Ottawa); Penhold, Alberta; and Debert, Nova Scotia.  All closed.  The one is Shilo, Manitoba, is pretty well done for, but still located on a open Base.
> 
> Rockcliffe and LETE are closed in Ottawa.  Uplands is a shell of it's old grandeur.
> 
> Arnprior airfield has been closed for ages.



I was in a Diefenbunker this summer....Debert...they do Air Cadet Training there now...very cool.


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## peaches (29 Jan 2007)

The old BOMAC base is spooky, just sitting ther in the bush.  Should be a heritage site, but what do I know.....


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## time expired (29 Jan 2007)

Clinton Air Base ,used to be air cadet summer camp, I was there in 1957, trips to Centralia for
familization flights in Expeditors or Harvards if you were lucky. As I remember Clinton was a 
training base for electronics trades it had a number of WW2 German rockets on display around
the base one was the Rheintochter SAM,I wonder what happened to them?.
    As far as base closures are concerned there seems to be a deliberate effort to remove the 
Armed Forces from population centers ,out of sight out of mind ,maybe,it certainly seems to 
have worked.That a country of 30+million cannot send a self contained brigade sized force
to do the job in A-stan. is shameful IMHO.
                                    Regards


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## observor 69 (29 Jan 2007)

Funny this topic should come up. I drove by the old Downsview base this weekend. Most of the base building have been taken down. All I could recognize from the road is the old HQ and supply. Ironic, on the south side of the highway, (Keele St.) there are these old crowded 25 plus story apartment buildings. On the base side of the road are the old PMQ's. They are behind a traffic noise barrier but still lived in with there two and three bedroom houses. In Toronto that land is worth a fortune but here you still have a handful of PMQ's.

Very strange!


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## peaches (29 Jan 2007)

It's a whole lot of "what used to be".......


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## PMedMoe (29 Jan 2007)

old medic said:
			
		

> Lots of photos :
> 
> http://www.pinetreeline.org/locations.html


Wow, thanks for the link to this site, old medic!!  Laughing my a** off at pictures of people.  Here's my uncle front and center.....LOVE the pants!!  :rofl:


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## NCRCrow (29 Jan 2007)

I was the Deputy Mayor of Rockcliffe in 2004-2005. It was sad to see a proud military community disintergrate right before us.  

But we tried to keep it together, we had lots of fun. 

I grew in a military family from Penhold to Lahr (and some awesome stops in between) and you are right it is sad to see the visible military disappear.


Crow


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## youravatar (29 Jan 2007)

peaches said:
			
		

> The old BOMAC base is spooky, just sitting ther in the bush.  Should be a heritage site, but what do I know.....



Got more info? I'll email my member of parliament!


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## vonGarvin (29 Jan 2007)

Picton has already been mentioned (One of the Canadian Guards Battalions was there).  They also had a training area at Point Petre at the south end of Prince Edward County.  When I was a Plough Jockey, we did summer training there.  There is still an air force "something" there at the tip.  And of course Mountain View has seen a resurge with the school formerly known as the Canadian Parachute Centre utilising it for parachute training.

Who could forget the bases in Germany (Lahr, Baden, Soest, Zweibrücken and others).  From my neighbour's wife (a Cold War Bride), the old PMQ patch is a shell of its former self, filled with ex-patriat Russians (and others).


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## NCRCrow (29 Jan 2007)

Area 31-9-9


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## George Wallace (29 Jan 2007)

1 Canadian Air Division was once headquartered in Metz, France.  1 (F) Wing was in Marville and 2 (F) Wing was in Grostenquin, France; with 3 (F) Wing in Zeisbrucken and 4 (F) Wing in Baden-Söllingen, Germany.


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## 17thRecceSgt (29 Jan 2007)

peaches said:
			
		

> Many of the bases were victims of unification, and also technology.  The old radar stations were eclipsed by new technology.  They actually still exist, some have moved, but they are automated.
> 
> Some air bases closed because air fleet they supported was retire, Summerside.  No Trackers, no Summerside.  A smaller CF means fewer bases, therefore a smaller footprint across Canada.  I put forward an idea to change this in another thread, but it was shot down.  Besides, I really have no say anyhow....



Summerside was bound for closure when they moved the SAR and ASW Sqn's that were based there (413 SAR and VP-415) were moved to Greenwood.  Lots of people, including my father (Snr FE 415 at the time) fought to try to keep that from happening, as they believed Summerside was a better location than Greenwood, but it didn't happen.  

880 Sqn was then moved there until...90 or so?  After the Trackers were done, so was CFB Summerside, leaving PEI as the only province without a Regular Force base.  I don't remember exactly when 413 moved to 14 Wing, but I do think I remember SAREX 88 being held in Summerside.

The refinishers used to come over from Greenwood and paint the old Argus and Tracker memorials that are mounted beside the old CANEX, however the last time I was there, they were in very bad shape.

For those who grew up around them, the old Argus was quite the beast, I remember the windows and china in our house shaking in the PMQ Patch in Greenwood when they flew over when Dad was there teaching at 404 Sqn.  

Our military presence in PEI now, excluding the various Cadet Corps, is one Recce Tp in Summerside, garrisoned at the old Supply building, PEIR at the QCA, 721 Comm Regt at Brighton, HMCS Queen Charlotte, and the ASG Det in the Industrial Park.  Oh, and...CFRC.

Gone are the airshows they used to have in Summerside, the ASW and SAR Sqns...Family Days, were you would actually fly with the crews in the Argus, and a big chunk of change that no longer goes into the local economy.  I used to work for Greco and we made constant runs out to the Q patch and the JLS School...and the SQs.  Tips were great out at the base!


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## 17thRecceSgt (29 Jan 2007)

Michael Baker said:
			
		

> Gander is closed ??? How come I never knew that?!?



Well unless the Air Force website is completely out of whack...(and I know a guy who is posted there as a SAR Tech  ;D)...

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/9wing/about_us/index_e.asp


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## manhole (30 Jan 2007)

I remember military presence at Tracadie, Renous, St. Margarets, on Waggoners Lane in Fredericton, and  by Government House (? Eastern Area HQ).........also McGivney.   It seems the powers that be saved money by shutting these places down but left a big hole in the communities that were left behind.   There are other places like this in NB and across Canada.   The military had been part of every community - whether it was a militia unit or a small base.   Sadly, even our reserve units are not the very active part of the community they used to be.


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## xo31@711ret (30 Jan 2007)

I was trying to remember McGivney NB (not far from fredericton) - thanx Fiddlehead. My father-in-law said he did his basic training there and Edmunston during the height of the war (WWII). From an old army buds said there use to be an old POW camp not far from there also just off the main road set in the woods a bit.


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## youravatar (30 Jan 2007)

B Coy of the SD&G Highlanders use to have an armouries in Alexandria at the heart of Glengarry County. Now it sits in neglect.


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## vonGarvin (30 Jan 2007)

Speaking of Picton, how could I forget the erstwhile home of the Prince Edward Regiment, that amalgamated oh so many years ago with the Hastings Rifles and formed The Hastings and Prince Edward Regiment?  The old armoury is now a shopping centre in Picton, I believe.


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## RangerRay (31 Jan 2007)

While they weren't bases, many communities in the Interior of British Columbia had militia companies at one point or another: Armstrong, Revelstoke, Cranbrook, Prince George, Rossland, Nelson, Kaslo, Lumby, Merritt, Penticton, Salmon Arm...now it's just Kamloops, Kelowna, and Trail.


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## FastEddy (31 Jan 2007)

[/quote]

Usually when I read the various Threads here in Army.ca, there's the usual reactions to the various Topics or information, "Sadness" on learning of the Deaths of our Brothers and Sisters. "Humour" as to the various antics that some of our Members get up to (especially posts from "Wes" Down Under, or should I now say Over There).

And always a learning "Experience" from the many facts and information supplied by a Cadre of Experienced and qualified people.

"Reflection" from the quiet words of reason and wisdom, usually from Gentlemen like "Trinity".

But as I read these three pages, for the first time, a great feeling of "Depression" seeped  over me recalling all the now long gone CF Bases and Camps which I once knew and were. 

Replaced with Holiday Inns, Parking Lots, Shopping Malls and the likes.

Yes indeed, where has all the Soldiers Gone.


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## Neill McKay (7 Feb 2007)

xo31@711ret said:
			
		

> I was trying to remember McGivney NB (not far from fredericton) - thanx Fiddlehead. My father-in-law said he did his basic training there and Edmunston during the height of the war (WWII). From an old army buds said there use to be an old POW camp not far from there also just off the main road set in the woods a bit.



McGivney's a neat spot.  It used to be an ammunition storage facility.  Quite a few of the roads are still intact, and there are several buildings left (some all there, one or two with only the walls left, and a lot of empty foundations).  Down the road (towards Fredericton) the former PMQ patch is in rough shape but still in use by civilians.

Renous, near Miramichi used to be another such facility (for the navy) but was closed around the time of unification.  There's a prison there now so I've never been close enough to tell if anything is left of the station.

Another in New Brunswick is Scoudouc, near Moncton.  It's a former RCAF base turned industrial park, but it still looks like the text-book pattern air base with the hangars still standing.  One of the runways is used as a training ground for truck drivers; I think the other two are well on their way back to nature.

I don't know of a POW camp in New Brunswick but there was an internment camp at Ripples during the Second World War.  There's not much of anything on the site, but there's a museum about it in a nearby town.


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## Donut (7 Feb 2007)

Nanaimo had a regional command bunker, I haven't heard of it being demolished, anyone know?

Vernon Army Vadet Camp has a long and storied history as a tng base, mortar range, etc.  I spent a few summers there as staff, and bent an elbow with the current camp caretaker and his predecessor, who'd been around since the early '50s.  

There's all sorts of little holes, bunkers, tunnels, etc around there, and reportedly a couple of WWII tanks, complete, buried near the old Tpt building.  

One access was through the old guardhouse, right on the corner of the highway and that first residential street along the camps northern border, but still south of the armouries.

Neat place.

DF


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## chrisf (7 Feb 2007)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> It's not fully closed we have a SAR Sqn there....they are a detachment of Greenwood.



There's more then just the SAR Sqn... not a lot more, but more...

http://www.airforce.forces.gc.ca/9wing/about_us/index_e.asp

There's 103 Rescue Squadron, there's a detachment of Leitrim, there's a radar station, and there's a reserve unit, as well as all the requisite support people.


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## Haggis (7 Feb 2007)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> There is a former base in Ontario, near the Quebec border, just south of the 417 that once had a population of over 30,000.  Now its' landing strips are hidden in the woods and covered by piles of manure.  A few concrete small arms butts are visible in the woods.  All its buildings are gone.  Totally forgotten in time.



I thought I knew Eastern Ontario pretty well.  Where is this??


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## George Wallace (7 Feb 2007)

Haggis said:
			
		

> I thought I knew Eastern Ontario pretty well.  Where is this??



Google Earth   45°28'55.02"N  74°28'14.14"W   Saint Eugene


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## cplcaldwell (7 Feb 2007)

Well, I'll be ...

I have a cousin who lives between that 'loc' and the 417, been there many times, _never ever _ suspected such a spot.

I guess come spring I'll get me to Ottawa and do a little exploring out that way....


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## 211RadOp (7 Feb 2007)

RCAF Station (later CFB) Rivers Manitoba. The Canadian Parachute Training Centre was established there in 1947. CFB Rivers was closed in 1971.

My father was an instructor there when I was born.


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## Pea (7 Feb 2007)

ParaMedTech said:
			
		

> Nanaimo had a regional command bunker, I haven't heard of it being demolished, anyone know?
> 
> Vernon Army Cadet Camp has a long and storied history as a tng base, mortar range, etc.  I spent a few summers there as staff, and bent an elbow with the current camp caretaker and his predecessor, who'd been around since the early '50s.
> 
> Neat place.



It really is a neat place. I spent 3 summers there and each year we'd learn something new about the camp, or see something new around the grounds. It really is showing it's age these days though.


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## niner domestic (7 Feb 2007)

You guys might find this document interesting reading...It's what we owed the US after WWII for installations in Canada that the US built.  

http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cts.1944.19.en.html


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## 17thRecceSgt (7 Feb 2007)

niner domestic said:
			
		

> You guys might find this document interesting reading...It's what we owed the US after WWII for installations in Canada that the US built.
> 
> http://www.lexum.umontreal.ca/ca_us/en/cts.1944.19.en.html



THATS why we are paying so much for friggin ATM withdrawls...now Jack Bin Laden has his answer!  Its to pay off things like Alaskan Highway Flight Strips!


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## George Wallace (7 Feb 2007)

Neill McKay said:
			
		

> I don't know of a POW camp in New Brunswick but there was an internment camp at Ripples during the Second World War.  There's not much of anything on the site, but there's a museum about it in a nearby town.



Ripples was originally built as a Refugee Camp for Jews escaping the Nazis.  As they were processed out, then the Camp (#70) became an Interment Camp for Canadian Nazi syphazisers, German and Italian POWs.  There were over 26 nationalities intered there during the war.  It was basically leveled after the war.  If I am correct, it is only down the road from McGivney's.  There was once a large Ammo compound out that way too.

Renous was also a large Aerial Bombing Range.

On the note of POW/Interment Camps, there was once one out at Center Lake in Petawawa.


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## 211RadOp (7 Feb 2007)

I was just running through the places I've lived over my many years and have come up with this list of bases that are closed, or are so small, they may as well be:

CFB Rivers MB
CFB London ON
CFE Soest Germany
CFB Moncton NB
BFC St-Hubert QC
CFE Baden Germany
CFE Lahr Germany

and lets not forget everybody's favorite CFRS Cornwallis NS


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## cplcaldwell (7 Feb 2007)

*WRT*  Niner Domestic's post of 14:35:24:

Interesting in that the memo outlines the costs associated with the building of airfields and infrastructure improvements to build the NorthWest Staging route, The Hudson Bay air route and the Eastern Canada air route, along with important telecomm connections into YT and NT, and finally substantial improvements to airfields through the MacKenzie valley.

In effect Canada was buying installations that had been built by the Americans, that had value during the war, but after the war would essentially became Canadian property.

Essentially this represents a large portion of the cost of really opening up the NorthWest, the Hudson's Bay basins and getting into Labrador...

So running the numbers through the first inflation calculator I could find, means that in today's dollars,  (SWAG-arama here folks, I have a meeting in a few minutes so no time to check... :-*)

Adjusted from the 1943 amounts mentioned in 9D's citation to 2005 dollars...


Canada agreed to pay the US  $870,665,846.60 
$157,240,595.72 would be written off as having no value after the war.
Canada paid $335,518,245.75 for its part of the work
Canada would spend another $58,500,399.69 to improve the route past the 1943 date of this memo

Interesting, somewhat less than $1.5 Billion of today's dollars and we got the Northwest and a lot of the Hudson basin and parts of NL opened up. 

$1.5B. 

Somewhat less than the Gun Registry.... hmmm....  ???


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## George Wallace (7 Feb 2007)

In Yorkton, Saskatchewan, there was several military installations over the years.

In the 1960's through the 1990's there was CFS Yorkton  51°17'42.41"N  102°36'30.44"W

In the Second World War there was an Air Training Base at the present Yorkton Municipal Airport  51°15'18.63"N 102°27'29.88"W


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## AmmoTech90 (7 Feb 2007)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Ripples was originally built as a Refugee Camp for Jews escaping the Nazis.  As they were processed out, then the Camp (#70) became an Interment Camp for Canadian Nazi syphazisers, German and Italian POWs.  There were over 26 nationalities intered there during the war.  It was basically leveled after the war.  If I am correct, it is only down the road from McGivney's.  There was once a large Ammo compound out that way too.
> 
> Renous was also a large Aerial Bombing Range.
> 
> On the note of POW/Interment Camps, there was once one out at Center Lake in Petawawa.



About the only thing standing at Ripples is the water tower and some concrete pads.  McGivney was Gagetown's main ammo compound up until the 70s.  There were some guys when I first got to Gagetown that had also worked there.  I took a trip down there a once.  You turn off down a logging road from the Fredericton-Miramichi highway and it's only a couple of hundred metres in.  They were still logging at the time so access was restricted but we found what we thought was the vehicle maint area.  There was a couple of buildings and an what looked like an oil change bay.
Renous was actually a naval ammunition depot.  It was built there because it was far enough inland to be protected from naval bombardment, but Miramichi could be used as harbour to resupply the ships.  There is a CATP bombing range nearby, in fact the province is littered with them, most really far back in the woods.


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## Cardstonkid (7 Feb 2007)

I live in Southern Alberta and as you drive through the small towns in around my home you sometimes see old buildings of the WWII era. In Lethbridge, Claresholm and Ft. MacLeod you can see the buildings that were home to many a commonwealth pilot as they learned their trade. 

I was on a flight from Lethbridge to Calgary and on the way I looked down and saw a diamond runway in disrepair and old run-down military buildings and a hangar beside it. There was a gravel road leading to it, but it was off the beaten path. I went to the Nanton Bomber Museum (They have a Lancaster bomber in the process of being put to flying condition) and asked if they knew anything about the airbase I saw from the air. One of the fellows gave me the name (of course I can't remember it now) and told me it is used by a few local pilots, but that it is now largely abandoned. It was one of the many air bases in the area.

It is sad that so much of the memory of this era is gone.


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## Colin Parkinson (7 Feb 2007)

Well let me see there are the 5 armouries, the Jericho base, the naval station, the recruiting office, CFS Aldergrove, Chilliwack has a small contingent left and their might be a AMU office at the Airport for Vancouver. There is also  the remains of the Point Grey gun battery, several searchlight towers and if you look carefully you can still see the outline of the buried gun position at third beach in Stanley Park.


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## 3rd Herd (7 Feb 2007)

For those on this site from or still in the Victoria area. Besides the "Definbunker" in Nanimo which I had the pleasure to be in a couple of times on CPX's take a walk to the corner of Blandshard and Hillside. Look at the way S J Willis school is built back into/ on top of that hill. In 1941/42 a "huge cement bomb shelter" was constructed to protect the Provincial government and Western Defence HQ in case the Japanese flew over to bomb the city of Victoria. As well several private residences in the city dating from this time period had "bomb shelters" built underneath or in close proximity too them which have been forgotten over time.

Another couple of interesting points are the bunkers at the Long Beach golf course area which has part of the RCAF base there again during the Second world war. A couple of the bunkers are now used for storage. Giving up one of my trade secrets access your local archives under "defense construction", "civil defense" and "world war". Most contain costs, blue prints, locations, and companies involved in the constructions.

Also was not Neys Provincial Park on Lake Superior built on a old POW camp? I seem to remember as a kid finding some of the foundations of the guard towers and barb wire. Somewhere around I have a map giving the locations of all the POW, Foresty camps, Internment camps from both world wars. Yes there were internment camps in WW 1 too.

Back to the west coast we have the gun emplacements from Macaulay to Albert Head ranging in time wise 1877 to 1940ish. The university of Victoria is built on top of/adjacent to the old Gordon Head training complex.  For some reason they keep finding old shells every time they go to put a new building up. Ucluelet still has one of the seaplane hangers standing(or parts of) as well as some of the old foundations from it's time as a WW2 base. There is a trailer park on the site now. In a couple of very dated maps of Work Point Barracks that came into my hands we have a "Chinese laundry". Heaven forbid the troops wash their own uniforms when the are a number of the "yellow man" around to do it.

In the cold war era there are still a number of the DEW sites along the west of Vancouver island still standing. Some are still in use but in a civilian role and those not are still standing due to the cost of PCB cleanup. Radar Hill in the north end of the Pacific Rim National Park has a nice little "interpretive display" of the station that was there. It also has the Kapyong memorial marker just around the corner.

With the Alaskan highway if you can find it a book called "The Forgotten War" published in 1950 or so contains maps, photo's, surveys etc of both the highway construction and airfields along the coast built as part of the lend lease air bridge. Most of the basing in the Aleutians(?) is still there or was a year or two ago. Again PCB's and nuc testing clean up costs are to blame.

The Kimberley area of BC used to have an artillery range training area where the nature park now is. Clued into that one by walking down "Army Road". And I think but haven't looked more into it yet there was a RCAF training station somewhere in the area given the amount of aluminum found on mountain tops, sides in the area.


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## 3rd Herd (7 Feb 2007)

Colin P said:
			
		

> Well let me see there are the 5 armouries, the Jericho base, the naval station, the recruiting office, CFS Aldergrove, Chilliwack has a small contingent left and their might be a AMU office at the Airport for Vancouver. There is also  the remains of the Point Grey gun battery, several searchlight towers and if you look carefully you can still see the outline of the buried gun position at third beach in Stanley Park.



ColinP,
there are quite a few more defence positions mostly from WW2 in the Vancouver/ Inner sound area. I have a couple of reference sources for them. One I think was called "West Coast Fortifications" and dealt mostly with the lower mainland area. Jericho Beach was also a RCAF base during the Second World War but I cannot remember off the top of my head if anything still remains. There was also the Armoured train that ran up and down the coast and some long range gun positions.


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## Colin Parkinson (7 Feb 2007)

You also forgot Yorke Island which has substantial fortifications on it, as well as a small bunker on the NW side of Haki Pass, and of course Prince Rupert has the two forts, ammo bunkers in doughboy bay and foundations for the radar on the hill above town. Metakelta also has a small Cannonade lying in the grass in front of the band office. During my Jr leaders crse in Vernon we came across 2 Skink turrets lying on the old range, which I understand where taken away. 

I believe the radar sites you are referring to our part of the Pinetree line and not the DEW line. I remember the bunker in Nanimno all to well, you should try to find new parts for 1950 coffee makers and kitchen equipment. 

Vancouver Defended by Peter Mokie is the book that you are talking about,


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## Colin Parkinson (7 Feb 2007)

The hostel in Jerchio was the Sgt's quarters during the war, Kits CCG base was the RCAF Air-Sea rescue station, the large building nearby is "Bldg 14" all that is left of the large military accomadations that where there.


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## 3rd Herd (8 Feb 2007)

ColinP
try: Jericho Beach  by Chris Weicht, published 1997. He lists all west coast air stations, coast watcher det 1 and some interesting tidbits. But having just taken a look at the book none of his information is cited. For me though he does give clues as to where I can find cited information.


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## Colin Parkinson (8 Feb 2007)

There is a guy that found one of the mooring buoys from the seaplanes in Uceluet Harbour, he plans to salvage and restore it. Shearwater I think still has one hanger standing and part of the ramp.


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## Neill McKay (8 Feb 2007)

Colin P said:
			
		

> There is a guy that found one of the mooring buoys from the seaplanes in Uceluet Harbour, he plans to salvage and restore it. Shearwater I think still has one hanger standing and part of the ramp.



There's a railway system partly intact at Searwater.  It looks as if it went from one of the hangars on the lower base (the smaller one, nearer the FDU building) to a turntable, then off in several directions from there.  The concrete footing for one rail now forms a curb along the street that leads into the sea cadet sail centre, and goes just about to the shore.  I assume that was some kind of seaplane handling system.


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## Reccesoldier (9 Feb 2007)

Neill McKay said:
			
		

> There's a railway system partly intact at Searwater.  It looks as if it went from one of the hangars on the lower base (the smaller one, nearer the FDU building) to a turntable, then off in several directions from there.  The concrete footing for one rail now forms a curb along the street that leads into the sea cadet sail centre, and goes just about to the shore.  I assume that was some kind of seaplane handling system.



Do you mean down by the CFSA and the concrete dock?


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## 3rd Herd (9 Feb 2007)

Colin P said:
			
		

> There is a guy that found one of the mooring buoys from the seaplanes in Uceluet Harbour, he plans to salvage and restore it. Shearwater I think still has one hanger standing and part of the ramp.



There are several of the seaplane mooring buoys around. I found two with the daughter canoeing around the back inner side of the harbour two years ago. They were blown up onto the shore line by one of the storms which fed directly into the harbour. This type of storm does not happen too often but when it does it makes for a very good day after of beach combing. There are a couple more around town sitting on lawns as "ornaments". Along with an assortment of paravans from the mine sweepers, long range drop tanks, practice bombs and torps. There is also a PBY that crashed into a bog that is still there. The trail to it is not to difficult but the trail head is not quite public information. Further every once and a while a "horned scully" arrives courtesy of mother nature and ocean currents.


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## Neill McKay (10 Feb 2007)

Reccesoldier said:
			
		

> Do you mean down by the CFSA and the concrete dock?



If you were to drive into the lower base and stay on that road, you pass the hangar on your right; the sea cadet sail centre is the cluster of trailers to the left, extending most of the way to the water.  The left curb of that road is one side of the rail system, pointing straight to the water.  (The foundation of the turntable is in the open space straight across the street from the hangar.)  The road continues away from it to the right towards the sail centre floats.  I'm not sure what facility the CFSA uses, but i wouldn't be surprised if it's the same set of floats.


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## RangerRay (11 Feb 2007)

In Kamloops, in the vicinity of J.R. Vicars Armoury and Thompson Rivers University are several RCN munitions bunkers scattered over the landscape.  On the TRU campus, there are several naval officer's quarters houses that are now used as offices and classrooms.

All along the Alaska Highway, you can find evidence of army camps and abandoned equipment.  In Dawson Creek, there are some old hangars at the airport, and the highway control station is still standing on the north edge of town, although it's seen better days.  Fort St. John and Fort Nelson has several PMQ-type houses from the war scattered around town.


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## wartide (20 Feb 2007)

Since when is CFB Gander closed?   There's not as many people there now as there used to be... But it's still operational...  My dad works there with 103 SAR


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## armyvern (20 Feb 2007)

Wartide said:
			
		

> Since when is CFB Gander closed?   There's not as many people there now as there used to be... But it's still operational...  My dad works there with 103 SAR



It's not closed. Binrat55 from this site is also posted there as per his profile.


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## Gunnerlove (20 Feb 2007)

I hunt all over Southern Vancouver Island and there are tons of old military structures and aircraft wrecks in the bush. A few years ago I found (literally) hundreds of of air crew survival ration tins 25KM+- East of Port Renfrew. It was an hours walk from the nearest track and just sitting there in a mound of goldish cans.


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## Nfld Sapper (20 Feb 2007)

The Librarian said:
			
		

> It's not closed. Binrat55 from this site is also posted there as per his profile.



But the rumor mill has it that they want to close it and move all resources to St. John's. Hmmm.... I wonder if that means my unit would "aquire" the air field engineers....


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## aesop081 (20 Feb 2007)

Nfld Sapper said:
			
		

> But the rumor mill has it that they want to close it and move all resources to St. John's. Hmmm.... I wonder if that means my unit would "aquire" the air field engineers....



the AEFs dont belong to the army. Unless AIRCOM is willing to transfer those people to LFC, i dont see your unit "aquiring" them.

of course, this is only my highly-taxed $0.02


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## rmacqueen (20 Feb 2007)

Gunnerlove said:
			
		

> I hunt all over Southern Vancouver Island and there are tons of old military structures and aircraft wrecks in the bush. A few years ago I found (literally) hundreds of of air crew survival ration tins 25KM+- East of Port Renfrew. It was an hours walk from the nearest track and just sitting there in a mound of goldish cans.


Probably still edible too


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## 3rd Herd (20 Feb 2007)

Gunnerlove said:
			
		

> I hunt all over Southern Vancouver Island and there are tons of old military structures and aircraft wrecks in the bush. A few years ago I found (literally) hundreds of of air crew survival ration tins 25KM+- East of Port Renfrew. It was an hours walk from the nearest track and just sitting there in a mound of goldish cans.



You will most likely find other more interesting objects "of war" in that area. We were not as environmentally friendly battling the Fantasians in their attempts to invade the peaceful Democratic community of Jordan River back then. I would hazard a guess your food find maybe some of the old C-rats in actuality. There also maybe a deuce and a half or two that decided to stay, and bofars AA guns(these before even my time).


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## SprCForr (25 Feb 2007)

peaches said:
			
		

> The old BOMAC base is spooky, just sitting ther in the bush.  Should be a heritage site, but what do I know.....



Would that be the same place as in the link?

http://www.pinetreeline.org/misc/bomarc/bomarc1.html


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## Maclimius (1 Mar 2007)

On a positive note, the British Columbia Dragoons reopened an armouries in Penticton almost 2 years ago. We still have our armouries in Kelowna and Vernon as well although none of them are adequate for our current role (read: too small). 

As far as Training areas, there used to be the tank barns and various other barracks and administrative buildings on the Upper portion of the Vernon Army Cadet Camp. These are mostly all gone now. The main training area is still open however the new templates for the small arms range does not allow for 5.56 or 7.62mm ammunition. Apparently on a map, the template covers now habitted areas even though there's a huge mountain in between. Most of the remainder of the training area is split up due to endangered plants and whatnot as well as environmental studies.

There also used to be a tank range north-west of Vernon that is now native land. Apparently UXO is still showing up there. There is also constant rumours about a few Shermans buried there.


----------



## IN HOC SIGNO (2 Mar 2007)

Maclimius said:
			
		

> On a positive note, the British Columbia Dragoons reopened an armouries in Penticton almost 2 years ago. We still have our armouries in Kelowna and Vernon as well although none of them are adequate for our current role (read: too small).
> 
> As far as Training areas, there used to be the tank barns and various other barracks and administrative buildings on the Upper portion of the Vernon Army Cadet Camp. These are mostly all gone now. The main training area is still open however the new templates for the small arms range does not allow for 5.56 or 7.62mm ammunition. Apparently on a map, the template covers now habitted areas even though there's a huge mountain in between. Most of the remainder of the training area is split up due to endangered plants and whatnot as well as environmental studies.
> 
> There also used to be a tank range north-west of Vernon that is now native land. Apparently UXO is still showing up there. There is also constant rumours about a few Shermans buried there.



Did we re-open an old building or build a new one?


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## Loachman (2 Mar 2007)

Cardstonkid said:
			
		

> I was on a flight from Lethbridge to Calgary and on the way I looked down and saw a diamond runway in disrepair and old run-down military buildings and a hangar beside it. There was a gravel road leading to it, but it was off the beaten path.



That could well be Vulcan, another BCATP airfield. The townspeople could not understand why so many complete strangers would drive up and have their photos taken in front of the welcome sign and then drive away, until they finally asked. Now there's a Star Trek-related tourist spot in town.


----------



## Maclimius (2 Mar 2007)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> Did we re-open an old building or build a new one?



We are currently leasing a portion of the old RCMP building in Penticton, cells included. It isn't really adequate for what we need to do (no indoor drill hall, no vehicle compound) but at least it gives us a presence in the city which is better than nothing.


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## J.Gaudet (14 Mar 2007)

IN HOC SIGNO said:
			
		

> RCAF Station Pennfield Ridge



Wow. Glad to see someone other than myself has interest with Pennfield Ridge. I'm in the midst of a research project on Pennfield Ridge and also the former Army CITC base of Camp Utopia (A-30) which was located to the northwest of the airfield. Just out of curiousity, where did you gather your details on the airfield?


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## IN HOC SIGNO (14 Mar 2007)

J.Gaudet said:
			
		

> Wow. Glad to see someone other than myself has interest with Pennfield Ridge. I'm in the midst of a research project on Pennfield Ridge and also the former Army CITC base of Camp Utopia (A-30) which was located to the northwest of the airfield. Just out of curiousity, where did you gather your details on the airfield?



Fron the RCAF museum website. I passed by there a few times when I was out motorcycling and wondered about it. Some locals told me it was a former RCAF Air Station.


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## 3rd Herd (21 Jul 2007)

The Usual Disclaimer:
City could lose Bomarc missile; Local landmark tied to role in Cold War 
Dave Dale 
Local News - Saturday, July 21, 2007 @ 08:00 

North Bay may lose one of its historical landmarks if the United States Air Force reclaims the Bomarc missile in Veteran's Park. 

A reliable source told The Nugget Friday the last remaining example of the Cold War weapon deployed in North Bay from 1962 to 1972 to guard against Russian attack will be gone within a month. 

Jamie Houston, director of city parks and recreation, was unavailable Friday to confirm the news. 

A telephone call to the public affairs department at 22 Wing Canadian Forces Base North Bay was not returned. 

The Department of Homeland Security, which controls the continental war on terrorism and may have interest in a moth-balled technology that carried nuclear warheads, directed questions to the United States Air Force..........................
http://www.nugget.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=621532&catname=Local%20News&classif=


----------



## Franko (21 Jul 2007)

I guess Edmonton will lose theirs as well if it comes to pass. Yes, that's right....there is one in Edmonton as well, down by the Center City Airport. 

Hate to burst their little bubble but North Bay does not have the only one.

I guess terrorists in Canada will have the resources to not only steal them off their pedestals, but to also refurbish them to running state and get the guidance systems off the black market as well as the payload.

Perhaps the real reason is they weren't the property of Canada in the first place and the US doesn't want a lawsuit if a piece of the rotting missile falls and hits someone.

Regards


----------



## Old Sweat (21 Jul 2007)

This fails the say what test. Before any artifact or trophy is put on display, it is stripped or immobilized so that it can not be put back into service by a third party. To suggest that the hulk of a Bomarc is a potential threat seems far fetched at best. 

Somebody, somewhere, has too much free time.


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## Greymatters (21 Jul 2007)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Many Canadians have never even heard of Camp X.



They should now...there's even a Wiki page for it...


----------



## observor 69 (22 Jul 2007)

Wasn't there a case of a  F-86 Sabrejet being welded back together and sold to a private individual ?

Perhaps it is this fear that drives some of the Homeland Security thinking?


----------



## uptheglens (22 Jul 2007)

Here's a few old BCATP bases that I drive by occasionally in Brant, Haldimand, and Norfolk counties.

42° 55' 42.68" N     80° 07' 22.48" W          #16 SFTS Hagersville
42° 52' 28.63" N     79° 35' 44.75" W          #6   SFTS Dunnville (this is now a racetrack)
43° 03' 14.4"  N      80° 16' 35.00" W          #1 relief field for #5 SFTS Brantford (it's located in Burtch, Ont. It used to be a jail, but it has been closed within the last few years, and now the Six Nations have claimed it as part of their land claims)

There's also the former #1 B&G School that was located at Jarvis, but it has unfortunately been demolished and built over with a refinery by Imperial Oil.


----------



## Hawk (22 Jul 2007)

What a lot of memories this thread brought back!

I grew up not far from CFB Rivers, camped with my family at the Lake, and met many families from The Base!

Got to do Navy New Entry Training at Beautiful Cornwallis by the Sea, CFS Mill Cove was my working base. I was at Rockcliff for dance training for the 1967 Tattoo.

As a Reserve, at 746 (Calgary) Comm Sqn, spent a couple of weekend exercises in the bunker at Penhold

There was a WWII base south of Estevan, SK. There was air training during the war at Brandon, too, and A4 Barracks was in Brandon - my Dad trained there, Shilo and in Winnipeg - Osborne Barracks, about 4 blocks or so from where I now live.


Hawk


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## Greymatters (22 Jul 2007)

Baden  Guy said:
			
		

> Wasn't there a case of a  F-86 Sabrejet being welded back together and sold to a private individual ?  Perhaps it is this fear that drives some of the Homeland Security thinking?



Id like to see where youre going with this - you're suggesting someone could put back together an old F-86 and.... ?  

What could it be used for, that a similiar aircraft hijacked at a local airport couldnt be leased, bought, or stolen for, at a lower level of cost and effort?


----------



## observor 69 (22 Jul 2007)

GreyMatter said:
			
		

> Id like to see where youre going with this - you're suggesting someone could put back together an old F-86 and.... ?
> 
> What could it be used for, that a similiar aircraft hijacked at a local airport couldnt be leased, bought, or stolen for, at a lower level of cost and effort?



My comment was in the context of "old Sweat's" remark

"This fails the say what test. Before any artifact or trophy is put on display, it is stripped or immobilized so that it can not be put back into service by a third party. To suggest that the hulk of a Bomarc is a potential threat seems far fetched at best. "


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## Greymatters (22 Jul 2007)

Ah, nevermind then...


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## Devlin (24 Jul 2007)

Anyone know why or care to speculate why the Americans would want this rustly old BOMARC back?


Shared with the usual disclaimers etc...copyright

http://www.nugget.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=621532&catname=Local+News

City could lose Bomarc missile; Local landmark tied to role in Cold War

Dave Dale

Saturday, July 21, 2007 - 08:00 

Local News - North Bay may lose one of its historical landmarks if the United States Air Force reclaims the Bomarc missile in Veteran's Park. 

A reliable source told The Nugget Friday the last remaining example of the Cold War weapon deployed in North Bay from 1962 to 1972 to guard against Russian attack will be gone within a month. 

Jamie Houston, director of city parks and recreation, was unavailable Friday to confirm the news. 

A telephone call to the public affairs department at 22 Wing Canadian Forces Base North Bay was not returned. 

The Department of Homeland Security, which controls the continental war on terrorism and may have interest in a moth-balled technology that carried nuclear warheads, directed questions to the United States Air Force. 

And an e-mail inquiry to the U.S. Air Force News Service through its Air Force Link web page was redirected to Air Force Space Command. 

But Bob Studholme, chairman of Project Flanders which has organized the refurbishment of historical military monuments in the city, said he wasn't surprised to hear the missile might be on the way out. 

Studholme said his group approached the city four years ago about bringing the Bomarc up to its original look, but was told the U.S. Air Force would have to approve the project. 

"They were talking about taking it back years and years ago," he said, noting one in Newfoundland was dismantled in 1990. 

"The only one left standing is in North Bay." 

Studholme said he was told by city staff last fall they would know more this spring about what the U.S. Air Force wants to do with the missile. 

"I've been working to paint it and get it back to look like it once did . . . to doctor it up to make it look like the CF-100 across the road." 

He said it's doubtful the U.S. wants it back due to any terrorism threat, but he said the missile is "evidently corroding from inside out." 

A city source who spoke on condition of anonymity said the rumours of the deteriorating missile posing a health hazard due to lingering radiation are unfounded. 

There were 28 missiles located at the former Bomarc Missile Base - where the Canadore College helicopter program was formerly located - under control at the time of the Royal Canadian Air Force 446 Squadron surface-to-air missile unit. The squadron was eventually integrated into the Canadian Armed Forces 

The North Bay Kiwanis Club erected the Bomarc historical memorial in 1979.


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## Teddy Ruxpin (24 Jul 2007)

> "The only one left standing is in North Bay."



Strictly speaking, this isn't true.  There's one here in Edmonton at the Aviation Museum on Kingsway.  It used to stand in Churchill Park on the Garrision.  I have no idea what (if anything) is inside the fuselage, though.


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## Franko (24 Jul 2007)

Recce By Death said:
			
		

> I guess Edmonton will lose theirs as well if it comes to pass. Yes, that's right....there is one in Edmonton as well, down by the Center City Airport.
> 
> Hate to burst their little bubble but North Bay does not have the only one.



Merged both threads...oh,and have to add this. I finally beat Teddy!         ;D

Regards


----------



## 3rd Herd (11 Aug 2007)

Update:
The Usual Disclaimer:
http://www.nugget.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=649010&catname=Local%20News&classif=
Base interested in keeping missile; Correspondence raises questions about removal 
Dave Dale 
Local News - Saturday, August 11, 2007 @ 08:00 
The historic Bomarc missile displayed at Veterans Park for three decades is pointing in the right direction for its new home if Canadian Forces Base North Bay gets its way. 

Maj. Bruno Villeneuve, administrative officer at 22 Wing, is the point man attempting to transfer ownership of the Cold War artifact from the National Museum of the United States Air Force. 

And Capt. Cynthia Elia, of the 22 Wing public affairs office, said the base museum has expressed "absolute interest" in keeping the missile from leaving the area. 

The Bomarc, one of 28 missiles formerly armed with nuclear warheads to help repel a Russian attack on North America, has been in the care of the city since 1978. The Kiwanis Club of North Bay erected the monument to honour the city's role in continental defence. 

Loan of the Bomarc is being terminated sometime this month due to the deteriorating condition of the magnesium-thorium plates on the fuselage which offered light-weight strength. 
Thorium naturally emits radiation and puts the Bomarc under the United States Environmental Protection Act, requiring cautious legal and technical controls. 

The U.S. museum had pulled the missiles from its static display program and initially recalled the North Bay Bomarc in 1995. 

An extension was given to keep the missile here for display and a special paint was applied 12 years ago to slow the erosion, but little else was done. 

Correspondence between the city and museum states that human health risks are possible if the magnesium-thorium plates are sanded, cut or drilled. 

There is some controversy about whether the museum decided to take back the missile or if the city requested the museum take it off its hands. 

The issue arose after Project Flanders, the group which restored the CF-100 fighter jet in Lee Park nearby, asked the city last year if it could head up a project to restore the missile. 

In a letter to the city dated July 23, the senior curator of the U.S. museum, Terry Aitken, references the advanced state of deterioration and formally notifies North Bay it is recalling the loaned missile. 

But in an Aug. 6 e-mail to U.S. air force command historian George Bradley III, Aitken states North Bay has recognized "the deteriorating condition of the missile and their lack of resources to properly deal with the challenges." Aitken goes on to say "the city has responsibly offered the return of the missile." 

The e-mail was forwarded to former North Bay resident Neall Hards after he asked the U.S. air force why the Bomarc was being removed. "I grew up in North Bay and my brother and I actually used to run through the entire Bomarc missile site (even the underground sections) when we were kids after the local college took over the land for their rotary craft program," Hards wrote after reading about the issue at nugget.ca last month. 

"Now living in Ottawa, it's still nice to come home and be able to show and explain these wonderful pieces of history to my children. This missile displays North Bay's very active participation in the . . . 'Cold War' protecting our fellow Canadians, and respect for our heritage. 

"The USAF should show us a little more respect . . . I would just like to know why there is such a need to have it removed, after what our town did for the country - do we not deserve recognition?" 

Dave Linkie, North Bay's chief administrative officer, said the city never asked the museum to take back the missile, adding Aitken's official letter July 23 best reflects the scenario.


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## Disenchantedsailor (11 Aug 2007)

oh the nostalgia, I wiki'ed RCAF Calgary for old time sakes (my grandfather was at one time posted to no 10 Repair Depot). I used to drap race my dads car on one of the old runways (now built over) at Lincoln Park just outside mount royal college. Many of the hangers there are still in operation, ones a bingo hall, another a gym, and ACTO is using 5 or six at thier production facility.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RCAF_Station_Calgary
It's a shame, now all thats left of the base and training areas is the Gen Waters Building (the rest are still standing on the Currie side anyway but used for a million other things) and of course they bulldozed the old LdSH Lines and built a casino on the harvey side.


----------



## Blackadder1916 (11 Aug 2007)

One of the remaining hangers at Calgary is now The Farmers' Market.  What used to be my office is now a walk-in refrigerator (kinda like it used to be during winter).


----------



## Disenchantedsailor (11 Aug 2007)

never bloddy failes does it, what ever happened to the old gym.


----------



## 3rd Herd (11 Aug 2007)

ArtyNewbie said:
			
		

> never bloody fails does it, what ever happened to the old gym.



I do believe it is "a young athlete training center" or at least that is what the sign said the other day.

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Direct access to Crowchild Trail 
Free parking 
On-site walking and bicycle pathways 
5 minutes from Glenmore Recreational Park 
3 golf courses within 5 minutes drive 
A variety of dining options, both on site and in nearby Marda Loop 
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Conveniently accessible from most parts of the city, CLC Calgary has office, retail, industrial, and commercial spaces of all sizes available for lease.

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Competitive rental rates and flexible terms

Client Quotes and Testimonials

Alberta Venture has been located at CFB West since 1999 and have no intention of moving! We make sales calls all over the city so find the location absolutely perfect. Centrally located without being downtown. The building we're in is its own little "community" where we've all gotten to know each other and need little excuse to get together at someone's office and have a "building" brunch, Valentine party, whatever. Management is efficient and friendly, and has always promptly looked after any concern we may have had. I have in fact, referred CFB West to many of my clients when I know they're relocating. 

Keep up the good work!

Deb Bunbury
Account Executive
Alberta Venture Magazine 

As tenants of Building B-1, we have the pleasure of looking onto Parade Square and at times seeing the rabbits, gophers and families of partridges scoot by.  
Having our office in this location meets so many of our requirements; there are no parking problems, it is a central location for our programs that run citywide, we have use of a board room for special meetings and the added touch is we get to enjoy the green spaces for walks during lunch hour and as well as use one of the many picnic tables for lunch or fresh air breaks.

Why would you want to be anywhere else! 

Brenda Wood
Executive Director
Friends of Seniors Foundation 

Source:http://www.clccalgary.ca/en/officeAndCommercialDevelopment.htm


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## Disenchantedsailor (12 Aug 2007)

rabitts, gophers and parking on the parade square, hmmmm, rounds on, FFE??.  The only good use for any of the buildings after the base closed was leasing the shacks to the UofC for overflow residences. And of course we can't forget the curling club had to be torn down just so it didn't make the area ugly when they moved all the MQ's from Lincoln to Currie and called it garrison woods.


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## 3rd Herd (13 Aug 2007)

Continuing on the bunker hunt theme:
NORAD Bunker
http://www.cbc.ca/video/features/news/#, then scroll down to NORAD Bunker

Not the one I was looking for but worth watching. 

edit to add:
here is/ are the clues to another "Definbunker"

"Frostbite: Manitoba's Cold War Secrets
Premiere: October 22, 2006
Manitoba has played an important role in the Cold War, but few people realize it. Frostbite takes us from a stillactive
NORAD command bunker buried beneath the Winnipeg airport… along the DEW radar line that cut a
swath through the North… into the history of military activity that few realized took place in Manitoba’s fields
and airspace."

edit to add, add.
Still not the right one:
Cold War relic buried at Shilo
Last Updated: Thursday, February 22, 2001 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2001/02/22/mb_bunker220201.html


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## AmmoTech90 (19 Aug 2007)

Just got back from touring around Baden.  It is now a commercial airport, but you can still wander around the old HAS in some places and the green paint is starting to show through the cream they painted the single quarters.


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## TCBF (23 Aug 2007)

I lived in the bunker at CFB Shilo for five weeks in the summer of 1975.  It had a lot of bedspaces - great for transient accomodations, and air-conditioned to boot!

HEY MODS!  We need a map!  "The interactive Military Map Of Canada"

-Part of this site.
-Historical battle sites on Cdn soil.
-Pre and post confederation bases, stations, trg areas, ranges, DEW/NW Line, Mid-Canada Line (amazing technical achievement), Pinetree Line, Pinetree Gap-Filler Radar bases (didn't know about those, did you?), major mil a/c activities: patrol zones/crashes/ Bear intercepts.
- Ship/U Boat sinkings
- War production factories: Munitions depots, aircraft/AFV/SMP factories, Sa factories, etc

Make it so we click on a colour-coded icon and a Wiki opens up.

The contributions on this site are a good start.  Hey, maybe someone is still alive who remembers where they buried all of the chemical weapons in Borden after WW1!

Comments?


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## George Wallace (23 Aug 2007)

Funny Tom.  I lived in one of those old H-Huts near the Bunker during the summer of 1974.  We ate in the Bunker.  The only ones I remember living in the Bunker were 9 Platoon.  I know you weren't in that Platoon.  They were all women.   ;D


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## Michael OLeary (23 Aug 2007)

TCBF said:
			
		

> I lived in the bunker at CFB Shilo for five weeks in the summer of 1974.  It had a lot of bedspaces - great for transient accomodations, and air-conditioned to boot!
> 
> HEY MODS!  We need a map!  "The interactive Military Map Of Canada"
> 
> ...



There's the wiki, start building.  A map can come later.


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## TCBF (24 Aug 2007)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Funny Tom.  I lived in one of those old H-Huts near the Bunker during the summer of 1974.  We ate in the Bunker.  The only ones I remember living in the Bunker were 9 Platoon.  I know you weren't in that Platoon.  They were all women.   ;D



- You peeked!

 ;D

It was 1975.  Summer 1974 I spent here (Wainwright).  I have corrected my seriously flawed post - date-wise - above.

"Where's the wiki, start building.  A map can come later."

- Now isn't that just like the Army: Some guy comes up with a good idea and to pay him back they give him all of the work!


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## geo (24 Aug 2007)

The Bunker in Valcartier has been used for accomodations for a llllong time.
Dark as heck when the power goes out though

Odd going through the hallways, reading signs that describe who the accomodations were intended for....


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## Colin Parkinson (24 Aug 2007)

I had to sign for a good chunk of the bunker in Nanaimo, 1200 sets of bedding and full brand new Cafeteria from the 50’s. It was fun getting parts for equipment that old, had to get some custom made. I think they just buried the door, but could be wrong.


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## marshall sl (25 Aug 2007)

found this on Google    http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/2529/


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## kratz (25 Aug 2007)

My QL3 accomodations were at the bunker in Borden in 1993. The base was removing the H-huts on Ortona road at that time. But the old base HQ and A club were still in operation that year.


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## 3rd Herd (25 Aug 2007)

marshall sl said:
			
		

> found this on Google    http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Quarters/2529/



marshal,
thank you for that link. Nice to see all the reference in it


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## Haggis (16 Aug 2008)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> There is a former base in Ontario, near the Quebec border, just south of the 417 that once had a population of over 30,000.  Now its' landing strips are hidden in the woods and covered by piles of manure.  A few concrete small arms butts are visible in the woods.  All its buildings are gone.  Totally forgotten in time.



No. 13 EFTS, BCATP.  Also known as Connor Airfield.

I took a ride out there today, almost missing it until I saw the small arms stop butts just in the edge of the trees.  Seems unsettling to see pistol range butts 25 metres from a major county highway.  The area is for sale, now.  No gates or fences.  Looks like considerable effort is underway to clear the land.  Not surprisingly, the few locals I spoke to in St. Eugene (a true "one horse town") had no idea what the structure was.


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## stryte (16 Aug 2008)

If you were to travel Radar Rd. from Hanmer (ON) to Sudbury (ON) you would pass by CFB Falconbridge on the right hand side and the still standing military housing which is now owned by a private company and which civilians now reside in.


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## Colin Parkinson (17 Aug 2008)

Colin P said:
			
		

> I had to sign for a good chunk of the bunker in Nanaimo, 1200 sets of bedding and full brand new Cafeteria from the 50’s. It was fun getting parts for equipment that old, had to get some custom made. I think they just buried the door, but could be wrong.



This should be the location for the Nanaimo one, now buried.  :crybaby:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=49.150703,-123.969276&spn=0.005298,0.009613&t=h&z=17


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