US Air Force McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle at CFB Goose BayĬH-135 Twin Huey from Base Rescue Goose Bay (later 444 Squadron)Īvro Vulcan X元61 on display at CFB Goose Bay Royal Air Force Panavia Tornados at CFB Goose Bay The story of the base's founding was evocatively told in a wartime Canadian book by William G. The 99-year lease arrangement with the United Kingdom was not finalized until October 1944. In time, the USAAF and the RAF each developed sections of the triangular base for their own use, but the airport remained under overall Canadian control despite its location in Newfoundland and Labrador. By spring of 1942 the base, now carrying the wartime code-name Alkali, was bursting with air traffic destined for the United Kingdom. The first land aircraft movement was recorded on 9 December 1941. Under pressure from Britain and the United States the Canadian Air Ministry worked at a record pace, and by November three 7,000-foot gravel runways were ready. Having a Gander air base in Newfoundland I suggested we call the Labrador site Goose Bay airport and the suggestion was accepted.”
Įric Fry recalled: “The airport is actually located on the plateau at the west end of Terrington Basin but it is only five miles inland from the narrows between Goose Bay and Terrington Basin. These surveys used amphibian aircraft that landed at the Grenfell mission from there the teams explored by boat. Fry beat by three days a similar USAAF survey team under Captain Elliott Roosevelt the American team had first investigated nearby Epinette Point before joining Fry at the sandy plains that would become Goose Bay. While the flat and relatively weather-favored area around North West River had for years been under consideration for an airport for the anticipated North Atlantic air routes, it was not until Eric Fry of the Dominion Geodetic Survey investigated the area on 1 July 1941 that the Goose Bay location was selected. Goose Bay was the site of the first US nuclear weapons in Canada, when in 1950 the United States Air Force Strategic Air Command stationed 11 model 1561 Fat Man atomic bombs at the base. CBSA officers at this airport currently can handle general aviation aircraft only, with no more than 15 passengers. The airport is classified as an airport of entry by NAV CANADA and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency. The base is the home of 444 Combat Support Squadron and also serves as a forward operating base for NORAD CF-18 Hornet interceptors.ĬFB Goose Bay's airfield is also used by civilian aircraft, with civilian operations at the base referring to the facility as Goose Bay Airport. It was later home to permanent detachments of the Royal Air Force, Luftwaffe, Aeronautica Militare, and Royal Netherlands Air Force, in addition to temporary deployments from several other NATO countries. The base was initially a Royal Canadian Air Force station and later a United States Air Force base known as Goose AFB, housing units of the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Defense Command. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 5 Wing, commonly referred to as 5 Wing Goose Bay.
CFB Goose Bay is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is the site of NATO tactical flight training in Canada. Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay (IATA: YYR, ICAO: CYYR) (also CFB Goose Bay), is a Canadian Forces Base located in the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.
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