Canadian Forces Base Greenwood
| Canadian Forces Base Greenwood | |
|---|---|
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| Characteristics | |
| ICAO code | CYZX |
| IATA code | YZX |
| Coordinates | |
| Basic data | |
| opening | 1942 |
| operator | Department of National Defense |
| Runways | |
| 08/26 | 2438 m of asphalt |
| 12/30 | 2438 m of asphalt |
Canadian Forces Base Greenwood (IATA: YZX, ICAO: CYZX) is an air base of the Royal Canadian Air Force and is located near the small towns of Greenwood and Kingston in Nova Scotia . The base is one of two in Canada where the CP-140 Aurora and CP-140A Arcturus anti-submarine / maritime patrol aircraft are stationed. The unit stationed on the base is the 14th Wing (14th Squadron).
history
The airfield was completed between 1940 and 1942. In the course of time, different aircraft types and squadrons were stationed at the airfield. Lockheed Hudson MK III , Avro Anson and the Westland Lysander . All aircraft belonged to the British Royal Air Force . At the end of 1942 there were 36 machines and 194 trainees out of a total of 1,474 people at the base. By November 1942, the number of trainees had doubled and the number of machines stationed had increased to 80.
In the course of the BCATP program, the airfield was the starting point for sea reconnaissance. From there, planes took off that observed submarine activity in the western Atlantic. On July 1, 1944, the air base was transferred to the RCAF, the Canadian Royal Canadian Air Force. The BCTAP program was continued under the new management. The program ran until March 31, 1945.
present
The base is the largest of the Canadian Air Force on the Atlantic coast in terms of number of aircraft and personnel. The following types of aircraft are permanently stationed at the airfield:
- 13 CP-140 Aurora / CP-140A Arcturus , four-engine, propeller-driven submarine fighter and maritime patrol aircraft
- 4 CH-149 Cormorant , helicopter for air-sea rescue
- 1 CC-130 Hercules (future CC-295), air-sea rescue and transport
Together with CFB Gander , CFB Goose Bay and CFB Bagotville, the air base is used as a rotary airfield, on which alternating squadron units with CF-188 fighter planes are stationed. This has been introduced since the 9/11 attacks as part of NORAD's air traffic control to better monitor the eastern airspace of the North American continent .