RCAF Station Great Whale River was located at the mouth of the river with the same name on the shore of

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

. The town surrounding the former base is now known by its native name of

Kuujjuarapik Kuujjuarapik (also spelled Kuujjuaraapik; iu, ᑰᔾᔪᐊᕌᐱᒃ ''little great river'') is the southernmost northern village (Inuit community) at the mouth of the Great Whale River (french: Grande Rivière de la Baleine) on the coast of H ...

. Originally built in 1955 as a detachment, it was elevated to station status in 1957 when it became Sector Control Station 400 of the

Mid-Canada Line The Mid-Canada Line (MCL), also known as the McGill Fence, was a line of radar stations running east–west across the middle of Canada, used to provide early warning of a Soviet bomber attack on North America. It was built to supplement the P ...

. After the Mid-Canada Line project was terminated there was no longer any need for a military presence at the site, and RCAF Station Great Whale River closed on April 2 1965. While in operation, the station was supported by

RCAF Station St. Hubert Canadian Forces Base St. Hubert was a Canadian Forces Base in the city of Saint-Hubert, Quebec. The base began as a civilian airfield in the 1920s and was later also used by RCAF auxiliary (reserve) squadrons, beginning in the mid-1930s. It beca ...

. The station's gravel runway is now administered by the

government of Quebec A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

and runs parallel to the shore of Hudson Bay.

References

{{Reflist Royal Canadian Air Force Radar networks Cold War military history of Canada