RCAF Station Penhold was a Second World War

British Commonwealth Air Training Plan The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), or Empire Air Training Scheme (EATS) often referred to as simply "The Plan", was a massive, joint military aircrew training program created by the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zea ...

(BCATP) station located near

Penhold, Alberta Penhold is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Penhold is surrounded by Red Deer County, south of Red Deer at the junction of Highway 2A and Highway 42. It is located north of Calgary, east of the Red Deer River. History Originally, Penhol ...

, Canada.

History

World War II

In 1939, farmland was purchased and land cleared for the future base. In 1940 the base opened as a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

(RCAF) Manning Depot with one building. Five hangars and 31 other buildings were under construction well into 1941 including barracks, service buildings and administrative buildings. Six hard surfaced runways 900 to 1075 metres long made up the airfield. Two additional hangars were built for a total of seven. In August 1941, the base was handed over to the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

and on 28 September 1941, No. 36 Service Flying Training School was transferred from Britain. It was one of several schools established as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. The school was disbanded on 3 November 1944. and the base was officially handed back to the RCAF who began the process of closing the base. The station was operated and administered by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Aerodrome information

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at with a Var. 24.5 degrees E and elevation of . Six runways were listed as follows:

Relief landing field – Innisfail

The primary Relief Landing Field (R1) for RCAF Station Penhold was located northwest of the community of Innisfail. For more information please see Innisfail Aerodrome

Relief landing field – Blackfalds

The Secondary Relief Landing Field (R2) for RCAF Station Penhold was located west of the community of Blackfalds, it was located at

Cold War

It re-opened in 1952 as a RCAF flying school training pilots for member countries of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

. The airfield closed 1965 and in 1966 the City of Red Deer took over operation of the airfield, naming it the Red Deer Industrial Airport. The station was also home to a

Pinetree Line The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific coasts. ...

radar station and the provincial emergency government headquarters bunker for the province of Alberta. The remainder of the base continued in operation as CFB Penhold, although it was downgraded to a detachment of CFB Edmonton in 1990. In 1994 the base was decommissioned and closed.

Post Closure

Mynarski Park, the residential portion of the base, was renamed Springbrook in 1995 when private developers purchased the lands from the Department of National Defence. The operational area of the base near the airfield was sold to a different developer which referred to the area as Harvard Park. In 1999, airfield operations were taken over by the newly-created Red Deer Regional Airport Authority, a partnership of the City of Red Deer, Red Deer County, and the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce. The

Royal Canadian Air Cadets The Royal Canadian Air Cadets (french: Cadets de l'Aviation royale du Canada) is a Canadian national youth program for young individuals aged 12 to 18. Under the authority of the National Defence Act, the program is administered by the Canadian F ...

operated the Penhold Air Cadet Summer Training Centre at the former base until the Centre was closed in 2014.

Present day

The aerodrome is now operated as the

Red Deer Regional Airport Red Deer Regional Airport is located south southwest of Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. The airport serves Charter and General Aviation. In October 2015, Red Deer Regional announced it was to undergo a $9.5 million expansion, including a extension ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:RCAF Station Penhold

Penhold Penhold is a town in central Alberta, Canada. Penhold is surrounded by Red Deer County, south of Red Deer at the junction of Highway 2A and Highway 42. It is located north of Calgary, east of the Red Deer River. History Originally, Penhold ...

Buildings and structures in Alberta Military history of Alberta Military airbases in Alberta Defunct airports in Alberta Canadian Forces bases in Canada (closed)

1941 establishments in Alberta