Canadian Forces Base St. Hubert was a

Canadian Forces Base A Canadian Forces base or CFB (french: links=no, base des Forces canadiennes, BFC) is a military installation of the Canadian Armed Forces. For a facility to qualify as a Canadian Forces base, it must station one or more major units (e.g., army r ...

in the city of Saint-Hubert,

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

. 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 became a fully-fledged RCAF station early in World War II, being extensively used for training as part of the

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 ...

. After the war, it grew into one of the most important air bases in Canada, and remained so for decades. In its heyday as an operational air force station, it was host to multiple jet fighter squadrons flying the

de Havilland Vampire The de Havilland Vampire is a British jet fighter which was developed and manufactured by the de Havilland, de Havilland Aircraft Company. It was the second jet fighter to be operated by the Royal Air Force, RAF, after the Gloster Meteor, and ...

and later the CF 100 in all-weather fighter squadrons, and two Royal Canadian Air Force Reserve

Sabre A sabre ( French: �sabʁ or saber in American English) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the early modern and Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such as th ...

squadrons and two multi-engine transport squadrons. It was the host station to RCAF

Air Defence Command Air Defence Command was a command (military formation), command of the Royal Canadian Air Force and later the Canadian Armed Forces, active from 1951 to 1975. Originally, post-war plans called for air defence to be the responsibility of reserve, au ...

Headquarters. It became part of

CFB Montreal Canadian Forces Base Montreal (also CFB Montreal or "Longue-Pointe" to members of 34 Brigade) is a Canadian Forces Base network located in Montreal, Quebec. Its official name is 2nd Canadian Division Support Base Valcartier, Detachment Montreal The ...

upon the

unification of the Canadian Forces The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces took place on 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form the Canadian Armed Forces. History A white paper was tabled in the Parliame ...

in 1968, with the headquarters now serving as the Mobile Command Headquarters. The main base was decommissioned by the Canadian Forces in the mid-1990s, being downsized to a garrison under the administrative control of CFB Montreal.

438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron 438 "City of Montreal" Tactical Helicopter Squadron (French: ) is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron operates the CH-146 Griffon tactical helicopter from the Hartland de Montarville Molson Hangar of CFB St. Hubert in Quebec, Cana ...

operates from the former base's airfield.

History

World War II

RCAF Station St HubertMilitary Bruce Historical Writings by Bruce Forsyth
/ref> was 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) airbase established in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

at the

Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport Montréal Saint-Hubert Longueuil Airport (french: Aéroport Montréal Saint-Hubert Longueuil), also called Montréal/Saint-Hubert Airport, is located in the Saint-Hubert, Quebec, Saint-Hubert borough of Longueuil, Quebec. The airport is locate ...

. The station was home to the

No. 13 Service Flying Training School (13 SFTS) from 1 September 1941 to February 1944 when it moved to

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the Town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The Batt ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. It had a relief field located at

Farnham, Quebec Farnham is a city in Brome-Missisquoi Regional County Municipality in the Estrie region of Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 10,149, making it the second most populated community in the RCM. History The city of Fa ...

. It operated the

North American Harvard The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

and the

Avro Anson The Avro Anson is a British twin-engined, multi-role aircraft built by the aircraft manufacturer Avro. Large numbers of the type served in a variety of roles for the Royal Air Force (RAF), Fleet Air Arm (FAA), Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) a ...

as advanced training aircraft. In 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - St.Hubert, Province of Quebec at with a variation of 16 degrees west and elevation of . Three runways were listed as follows:

Postwar

As early as 1946, RCAF squadrons previously disbanded overseas the year before following the end of hostilities, were being reformed in Canada. Both regular and auxiliary units were reactivated in St-Hubert. 410 Sqn, a regular RCAF unit on the new British designed

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

jet fighter, and 401 and

438 Year 438 (Roman numerals, CDXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, ye ...

(Aux) squadrons flying the

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and then also converting to

Vampires A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths ...

. In its heyday as an operational air force station, it was host to multiple jet fighter squadrons flying the

and later the CF 100 in all-weather fighter squadrons, and two Royal Canadian Air Force Reserve

squadrons and two multi-engine transport squadrons. It was the host station to RCAF

Headquarters. It became part of

upon the

in 1968, with the headquarters now serving as the Mobile Command Headquarters. The main base was decommissioned by the Canadian Forces in the mid-1990s, being downsized as a garrison.

Post-decommissioning

The airport remains in use as

. The married quarters housing area remains under military control. Several of the buildings were taken over by the city of St-Hubert for their police and civic administration. Some of the hangars have been converted to motion picture sound stages. Barracks blocks and dining facilities have either been demolished or converted to commercial spaces.

Operations

A Canadian Forces garrison remains at the airport, including

and 34 Service Battalion. No longer using the runways, 438 Squadron has separate helipads located next to a hangar on rue Leckie. New army recruits in the

Primary Reserve The Primary Reserve of the Canadian Armed Forces (french: links=no, Première réserve des Forces canadiennes) is the first and largest of the four sub-components of the Canadian Armed Forces reserves, followed by the Supplementary Reserve, the ...

often take their BMQ (

Basic Military Qualification Basic Military Qualification (BMQ) refers to both the basic training course, and the graduation qualification, received by non-commissioned recruits or reservists seeking entry to the Canadian Forces } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forc ...

) course under the supervision of 34 Service Battalion at this location.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Hubert Defunct airports in Quebec Canadian Forces bases in Quebec Royal Canadian Air Force stations Canadian Forces bases in Canada (closed) Transport in Longueuil Buildings and structures in Longueuil Military history of Quebec Military airbases in Quebec Airports of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan 1997 disestablishments in Quebec