RCAF Station Lachine 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 ...

station located near Lachine and

Dorval Dorval () is an on-island suburban city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montré ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, to the west of

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. The location of the station was Dorval Airport, which became the Montréal-Dorval International Airport (now Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport). RCAF Station Lachine began operation in 1941 as a transit point for the ferrying of aircraft and the transportation of supplies to Europe during the

Second World War 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 ...

. Until 1943, Lachine was the location of one of five

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) manning depots, No. 5 Manning Depot.

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies and ...

, which had been based at

RCAF Station Rockcliffe 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 environme ...

, moved to Lachine in 1951. No. 426 Transport Squadron and 436 Transport Squadron were re-established at Lachine in March 1947 and April 1949 respectively. No. 426 Squadron moved to Trenton in 1959; No. 436 Squadron moved to

RCAF Station Downsview Canadian Forces Base Toronto (also CFB Toronto) is a former Canadian Forces base in Toronto, Ontario. The airfield is currently operated as Toronto / Downsview Airport. RCAF Station Downsview The Downsview Lands were part of an extensive land ...

in July 1956. No. 2 Air Movement Group (2 AMU) was formed at Lachine in 1951 and provided support to these squadrons. Air Transport Command moved to Trenton in September 1959 when the station closed.

References

RCAF Station Lachine
Military Bruce - Canadian Military History. Retrieved 2014-06-16 Lachine Buildings and structures in Dorval Lachine, Quebec 1941 establishments in Quebec Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport Lachine Lachine Lachine {{Canada-mil-hist-stub