CFB Gander
Gander,Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada
Site information
Type	Military air base / civilian airport
Owner	Department of National Defence
Operator	Royal Canadian Air Force 1941 (1941) – present
Civilian operator	Gander Airport Corporation
Website	http://www.rcaf-arc.forces.gc.ca/en/9-wing/index.page?
Location
CFB Gander Location in Newfoundland and Labrador
Coordinates	48°56′13″N054°34′05″W / 48.93694°N 54.56806°W /48.93694; -54.56806
Site history
Built	1936 (1936) – 1941 (1941)
Built by	Royal Canadian Air Force
In use	1936 (1936) – present
Battles/wars	Battle of the Atlantic
Garrison information
Current commander	Lieutenant Colonel Rhea MacLean
Garrison	9 Wing
Occupants	103 Search and Rescue Squadron 5Canadian Rangers CFS Leitrim Detachment International Ice Patrol (1982−1989) 226 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron (1953−1990) 4th Antisubmarine Squadron (1943) 6th Antisubmarine Squadron (1943) 19th Antisubmarine Squadron (1943) No. 10 Squadron (1941−1945) No. 5 Squadron (1941−1945) No. 116 Squadron (1941−1945) No. 126 Squadron (1942−1945) No. 127 Squadron (1942−1945) No. 129 Squadron (1942−1945) 21st Reconnaissance Squadron
Airfield information
Identifiers	IATA: YQX,ICAO: CYQX
Elevation	496 ft (151 m)AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 03/21 10,200 ft (3,100 m) Asphalt concrete 13/31 8,900 ft (2,700 m) Asphalt concrete 09/27 1,848 ft (563 m) Asphalt concrete[1]

Canadian Forces Base Gander (alsoCFB Gander,IATA:YQX,ICAO:CYQX), is aCanadian Forces base located inGander,Newfoundland and Labrador. It is operated as an air force base by theRoyal Canadian Air Force and is home to search and rescue operations that cover a vast swath of the western North Atlantic and southern Arctic and a Canadian Coastal Radar station amongst other things. It is home to 9 Wing Gander.

CFB Gander is co-located atGander International Airport.

TheNewfoundland Airport was established by theDominion of Newfoundland in 1936 and it became a strategically important airfield for piston-engined aircraft in the late 1930s.

Shortly afterWorld War II was declared, the Government of Newfoundland turned the operation of the airfield over to theRoyal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1940, which had been tasked by the United Kingdom the responsibility to provide aerial defense for the dominion. The No. 10 Bomber and Reconnaissance (BR) Squadron began operating from the airfield, flyingDouglas Digbys and later,Liberators with responsibility to protect supply convoys in the North Atlantic from enemy U-boats.

The airfield was renamedRCAF Station Gander in 1941 and it became heavily used byFerry Command for transporting military aircraft from Canada and the United States to the European theatre. By 1943, Gander was the largest RCAF station in the world (in terms of physical size) and theCanadian Army maintained a strong presence at the airfield, providing anti-aircraft and airfield defense.

Several units were based at RCAF Station Gander during the war.No. 10 Squadron remained until August 1945 and was reinforced at times byNo. 5 Squadron andNo. 116 Squadron flyingCansos for anti-submarine patrols andsearch and rescue. From 1942Hurricane fighters of theRoyal Air ForceNo. 126 Squadron,No. 127 Squadron, andNo. 129 Squadron were based at RCAF Station Gander. Throughout the war theRoyal Canadian Navy (RCN) maintained a communications station at RCAF Station Gander, Its main task washigh-frequency direction finding (HFDF) and communications monitoring of German U-boat radio transmissions.

The United StatesArmy Air Forces Antisubmarine Command assigned several squadrons of long-range antisubmarine aircraft (B-24 Liberator,B-18 Bolo) to fly killer-hunter flights over the Grand Banks and also provide convoy escort overflights fromNewfoundland. After the fall of 1943, these missions were undertaken by theUnited States Navy.

The RCAF handed operation of the airfield back to the Government of Newfoundland in March 1946 and removed its presence at what was promptly renamedGander Airport (it was later upgraded to international status), although the RCN's radio monitoring station remained in operation. The airfield was taken over by Canada's federal government under theDepartment of Transport in 1949 after Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province. Facilities and runways were enlarged and modified for larger aircraft.

When Newfoundland joinedConfederation, the RCN formally acquired the property known as the "Old Navy Site" and Naval Radio station Gander, call sign CGV, was born. Naval Radio Station (NRS) Gander consisted of four buildings, four sailors and a few civilian personnel.

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed asRCAF Aerodrome - Gander, Newfoundland at48°57′N54°34′W / 48.950°N 54.567°W /48.950; -54.567 with a variation of 30 degrees west and elevation of 452 ft (138 m). The field was listed as "All hard surfaced" and had four runways listed as follows:^[2]

In 1952, theUnited States Air Force constructed a General Surveillance radar station near the airfield as part of thePinetree Line, designated "N-25". The new station was reassigned in 1953 to the Royal Canadian Air Force and took up the retired nameRCAF Station Gander (designated "C-25"). The station functioned as a Ground-Control Intercept (GCI) and warning station housing the 226 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron. As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.

It was equipped with the following radars:

• Search Radar:AN/FPS-3C,AN/FPS-20A,AN/FPS-93A,AN/FPS-117
• Height Radar: AN/TPS-502,AN/FPS-6B,AN/FPS-26

On 1 July 1990, the site was inactivated and closed.^[3]

On February 1, 1968, the RCN, RCAF and Canadian Army were unified and reorganized into theCanadian Forces. RCAF Station Gander, operating the Pinetree Line radar station and the Naval Radio Station Gander, was renamedCanadian Forces Station Gander, orCFS Gander.

In 1970 a new expanded communications monitoring facility was constructed forCommunications Command, replacing Naval Radio Station Gander in 1971. CFS Gander's Pinetree Line radar and its new communications facilities provided support toNORAD fighter-interceptors operating fromCFB Chatham andCFB Bagotville with theCF-101 Voodoo.

In 1977, Gander saw its first military flying unit return to the area since the war when a detachment of 424 Squadron, flyingCH-113 Labrador helicopters moved to CFS Gander to providesearch and rescue (SAR) operations (this being in response to Canada declaring its 200-nautical-mile (370 km)Exclusive Economic Zone offshore, resulting in increased Canadian fishing activities). Having found a permanent home at Gander, the SAR helicopters were no longer a 424 Squadron detachment and a new unit identifier was required. Thus, in May 1977,103 Search and Rescue Flight was reactivated at Gander.Air Command (AIRCOM) also regained control of CFS Gander from Communications Command in May 1977, although Communications Command continued to operate the radio intercept facility. 103 Squadron was housed in a separate facility constructed some distance from the civilian airfield terminal.

By 1984 CFS Gander was the largest Canadian Forces Station in the Canadian Forces. Because Gander was such a large establishment and because 103 Rescue Unit had such a high-profile with its ocean rescue mission, the station was officially upgraded to aCanadian Forces Base, becomingCanadian Forces Base Gander orCFB Gander in March 1984.

During the early 1990s the federal government began to cut back on its defence budget, resulting in numerous base closures across Canada. AIRCOM units were consolidated into wings in April 1993, which became the high-level "lodger unit" at Canadian Forces Bases which operated as air force bases. Thus while the actual base is known as CFB Gander, its primary lodger unit (or operational unit) is 9 Wing, frequently referred to as 9 Wing Gander.

Among its many roles, 9 Wing Gander is responsible for providing search and rescue services throughoutNewfoundland andLabrador, northeasternQuebec, the easternArctic and offshore waters of these regions. Crews of103 Search and Rescue Squadron are on 24-hour standby, ready to answer the call in one of the busiest search and rescue regions in Canada.

103 Squadron also offers transient aircraft servicing to visitingCanadian Forces and allied aircraft as requested.

9 Wing includes the 9 Air Reserve Augmentation Flight. It augments and support the operations, administrative and technical functions of the base. Its Airfield Engineers Flight provides trained engineer reservists from various trades to supportUN andCanadian Forces deployments worldwide.

CFB Gander is also host to theLeitrim Detachment which operates and maintains signals intelligence and utilizes aWullenweberAN/FRD-10 circularly disposed antenna array forHigh-frequency direction finding of high-priority targets. 9 Wing Telecommunications provides all military air units at Gander with message transmission and reception services.

In addition, CFB Gander operates and maintains a Canadian Coastal Radar on behalf of Fighter Group CanadianNORAD Region Headquarters. Also based at CFB Gander is the Headquarters of 5Canadian Rangers Patrol Group which is part of the Army's5th Canadian Division.

• 103 Search and Rescue squadron
• 9 Wing air reserve flight
• 5 Canadian Ranger Patrol Group
• 29 Military Police flight

• 226 Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
• 770 Communications Research Squadron
• No. 5 Squadron
• No. 10 Squadron
• No. 116 Squadron

• 24th Tactical Missile Squadron
• 6th Tactical Missile Squadron
• 19th Antisubmarine Squadron
• 6th Antisubmarine Squadron
• 4th Antisubmarine Squadron
• International Ice Patrol

• Gander International Airport

• Staff writer (c. 1942).Pilots Handbook of Aerodromes and Seaplane Bases Vol. 1. Royal Canadian Air Force.

• 9 Wing Gander

• Canadian Forces bases in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Military airbases in Newfoundland and Labrador
• Canadian Forces Supplementary Radio System
• World War II airfields in Canada
• Military installations in Newfoundland and Labrador

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• Coordinates on Wikidata