CFB Chatham

Canadian Forces Base Chatham or CFB Chatham was a Canadian Forces Base located immediately south of the town of Chatham, New Brunswick, Canada. Parts are now operating as Miramichi Municipal Airport since 1974 with a partial runway available (09/27 - asphalt).

CFB Chatham
Near Chatham, New Brunswick in Canada
CFB Chatham crest
Site information
Owner	Dept of National Defence (Canada)
Location
CFB Chatham
Coordinates	47°0′49.32″N 65°26′49.56″W
Airfield information
Elevation	90 ft (27 m) AMSL
Runways Direction Length and surface 11/29 5,000 ft (1,500 m) Hard Surface 16/34 5,000 ft (1,500 m) Hard Surface 5/23 5,000 ft (1,500 m) Hard Surface
Airfields

A display at the gate painted in the colors of the famed Golden Hawks was eventually removed from its pedestal following the closure of CFB Chatham in 1996

CF101B Voodoo of 416 (AWF) Squadron from CFB Chatham, NB, 1980

From 1970 until 1985 Chatham had a Base Rescue Flight operating three CH-118 Iroquois helicopters. When the CF-101 Voodoo interceptors were retired, the CH-118s were redeployed to Base Flight Cold Lake.^[1]

History

Second World War

Air training facilities were established across Canada during the Second World War as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and local MLA William Stafford Anderson applied for two schools in the Miramichi Valley region. The site was on level, cleared land with ready rail and road access. The Canadian government initially balked at paying for more expensive farmland, but the Government of New Brunswick agreed to front a portion of the cost. Construction began in the summer of 1940 and the airfield was ready by the following spring.^[2]

No. 21 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) began operations on 3 July 1941 using 31 Fleet Finch loaned from the RCAF, while No. 10 Air Observer School (AOS), flying the Avro Anson, opened the following month. 21 EFTS was disbanded in August 1942 and re-established in Neepawa, Manitoba as No. 35 EFTS. 10 AOS remained at Chatham until it was disbanded in April 1945. ^[3]

On 7 May 1943, a flight of 14 Ansons took off from Chatham. Heavy fog rolled into the area soon afterward, obscuring the airfield. Two aircraft ditched in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and a third crashed in a field near Elgin, New Brunswick. Four trainee aircrew and one instructor were killed.^[4]

Detachments of No. 113 Squadron and No. 119 Squadron patrolled the Gulf of St. Lawrence from Chatham in 1942 and 1943 flying Lockheed Hudsons. U-Boats were active in the Gulf and both U-165 and U-517 were attacked by Chatham-based aircraft, although neither were sunk.^[5]

Aerodrome Information

In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed at 47°01′N 65°27′W with a Var. 24 degrees 30' W and elevation of 90 feet (27 m). Three runways were listed as follows:^[6]

Runway Name	Length	Width	Surface
11/29	5,000 ft (1,500 m)	150 ft (46 m)	Hard surfaced
16/34	5,000 ft (1,500 m)	150 ft (46 m)	Hard surfaced
5/23	5,000 ft (1,500 m)	150 ft (46 m)	Hard surfaced

Squadrons

• 1942 No. 113 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron - Lockheed Hudson
• 1943 No. 119 (Bomber-Reconnaissance) Squadron - Lockheed Hudson
• 1941-1942 No. 21 Elementary Flying Training School^[7]
• 1941-1945 No. 10 Air Observer School^[8]
• 1949-1950s - airbase with Canadair Sabre and de Havilland Vampire
  • 1949-1951 No. 421 Squadron RCAF
• late 1950-1960s Golden Hawks - Canadair Sabres
• 1962-1984 No. 416 Squadron RCAF - McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo and Base Rescue Flight - CH-118 Iroquois
• 1984-1989 No. 434 Squadron RCAF - Canadair CF-5 and Base Rescue Flight - CH-118 Iroquois