CFB Summerside
Canadian Forces Base Summerside (CFB Summerside) was an air force base located in
St. Eleanors,
Prince Edward Island,
Canada, now part of the city of
Summerside.
RCAF Station Summerside
The airfield was constructed between
1940-
1941 and was named
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) Station Summerside. It was home to No. 9 Service Flying Training School (SFTS), a flight school that operated under the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. Relief or emergency airfields were located at nearby
RCAF Station Mount Pleasant and
Wellington. Airmen were trained on
Harvards. In July 1942 No. 9 SFTS moved to
RCAF Station Centralia and was replaced by No. 1 General Reconnaissance School (GRS) which flew
Ansons. No. 1 GRS was changed to No. 1 Reconnaissance and Navigation School in 1945.
The station was closed in 1946 but reopened in 1947 with the formation of No. 1 Air Navigation School (ANS). This was a
NATO training facility. No. 1 ANS left in 1953 and the Central Navigation School was established. In
1949 No. 2 (Maritime) Operational Training Unit started operation. The influx of personnel and their families required the building of more accommodation quarters. In 1949 the base housing was completed and named "Slemon Park" in honour of Air Marshall Roy Slemon.
During the
Cold War, the base was home to anti-submarine and coastal patrol aircraft such as the
CP-107 Argus,
CP-122 Neptune,
CP-140 Aurora, and
CP-121 Tracker. Other aircraft operated from Summerside include the
CC-115 Buffalo and
CH-113 Labrador. These aircraft were operated by various squadrons and units including No. 2 (Maritime) Operational Training Unit, No. 107 Rescue Unit, 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron, 420 Air Reserve Squadron, 880 Maritime Reconnaissance Squadron (
Royal Canadian Navy), 31 Support Air Group (Royal Canadian Navy), and 415 Maritime Patrol Squadron.
CFB Summerside
The
February 1,
1968 unification of the three service branches into the
Canadian Armed Forces saw RCAF Station Summerside change its name to
Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Summerside.
CFB Summerside's chief role in the 1980s was support for
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the government department responsible for managing Canada's ocean resources, using the
CP-121 Tracker to patrol
Georges Bank and the
Grand Banks to monitor foreign fishing fleets.
The
1989 federal budget cuts to the
Department of National Defence identified CFB Summerside as a candidate for base closure. In
1991 the base was closed and the majority of military personnel were transferred to
CFB Greenwood in
Nova Scotia.
Slemon Park
The entire property including airfield, housing units, hangars and support structures was renamed
Slemon Park and was transferred to a local development authority named "Slemon Park Corporation". Today the site is host to a mix of public and private sector operations, including
Holland College,
Humpty Dumpty Snack Foods Inc. and several aerospace companies. Employment at Slemon Park facilities now exceeds pre-1991 levels.
The airfield remains active as the
Summerside Airport, serving the western part of the province. The main runway at Summerside is more capable for large aircraft than the
Charlottetown Airport, although no scheduled air service includes the Summerside field.
*
History and Heritage of Canada's Air Force*
Slemon Park Corporation
