World War II (1941–1945) At the height of the
Second World War, the RCAF selected a relatively level farming area at the head of navigable waters in the
Saguenay River to be the site of several aerodromes during 1941. This area was considered useful for RCAF purposes, given the amount of cleared land in the region, its relative geographic isolation and proximity to the deepwater port of Port-Alfred, as well as access to the adjacent railway network. Construction began that summer and continued through the winter and following spring on
RCAF Station St-Honoré near
Chicoutimi and RCAF Station Bagotville in La Baie. The base at St-Honoré opened in June 1942, followed by Bagotville on 17 July 1942; St-Honoré being operated as a sub-base to Bagotville. RCAF Station Bagotville In November 1944 1 OTU was disbanded and the closure of RCAF Station Bagotville and its secondary facilities at RCAF Station St-Honoré was announced; they were closed and mothballed on 5 January 1945.
Cold War (1951–1993) The escalating tensions brought about by the
Cold War and the
Korean War saw RCAF Station Bagotville reactivated on 1 July 1951 flying the
CT-133 Silver Star and
CH-118 Huey. The CT-133 fleet was retired in 2001 and in 1996 439 squadron's four CH-118s were replaced by three
CH-146 Griffons. In July 1996, the base helped locals during the
Saguenay flood. On 1 March 1999, 12 Radar Squadron was formed at CFB Bagotville to provide tactical control of fighter/interceptor aircraft; it replaced a radar station at
RCAF Station Mont Apica which was closed. 433 Squadron disbanded in 2006 with its aircraft and personnel absorbed by 425 Squadron as a dual language Francophone/Anglophone unit. The squadron was reactivated on 9 June 2015. On 2 October 2020, the Government of Canada awarded EllisDon-EBC Inc. Joint Venture of Ottawa with the $12.1 million construction of new facilities to house the Royal Canadian Air Force's Future Fighter. The Future Fighter, to be housed at
CFB Cold Lake and CFB Bagotville, will require facility upgrades before the first delivery of the fighter in 2025. A $131 million contract was awarded to construct a 15,000 m2 facility to house the 2 Air Expeditionary Wing. The construction began in 2023.
Present units CFB Bagotville has the following squadrons and units: • 2 Wing Bagotville • 2 Mission Support Squadron • 2 Air Expeditionary Training Squadron • 2 Operational Support Squadron • 4 Construction Engineering Squadron • 8 Air Communication and Control Squadron • 2 Air Support Operations Squadron • 14 Construction Engineering Squadron • 3 Wing Bagotville The
Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets that form part of
Top Aces fleet are based here as part of the CF jet training program Contracted Airborne Training Services. CFB Bagotville hosts the Bagotville
Cadets Canada Summer Training Centre.
Air and
Sea Cadets from across Canada attend the summer training centre to qualify in a variety of courses ranging from the two-week Aviation and Aerospace Technology course, the four-week Advanced Aviation course, to the six-week Sailing II/III course . == International commitments ==