While the flat and relatively weather-favoured area around
North West River had for years been under consideration for an airport for the anticipated North Atlantic air routes, it was not until Eric Fry of the Dominion Geodetic Survey investigated the area on 1July 1941 that the Goose Bay location was selected. Fry beat by three days a similar
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) survey team under Captain
Elliott Roosevelt; the American team had first investigated nearby Epinette Point before joining Fry at the sandy plains that would become Goose Bay. These surveys used amphibious aircraft that landed at the
Grenfell Mission; from there the teams explored by boat. Eric Fry recalled: "The airport is actually located on the plateau at the west end of Terrington Basin but it is only five miles inland from the narrows between Goose Bay and Terrington Basin. Having a
RCAF Station Gander in Newfoundland I suggested we call the Labrador site Goose Bay airport and the suggestion was accepted." Under pressure from Britain and the United States the Canadian Air Ministry worked at a record pace, and by November, three gravel runways were ready. The first land aircraft movement was recorded on 9 December 1941. By spring of 1942 the base, now carrying the wartime codename "Alkali", was bursting with air traffic destined for the United Kingdom. In time, the USAAF and the
Royal Air Force (RAF) each developed sections of the triangular base for their own use, but the airport remained under overall Canadian control despite its location in the
Dominion of Newfoundland, not yet a part of Canada. The 99-year lease arrangement with the United Kingdom was not finalized until October 1944.
Aerodrome In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as
RCAF Aerodrome – Goose Bay, Labrador at with a variation of 35 degrees west and elevation of . The field was listed as "all hard-surfaced" and had three runways listed as follows: The northeast side of the facility was built to be a temporary RCAF base, complete with its own hangars and control tower, while the south side of the facility, built for the Americans, was being upgraded with its own aprons, hangars, earth-covered magazines, control tower and infrastructure. The Canadian and American bases were built as an RCAF station and later a
United States Air Force base known as
Goose AB, housing units of the
Strategic Air Command and
Aerospace Defense Command. It was later home to permanent detachments of the RAF,
Luftwaffe,
Aeronautica Militare, and
Royal Netherlands Air Force, in addition to temporary deployments from several other NATO countries.
Cold War history 1950 – The Rivière-du-Loup Incident Goose Air Base was the site of the first US nuclear weapons in Canada, when in 1950 the
United States Air Force Strategic Air Command (SAC) stationed 11
model 1561 Fat Man and
Mark 4 atomic bombs at the base in the summer, and flew them out in December. While returning to
Davis–Monthan Air Force Base with one of the bombs on board, a USAF
B-50 heavy bomber encountered engine trouble, had to drop, and conventionally (non-nuclear) detonate, the bomb over the St. Lawrence, contaminating the river with
uranium-238.
1954 – Construction of the Strategic Air Command Weapons Storage Area Construction of SAC's
Weapons Storage Area at Goose Air Base was officially completed in 1954. The area was surrounded by two fences, topped with barbed wire. It was the highest security area in Goose Air Base and comprised • One guard house • One administration building • Three warehouses (base spares #1, base spares #2, supply warehouse) • Six guard towers • One plant group building • Five earth-covered magazines for non-nuclear weapon storage • Four earth-covered magazines for "
pit" storage (constructed with vaults and shelving to store pit "birdcages") The design and layout of the Goose Air Base weapons storage area was identical, with only slight modifications for weather and terrain, to the three SAC weapons storage areas in
Morocco located at
Sidi Slimane Air Base,
Ben Guerir Air Base, and
Nouasseur Air Base, which were constructed between 1951 and 1952 as overseas operational storage sites. The last nuclear bomb components that were being stored at the Goose Air Base weapons storage area were removed in June 1971.
1958 – Construction of the Air Defence Command ammunition storage area Construction of the Air Defence Command ammunition storage area at Goose Air Base was completed in 1958. This extension to the SAC weapons storage area was built directly beside the previously constructed area, with a separate entrance. The buildings built within the area were: • Three storage buildings • One guardhouse • One missile assembly building. The storage was being built to accommodate components of the
GAR-11/AIM-26 "Nuclear" Falcon, which is normally stored in pieces, requiring assembly before use.
1976 – Departure of the USAF Strategic Air Command and closure of Goose AB The former U.S. facilities were re-designated CFB Goose Bay (the second time this facility name has been used). During the 1980s–1990s, CFB Goose Bay hosted permanent detachments from the Royal Air Force,
Luftwaffe,
Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF),
1988 – Long-range radar closure In 1988, the
Pinetree Line radar site (
Melville Air Station) adjacent to CFB Goose Bay was closed.
Post-Cold War history 1990 – Gulf War Goose Bay experienced a significant increase in traffic volume from USAF
Military Airlift Command (MAC) during August 1990 due to
Operation Desert Shield and
Operation Desert Storm. At one point, MAC flights arrived at an average rate of two per hour; the normal rate was two to three per month. Part of the increase may have been driven by
Hurricane Bertha, which occurred at the same time. The USAF deployed additional personnel to the base to assist managing the increased volume. Overall, operations proceeded smoothly as it resembled previous high-volume airlifts like
Exercise Reforger.
1993 – Base Rescue Flight and 444 Combat Support Squadron To provide rescue and range support to the jet aircraft operating from Goose Bay, the
Canadian Forces provided a Base Rescue Flight consisting of three
CH-135 Twin Huey helicopters. In 1993 the Base Rescue Flight was re-badged as 444 Combat Support Squadron and continued to operate the same fleet of three helicopters. In 1996 the CH-135s were replaced with three
CH-146 Griffon helicopters.
2001 – 9/11 Operation Yellow Ribbon On 11 September 2001, CFB Goose Bay hosted seven trans-Atlantic commercial airliners which were diverted to land as part of
Operation Yellow Ribbon, following the closure of North American airspace as a result of the
9/11 terrorist attacks on the
World Trade Center in
New York City and the
Pentagon in
Washington, D.C. It was also the first Canadian airport to receive diverted aircraft.
2005 – Cessation of Multinational Low Level Flying Training In 2004 the RAF announced its intent to close the permanent RAF detachment, effective 31 March 2005. The base continues in its role as a low-level tactical training facility and as a forward deployment location for the
RCAF, although the total complement of Canadian Forces personnel numbers less than 100.
2005 – Ballistic missile defence Labradorian politicians such as former
Liberal Senator Bill Rompkey have advocated using CFB Goose Bay as a site for a
missile defence radar system being developed by the
United States Department of Defense. Executives from defence contractor
Raytheon have surveyed CFB Goose Bay as a suitable location for deploying such a radar installation. ==Airlines and destinations==