The history of CFB Edmonton begins at an airfield called
Blatchford Field, a few kilometres south from where CFB Edmonton would eventually be established. The airfield was established in 1927 as a private and commercial interest by
bush pilots, with support from the
mayor of Edmonton, airfield namesake
Kenny Blatchford, opening a few months after he ended his term as mayor with his election as a
member of Parliament representing the city. The airfield became important to the opening up and development of the Canadian north, while also cementing Edmonton's place as the "Gateway to the North". During the
Second World War, Blatchford Field became a
Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) training station under the
British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. No. 16 Elementary Flying Training School (No. 16 EFTS) and No. 2 Air Observers School (No. 2 AOS) used the aerodrome. The RCAF also ran No. 4 Initial Training School (No. 4 ITS) which was a ground school at the
University of Alberta. No. 16 EFTS closed in 1942, and No. 2 AOS closed in 1944. After No. 2 AOS closed, the station formally became known as
RCAF Station Edmonton. Many RCAF squadrons and units were located here, including a survival school and the RCAF Winter Experimental Establishment (WEE). A
United States Army Air Forces (USAAF)
B-29 bomber detachment also used the station. During the war, the airfield was a major factor in supporting the
Allies of World War II, becoming a staging point for the U.S. defence of
Alaska, as well as a major waypoint of the
Northwest Staging Route supplying equipment and aircraft to the
Soviet military. Aircraft had to be ferried, and transport aircraft used the aerodrome to support the construction of the
Alaska Highway. Air traffic increased significantly, and flying activities were becoming hazardous. Since the old airfield could not be expanded because of its proximity to the city of Edmonton, the U.S. Government built a new air facility at
Namao, about north of the city. The
United States Army Corps of Engineers built two runways at the base, 03/21 and 12/30, both long and Canada's longest at the time. During the
Cold War, RCAF Station Namao was used by the United States
Strategic Air Command, which constructed a "nose dock" for servicing the nose and wings of heavy jet bombers and tankers on the south side of the airfield. The station also hosted the Edmonton
Rescue Coordination Centre, and served as home base for
UN Food Aid flights, delivering aid to
Ethiopia,
Somalia, and
Bosnia. Because Namao at that time had a runway, 12/30,
NASA designated it an emergency
Space Shuttle landing site. In 1968, when
Canada's armed services were amalgamated, RCAF Station Namao was re-designated Canadian Forces Base Edmonton (Lancaster Park) and was under command of the new
Air Transport Command and later
Air Command. Federal budget cuts forced the command of the air station to be transferred to
Land Force Command in 1994. CFB Edmonton (Lancaster Park)/18 Wing Edmonton was re-designated
CFB Edmonton. In April 2025, the units that constituted CFB Edmonton (Operations Service, Technical Services, Personnel Services, and Corporate Services) were re-combined into CFB Edmonton. This reversed a change that had taken place in 2013, which had split the base into several units. ==Units==