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- This article is about the air force base CFB Shearwater, formerly naval air station HMCS Shearwater, and air force station RCAF Station Shearwater/RCAF Station Dartmouth.
Canadian Forces Base Shearwater (CFB Shearwater), 12 Wing Shearwater or Halifax/Shearwater Airport, (IATA: YAW, ICAO: CYAW), is a Canadian Forces base located in Shearwater, Nova Scotia on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour in the Halifax Regional Municipality.
CFB Shearwater is the birthplace and primary base for naval aviation in Canada, and plays host to 12 Wing (12 Wing Shearwater) which was formerly organized as Maritime Air Group, Canadian Armed Forces. The current ship-borne helicopter used by Canada's navy is the CH-124 Sea King. Though the Sea Kings deploy aboard HMC ships, the units operating them are part of the "air force".
12 Wing has 4 squadrons, three helicopter Flying Squadrons, one Air Maintence Squadron (AMS), and a Helicopter Operational Test and Evaluation Facility (HOTEF):
- 406 Squadron - an operational training squadron for the whole Canadian forces' Sea King fleet, providing training for both aircrew and groundcrew.
- 423 Squadron - an operational Sea King squadron based at Shearwater for operations with the Atlantic Fleet.
- 443 Squadron - an operational Sea King squadron based at Patricia Bay, British Columbia (Victoria International Airport) for operations with the Pacific Fleet.
- 12 AMS - provides aircraft maintenance and engineering support to the operational, and training squadrons assigned to the Wing, whether operating from Shearwater or deployed aboard ships, or at 443 Sqn.
- HOTEF - is responsible for researching and testing state-of-the-art equipment for the Sea King, to enable crews to operate efficiently, ashore or while deployed.
History
CFB Shearwater is the second-oldest military aerodrome in Canada. In August 1918 the US Navy established Naval Air Station Halifax on the shores of Eastern Passage to support flying boat patrol aircraft. The land-based airfield was developed by the Royal Canadian Air Force and became known as RCAF Station Dartmouth and later RCAF Station Shearwater through the Second World War.
Post-war, the Royal Canadian Navy took over the facility, naming it HMCS Shearwater, also known as Royal Canadian Naval Air Station Shearwater (RCNAS Shearwater), using it to station carrier-based maritime patrol and fighter aircraft. Shearwater was also the home to early experiments with ship-borne helicopters - something which was copied by navies around the world. During the 1960s, the aerodrome at the former RCAF Station Debert was attached to HMCS Shearwater as a training location for carrier landings.
The February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Armed Forces saw HMCS Shearwater (RCNAS Shearwater) change its name to Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Shearwater.
Today the base has been scaled back with runway 10/28 still in operation and surplus land being sold. Shearwater's primary mission remains as a heliport for the navy's Atlantic fleet.
Museum
The Shearwater Aviation Museum is located on base and documents local and national military aviation heritage.
See also
References
- Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
External links
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