Debert Airport ( TC LID : CCQ3 ) is located near Debert , Nova Scotia , Canada and has three runways.
40-758: It was established in 1941 as Royal Air Force (RAF) Station Debert and was used during World War II as RAF No. 31 Operational Training Unit in support of RAF Ferry Command . In 1971, the Debert Airport and its surrounding land was purchased by the Government of Nova Scotia for development as the Debert Air Industrial Park, and in 1972, the Truro Flying Club was formed. Today, the Debert Flight Centre ,
80-473: A 16-foot (4.9 m) radius , allowing 960 square feet (89 m ) of usable floor space with optional 4 feet (1.2 m) overhangs at each end for protection of entrances from the weather. Other sizes were developed, including 20-by-40-foot (6.1 m × 12.2 m) and 40-by-100-foot (12 m × 30 m) warehouse models. The sides were corrugated steel sheets, and the two ends were covered with plywood which had doors and windows. The interior
120-598: A division of the original Truro Flying Club, still provides instruction to pilots, from student pilots to commercial students. Each summer, the airport is home to the Debert Cadet Flying Training Centre flying activities, during which a group of Royal Canadian Air Cadets train to receive their Glider Pilot's Licence. In 2020/2021 cadet camps were canceled due to covid 19 across Canada and no lessons were taught here in Debert. In early 2022 it
160-561: A large ammunition depot was built as well as extensive firing ranges . Component units arrived at Camp Debert from across Canada and were organized into larger formations before being carried by trains to troopships at Halifax, usually at night in black-out conditions . All five divisions of the First Canadian Army were housed (all, or in part) at Camp Debert prior to departure for the European Theatre during
200-584: A municipal airfield, known as Debert Airport . In 1958, at the height of the Cold War and the infancy of the ICBM threat, Debert was selected as the site for 1 of 6 communication centres and "Regional Emergency Government Headquarters" complexes being located across Canada. The Debert facility would be the only such complex built in the Maritime provinces. A small part of Camp Debert was proposed to be used for
240-725: A nineteen-room museum located in "Colchester Park". The museum is a registered charity and is managed by a volunteer board of directors. The museum has a diverse collection of military memorabilia from both World Wars as well as the Cold War and Korean War . The Debert Military Museum is the only museum in Canada that houses a display of Russian photographs presented to the Museum by the Russian Ambassador of Canada. The museum features items donated by members and family members of
280-521: A part of the bunker was used to film an independent movie, Bunker 6 . It was also used for a paintball game. The previous CBC Studio located in the bunker has been turned into a media recording studio called Top Secret Sounds. June 2014 the official website for the Debert Diefenbunker revealed the intent to offer leased space within the bunker including self-storage. The Debert Military Museum maintains Debert's military history with
320-489: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . CFS Debert Canadian Forces Station Debert (also CFS Debert ) was a Canadian Forces station located in Debert , Nova Scotia . It was most recently used during the Cold War as a communications facility and was home to a " Regional Emergency Government Headquarters " (REGH) complex, more commonly known by their nickname "Diefenbunker." Originally this facility
360-519: Is a trade mark owned by the Great Lakes Steel Corporation." But the word is often used generically . Today similar structures are made by many contractors in countries around the world. The original design was a 16-by-36-foot (4.9 m × 11.0 m) structure framed with steel members with an 8-foot (2.4 m) radius. The most common design created a standard size of 20-by-48-foot (6.1 m × 14.6 m) with
400-531: The Canadian and British militaries , including uniforms, decorations, communications equipment and documents. It no longer offers tours of the Debert Bunker, while still retaining information and artifacts about it. Quonset hut A Quonset hut / ˈ k w ɒ n s ɪ t / is a lightweight prefabricated structure of corrugated galvanized steel with a semi-circular cross-section. The design
440-547: The Royal Canadian Air Force for an aerodrome. Located on the Montreal -Halifax main line of Canadian National Railways , the flat plain surrounding Debert Station were considered ideal for an army staging facility in addition to an aerodrome. The additional benefit that it was located only 100 km (62 mi) north of Halifax. On August 9, 1940, the 6th Field Company Canadian Engineers arrived at
SECTION 10
#1732786953205480-534: The United States Navy needed an all-purpose, lightweight building that could be shipped anywhere and assembled without skilled labor. They could be assembled in a day by a 10-person team using only hand tools. The George A. Fuller construction company manufactured them, and the first was produced within 60 days of signing the contract. In 1946, the Great Lakes Steel Corporation claimed "the term 'Quonset,' as applied to builders and building materials,
520-479: The troopships . To meet this requirement, the government announced that existing facilities at Camp Aldershot near Kentville, Nova Scotia and Camp Sussex near Sussex , New Brunswick would be upgraded to handle the requirements of housing and training brigade -size units. In spring of 1940, the government also began purchasing additional land in Debert for a division -size training and marshalling facility adjacent to those lands previously purchased in 1938 by
560-556: The Canadian Forces saw the Diefenbunker and support facilities, the last remnants of Camp Debert, change its name to Canadian Forces Station Debert ( CFS Debert ), in keeping with the naming convention for minor military facilities across Canada. In the 1970s, CFS Debert, as with most Diefenbunker facilities across the country, was downgraded further as the number of personnel were reduced. Attempts to find other uses for
600-567: The Diefenbunker was sold again by the Municipality of the County of Colchester to recover unpaid taxes from the previous owner, Dataville Farms Ltd. It was purchased by Jonathan Baha'i for $ 31,300 along with the adjoining parking lot for $ 4150. The new owner has indicated he intends to use the facility for a data centre with an emphasis on cloud storage . Other parts of the facility may be used for unspecified research and development. In 2013,
640-873: The Government of Nova Scotia and then the Colchester Regional Development Authority to operate as Colchester Park. Following the outbreak of the Second World War in the fall of 1939, the first Canadian units began shipping through the port of Halifax ; however the end of the Phoney War in the spring of 1940 required a massive ramp-up in Canada's land forces in Europe . The sheer volume of soldiers who would be embarking through Halifax required staging facilities for training and marshalling combat units before embarking on
680-669: The Quonset Park complex of married student housing at the University of Iowa . Some are still in active use at United States military bases. The U.S. Department of Energy continues to utilize Quonset huts as supporting structures (fabrication and machine shops, warehouses, etc.) at the Nevada National Security Site . The repurposed huts were common enough that Sherwin-Williams introduced a line of paint called "Quon-Kote" specifically designed to stick to
720-516: The Second World War. In addition, the 7th Canadian Infantry Division of Atlantic Command was formed at Camp Debert, although its volunteer troops went overseas as reinforcements rather than an intact combat unit . Following the war, Camp Debert was used in the repatriation of troops returning from Europe before undergoing significant downsizing with the majority of training and marshalling areas being decommissioned. In 1948, Camp Debert
760-858: The United States and Canada across the Atlantic. Aircrew were trained on the Lockheed Hudson and de Havilland Mosquito . No. 31 OTU was later taken over by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1944 and re-designated No. 7 O.T.U. After the cessation of hostilities in Europe, RCAF Debert briefly hosted 420 and 425 Squadrons as part of Tiger Force , a long-range Commonwealth bomber group formed to strike against Japan. 420 and 425 operated Avro Lancaster bombers as training aircraft to prepare for their new role. Tiger Force
800-623: The adjacent Debert Airport for the Advanced Aviation Course and Glider Pilot Scholarship programs. In December 2008 the 64,000 sq ft (5,900 m ) Diefenbunker was sold by the Colchester Regional Development Association to a private data warehousing and data centre co-location services provider, Bastionhost. Bastionhost was going to renovate the facility as a high-density, groundwater-cooled data centre. In November 2012
840-617: The airfield for glider training. The first year saw air tow and winch operations, later years used a significant amount of auto tow supplemented with air tow launches. The regional gliding school used the agricultural college in Truro for the ground school, administration and dormitories. In 2005, the Royal Canadian Air Cadets used the Diefenbunker for its Regional Gliding School (Atlantic) Headquarters. Air cadets from Atlantic Canada ranging in age from 15 to 18 trained at
SECTION 20
#1732786953205880-451: The camp housed more troops than the population of neighbouring Truro at the time. The surrounding community of Debert grew rapidly with movie houses, restaurants, bars and other businesses being set up and the economic effects spilling over into Truro. Camp Debert was the final staging area for units embarking from Halifax and was the location where the majority of troops received and trained with their personal weapons. For these purposes
920-609: The complex along with supporting surface structures and personnel housing. Construction began in 1960 on an underground 2-storey bunker (approximately half the size of the CEGHQ , located in Carp , Ontario ) capable of withstanding a near-hit from a nuclear explosion (an approximate 1–1.5 mi (1.6–2.4 km) radius). The underground building had blast doors at the surface, as well as extensive air filters (mainly against biological, chemical and radioactive contaminants). Underground storage
960-406: The facility for aircraft carrier landing practise in support of naval aviation aircraft stationed at nearby Royal Canadian Naval Air Station (RCNAS) Shearwater . Also in the 1960s, some unused hangar space at the aerodrome was used to house a medical equipment supply depot which was used by all three branches of the armed forces. On February 1, 1968, the merger of the three service branches into
1000-661: The fall of 1940 and was completed in April 1941, coinciding with the construction of the army's adjoining Camp Debert . The airfield itself consisted of three 5000 ft runways arranged in an overlapping triangle. 31 O.T.U was one of several similar facilities constructed in the Maritime provinces in support of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and RAF Ferry Command . Aircrew trained at Debert to ferry newly manufactured aircraft from
1040-493: The mid-1990s. In 1998 the Department of National Defence finished all environmental assessments and decommissioned the facility, transferring the facility to "Colchester Park", a local development authority. Today the only remnant of a once-vast military presence in Debert is a firing range used by militia reserve units from Cumberland , Colchester and Pictou counties. In 1985 the Royal Canadian Air Cadets began to use
1080-487: The military sold its surplus huts to the public after the war. Many remain standing throughout the United States as outbuildings, businesses, or even homes, and they are often seen at military museums and other places featuring World War II memorabilia. Many were also used around the United States for temporary postwar housing, such as Rodger Young Village for veterans and their families in Los Angeles, California , and
1120-516: The remaining military facilities took place through the 1980s with militia reserve units training at CFS Debert. In 1982 CFS Debert was equipped with Telegraph Automated Relay Equipment (TARE) which was used to relay communications received at the nearby Satellite Ground Terminal Folly Lake . The end of the Cold War and reduction in the ICBM threat, as well as the Diefenbunker's obsolescence, saw all remaining military personnel removed from CFS Debert by
1160-655: The site and began work at clearing the forests and laying out what would become the Debert Military Camp (also referred to as Camp Debert ). Employing 6,000 civilians and thousands more military members, the engineers cleared the trees and burnt the plain before building streets, sewer and water services, electricity, and buildings over an area of 80 km (31 sq mi). The camp was bisected with named avenues and numbered streets having innumerable quonset huts , mess halls, warehouses, canteens, and other buildings. At one point during its construction period,
1200-462: The site persisted as a Provincial Warning Centre (for Nova Scotia), staffed by the 720 Communication Squadron, along with the space for the emergency government. Antenna farms were dispersed from the bunker and were located on the shores of Cobequid Bay in nearby Masstown as well as in the Cobequid Hills near Londonderry . On February 1, 1968, the merger of the three service branches into
1240-485: The unified Canadian Forces saw the end of flight operations at the Debert aerodrome and in 1971 the Department of National Defence designated 4,800 acres (19 km ), consisting of the aerodrome and the majority of the training area used by the former Camp Debert, as surplus. The provincial government purchased this land for development into the "Debert Air Industrial Park" while the aerodrome continues to be used as
Debert Airport - Misplaced Pages Continue
1280-470: Was announced that Debert would no longer be used as a cadet summer training center. No cadets were present during the summer of 2022 ending a long tradition of young Canadian cadets earning their wings both power or glider. December 2023 Runway number designation for runway 16/34 were updated to reflect it's magnetic bearing now referred to as runway 15/33 This article about an airport in Nova Scotia
1320-477: Was built for food, fuel, fresh water, and other supplies for the facility which was capable of supporting 350 people for 90 days. These blast shelters , nicknamed " Diefenbunkers ", were administered by the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals . Opening in 1964, the Debert facility was already outdated, since ICBM targeting had improved to the point where a direct hit was possible on the bunker. However
1360-701: Was developed in the United States based on the Nissen hut introduced by the British during World War I . Hundreds of thousands were produced during World War II , and military surplus was sold to the public. The name comes from the site of their first deployment at Quonset Point at the Davisville Naval Construction Battalion Center in Davisville, Rhode Island . The first Quonset huts were manufactured in 1941 when
1400-468: Was developed with an airfield and army training centre, however these facilities were partly decommissioned in the 1970s and ownership of the airfield and some lands/buildings transferred to the Government of Nova Scotia to be operated as the Debert Air Industrial Park. Following decommissioning of the REGH and removal of the last military presence at CFS Debert in the 1996, the rest facility was transferred to
1440-528: Was disbanded after Japan's surrender in September. RCAF Station Debert closed soon after but was still owned and maintained by the RCAF. In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Debert, Nove Scotia at 45°25′N 63°28′W / 45.417°N 63.467°W / 45.417; -63.467 with a variation of 24 degrees west and elevation of 130 ft (40 m). The field
1480-497: Was insulated and had pressed wood lining and a wood floor. The building could be placed on concrete, on pilings , or directly on the ground with a wood floor. The original design used low-grade steel, which was later replaced by a more rust-resistant version. The flexible interior space was open, allowing use as barracks , latrines , medical and dental offices, isolation wards , housing, and bakeries. Between 150,000 and 170,000 Quonset huts were manufactured during World War II, and
1520-419: Was listed as "All hard surfaced" and had three runways listed as follows: The relief landing field for RCAF Station Debert was located near the village of Maitland . In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Maitland, Nova Scotia at 45°20′N 63°32′W / 45.333°N 63.533°W / 45.333; -63.533 with a variation of 23.5 degrees west and no elevation
1560-540: Was reactivated and hosted several active army units during the 1950s. The regiments are listed in chronological order from date of arrival: In the fall of 1938 the Royal Air Force (RAF) purchased land for constructing an aerodrome on the north shore of Cobequid Bay near the farming community of Debert. Construction of the aerodrome, which would host the RAF's No. 31 Operational Training Unit (O.T.U.) , began in
1600-510: Was specified. The field was listed as "Hard under construction" and had one runway listed as follows:: Following the closure, the aerodrome at Debert underwent some downsizing but continued to support active flight operations as a training, refuelling, and maintenance base until 1954 even though no operational squadrons were stationed there. In 1960, the RCAF transferred its aerodrome to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) which used
#204795