CFB Clinton

Canadian Forces Base Clinton (also CFB Clinton) was a Canadian Forces Base located near Clinton, Ontario.

History

Established by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as RAF Station Clinton in 1941, the base hosted the No. 31 Radio Direction Finding School (No. 31 RDF) as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP).

In July 1943, No. 31 RDF was decommissioned and No. 5 Radio School was created in its place by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF), with the base becoming RCAF Station Clinton. In June 1944 the BCATP began to scale back and No 5 Radio School was transferred to the RCAF's Home War Operations Training command.

Unlike many RCAF stations across Canada, RCAF Station Clinton was not mothballed at the end of the Second World War and in November 1945 became home to the No. 1 Radar and Communications School (No. 1 R&CS), which it co-hosted with nearby RCAF Station Centralia.

During the Cold War, RCAF Station Clinton hosted other units, including No. 12 Examination Unit, No. 1 Air Radio Officer School, School of Food Services, and the Aerospace Engineering (AERE) Officer School.

The February 1, 1968 merger of the RCAF with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Army to form the Canadian Forces saw RCAF Station Clinton change its name to Canadian Forces Base Clinton or CFB Clinton.

The merger saw the Canadian Forces rationalize and consolidate many of its facilities to avoid duplication and CFB Clinton was closed by 1971 with its remaining units distributed to other facilities.

The small village of Vanastra, Ontario was built on the location of the base following the base's closure.