- CFS Val-d'Or
Canadian Forces Station Val d'Or (CFS Val d'Or) was a
Canadian Forces Station in Val-d'Or,Quebec .RCAF Station Val d'Or
The
Royal Canadian Air Force established RCAF Station Val d'Or in 1954 as a fighter-interceptor base intended to protectMontreal and theSt. Lawrence River valley andGreat Lakes basin against Soviet bomber aircraft. The airfield was topped with asphalt by the mid-1950s as RCAF Station Val d'Or became a key component inNORAD .During the early 1960s, RCAF Station Val-d'Or was selected as the site for one of the Regional Emergency Government Headquarters (REGHQs), commonly known as a "
Diefenbunker ".By
1964 , the flying mission at RCAF Station Val-d'Or had changed to see all aircraft based atRCAF Station North Bay andRCAF Station Bagotville but were deployed to the base in rotations; in essence, RCAF Station Val-d'Or was now a forward operating base.During the 1960s, RCAF Station Val-d'Or became home to numerous airborne
nuclear weapons as RCAFCF-101 Voodoo interceptors were fitted with theAIR-2 Genie .The rise of the FLQ terrorist group during this period saw the Canadian military devise strategies to avoid permitting nuclear ordnance primarily stored at RCAF Station Val-d'Or from being seized by the group's members. [ [http://www.independance-quebec.com/flq/autorites_nuclear.html Military feared FLQ would steal nuclear arms - Site historique du Front de libération du Québec [FLQ - L'indépendance du Québec - La souveraineté du Québec ] ]
CFS Val-d'Or
The 1968 merger of the
Canadian Army , RCAF andRoyal Canadian Navy saw RCAF Station Val-d'Or renamed to Canadian Forces Station Val-d'Or or CFS Val-d'Or; the term station was used since Val-d'Or did not host any major units such as a wing or squadrons.CFS Val-d'Or saw its mission gradually decrease during the 1970s and it was closed.
References
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