Canadian Forces Base Trenton (IATA: YTR, ICAO: CYTR) (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hub for air transport operations in Canada and abroad. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 8 Wing, commonly referred to as 8 Wing Trenton. CFB Trenton is Canada's largest Air Force base and most southerly air base.
In 1929, 960 acres (390 ha) of farmland near Trenton were purchased by the federal government to establish a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) station to be called RCAF Station Trenton. The base was officially opened in August 1931. Lord Bessborough, the Governor General in 1931, laid the commemorative cornerstone of the airbase, which had the motto, "Per Ardua ad Rem," or "Through Adversity to the Good". This motto was the long-standing unspoken motto of the airmen of CFB Trenton.[3] Trenton was intended as a smaller supporting base to RCAF Station Borden, which was the home of Canadian military aviation and a major training base at the time. By June 1937 it had replaced Camp Borden as the primary flying training centre; the older station was given over increasingly to technical and trades training.[4] The location was chosen for being the midpoint between Ottawa and Toronto. It also provided the possibility of using the facility for seaplanes operating on Lake Ontario.[citation needed]
1939–1945 World War II
No. 1 Fighter and No. 3 Army Cooperation Flights, flying Siskin and Tiger Moth aircraft, were the first air elements to be hosted at Trenton. Trenton was the largest training centre of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) during the Second World War.[5] Schools included the RCAF Central Flying School, No. 1 Air Navigation School (to 1942), No. 1 Flying Instructor School, and No. 1 Composite Training School.[6] Along with the training schools, the No. 6 Repair Depot was based at Trenton. During the war the relief landing field for Trenton was located at Mohawk.[citation needed]
Trenton was home to RCAF 102 KU Flt - Central Air Command (CAC) Composite during the war. It flew Harvard, Mustang, Dakota, Expeditor, H-5.[citation needed]
Historical aerodrome information
In approximately 1942 the aerodrome was listed as RCAF Aerodrome - Trenton, Ontario at 44°07′N77°32′W / 44.117°N 77.533°W / 44.117; -77.533 with a variation of 12 degrees west and elevation of 240 ft (73 m). The field was listed as "all hard surfaced" and detailed four runways as follows:[7]
Runway name
Length
Width
Surface
1/19
3,000 ft (910 m)
150 ft (46 m)
Hard surfaced
5/23
3,600 ft (1,100 m)
150 ft (46 m)
Hard surfaced
14/32
3,050 ft (930 m)
150 ft (46 m)
Hard surfaced
9/27
4,200 ft (1,300 m)
150 ft (46 m)
Hard surfaced
1945–1990 Cold War
Following the war, Trenton became home to transport and fighter aircraft, with transport aircraft from the base taking part in the Korean Airlift, as well as numerous other missions throughout the 1950s and 1960s.[citation needed]
CFB Trenton's former commander, David Russell Williams, was arrested in 2010, and convicted of serial rape and murder in 2010; some of his crimes were committed while in command of the base.[9][10]
Use as a quarantine facility for COVID-19
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by SARS-CoV-2 that detected in Wuhan, China, on February 7, 2020, 215 Canadians (176 from the first plane, and 39 from a second plane chartered by the U.S. government) were repatriated from Wuhan, and brought to CFB Trenton to be quarantined for two weeks.[11][12][13] On February 11, another plane of repatriated Canadians (185) from Wuhan landed at CFB Trenton.[14] On February 21, a chartered flight of 131 Canadians who were quarantined on the Diamond Princess after an outbreak on the cruise ship in Japan, and who all tested negative for the virus, were brought to CFB Trenton for additional screening before being transported by bus to NAV Centre in Cornwall, Ontario, to be quarantined.[15] On March 10, a chartered flight of 228 Canadians who were on the Grand Princess after an outbreak on the cruise ship in California, and who all did not test positive for the virus, were brought to CFB Trenton for a 14-day quarantine period.[16] By March 24, 13 positive cases for the virus of the repatriated citizens at CFB Trenton were reported.[17]
Charges against and removal of command of current base commander
On 28 August 2023 Colonel Leif Dahl, the commander of the base and the 8th Wing, was charged by the Ontario Provincial Police with charges related to firearms and illegal hunting.[18] On 30 August 2023, MGen Iain Huddleston, Commander, 1 Canadian Air Division, temporarily removed Col Dahl from his command.[19]
Facilities
Heritage buildings
CFB Trenton has several recognized and classified Federal Heritage buildings on the Register of the Government of Canada Heritage Buildings.[20]
Administration Building 29 Recognized – 1995
Hangars 3 Buildings 51; 5 Building 49 Recognized – 1991
Hangars 9 B112; 10 B52 Recognized – 2004
Hastings Hall / Officer's Quarters, Building 111 Recognized – 1995
VIP Private Married Quarters Building 42 Recognized – 1995
Current
The recapitalization of the northeast ramp was completed in summer 2008, and reconstruction of the southeast ramp was completed in the summer of 2009.[21]
A new Material Distribution Centre opened on November 2, 2010. The $2.4-million project is an amalgamation and co-location of the Wing's Central Material Traffic Terminal of 2 Air Movement Squadron (2 Air Mov Sqn) with the material distribution centre of 8 Wing Supply.[24]
A 17,500 m2 (188,400 sq ft) Electrical and Mechanical Engineering (EME) and transportation garage valued at $75 million was completed in 2012.[25][26]
The Air Mobility Training Centre project saw the construction of a 17,000 m2 (183,000 sq ft) facility that houses the equipment and personnel required to train operators and maintainers of the CC-130J Super Hercules aircraft. Building construction was completed in 2011 and operations began in 2012.[25][27][28] The building is now located on the south side of the base across the highway from the runway.
Future
The base could host CH-149 Cormorant Search And Rescue helicopters if Canada increases the CH-149 fleet as planned.[29]
Present operations
Royal Military College of Canada cadets attend unveiling of Afghanistan Repatriation Memorial, CFB Trenton, Trenton, Ontario 10 Nov. 2012.
The RCAF operates the majority of its fixed-wing tactical airlift and all of its strategic airlift aircraft from CFB Trenton.[citation needed]
Temporary storage facilities were built at the base for the CC-177 Globemaster III. Permanent hangars (Hangar 2 and 6) were built from 2012 to 2017.
CFB Trenton is also home to other RCAF lodger units independent from 8 Wing including:
Aerospace and Telecommunications Engineering Support Squadron (ATESS) - providing specialized engineering, training, and production/manufacturing in aerospace and telecommunications. Its capabilities encompass avionics, non-destructive testing (NDT), integrated health monitoring (IHM/HUMS), aircraft structures and more.[30]
The Royal Canadian Air Force Aerospace Warfare Centre (RCAF AWC), the centre of excellence for air power development, including Concept Development and Experimentation (CD&E) and lessons learned. In addition, the RCAF AWC develops and maintains the Air Force air power knowledge repository and coordinates efforts to provide advanced synthetic environment and modelling and simulation services to assist CD&E, requirements definition, operational test and evaluation (OT&E) and mission rehearsal. The RCAF AWC is commanded by an RCAF Colonel.[31]
8 Air Communications and Control Squadron (8 ACCS) provides expeditionary communications and air traffic control capabilities under 2 Wing for the RCAF.
CFB Trenton plays a key support role for the National Search and Rescue Program, being home to Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Trenton (JRCC Trenton) which is jointly staffed by the RCAF and Canadian Coast Guard personnel who have responsibility for coordinating aircraft and marine rescue incidents in central and Arctic Canada. The RCAF also operates the Canadian Mission Control Centre (CMCC) from the base, which is tasked with monitoring the Cospas-Sarsat system that detects transmissions from emergency locating beacons on aircraft or marine vessels in distress through Canada's search and rescue area of responsibility.[citation needed]
As of 2023, the commander of CFB Trenton and 8 Wing is Colonel Leighton James, who was sworn in as base commander on October 5, 2023.[33]
Other operations
Quinte International Air Show
In 2016, the former base commander, Colonel Colin Keiver and Chief Warrant Officer Darcy Elder, had recreated the Quinte International Air Show which had not been held since 2003.[34] There had been plans for the air show to be held biennially, though there had been no air show in 2018. Mark Goulden, the commander at the time of the cancellation, stated "Operations at 8 Wing Trenton is our priority, whether it be helping Canadians during disasters such as the British Columbia wildfires, delivering humanitarian aid internationally, or supplying Canadian Armed Forces missions around the world. It is with these operational commitments in mind that 8 Wing Trenton has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2018 Quinte International Air Show."[35] Throughout 2020, it was unclear whether or not there would be an air show any time in the future due to CFB Trenton being at the forefront of Canada's efforts to gain control over the COVID-19 virus.[36]
Quinte International Air Show 2016
The 2016 air show attracted close to 80,000 visitors.[36] The theme for that year was the commemoration of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) with it being the 75th Anniversary since the BCATP had commenced.[37] Aircraft from multiple Air Forces around the world attended including the United States Air Force, Royal Air Force and Mexican Air Force.[38]
Some of the aircraft performing at the air show included:[citation needed]
The Trenton Cadet Training Centre (CTC) is one of the oldest cadet training centres in Canada. At this CTC, there are cadet courses offered for all three elements of Army, Sea and Air that are offered all year around. This portion of the base, located on the south side of the airbase, has multiple buildings for cadets to reside in during their summer training.[citation needed]
CFB Trenton, based on statistical data from the Fiscal Year 2004–2005, had an annual population impact (Regular Force members & dependants) of 8,185. The airbase also had an estimated local spending impact (direct and indirect) of $278,195,000 for that Fiscal Year. The airbase also directly employed 3,163 people and indirectly employed 437 people.[40]
