North Bay is situated just northeast of the city of North Bay, on the top of airport hill. North Bay's association with the Air Force dates back to wartime Canada. The Department of Transport airport at North Bay became an important link in the ferrying of aircraft across Canada, many destined for battle overseas in Europe. In April 1943, a component of the Royal Air Force Training Command moved into its new headquarters at North Bay with a compliment of 14 Lockheed Hudsons, two North American B-25 Mitchells and on deHavilland Moth. A detachment of the RCAF's No. 124 Ferry Squadron was formed at North Bay during the war for ferrying aircraft in between various commands within Canada. In February 1944, the station became the RAF's No. 313 Ferry Training Unit until the end of the war.
In 1951, due to an extension of air defence systems in Canada, it was decided to form an RCAF Station at North Bay. The runways and facilities were expanded considerably from their wartime days to accommodate jet aircraft. Also, construction commenced on new hangars, a control tower, station headquarters, PMQs, and a host of other important structures.
RCAF Station North Bay opened in September 1951. On 1 November 1951, 430 (F) Squadron, with Canadair Sabre Mk II, was formed. 430 Squadron operated in North Bay until they departed as a part of "Operation Leapfrog II" in September 1952 to No. 1 (RCAF) Air Division and NATO duty. Their new home was No. 2 (F) Wing at Grostenquin, France. The following month, on 3 November, No. 3 All Weather (F) Operational Training Unit was formed. This unit was responsible for training CF-100 crews. They left North Bay for the uncrowded skies of RCAF Station Cold Lake, Alberta, in May 1955.
North Bay was home to the first squadron to fly the CF-100 Canuck on air defence duties. 445 All Weather (F) Squadron was formed in North Bay on 1 April 1953. They were equipped with the CF-100 Mk 3B. Their stay in North Bay was a very short one and on 31 August 1953 they departed for their new home at RCAF Station Uplands, Ontario. Additionally, in 1954 RCAF Station North Bay became responsible for the CF-100 Staging Detachment at Lakehead Airport (now Thunder Bay).
419 All Weather (F) Squadron was reformed at RCAF Station North Bay, using the CF-100 Canuck Mk 4A. The aircraft of 419 Squadron were a familiar sight in the skies over northern Ontario until they were assigned an air defence role in NATO. The squadron departed for 4 (F) Wing Baden-Soellingen, Germany, in August 1957 as "Operation Nimble Bat IV". From 1954 onwards, the CF-100 squadrons based in North Bay provided round-the-clock "5 minute" alert. In October 1955, 433 All Weather (F) Squadron arrived from RCAF Station Cold Lake, Alberta. 433 Squadron carried out their missions in the Avro CF-100 Canuck Mk 4A and later the Mk 5. The squadron was disbanded at North Bay on 1 August 1961. On 5 August 1957, 414 All Weather (F) Squadron reformed at North Bay after having been disbanded at No. 4 (F) Wing, Baden-Soellingen, Germany. The unit began flying air defence missions with the CF-100 Mk 5 and later went supersonic with the McDonnell CF-101 Voodoo in February 1962. 414 Squadron was disbanded on 30 June 1964.
In August 1959 construction of the only underground SAGE unit in North American started. When the excavation was completed, workers had removed 300,000 cubic feet or 765,000 tons of rock. The Northern NORAD Region Headquarters (NNR HQ) moved to North Bay from RCAF Station St. Hubert, Quebec, in August 1962. It was temporarily located on the station until it could move underground. In May 1963, the main body of the NNR HQ moved to the completed underground complex, 600 feet underground. A small detachment remained at St. Hubert, which was responsible for regional operations. At the same time, the Ottawa Sector moved to North Bay from Edgar, Ontario. In June 1963, control of the Northern NORAD Region came to North Bay after the appropriate training was completed. An official hand-over ceremony was held in September 1963, which saw the SAGE installation handed over to the Air Officer Commanding Air Defence Command Air Vice Marshal MM Hendrick. It did not take long before it was being referred to as "The Hole".
On 28 December 1961, 446 (Surface-to-Air Missile) Squadron was formed at North Bay. The actual nuclear missile silos, which housed the 28 Boeing CIM-10B Bomarcs, were located five miles north of the station on Highway 11. In late 1964, Detachment 1 of the USAF's 425th Munitions Maintenance Squadron, was assigned to North Bay. They came as caretakers of the nuclear warheads destined for use on the Bomarcs. 446 SAM Squadron and Det 1 425th MUNS (USAF) were both stood down in 1972, when the Bomarcs left Canadian service. The nuclear warheads, that were to be used on the Bomarc, were removed from Canada in September 1972.
Air Defence Command started their move to North Bay in 1966. The operational portion of the headquarters moved first, followed in 1968 by the administration and personnel portions. RCAF Station North Bay became a Canadian Forces Base in 1967. The formation of the Air Weapons and Countermeasures School took place at North Bay on 12 February 1970. During the summer of 1972, a decision was made to move 414 Squadron back to CFB North Bay from CFB Uplands. Air Defence Group was formed as a direct result of the formation of Air Command on 1 September 1975. In July 1982, Fighter Group was created at North Bay and became responsible for all fighter assets in Canada. On 13 June 1983, 22 NORAD Region was disbanded and replaced by the Canadian NORAD Region. In the fall of 1983, SAGE was replaced by a pair of Regional Operations Control Centres (ROCC) located in the underground complex. These two sectors were known as Canada West and Canada East, and were declared operational by August of the following year. Significant changes at CFB North Bay took place on 2 June 1989 when Fighter Group and Canadian NORAD Region merged to form Fighter Group/Canadian NORAD Region Headquarters (GF/CANR HQ), and 22 Radar Control Wing, 21 AC&W Squadron (previously Canada East) and 51 AC&W Squadron (formerly Canada West) were also created. The Radar Control Wing commenced operations on 1 August 1987. On 1 April 1993, 22 Radar Control Wing became 22 Wing North Bay.
North Bay was chosen as the site of Fontec's North Warning System Support Centre was was dedicated to the memory of Warrant Officer First Class Edward William Goodchild, one of the RCAF's early radar mechanics. Another part of Fontec is located in the underground complex, where they are involved in Maintenance, Electronic, and Network Control Facility Maintenance. In August 1992, 414 (EW) Squadron left North Bay for the last time. The unit was split into two parts ending up on both coasts.
Since the opening of the underground complex, there has been an American presence at North Bay. Today the 722nd Support Squadron, USAF, evolved from 1022nd Support Squadron of Space Command. On April 1 1983, Detachment 22 ADCOS deactivated and was replaced by the 1022nd. It later became known as the 4722nd Support Squadron under Tactical Air Command. A policy change deleted the first number in four digit unit identifiers, subsequently resulting in the 722nd Support Squadron. The unit now belongs to Air Combat Command. The 722nd SUS has a dual role at North Bay; they provide personnel to take care of a multitude of duties at the unit's orderly room, while the majority are employed in the underground complex. The Deputy Commander of the Canadian NORAD Region is a USAF Brigadier General.
Updated: April 12, 2005