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CFB Greenwood, also known as Greenwood Airport (CYZX), is a major Royal Canadian Air Force base in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley, home to 14 Wing and its maritime patrol and search-and-rescue squadrons. With two long paved runways, an ILS and full air traffic control, it is an imposing military field of interest to sim pilots for both its wartime BCATP heritage and its present-day Aurora and Hercules operations.
CFB Greenwood is a Canadian Forces Base operated by the Government of Canada (Department of National Defence) at Greenwood, Nova Scotia. It is one of only two Canadian bases operating the CP-140 Aurora and CP-140A Arcturus maritime patrol aircraft, the other being CFB Comox, and its primary lodger unit is 14 Wing, commonly known as 14 Wing Greenwood. For a simulator pilot the field offers a rare chance to fly into a large, active military airbase with long runways, precision approach aids and a full ATC service, set against the backdrop of the Annapolis Valley.
The base lies about 1.5 nautical miles east of the village of Greenwood in Nova Scotia's Annapolis Valley. As an active military aerodrome with a tower, approach/departure and clearance delivery frequencies, it sits within controlled airspace associated with the base's operations. The surrounding area is rural farmland typical of the valley, with the village of Kingston and Highway 101 nearby.
CFB Greenwood has two physical runways. Runway 08/26 is 7,972 feet long with a hard paved surface, lit, and equipped with an ILS on runway 26. Runway 12/30 is 7,959 feet long, also hard-surfaced and lit. Field elevation is 85 feet.
Air traffic services are provided under the callsign associated with Greenwood Tower on 119.5 MHz. ATIS is broadcast on 128.85 MHz. Ground control operates on 133.75 MHz, and Approach/Departure on 120.6 MHz, which also serves as the general Aerodrome/Departure frequency. Clearance delivery is on 128.025 MHz. Wing Operations ('Wing Ops') can be reached on 30.86 MHz, and Tusker Operations on 129.775 MHz. A Pilot-to-Metro Service (PMSV) is available on 34.46 MHz. The field is equipped with an ILS serving runway 26.
The base lies close to the village of Kingston and is reached via Route 201, about three kilometres off Highway 101; these features, together with the built-up base complex itself set into the otherwise open farmland of the Annapolis Valley, serve as useful landmarks when approaching from the air.
The airfield was built between 1940 and 1942 as RAF Station Greenwood, part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) agreed on December 17, 1939. The relatively fog-free climate of the Greenwood area made it an attractive site for flying training. The first training unit, No. 36 Operational Training Unit (OTU), arrived on March 9, 1942, flying Lockheed Hudson Mk III, Avro Anson and Westland Lysander aircraft. By the end of August 1942 the station had 36 aircraft and 194 trainees among 1,474 RAF personnel; by November that year trainee numbers had doubled and aircraft strength had grown to 80. Alongside training, the station flew maritime reconnaissance patrols against U-boat activity in the western Atlantic, and the combination of training and operational flying led to numerous aircraft crashes in the base's first year, killing Canadian personnel as well as 31 airmen from the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. From December 4, 1942, an Army anti-aircraft searchlight troop was based there to provide realistic night training. From mid-1943 the station converted to training aircrew on the de Havilland Mosquito, supported by the Airspeed Oxford and Bristol Bolingbroke, with North American Harvards and Lockheed Venturas also based there; the last Hudson left in October 1943. On July 1, 1944, the station transferred from RAF to RCAF control, becoming RCAF Station Greenwood, with No. 8 OTU (RCAF) replacing No. 36 OTU (RAF). A total of 57 airmen were killed in 25 crashes at the base between June 1942 and April 1945. The BCATP wound up on March 31, 1945. A planned Commonwealth 'Tiger Force' very long range bomber wing, No. 6614 Wing, was formed at Greenwood on August 1, 1945 to train Lancaster crews for the Pacific theatre, but was disbanded on September 5, 1945 following Japan's surrender. After the war the station was mothballed from May 1946 before being reactivated on April 1, 1947. No. 103 Rescue Unit moved to Greenwood from RCAF Station Dartmouth in October 1947, later relocating to CFB Summerside. Through the Cold War the base became a centre for maritime patrol, flying the Canadair Argus; by the late 1970s the Argus was being replaced by the CP-140 Aurora, with Greenwood receiving its first Aurora on May 27, 1980. In 1995, defence reorganisation brought 434 Squadron and its Silver Star and Challenger aircraft to Greenwood from CFB Shearwater. Hangar 9 on the base is recognised as a Federal Heritage Building for its architectural and historical value as a standard 160-foot arched hangar of the post-war expansion period.
CFB Greenwood is the largest air base in Atlantic Canada and on Canada's east coast, home to 14 Wing Greenwood under 1 Canadian Air Division. Its lodger squadrons include 405 Long Range Patrol Squadron, 404 Long Range Patrol and Training Squadron, 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron, and 14 Air Maintenance Squadron, operating the CP-140 Aurora maritime patrol aircraft among other types. As an active military aerodrome, prior permission is required for any civilian flight.
