CFB Greenwood Canadian Forces Base Greenwood , or CFB Greenwood , is a Canadian Forces Base located in Greenwood , Nova Scotia . It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force and is one of two bases in the country using the " CP - 140 Aurora " and " CP - 140A Arcturus " anti - submarine / maritime patrol and surveillance aircraft . Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 14 Wing , commonly referred to as 14 Wing Greenwood . RAF Station Greenwood . The relatively fog - free climate of the farming hamlet of Greenwood was selected by the Royal Canadian Air Force ( RCAF ) and Royal Air Force for an airfield as part of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan ( BCATP ) , following the signing of that formal agreement on December 17 , 1939 . The airfield for RAF Station Greenwood was constructed between 1940 and 1942 with the first training units arriving as part of No . 8 Operational Training Unit ( OTU ) on March 9 , 1942 . Early training aircraft types included the " Lockheed Hudson MK III " , the " Avro Anson " , and the " Westland Lysander " , all from Britain ' s Royal Air Force . By the end of August , 1942 there were 36 aircraft , and 194 trainees out of a total of 1 , 474 RAF personnel . By November , 1942 the number of trainees had doubled and aircraft had expanded to 80 . In addition to the BCATP program , RAF Station Greenwood was involved in combat operations through maritime reconnaissance to counter U - boat activity in the western Atlantic . These war - time anti - submarine patrols , combined with BCATP training , led to dozens of aircraft crashes throughout the first year of the base being operational , resulting in the deaths of Canadians , as well as 31 airmen from the United Kingdom , Australia and New Zealand . On December 4 , 1942 , the Canadian Army provided an anti - aircraft searchlight battery , the 5th Special Mobile Anti - Aircraft Search Light Troop , to provide realistic night training to aircrews . By the end of 1942 , the BCATP program was changing across Canada in light of Allied successes in Europe . RAF Station Greenwood was selected to train aircrew on the " De Havilland Mosquito " , beginning July 3 , 1943 . The last " Hudson " left the base on October 3 of that year . Supporting the " Mosquito " BCATP training were the " Airspeed Oxford " and " Bristol Bolingbroke " . The base also became home to " North American Harvards " and " Lockheed Ventura s " . RCAF Station Greenwood . On July 1 , 1944 , RAF Station Greenwood transitioned to the RCAF , becoming RCAF Station Greenwood with No . 8 OTU ( RAF ) disbanding and No . 8 OTU ( RCAF ) forming in its place . Under the RCAF , BCATP training continued unabated throughout the course of the Second World War , with a total of 57 airmen killed in 25 crashes between June 1942 and April 1945 . The BCATP program was disbanded on March 31 , 1945 . A proposed British Commonwealth very long range ( VLR ) bomber group named " Tiger Force " was scaled down through the spring of 1945 . Following VE Day on May 8 , 1945 , the RCAF units that were to be part of Tiger Force were converted to the " Avro Lancaster " and returned to Canada for training and reorganization as part of a planned Allied invasion of Japan ( Operation Downfall ) . The RCAF disbanded No . 8 OTU on July 31 , 1945 and created No . 6614 Wing at RCAF Station Greenwood the following day on August 1 , 1945 with plans for the bomber wing to start training August 24 , 1945 and deploy its first Lancaster crews to the Pacific Theatre by December 1945 . The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and subsequent capitulation of Japan on August 14 , 1945 resulted in No . 6614 Wing disbanding as part of Tiger Force on September 5 , 1945 . Cold War . Between the fall of 1945 and March 31 , 1946 , RCAF Station Greenwood maintained a nominal training complement of personnel and aircraft . Effective May 1 , 1946 , the base was mothballed with numerous buildings being closed . By the end of June the base was down to a skeleton staff of 72 personnel . RCAF Station Greenwood would remain this way until February 17 , 1947 . That date saw the RCAF ' s AFHQ Organization Order 854 executed which would see RCAF Station Greenwood activated April 1 of that year . RCAF 10 Group , Halifax announced in mid - October 1947 that No . 103 Rescue Unit would move from RCAF Station Dartmouth ( now CFB Shearwater ) to Greenwood by the end of the month . No . 103 RU had been conceived in January 1947 at RCAF Station Dartmouth to aid aircraft in distress on Trans - Atlantic service . By October 29 , 1947 , 100 - 150 airmen and officers , 2 " PBY Canso " , 1 " Noorduyn Norseman " , and 1 " Sikorsky S - 51 " helicopter . In September 1948 , the No . 103 RU at RCAF Station Greenwood deployed a " Lancaster " and " Canso " to Goose Air Base to work with Royal Canadian Navy ( RCN ) units on a northern exercise , followed in October 1948 with participation in joint naval manoeuvres with the RCN and United States Navy ( USN ) . The Cold War was in its infancy during the late 1940s when Canada signed the North Atlantic Treaty with the western war - time Allies , becoming part of NATO . RCAF Station Greenwood was selected as Canada ' s site for a maritime reconnaissance training unit for anti - submarine warfare , the No . 2 Maritime ( M ) Operational Training Unit , and the nation ' s first operational squadron , 405 Squadron . 2 ( M ) OTU became operational on December 12 , 1949 , the same day that 405 Squadron reactivated , using modified " Avro Lancaster " bombers as maritime reconnaissance aircraft . Part of 2 ( M ) OTU became 404 Squadron , the base ' s second operational maritime reconnaissance squadron on April 30 , 1951 , with the 2 ( M ) OTU continuing to train units at RCAF Station Greenwood . The base was experiencing a crowding problem , thus the 2 ( M ) OTU was moved to RCAF Station Summerside in Prince Edward Island effective November 14 , 1953 . The " Lockheed P2V Neptune " replaced Greenwood ' s " Lancasters " beginning March 30 , 1955 as the operational maritime reconnaissance aircraft . On January 17 , 1955 the No . 103 Rescue Unit received a " Piasecki HRP - 1 " , known as a " flying banana " . The first " CP - 107 Argus " arrived at RCAF Station Greenwood on May 1 , 1958 . The No . 2 ( Maritime ) OTU at RCAF Station Summerside created the No . 2 ( Maritime ) OTU Detachment at Greenwood to train " Argus " aircrews . 405 Squadron became the first operational RCAF unit to receive the " Argus " in July 1958 . On April 15 , 1959 404 Squadron received its first " Argus " and on May 1 , 1961 the 415 Squadron was reactivated at RCAF Station Summerside to become the third operational unit to fly the aircraft . The " Neptunes " at Greenwood were transferred to 407 Squadron at RCAF Station Comox starting in May 1958 , replacing the last " Lancasters " . Canadian Forces . On February 1 , 1968 the RCN , RCAF and Canadian Army were unified into the Canadian Forces . The same day saw RCAF Station Greenwood change its name to Canadian Forces Base ( CFB ) Greenwood . That year saw many decisions aimed at reducing duplication among the services , with various units being reorganized , moved , or disbanded . To alleviate further overcrowding at CFB Greenwood , 103 RU was moved to CFB Summerside . By the mid - 1970s , 6 of Greenwood ' s 18 Argus aircraft were mothballed and 242 personnel cut from all ranks . By the late 1970s , the Argus was identified as a candidate for replacement and the CP - 140 Aurora was selected . In September 1978 , the Maritime Patrol and Evaluation Unit transferred from CFB Summerside . 415 Squadron flew the Argus out of CFB Summerside until the spring of 1981 when the unit transferred to Greenwood and converted to the Aurora . The first Auroras replaced the Argus at Greenwood and Comox with 14 and 4 respectively . Greenwood saw its first Aurora on May 27 , 1980 and the last one arriving July 10 , 1981 . The 1989 federal budget cuts to the Department of National Defence identified CFB Summerside as a candidate for base closure . In 1991 the base was closed and the majority of military personnel were transferred to CFB Greenwood , with Summerside ' s only operational unit , 413 Squadron ( successor to No . 103 RU ) moving its CH - 113 Labrador and CC - 115 Buffalo aircraft on June 10 , 1991 ; the Buffalo were replaced by the CC - 130 Hercules shortly after 413 transferred . Further defence cuts and reorganization in 1995 saw the 434 Squadron move from CFB Shearwater to Greenwood , bringing its Canadair CE / CT - 33 Silver Star and Canadair CC / CP / CE - 144 Challenger combat support aircraft to the base . This squadron was disbanded on April 28 , 2002 . Later in 2002 , 413 Squadron at CFB Greenwood saw its CH - 113 Labrador helicopters replaced by the new CH - 149 Cormorant , a version of the EH - 101 helicopter . On 9 January 2008 , Defence Minister Peter MacKay appointed Canadian country singer - songwriter George Canyon to the position of honorary colonel at 14 Wing . In December 2011 Barb Stegemann replaced Canyon as honorary colonel of the wing . Today CFB Greenwood remains Canada ' s largest operational air force base on the Atlantic coast , based on numbers of aircraft and personnel . The following aircraft types are permanently stationed at the base : Present operations . Together with CFB Gander and CFB Goose Bay , CFB Greenwood is presently being used as a forward deployment base for CF - 188 Hornet fighter / interceptor aircraft rotating in from CFB Bagotville as part of NORAD ' s post - 9 / 11 response to concerns about civilian airline security along North America ' s east coast . CFB Greenwood hosts a Royal Canadian Air Cadets summer training centre known as CSTC Greenwood . CFB Greenwood is also the home of 517 F / Lt . Graham Squadron , an air cadet organization . Until 2005 , CFB Greenwood ' s airfield was home to the Greenwood Flying Club for civilian general aviation . However , civilian aircraft are no longer permitted to operate at the base . The Greenwood Flying Club has changed its name to the Greenwood Flight Centre and operates out of the Waterville / Kings County Municipal Airport , a small civilian airport located east of CFB Greenwood .