RCAF Station Rockcliffe
| CFB Rockcliffe | |
|---|---|
RCAF Station Ottawa, 1936
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| Summary | |
| Operator | Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) |
| Location | Rockcliffe Park, Ontario |
| Opened | 1918 |
| Closed | 2009 |
| Coordinates | 45°27′37″N 75°38′34″W / 45.46028°N 75.64278°WCoordinates: 45°27′37″N 75°38′34″W / 45.46028°N 75.64278°W |
Canadian Forces Base Rockcliffe (also CFB Rockcliffe) is a former Canadian Forces Base located in the eastern part of Ottawa, Ontario, now used for Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport and the Canada Aviation and Space Museum.
It was formerly known as CFB Ottawa North.
In 1918 the Royal Air Force sought a flying field in the Ottawa area for experimental mail flights. A field behind a military rifle range located on the banks of the Ottawa River in Rockcliffe Park, several kilometres downstream from Ottawa was converted to an airstrip and became known as the Rockcliffe Air Station.
After the Canadian Parliament's 1920 Air Regulations came into effect, the Rockcliffe Air Station was chosen as an ideal site for supporting both an air harbour and a flying field. The new air harbour, or airport, opened later in 1920 as the Ottawa Air Station, and was one of the six original airfields opened across Canada by the new Air Board. Major activities conducted by the Air Board at the Ottawa Air Station included military aerial photography for topographic mapping in Canada, air transportation, and aeronautical experimentation. The airport also served as a major centre for early aircraft testing.
In 1922 the civilian components of the Air Board began to consolidate into the Canadian Air Force, which became part of the newly established Department of National Defence the following year and was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) in 1924. Thus the facility gained the second-longest association with the nation's air defence after RCAF Station Borden. After a few name changes, the facility took the name RCAF Station Ottawa in 1936. In 1940, this name would change again to RCAF Station Rockcliffe.
On March 12, 1930, Canadian World War I flying ace William George Barker crashed into the Ottawa River and died during an aerial demonstration over the field. In July 1931, Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh visited the airport during their northern surveying tour.
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