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Canadian Forces Base Bagotville , commonly referred to as CFB Bagotville, and also known as Bagotville Airport or Saguenay-Bagotville Airport, is a Canadian Forces base west of La Baie in the city of Saguenay. Located in the centre of Quebec, less than north of Quebec City, CFB Bagotville is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is one of two bases in the country using the CF-18 Hornet fighter/interceptor, the other being CFB Cold Lake. Its primary RCAF lodger units are 2 Wing and 3 Wing.
CFB Bagotville's airfield is also used by civilian aircraft, with civilian operations at the base referring to the facility as Saguenay-Bagotville Airport (). The airport is classified as an airport of entry by Nav Canada and is staffed by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). CBSA officers can handle civilian aircraft with no more than 30 passengers between 0800-1630 on weekdays.
, approximately 1,700 military and civilian people work at CFB Bagotville.
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The base at St-Honoré opened in June 1942, followed by Bagotville on 17 July 1942; St-Honoré being operated as a sub-base to Bagotville. RCAF Station Bagotville hosted the 1 Operational Training Unit (1 OTU) which trained pilots from commonwealth nations under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP), as well as the 130 Panthère Squadron, which was an operational RCAF air defence unit intended to protect the massive Alcan aluminum smelter in nearby Arvida (one of the largest industrial facilities in Canada at the time), and associated hydro-electric facilities in the Saguenay region. During 1942 Quebec's coastal regions along the lower Saint Lawrence River and Gulf of Saint Lawrence were witnessing the Battle of the St. Lawrence as Nazi Germany were sinking Canadian shipping throughout the area. RCAF Station Bagotville was established, along with RCAF Station Mont-Joli to counter the U-boat menace to Canada's war effort and placate local fears.
Early training aircraft operating from RCAF Station Bagotville included Curtiss Kittyhawk, Westland Lysander, North American Harvard and Hawker Hurricane. 130 Squadron, which was deployed at the base to provide regional air defence to key industrial facilities, used the motto "Défendez le Saguenay", which was later adopted by the entire base. On 1 August 1942 the 12 Radar Detachment was deployed to provide air traffic control. On 24 October 1943 129 Squadron took over from 130 Squadron as the regional air defence unit; two months later in December 129 Squadron was redeployed from Saguenay and the 1 OTU was retasked with regional air defence duties.
Toward the end of the war, RCAF Station Bagotville began to decline in activity as the requirement for BCATP training decreased. On 28 October 1944 the 1 OTU ceased operations, followed by the 12 Radar Detachment. In 29 pilot training courses given by 1 OTU at RCAF Station Bagotville (and St-Honoré), 940 pilots graduated and 41 were killed during training.
In November 1944 1 OTU was disbanded and the closure of RCAF Station Bagotville and its secondary facilities at RCAF Station St-Honoré was announced; they were closed and mothballed on 5 January 1945.
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In 1961, 413 and 432 squadrons disbanded and 416 Squadron was formed at Bagotville flying the CF-101 Voodoo. 416 squadron was moved to CFB Chatham the following year in 1962. In summer of 1962 the 425 Alouette squadron transferred to RCAF Station Bagotville flying the Voodoo; its aircraft were modified to carry the AIR-2 Genie - a nuclear-tipped air-to-air missile, with nuclear warheads being stored at Bagotville until the weapon's decommissioning in the early 1980s. On 1 February 1968 the RCAF merged with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Army to form the Canadian Armed Forces; RCAF Station Bagotville changed its name to Canadian Forces Base Bagotville.
Later that year 410 squadron formed at CFB Bagotville to provide training. In September 1969 433 "Porc-Épic" squadron was transferred to Bagotville flying the CF-116 Freedom Fighter. In 1982 410 squadron moved to CFB Cold Lake and was replaced by 434 "Bluenose" squadron.
On 1 July 1984 425 squadron changed from the CF-101 Voodoo to the CF-188 Hornet. On 9 July 1985 434 squadron moved to CFB Chatham. In 1986 433 squadron ceased operations to restructure and reactivated in January 1988 equipped with the CF-188 Hornet.
In July 1996, the base helped locals during the Saguenay flood.
On 1 March 1999, 12 Radar Squadron was formed at CFB Bagotville to provide tactical control of fighter/interceptor aircraft; it replaced a radar station at RCAF Station Mont Apica which was closed.
433 Squadron disbanded in 2006 with its aircraft and personnel absorbed by 425 Squadron as a dual language Francophone/Anglophone unit. The squadron was reactivated on 9 June 2015.
On October 2, 2020, the Government of Canada awarded EllisDon-EBC Inc. Joint Venture of Ottawa with the $12.1 million construction of new facilities to house the Royal Canadian Air Force's Future Fighter. The Future Fighter, to be housed at CFB Cold Lake and CFB Bagotville, will require facility upgrades before the first delivery of the fighter in 2025. A $131 million contract was awarded to construct a 15,000 m2 facility to house the 2 Air Expeditionary Wing. The construction began in 2023.
CFB Bagotville has the following squadrons and units:
Bagotville also supports 414 Electronic Warfare Support Squadron. Re-formed on 20 January 2009 this squadron is based in Ottawa and is composed of military electronic warfare officers who fulfill the combat support role, flying on civilian contracted aircraft.
The Dassault/Dornier Alpha Jets that form part of Top Aces fleet are based here as part of the CF jet training program Contracted Airborne Training Services.
CFB Bagotville hosts the Bagotville Cadets Canada Summer Training Centre. Air and Sea Cadets from across Canada attend the summer training centre to qualify in a variety of courses ranging from the two-week Aviation and Aerospace Technology course, the four-week Advanced Aviation course, to the six-week Sailing II/III course .
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