Canadian Forces Station Debert (also CFS Debert) was the location of a Canadian air force, army, and military communications facility in Debert, Nova Scotia. Debert is an unincorporated farming community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. ... Motto: Munit Haec et Altera Vincit (One defends and the other conquers) Other Canadian provinces and territories Capital Halifax Largest city Halifax Lieutenant Governor Myra A. Freeman Premier John Hamm (PC) Area {{{TotalArea}}} km² (12th)  - Land 53,338 km²  - Water 1,946 km² (3. ...

Debert Military Camp

Following the outbreak of the Second World War in the fall of 1939, the first Canadian units began shipping through the port of Halifax however the end of the Phony War in spring 1940 required a massive ramp-up in Canada's land forces in Europe. The sheer volume of soldiers who would be embarking through Halifax required staging facilities for training and marshalling combat units before embarking on the troop ships. Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... 1939 was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Halifax redirects here. ... The Phony War, or in Winston Churchills words the Twilight War, was the phase of World War II marked by no military operations in Continental Europe, that followed the collapse of Poland. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

To meet this requirement, the government announced that existing facilities at Camp Aldershot near Kentville, Nova Scotia and Camp Sussex near Sussex, New Brunswick would be upgraded to handle the requirements of housing and training brigade-size units. In spring 1940, the government also began purchasing additional land in Debert for a division-size training and marshalling facility adjacent to those lands previously purchased in 1938 by the Royal Canadian Air Force for an aerodrome. Kentville (2001 population 5,610) is the largest town in Kings County, Nova Scotia, Canada. ... Sussex is a town in Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada, located about seventy kilometers north-north-east of Saint John. ... Brigade is a term from military science which refers to a group of several battalions (typically two to four), and directly attached supporting units (normally including at least an artillery battery and additional logistic support). ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A division is a large military unit or formation usually consisting of around ten to fifteen thousand soldiers. ... 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The RCAF Roundel is based on that of the British Royal Air Force with a maple leaf, a symbol of Canada, in the centre. ...

Located on the Montreal-Halifax main line of Canadian National Railways, the flat plain surrounding Debert Station were considered ideal for an army staging facility in addition to an aerodrome. The additional benefit that it was located only 100 km north of Halifax. This article needs cleanup. ... CN redirects here, as its the most common usage of the abbreviation in Canada; for more uses, see CN (disambiguation). ...

On August 9, 1940 the first engineering units arrived at the site and began work at clearing the forests and laying out what would become the Debert Military Camp (also referred to as Camp Debert). Employing 6,000 civilians and thousands more military members, the engineers cleared the trees and burnt the plain before building streets, sewer and water services, electricity, and buildings over an area of 80 square kilometres. The camp was bisected with named avenues and numbered streets having innumerable quonset huts, mess halls, warehouses, canteens, and other buildings. August 9 is the 221st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (222nd in leap years), with 144 days remaining. ... 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

The surrounding community of Debert virtually exploded in growth overnight with movie houses, restaurants, bars and other businesses being set up and the economic effects spilled over into neighbouring Truro. One of Truros tree sculptures Truro (2001 population 11,457; urban area population 44,276) is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. ...

Camp Debert was the final staging area for units embarking from Halifax and was the location where the majority of troops received and trained with their personal weapons. For these purposes a large ammunition depot was built as well as extensive firing ranges. Component units arrived at Camp Debert from across Canada and were organized into larger formations before being carried by trains to troop ships at Halifax, usually at night in black-out conditions.

All five divisions of the Canadian First Army were housed (all, or in part) at Camp Debert prior to departure for the European Theatre during the Second World War. In addition, the 7th Canadian Division was formed at Camp Debert, although its volunteer troops went overseas as reinforcements rather than an active combat division. List of Canadian divisions in the Second World War Canadian 1st Infantry Division Canadian 2nd Infantry Division Canadian 3rd Infantry Division Canadian 4th Armoured Division Canadian 5th Armoured Division See also: List of Canadian divisions in the First World War. ... The Canadian First Army was the overall command for the Canadian military forces in Europe during World War II. It was formed in early 1942 to command two corps composed of the three infantry divisions, two armoured divisions, and two armoured brigades that had assembled in England. ... German Führer Adolf Hitler Preceding events Main article: Events preceding World War II in Europe Main article: Causes of World War II Germany was in debt after World War I, due to the Great Depression and the forced payments to the victors of World War I. Germans wanted a leader... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...

Following the war, Camp Debert was used in the repatriation of troops returning from Europe before undergoing significant downsizing with the majority of training and marshalling areas being decommissioned. In 1948, Camp Debert was reactivated and hosted several active army units during the 1950s. 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Millennia: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium // Events and trends The 1950s in Western society was marked with a sharp rise in the economy for the first time in almost 30 years and return to the 1920s-type consumer society built on credit and boom-times, as well as the...

• 3rd Regiment, Royal Canadian Horse Artillery (1948-1958)
• 12th Regional Ordnance Depot (1948-1958)
• 31st Ordnance Ammunition Depot (1948-1965)
• Royal Highland Regiment of Canada (1950-1952)

RCAF Station Debert

In the fall of 1938 the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) purchased land for constructing an aerodrome on the north shore of Cobequid Bay near the farming community of Debert. 1938 was a common year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... The RCAF Roundel is based on that of the British Royal Air Force with a maple leaf, a symbol of Canada, in the centre. ... Aerodrome can mean: A series of aircraft constructed by Samuel Pierpont Langley. ... Cobequid Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and the easternmost part of the Minas Basin, located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. ...

Construction of the aerodrome, which would be named RCAF Station Debert, began in the fall of 1940 and was completed in April, 1941, coinciding with the construction of the army's adjoining Camp Debert. The airfield itself consisted of three 4,200 foot runways arranged in an overlapping triangle. 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... April is the fourth month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of four with the length of 30 days. ... 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

RCAF Station Debert was one of several similar facilities constructed in the Maritime provinces in support of the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan and operational coastal patrol requirements. The Maritimes or Maritime provinces are a region of Canada on the Atlantic coast, consisting of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. ... External links The Canadian Contribution (includes newspaper archives) World War II Newspaper Archives — The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan. ...

Following the war, RCAF Station Debert underwent some downsizing but continued to support active flight operations as a training, refueling, and maintenance base until 1954 even though no operational squadrons were stationed there. 1954 was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1960, the RCAF transferred its aerodrome to the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) which used the facility for aircraft carrier landing practise in support of naval aviation aircraft stationed at nearby Royal Canadian Naval Air Station (RCNAS) Shearwater. Also in the 1960s, some unused hangar space at the aerodrome was used to house a medical equipment supply depot which was used by all three branches of the armed forces. 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the navy of Canada from 1911 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces. ... An aircraft carrier is a warship whose main role is to deploy and recover aircraft. ... Canadian Forces Base Shearwater (CFB Shearwater) is a Canadian Forces base located in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia on the eastern shore of Halifax harbour. ... The 1960s, or The Sixties, in its most obvious sense refers to the decade between 1960 and 1969, but the expression has taken on a wider meaning over the past twenty years. ...

The February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Armed Forces saw the end of flight operations at the Debert aerodrome and in 1971 the Department of National Defense designated 4800 acres (19 km²), consisting of the aerodrome and the majority of the training area used by the former Camp Debert, as surplus. The provincial government purchased this land for development into the "Debert Air Industrial Park" while the aerodrome continues to be used as a municipal airfield. February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Canadian Forces Flag The Canadian Armed Forces (Fr. ... 1971 is a common year starting on Friday (click for link to calendar). ...

The Maritime "Diefenbunker"

In 1958, at the height of the Cold War and the infancy of the ICBM threat, Debert was selected as the site for 1 of 6 communication centres and "Regional Emergency Government Headquarters" complexes being located across Canada. The Debert facility would be the only such complex built in the Maritime provinces. 1958 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Cold War was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. ... A Minuteman III missile soars after a test launch. ... The Maritimes or Maritime provinces are a region of Canada on the Atlantic coast, consisting of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. ...

A small part of Camp Debert was proposed to be used for the complex along with supporting surface structures and personnel housing. Construction began in 1960 on an underground 2-storey bunker capable of withstanding a near-hit from a nuclear explosion. The underground building had massive blast doors at the surface, as well as extensive air filters to prevent radiation infiltration. Underground storage was built for food, fuel, fresh water, and other supplies for the facility which was capable of supporting several dozen people for weeks. These facilities, nicknamed "Diefenbunkers", were administered by the Canadian Corps of Signals. 1960 was a leap year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... A 23 kiloton tower shot called BADGER, fired on April 18, 1953 at the Nevada Test Site, as part of the Operation Upshot-Knothole nuclear test. ... A Diefenbunker is the nickname Canadian federal opposition politicians of the early 1960s coined for seven nuclear fallout shelters built across the country at the height of the Cold War during the infancy of the ICBM threat. ...

Opening in 1964, the Debert facility was already dated, since ICBM targetting had improved to the point where a direct hit was possible on the bunker, however it persisted as a Provincial Warning Centre (for Nova Scotia), staffed by the 720 Communication Squadron, along with the space for the emergency government. Antenna farms were dispersed from the bunker and were located on the shores of Cobequid Bay in nearby Masstown as well as in the Cobequid Hills near Londonderry. 1964 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Cobequid Bay is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy and the easternmost part of the Minas Basin, located in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. ... The Cobequid Mountains, also known as the Cobequid Hills, is a mountain range located in mainland Nova Scotia, stretching from Cape Chignecto, Cumberland County in the west to Pictou County in the east. ... Londonderry is an unincorporated community located in Colchester County, Nova Scotia, Canada. ...

The February 1, 1968 unification of the three service branches into the Canadian Armed Forces saw the Diefenbunker and support facilities, the last remnants of Camp Debert, change its name to Canadian Forces Station Debert (CFS Debert), in keeping with the naming convention for minor military facilities across Canada. February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1968 was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Canadian Forces Flag The Canadian Armed Forces (Fr. ...

In the 1970s, CFS Debert, as with most Diefenbunker facilities across the country, was downgraded further as the number of personnnel were reduced. Attempts to find other uses for the remaining military facilities took place through the 1980s with militia reserve units training at CFS Debert. This article provides extensive lists of events and significant personalities of the 1970s. ... // Events and trends The 1980s marked an abrupt shift towards more conservative lifestyles after the momentous cultural revolutions which took place in the 1960s and 1970s and the definition of the AIDS virus in 1981. ...

The end of the Cold War and reduction in the ICBM threat, as well as the Diefenbunker's obsolescence, saw all remaining military personnel removed from CFS Debert by the mid-1990s. In 1998 the Department of National Defense finished all environmental assessments and decommissioned the facility, tranferring the facility to "Colchester Park", a local development authority. // Events and trends The 1990s are generally classified as having moved slightly away from the more conservative 1980s, but keeping the same mind-set. ... 1998 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year of the Ocean. ...

Today the only remnant of a once-vast military presence in Debert is a small-arms firing range used by militia reserve units from Cumberland, Colchester and Pictou counties. Cumberland County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. ... Colchester County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. ... Pictou County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. ...

Debert Museum

The Debert Military Heritage Society keeps the memory of Debert's military history alive with a small museum located in "Colchester Park". This museum is currently run independently and has a diverse collection of militaria from both World Wars as well as The Cold War. The museum features items donated by members and family members of the Canadian and British militaries, including uniforms, decorations, communications equipment and documents. The society also conducts public tours of the "Diefenbunker" for several days each year. There have been two World Wars, now more commonly known as World War I or First World War (from 1914 to 1918), and World War II or Second World War (from 1939 to 1945). ... The Cold War was the open yet restricted rivalry that developed after World War II between the United States and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies. ...

External Links

• The Debert Military History Society