After the Second World War, two regular force Royal Canadian Air
Force (RCAF) squadrons were reformed at CFB Edmonton (Blatchford
field): The 418 Fighter Bomber Squadron (Auxiliary), and the
435 (Air Rescue) Squadron.
Command of the American-built
Namao air base was eventually transferred to the Canadian
Government. Due to the increasing limitations of Blatchford
field, the Military closed RCAF Station Edmonton, and ordered
the transfer of the RCAF Squadrons and their affiliated support
units to RCAF Station Namao on 1 October 1955.
The 418 "City of Edmonton" Squadron was the last to leave for
Namao on 27 August 1957.
Complete control of Blatchford Field was then transferred to
the local government, creating a municipally operated,
commercial airport.
Namao’s first role in the RCAF was performing the winter
trials for some famous planes: the Spitfire, Halifax, Tempest,
Mosquito, Lancaster, and the Lincoln. The planes were tested for
their ability to perform at cooler climates and adjusted if they
fell short of expectation.
In 1968, the three branches of the Canada Armed Forces,
(land, air and sea,) unified and RCAF Station Namao became CFB
Edmonton.
The 408 Tactical Helicopter Squadron was later reformed at
Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Edmonton in 1970. The 418
Fighter-Bomber Squadron (Auxiliary), after being renamed several
times, was finally known as the 418 Transport and Rescue
Squadron. The 418s were disbanded on 22 June 1994.
The Royal Canadian Air Force served at CFB Namao for 29 years
before command was transferred to the Land Forces Command (Army)
22 June 1994.
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