RCAF Metz, France
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RCAF Metz, France was the headquarters and operations support centre of No. 1 Air Division, Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) located at Metz, France during the Cold War period of the late 1950s and 1960s. Components included Air Division Headquarters, an air traffic control centre, a telecommunications centre, a combat operations centre, and a support unit.
No. 1 Air Division was established to meet Canada's NATO air defence commitments in Europe. It consisted of twelve fighter squadrons located in four wings, or bases. Two wings were located in France (No. 1 Wing and No. 2 Wing) and two were located in West Germany (No. 3 Wing and No. 4 Wing). These wings were part of a group of bases which also included U.S. and French installations, all of which came under the jurisdiction of Fourth Allied Tactical Air Forces (4 ATAF).
Canadian squadrons were originally equipped with Sabre day fighters. One squadron of each wing, however, would be replaced by the all-weather CF-100 in 1956. The Sabre squadrons were replaced by (nuclear) strike/reconnaissance CF-104 Starfighters in 1962. After the RCAF left France in 1967 and after the RCAF was reorganized and consolidated with Canada's other two services, No. 1 Air Division was replaced by No. 1 Canadian Air Group (1 CAG) with headquarters in Lahr, West Germany.
