Masset Airport

.

The first flights in the Masset area were made by a Boeing Model 5 seaplane from Naden Harbour, west of the village, in pursuit of whaling operations�very successfully, too. 

Return to Map

As part of its Pacific War preparations, the RCAF was searching for a location that would allow for the economical construction of an airfield to host land-based fighters and bomber reconnaissance aircraft in the vicinity of Prince Rupert.  In the meantime, RCAF combat aircraft were based at Annette Island, 75 miles north, in Alaska. 

.

.

On September 8, 1942, Squadron Leader AM Yuile, Commanding Officer of 118(F) Squadron based at RCAF Annette Island landed his P-40 Kittyhawk on the hard packed sand foreshore east of Masset.  He proposed that a landing field could be constructed on the beach area; this was subsequently confirmed by a survey party.

Materials were transferred from Prince Rupert and a Marston Mat perforated steel plate runway 3,600 feet long was constructed in just fourteen days between July 11 and July 25, 1943.

.Back to top of page

.

.

 

 

 

 

 

The first aircraft to land was a DC3 carrying Air Vice Marshal LF Stevenson, Air Officer Commanding of Western Air Command.  A prefabricated camp was also built near the beach off Minaker Rd. to house the RCAF detachment. 

.Return to map

In November of the same year, the now completed and operational emergency landing field was named �Gordon Field� in honour of Group Captain RC Gordon, previously commander of No. 4 Group RCAF at Prince Rupert.

 

.Back to top of page

.

.

.

.

Over the course of the war, RCAF Station Masset hosted a variety of aircraft on coastal missions, including RCAF Grumman Goose, RCAF Bristol Bolingbroke and a group of US Navy Dauntless fighter/bombers.

 

Effective April 1, 1944 RCAF Station Masset (Gordon Field) was reorganized as No. 22 Staging Unit.  At the end of the war, the station was abandoned but a small naval communications station continued to operate as a strategic cold war listening post.  CFS Masset was expanded in the 1970s, adding a number of facilities and housing to the existing community.  The station was downsized to a remote post in the 1990s and the facilities turned over to the Village of Masset.

 

Between a lack of maintenance and winter storms, the steel mats on the beach at RCAF Masset gradually disappeared and by 1955 any evidence of the facility was gone.  Sections of the steel matting can still be seen in use as fences and other items.

 

 

Return to Map

 

 

The current Masset municipal airfield was constructed after the war between the old Gordon Field and the town of Masset.  It boasts full facilities including a 5,000 foot paved runway and two helipads, along with a terminal building and other small airport based businesses.  Pacific Coastal Airlines serves Masset on a regular schedule from its base in Vancouver.  The field is owned and operated by the Village of Masset. 

 

Masset Water Aerodrome CBN4 is located adjacent to the town site on Masset Inlet, and features twice daily floatplane service from Prince Rupert with Inland Air (January 2022).

 

Back to top of page     Return to map