The RCAF left 2 Wing Grostenquin in July 1964. Who would have thought that they would ever return?
It is well documented that the airfield at Grostenquin continues to be used by the French Air Force as a Multinational Aircrew Electronic Warfare Training Facility. In April 2005, it was time for the Canadian Forces to use the facility. A contingent of four Canadian military personnel from the Canadian Forces Electronic Warfare Center (CFEWC) group in Ottawa proceeded to Grostenquin and spent a week participating in a NATO EW exercise between April 7 and April 15, 2005. The Canadians resided off station, in Delme, about 30 km southwest of Grostenquin. We are most pleased to have been provided with a number of photos that depict the current status of the original buildings at Grostenquin. Our special thanks to Rod Vanderzalm for making this material available to our web site.
Additional photos were provided by the "Reunion 2006 Committee" who proceeded to the Grostenquin area in April-May 2005 to "set things in motion" for the Grostenquin Reunion scheduled for May 2006.
All in all - we now provide an excellent grouping of photos which depict the remains at 2 (F) Wing Grostenquin France - as of April 2005.
One of the greatest difficulties we face is that of our memories. Many of us are able to recall what existed at 2 Wing when we were there. Regrettably - buildings have not been maintained during the past 40+ years. It took less than a year for some of the buildings to disappear from the airfield. A number of buildings such as the RC and the Protestant chapels along with some of the barrack blocks were donated to the French in 1965 - less than a year after the RCAF departed. Poof - these buildings were gone - forever.
While we do not have any specific documents, it is safe to assume that the other buildings which remain have been left unattended and unused for the last 40 years. Somewhere along the way, the French Air Force came along and they are making use of a small number of buildings on the airfield. We have been advised (in April 2005) that the Recreation Center and the Swimming Pool are no longer there. It would appear that the photos which we have from the late 1990s will probably be the last available for these two buildings.
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Updated: May 17, 2005