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Show Frigid Labrador Vital Air Link Plays an Important Part in Ferrying Planes and Supplies Overseas. SOMEWHERE IN LABRADOR. Up here in bleak Labrador, far to the north of peacetime trans-Atlantic flight routes, is the biggest airport air-port in the world. Built on a sand plateau that rears 70 feet above the surrounding swamp and muskeg, this RCAF airport has runways a mile long and is a vital link in the warplane ferry route to Europe. In one crowded 24 hours it has serviced more tha 100 aircraft, fed the crews, and sent them winging on to Europe. In little more than a year of active operation, the station sta-tion has gassed and oiled more planes than go through any other ferry airdrome on the north Atlantic seaboard. Officers of the RCAF, the RAF ferry command and the United States army air transport service, which share the facilities, estimate that its present export of planes for the battlefronts of Europe is "just a drop in the bucket." The United States Air Transport unit alone has arranged to accommodate accom-modate in 1943 double the number of planes which passed through in 1942. Canadian Finds Site. The site for this giant jumping-off place was discovered by a Canadian in July, 1941, Eric ("Jack") Fry of the dominion geodetic survey branch, was looking for an area suitable suit-able for an airport, and learned about the plateau from native Lab-radorians. Lab-radorians. It had everything an airport air-port needed lots of room for runways, run-ways, sandy soil for easy drainage and excavation, and proximity to coastal waterways. The United States was right on his heels. Fry had barely completed his survey when overhead circled two flying boats bearing United States markings, also searching for an airport site. The Labrador airport was built, developed, and is being operated by Canadians. The cost will be apportioned appor-tioned among the Canadian army, the RCAF, the RAF and the United States army air forces. To date, about $15,000,000 has been spent. To the visitor, the air station leaves a curious mixture of impressions. impres-sions. Buildings are warmed by live steam from a central heating plant, whose trestlework of insulated insulat-ed pipes hangs over the whole cantonment can-tonment like the multiple legs of a gray and yellow spider. Anti-aircraft guns manned by Canadian soldiers poke lean barrels out of sandbag emplacements. Bren gun carriers clank among the trees. Always on Alert. Service personnel go about constantly con-stantly armed. Soldiers take their rifles to the little timber chapel hewn by their own hands and RCAF officers and guards always carry holstered pistols. The only girls on the station are four nurses in the RCAF hospital, the RCAF meeslng officer, a few United States nurses, and 14 native girls in the laundry. That is this station a compound of big-town civilization under subarctic sub-arctic conditions; of military preparedness pre-paredness which borrows some of the flavor of gun-toting days in the old Southwest. But first and foremost, It remains an airport one of the most important impor-tant in the world. Chief link with the outside world is an RCAF transport squadron which flies in machinery and supplies sup-plies to supplement those carried by boat during the navigation season. In three months it has flown 1,200,000 pounds of freight without scratching a wing tip. The station has been garrisoned by Canadian troops since June, 1942, when the first platoon was flown in to guard against a surprise German raid. The troops were chosen from regiments regi-ments made up largely of woodsmen and farmers. Some are Cree Indians from northern Saskatchewan. |