CFB Wainwright Airfield 19

Military operational change and redundancy. As a secondary, unpaved landing strip, its purpose was tied to specific training doctrines and aircraft capabilities. The closure was likely due to a combination of factors: evolving training requirements, consolidation of air operations at the main, paved Wainwright Airfield (CYBF / Field 21), and the high cost of maintaining a remote strip that was no longer essential for military exercises.

The site is completely decommissioned and has reverted to nature. Satellite imagery of the coordinates (52.70018, -110.69536) shows the faint, overgrown outline of a former north-south runway in the middle of the prairie. The area is now simply part of the active military training range, used for ground maneuvers, including armoured vehicle and live-fire exercises. It is not used for aviation and is inaccessible to the public.

CFB Wainwright Airfield 19 was one of numerous satellite landing strips scattered throughout the vast CFB Wainwright Range and Training Area. Its significance was purely military. It was used to support large-scale, combined-arms exercises by providing a simulated austere or forward operating location. Operations would have included tactical airlift for troops and equipment (e.g., by CC-130 Hercules), training for short/unprepared field takeoffs and landings (SUTOL), parachute and supply drops, and a staging point for airmobile forces. It was an integral part of the infrastructure that makes CFB Wainwright a premier training ground for the Canadian Army and allied forces.

None. There are no known plans or prospects to reopen or reactivate Airfield 19. The primary, modern Wainwright Airfield (CYBF) adequately serves all of the base's current and foreseeable aviation needs. Re-establishing this remote strip would serve no strategic purpose and would be cost-prohibitive.