In 1941 Canada and the United States built an airfield on the present site for anti-submarine patrol Aircraft and staging Aircraft to Britain. The site was selected because of the excellent flying weather, ease of construction, accessibility by sea during the summer months and strategic location. Three runways of 7,000 feet were built in record time in the triangular pattern typical of Commonwealth airfields. From October 1942 until the end of the war 24,000 Canadian and American built fighters and bombers staged through Goose Bay on their way to Europe.

The Data Maintenance Control Centre (DMCC), as it was called, was originally the Melville Manual NORAD Control Centre (MNCC) and had its beginnings in the early fifties. With the start of the Cold War, a line of radar sites was built from Newfoundland along the Labrador coast to join the Distant Early Warning (DEW) line at Cape Dyer. The Melville MNCC was constructed by Fraser-Bruce Terminal Ltd., and was completed in the spring of 1953. The complex was built along with sister sites at Cartwright, Hopedale, Sagalek and Resolution Island, all of which were eventually de-activated by the USAF in the sixties.

The 641 Aircraft Control and Warning (AC&W) Squadron (United States Air Force) at Melville was activated on 1 August 1953 under the command of Major Joseph A. Kuhborn. The site's responsibilities were surveillance, identification and interceptor control for the Labrador area. This was accomplished by the outlying Radar Sites reporting to Melville where the over- all command was exercised.

Along with these Pinetree radars, the USAF increased its strategic presence by deploying KC-97 tankers in support of B-47 bombers. Air Defense Command stationed a full squadron of F-106 interceptors here and by the early 60's, KC-135's were operating from Goose Bay in support of B-52 bombers.

Most of the construction on the American Side took place between 1951 and 1965 and the infrastructure was capable of supporting 12,000 servicemen and dependants.

From its origin under the North East Air Command, Melville was maintained and manned by the USAF through many organizational changes within NORAD, until finally being handed over to the Canadian Forces on 1 July 1971.

Melville was officially handed over from LCol W.S. Humphreys (USAF) to LCol J.E. Lind (CF) at a ceremony attended by local military and civilian officials. The Melville MNCC then became a part of the Canadian Forces Air Defence Command System which stretches from "Coast to Coast" across Canada. In July 1975 the MNCC then became a limited Long Range Radar (LRR) in that the radar inputs are now automatic- ally passed to the Control Centre in North Bay. The DMCC was responsible for the quality of radar inputs to 22 NORAD Region as well as the usual control of interceptor Aircraft whenever as- signed. In February 1988 the closure of the Melville DMCC was announced and on 1 July 1988 it ceased operations.

By 1976, all Strategic Air Command units had been withdrawn and the USAF operation was reduced to a Military Airlift Command detachment committed to transient servicing of C-5, C-141 and C-130 transport Aircraft.

The 1970's saw the RCAF move from the Canadian end of the airfield to the southern portion - still referred to as the Canadian and American sides respectively. As well, the CF reduced its presence in Goose Bay and the Station's principal reason for being was solely to support the Melville Radar Site.

The role of 5 Wing Goose Bay has changed remarkably in the past few years from that of a small Station supporting a Long Range Radar(LRR) site to a medium-sized base sustaining multinational flying operations