HMCS Bermuda

There has been only one establishment named Bermuda in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Bermuda / Naval Radio Station

HMCS Bermuda was a Naval Radio Station (NRS) in Bermuda, with the main installation and receiving site located at Daniel’s Head, and the transmitter located on Ireland Island. She was opened on a trial basis in July 1963, and became a permanent installation on 1 April 1964.

She was a part of the Atlantic High Frequency Direction Finding (HF/DF) network created by the RCN and USN. HF/DF is used to detect enemy radio transmissions and as a navigation aid for friendly aircraft. The Atlantic HF/DF network was created in 1950 when the RCN and USN agreed to formally co-ordinate and standardize their HF/DF activities ashore. RCN stations Coverdale, Chimo, Frobisher Bay, and Gander were also a part of the network at various times.

Bermuda was located on a former Royal Navy site. The USN had originally been interested in acquiring the land, but the Bermuda government did not want the Americans to occupy more land than they already had. As a compromise, they allowed the facility to be leased to the RCN.

HMCS Bermuda was taken out of commission in 1968 when, as a part of the unification of the Canadian Armed Forces, she became Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Bermuda. The facility would be finally closed in 1993, and the site is now a park.

• Date commissioned: 3 July 1963
• Date closed: 4 July 1993