HMCS Frobisher Bay

There has been only 1 establishment named Frobisher Bay in the Royal Canadian Navy.

HMCS Frobisher Bay (NRS)

During the Second World War, the United States built a military airstrip at Frobisher Bay, Northwest Territories (today known as Iqaluit, Nunavut), which was then purchased by Canada in 1944. When the Naval Radio Station (NRS) Frobisher Bay was brought into being, in July 1954, it was built beside the air base. Naval Radio Station (NRS) Frobisher Bay, call sign CFI, was established on Baffin Island as a result of the closure of NRS Chimo, at Ungava Bay, Québec. In June 1957, it was renamed Her Majesty’s Canadian (HMC) NRS Frobisher Bay until July 1966 when it became Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Frobisher Bay. To those who served there, it was always referred to as NRS Frobisher Bay.

NRS Frobisher Bay was part of the Canadian Supplementary Radio ( SUPRAD) network. The Supplementary Radio System was the forerunner of today's military communications intelligence system. In its simplest form, a SUPRAD station operated in the following manner. When a prospective target made an emission, which was heard by the Control Center, Control "flashed" the details of the emission (frequency and call sign) to the SUPRAD stations of the network. The stations tuned the signal, took bearings then reported the bearing to Control. At Control, the bearings were collated by computer and a fix area established.

NRS Frobisher Bay was a useful station because of its location, particularly with respect to ocean areas of prime interest to Canada. By the mid-1960s, the combination of high costs and advancements in technology led to the reevaluation and reorganization of signal intelligence operations, an exercise known as Project Beagle. As a result, CFS Frobisher Bay was closed in 1966.

• Commissioned: July 1957
• Paid off: July 11, 1966