CFS Coverdale | |
|---|---|
| Near Riverview, New Brunswick | |
| Site information | |
| Operator | Royal Canadian Navy Canadian Armed Forces |
| Site history | |
| In use | 1942–1971 |
Canadian Forces Station Coverdale or His Majesty's Canadian Ship Coverdale was a secret radio interception station located on the Petitcodiac River near Moncton, New Brunswick.
Opened on 23 November 1942 as a high-frequency direction finding (HF/DF) station. During World War II, the station listened to intercepted German U-boat radio transmissions. When a transmission was intercepted, it was forwarded to Bletchley Park for the message to be decoded. The origins of the transmission were also triangulated, allowing Allied anti-submarine forces the opportunity to track down and sink U-boats. Being situated over a bog it provided an excellent ground plane for radio intercepts. The base was fully completed in the winter of 1944 and was subsequently staffed by members of the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service (WRCNS). The initial staffing listed three male officers, four WRCNS officers, three male ratings and 140 WRCNS ratings. During this period the sailors called themselves the “listeners”.
The station was called HMCS Coverdale from 1949, and then CFS Coverdale in 1966. During the early stages of the Cold War, members of HMCS Coverdale spied on Soviet naval radio messages, nicknaming themselves the “spies”. Occasionally, the station would pick transmissions from Soviet spies within Canada.
With advances in technology and mounting costs to run the station, the newly redesigned Canadian forces station (CFS) Coverdale was closed on 15 June, 1971.