435 Transport and Rescue Squadron (french: links=no, 435^e Escadron de transport et de sauvetage), nicknamed "Chinthe Squadron", is a

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

strategic transport,

aerial refuelling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft a ...

and

search and rescue Search and rescue (SAR) is the search for and provision of aid to people who are in distress or imminent danger. The general field of search and rescue includes many specialty sub-fields, typically determined by the type of terrain the search ...

unit based at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Winnipeg in the province of

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

, Canada. The squadron flies four Lockheed CC-130H Hercules aircraft. In addition to being the only provider of tactical fighter air-to-air refuelling in Canada, the squadron is a provider of primary search and rescue response for the largest search and rescue region in Canada, controlled from

CFB Trenton Canadian Forces Base Trenton (also CFB Trenton), formerly RCAF Station Trenton, is a Canadian Forces base located within the city of Quinte West, Ontario. It is operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and is the hu ...

. The squadron keeps an aircraft on constant readiness to deploy, with airborne search and rescue technicians (SAR techs) standing by to respond within 30 minutes of notification during weekdays and 2 hours at other times. The Trenton Search and Rescue Region, also covered by the

424 Transport and Rescue Squadron 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron (French: ''424e Escadron de transport et de sauvetage''), nicknamed "Tiger Squadron", is a Royal Canadian Air Force strategic transport and search and rescue unit based at CFB Trenton, Canadian Forces Base (CFB) ...

, extends from

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

to the

Rocky Mountains The Rocky Mountains, also known as the Rockies, are a major mountain range and the largest mountain system in North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch in straight-line distance from the northernmost part of western Canada, to New Mexico in ...

, and from the

Canada–United States border The border between Canada and the United States is the longest international border in the world. The terrestrial boundary (including boundaries in the Great Lakes, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts) is long. The land border has two sections: Can ...

to the

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distinguish from the Mag ...

, covering most of

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, Western, and

Northern Canada Northern Canada, colloquially the North or the Territories, is the vast northernmost region of Canada variously defined by geography and politics. Politically, the term refers to the three Provinces_and_territories_of_Canada#Territories, territor ...

History

No. 435 Squadron RCAF was formed on 1 November 1944 in

Gujarat, India Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth- ...

during the Burma Campaign, flying the

Douglas Dakota The Douglas C-47 Skytrain or Dakota ( RAF, RAAF, RCAF, RNZAF, and SAAF designation) is a military transport aircraft developed from the civilian Douglas DC-3 airliner. It was used extensively by the Allies during World War II and remained in ...

in support of the Fourteenth Army. After war's end, the unit was relocated to England, where it provided transport to Canadian Army units in Europe. Deactivated on 1 April 1946 in England and re-activated three months later at

RCAF Station Edmonton Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA), also called Blatchford Field as well as Edmonton Municipal Airport, was an airport within the city of Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada. It was bordered by Yellowhead Trail to the north, Kingsway to the south, ...

, the squadron relocated a few miles north to

RCAF Station Namao CFB Edmonton (also called 3rd Canadian Division Support Base Edmonton) is a Canadian Forces base located in Sturgeon County adjacent to the City of Edmonton in Alberta, Canada. It is also known as Edmonton Garrison or "Steele Barracks". His ...

in 1955, flying the

Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechani ...

Lockheed C-130B 10303 rcaf 435 Sq LGW 23

The unit was re-equipped with the C-130B Hercules in 1960 and upgraded to the C-130E in 1966. Due to the Chrétien government's budget cuts and the resultant closure of the airfield at CFB Edmonton, the squadron was moved to 17 Wing Winnipeg in 1994, operating from Hangar 16, a Recognized Federal Heritage Building since 2007. More recently, the squadron took part in

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of mon ...

in Iraq,

Operation Allied Force The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

in Kosovo,

Operation Noble Eagle Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks.. ...

domestically, and

Operation Mobile Operation Mobile (french: Opération Mobile) was the name given to Canadian Forces activities in the 2011 military intervention in Libya. The United States' counterpart to this was Operation Odyssey Dawn, the French counterpart was Opération Ha ...

during the 2011 Libyan civil war. The squadron has also participated in several exercises and support missions, and was the first Canadian unit to land a plane in

Jacmel Jacmel (; ht, Jakmèl) is a commune in southern Haiti founded by the Spanish in 1504 and repopulated by the French in 1698. It is the capital of the department of Sud-Est, 24 miles (39 km) southwest of Port-au-Prince across the Tiburon Peninsula ...

shortly after the devastating

2010 Haiti earthquake A disaster, catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (department), Ouest department, a ...

References

{{RCAF Squadrons Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons