442 Transport and Rescue Squadron (french: links=no, 442^e Escadron de transport et de sauvetage) 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 ...

tactical transport 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) Comox in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. The squadron flies six CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft, replacing six

CC-115 Buffalo The de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo is a short takeoff and landing ( STOL) utility transport turboprop aircraft developed from the earlier piston-powered DHC-4 Caribou. The aircraft has extraordinary STOL performance and is able to take off ...

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a conventional fixed-wing aircraft that has short runway requirements for takeoff and landing. Many STOL-designed aircraft also feature various arrangements for use on airstrips with harsh conditio ...

aircraft, which have been retired as of 2020, and five

AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant The AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant is the Canadian Forces designation for the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly EH101), a helicopter used for air-sea rescue in Canada. Developed as a joint venture between Westland Aircraft in the UK and Agusta i ...

rescue helicopters. One of each is on constant readiness to deploy in response to distress calls in the Victoria Search and Rescue Region, which includes most of British Columbia and the territory of

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

as well as 560,000 square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean, up to offshore. The squadron also serves as the operational training unit for the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft.

History

The unit was first activated in 1942 flying Curtis Kittyhawks as 14 Fighter Squadron with the

RCAF Western Air Command Western Air Command was the part of the Royal Canadian Air Force's Home War Establishment responsible for air operations on the Pacific coast of Canada during the Second World War. History Patrol operations When Canada declared war against Germa ...

due to the threat to Canada's west coast after the

Pearl Harbor attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...

. The squadron moved to Alaska and participated on

strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such ...

and bombing missions against then-Japanese held

Kiska Kiska ( ale, Qisxa, russian: Кыска) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required ...

during the Aleutian Islands Campaign. The squadron was then renumbered to 442 Fighter Squadron and transferred to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in January 1944 and flew attack and long-range bomber escort sorties in

Northwest Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern and Western Europe. The region can be defined both geographically and ethnographically. Geographic definitions Geographically, Northw ...

flying the North American Mustang IV, claiming over 58 enemy aircraft and hundreds of vehicles, locomotives and rail cars. The squadron was disbanded in England in 1945 following the end of hostilities, and reformed a year later at

RCAF Station Sea Island RCAF Station Sea Island was a World War II, British Commonwealth Air Training Plan station located near Vancouver, British Columbia. History World War II No 8 Elementary Flying Training School (EFTS) formed here on 22 July 1940. Aerodrome infor ...

as an auxiliary fighter squadron with deHavilland Vampires. Starting in 1956 the Vampires were augmented with the more modern Canadair Sabre 5. However, by 1958 they reequipped with deHavilland Otters and Beech Expeditors flying as a redesignated auxiliary transport squadron. It was again disbanded in 1964. The squadron was reformed during the 1968

unification of the Canadian Forces The unification of the Canadian Armed Forces took place on 1 February 1968, when the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force were merged to form the Canadian Armed Forces. History A white paper was tabled in the Parliame ...

as 442 Communications and Rescue Squadron at

CFB Comox Canadian Forces Base Comox , commonly referred to as CFB Comox or 19 Wing, is a Canadian Forces Base located north northeast of Comox, Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Royal Canadian Air ...

before being redesignated to its current name and role a few months later. Since then, 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron has become the busiest search and rescue unit in the country. Image:DehavillandCC-115Buffalo12.JPG,

of 442 Squadron in 2004 (retired in 2020) Image:CAFcormorantYQR (cropped).JPG, 442 Squadron Cormorant 901 in 2008

References

External links

*
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria
{{RCAF Squadrons Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons Military units and formations established in 1968