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| 418 Search and Rescue Operational Training Squadron | |
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| Country | Canada |
| Branch | Royal Canadian Air Force |
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| Headquarters | CFB Comox |
| Motto(s) | Inuktitut: Piyautailili, lit. 'Defend even unto death' |
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418 Search and Rescue Operational Training Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force, formed during World War II.
418 Squadron RCAF was Canada's highest-scoring squadron in World War II, in terms of both air-to-air and air-to-ground kills, and in terms of both day and night operations. [1] The squadron's most active period was 1944, when assigned to Intruder and Ranger sorties across occupied Europe.
The squadron was re-formed in 1946 flying the B-25 Mitchell in the tactical bomber role from the Edmonton Municipal Airport. It moved to RCAF Station Namao in 1955. In 1958, 418 was redesignated as a light transport and search and rescue unit. Aircraft assigned included the de Havilland Canada DHC-3 Otter and Beechcraft C-45 Expeditor from RCAF Station Namao. Its duties ranged from aid to the civil power to aerial resupply. [2]
Upon unification of the forces the squadron converted to the De Havilland Twin Otter. The squadron was disbanded in 1994, and its aircraft were shifted to 440 Transport Squadron in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. The unit is featured in exhibits at the Alberta Aviation Museum on Kingsway Avenue in Edmonton.
418 Squadron was re-formed on March 13, 2019, [3] with Lieutenant-Colonel Jeffers as commanding officer. The unit is based at 19 Wing Comox, as 418 Search and Rescue Operational Training Squadron, training aircrew and maintenance personnel on the CC-295 Kingfisher, using simulators and aircraft. [4]
De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (DHC) is a Canadian aircraft manufacturer that has produced numerous aircraft models since its inception including the popular Dash 8. The company's primary facilities were located in the Downsview area of Toronto, Ontario for many years; in 2022, it was announced that it would relocate primary manufacturing to De Havilland Field, under development near Calgary, Alberta. The aircraft types currently in production or planned for production include the DHC-6 Twin Otter, DHC-8 Dash 8, and DHC-515 Firefighter.
438 "City of Montreal" Tactical Helicopter Squadron is a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force. The squadron operates the Bell CH-146 Griffon tactical helicopter from the Hartland de Montarville Molson Hangar of CFB St. Hubert in Quebec, Canada. Its tasks include armed and unarmed tactical utility transport, training aircrew personnel in basic and advanced aviation tactics, technical training of groundcrew personnel and flight engineers and the periodic maintenance of CH-146 fleet aircraft. They also include as residual capabilities search and rescue, reconnaissance and support to federal, provincial and local law enforcement agencies. A "total force" unit composed of members of the Regular Force, and both full time and part time reservists, the squadron is part of 1 Wing at CFB Kingston Ontario.
406 "City of Saskatoon" Maritime Operational Training Squadron is a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) unit of the Canadian Armed Forces. Based at 12 Wing Shearwater since 1972, it is responsible for crew training on the Sikorsky CH-148 Cyclone since summer of 2016. The squadron was formed during World War II as part of RAF Fighter Command.
442 Transport and Rescue Squadron is a Royal Canadian Air Force tactical transport and search and rescue unit based at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox in British Columbia. The squadron flies six CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft, replacing six CC-115 Buffalo STOL aircraft, which have been retired as of 2020, and five AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant 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 as well as 560,000 square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean, up to 600 nautical miles (1,100 km) offshore. The squadron also serves as the operational training unit for the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft.
402 "City of Winnipeg" Squadron is a Royal Canadian Air Force squadron based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg is a Royal Canadian Air Force base located within the City of Winnipeg, Manitoba. Co-located at the Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport, CFB Winnipeg is home to many flight operations support divisions, as well as several training schools. Its primary RCAF lodger unit is 17 Wing, commonly referred to as 17 Wing Winnipeg.
400 "City of Toronto" Tactical Helicopter and Training Squadron is part of 1 Wing, and as such a lodger unit of Canadian Forces Base Borden. The squadron operates the CH-146 Griffon.
The Hangar Flight Museum, formerly known as the Aero Space Museum of Calgary, is a museum located south of Calgary International Airport in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, nicknamed "Chinthe Squadron", is a Royal Canadian Air Force strategic transport, aerial refuelling and search and rescue unit based at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba, 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. The squadron keeps an aircraft on constant readiness to deploy, with airborne search and rescue technicians 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, extends from Quebec City to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Canada–United States border to the North Pole, covering most of Central, Western, and Northern Canada.
424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, nicknamed "Tiger Squadron", is a Royal Canadian Air Force strategic transport and search and rescue unit based at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Trenton in the Canadian province of Ontario. The squadron is the primary provider of search and rescue response for the Trenton Search and Rescue Region, which extends from Quebec City to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Canada–United States border to the North Pole, covering an area of over ten million square kilometres in Central, Western, and Northern Canada.
No. 411 "City of York" Squadron RCAF was a Second World War Royal Canadian Air Force squadron that operated as part of RAF Fighter Command in Europe with the Supermarine Spitfire.
440 Transport Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Armed Forces under the Royal Canadian Air Force. It is part of 8 Wing and works closely with Joint Task Force (North) in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
No. 119 Squadron was an RCAF Canadian Home War Establishment (HWE) Squadron. Created 15 May 1935 in Hamilton, Ontario, it came to be tasked with coastal patrol and anti-submarine duty over the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Atlantic Ocean around Nova Scotia. It was disbanded 15 March 1944 in Sydney, Nova Scotia.
No. 10 Squadron RCAF was formed on 5 October 1932 and renumbered as No. 110 Squadron on 15 November 1937, and then as No. 400 Squadron on 1 March 1941, as the first of the Article XV squadrons, manned and led by Canadians, but equipped with aircraft provided by the British. No. 10 (Bomber) Squadron RCAF was a new, unrelated unit that was formed by the Royal Canadian Air Force on 5 September 1939 for anti-submarine warfare using the same, now disused squadron number, and was active for the duration of the Second World War.
No. 168 Squadron RCAF was a heavy transport (H.T.) squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force that formed at RCAF Station Rockcliffe, near Ottawa, Ontario in on 18 October, 1943. The squadron carried large quantities of mail, freight and later, passengers between Canada and the United Kingdom, as well as to locations in Europe and Africa.
733 Naval Air Squadron was a Naval Air Squadron of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was active between 1944 and 1947 as a Fleet Requirement Unit, based mainly at RNAS Trincomalee, China Bay, Sri Lanka (Ceylon).
No. 2 Squadron was a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) squadron active during the late 1930s. The squadron operated army cooperation aircraft from 1935, and upon the outbreak of World War II was selected for overseas duty. However, a shortage of aircraft forced its disbandment in late 1939 to reinforce two other squadrons.
No. 39 Wing RCAF was a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force which served with the Royal Air Force in Europe during the Second World War.
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1 Aircraft administered and serviced by the RCAF but manned by the Royal Canadian Artillery. 2 Non-standard code as unit using OW added L. Letters normally denoted parent Command, aircraft type (L Liberator transport, D Dakota etc), unit, and individual aircraft. 3 VC  XXA where VC was the civil code used by the RCAF replacing CF-, XX was the unit code and A was the aircraft ID letter4 XX nnn where XX was the unit code and nnn was the last 3 digits of the serial number. Unit code was replaced with "RCAF" in 1958 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
