|
The de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo is a short take off and landing (STOL) utility transport, a turboprop version developed from the earlier piston-powered DHC-4 ''Caribou''. The aircraft has extraordinary STOL performance, able to take off in distances much shorter than even light aircraft can manage. de Havilland Canada was formerly a subsidiary of De Havilland of the UK and is now a subsidiary of Bombardier of Canada.
Origin The Buffalo arose from a United States Army requirement. First flight was on 9 April 1964. However, having won the competition the contract was not awarded as fixed wing operations were transferred to the United States Air Force who considered themselves adequately equipped with the American made Fairchild C-123 Provider. Only a pre-production run of four DHC-5As were delivered in 1965 and designated YAC-2 (later 'CV-7A and subsequently C-8A). Production of the DHC-5A ended in 1972 after sales to Brazil and Peru but restarted with the DHC-5D model in 1974. This variant sold to several overseas air forces beginning with Egypt. In the early 80s, de Havilland Canada attempted to modify the Buffalo for civilian use. The aircraft was to be branded as the Transporter. After loss of the demonstration aircraft (SN 103 C-GCTC) at the 1984 Farnborough Airshow, the project was abandoned. A production Buffalo was used for breaking time-to-height records in 1976 while another Buffalo was employed to test aerodynamic prototypes for NASA as an XC-8A. RCAF/CF Use The Royal Canadian Air Force (now the Canadian Forces) first acquired 15 DHC-5A designated as CC-115 for tactical transports. These were initially operated by No. 429 Squadron. When 429 Squadron was disbanded, the aircraft were moved to No. 440 and No. 424 Squadrons. The aircraft were also deployed on UN missions to the Middle East with No. 116 Transport Unit. On 9 August 1974 a Buffalo was shot down by a Syrian Surface-to-air missile, killing all nine CF personnel on board. This represents the single biggest loss of Canadian lives on a UN mission as well as the last Canadian military aircraft to be shot down. In 1975, the Buffalo dropped its tactical transport role and was converted to domestic search and rescue. The previous drab paint was replaced with the distinctive yellow and red scheme commonly seen today. The number of aircraft have been reduced to five. With the remaining operational Buffalos operate in the Search and Rescue role for No. 442 Squadron at CFB Comox. Aircraft Data Three Operators Safety Record 26 hull losses have been recorded. Successors The EADS-CASA C-295 or Lockheed/Alenia C-27J Spartan are likely to replace the Buffalo in Canadian Forces service. Reference Related content | ||||||||
|
| |||||||||
 |
|
| |