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CHRIS KITCHING \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n
Maj.-Gen. Chris McKenna, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, acknowledged search and rescue technicians (standing) from Winnipeg who responded to Wainwright, Alta. after four soldiers were killed and dozens others were injured in a fire Oct. 17.<\/p>\n
The 435 Transport Search and Rescue Squadron, based at 17 Wing Winnipeg, is the final RCAF unit to fly the CC-130H Hercules. Two Winnipeg-based planes are still being flown. They will be taken out of service Nov. 1 and Nov. 18, Wright said.<\/p>\n
A fleet of 12 is being retired this year. Ten planes are being sold to Coulson Aviation Ltd., in B.C. to be converted and used to fight wildfires. Ottawa did not disclose the sale price.<\/p>\n
Two aircraft will be put on public display at bases or museums. One could possibly be displayed in Winnipeg, Wright said.<\/p>\n
Backdropped by a CC-130H Hercules, the ceremony\u2019s speakers recounted memories of times on board the planes, while extolling the versatility and reliability of the fleet, and how it helped to shape the history of the RCAF during operations from the Arctic to Afghanistan.<\/p>\n
They paid tribute to crews current and past, including several members who died in crashes and to Canadian Armed Forces personnel whose remains were returned to Canada on board the aircraft after dying in action.<\/p>\n
In his address, Maj.-Gen. Chris McKenna, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, acknowledged the 11 search and rescue technicians from Winnipeg who rapidly responded to a hospital in Wainwright, Alta. \u2014 parachuting from a CC-130H Hercules \u2014 after a fire at a nearby base killed four soldiers and injured dozens of others Oct. 17.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the Army\u2019s worst day, you were at your best,\u201d McKenna said to the technicians, who are elite primary-care paramedics, before they were applauded by the audience of about 200 people.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t CHRIS KITCHING \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n The retirement ceremony concluded with a fly-by from one of two remaining Winnipeg-based CC-130H Hercules that will be in service until November.<\/p>\n \u201cThe emails that I received this week from Army were singing your praises, so we\u2019re really, really proud of you.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2025, CC-130H Hercules planes were used to airlift thousands of evacuees out of northern Manitoba communities that were threatened by wildfires. The evacuations were part of Operation Lentus.<\/p>\n McKenna said one of the planes was unable to land on a runway that was surrounded by flames and shrouded by smoke at Norway House\u2019s airport.<\/p>\n \u201cThe missed approach routing, unfortunately, took the crew through what is known as a pyrocumulus cloud, which is exactly what it sounds like: thick clouds made of fire and smoke and ash and extreme turbulence,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The crew fought turbulence to the \u201cvery limits\u201d of the aircraft to get out safely, McKenna said. The plane was badly damaged and did not return to service afterward.<\/p>\n \u201cI share this story as, once again, this tremendous aircraft did the job we needed it to under the most extreme conditions. It kept the crew and (its) occupants safe, and it brought them home to their families,\u201d McKenna said.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout the incredible capabilities this aircraft brought to bear, I have serious doubts we would have been as successful as we were in Op Lentus, and I seriously doubt that crew would have come home.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t CHRIS KITCHING \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Col. Curtis Wright, commander of 17 Wing Winnipeg, told reporters the retirement of CC-130H Hercules planes was an emotional event for members of 435 Transport Search and Rescue Squadron.<\/p>\n The fleet supported Canadian military operations, including its role in the war in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.<\/p>\n \u201cThis aircraft took me into Afghanistan. It took friends of mine out who didn\u2019t make it,\u201d McKenna said. \u201cThis aircraft took out our injured. It matters to a lot of us.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2011, members of 435 Squadron were responsible for air-to-air refuelling of NATO-led coalition fighters in Libya.<\/p>\n The planes were used when Canada responded with personnel and supplies during humanitarian crises and natural disasters around the world, including a devastating earthquake in Haiti in 2010.<\/p>\n Domestically, the RCAF used the Winnipeg-based aircraft for many search-and-rescue missions \u2014 from lost hunters to missing civilian planes \u2014 across central Canada for decades.<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \u201cIt\u2019s truly a significant, emotional event,\u201d Wright said of the retirement. \u201cPeople have been flying on this aircraft for their entire careers.\u201d<\/p>\n The ceremony paid tribute to the RCAF\u2019s Winnipeg-based flight engineers and load masters, who Wright said will move to other bases and fleets in Canada because the newer CC-295 Kingfishers, which are smaller aircraft, will not be used for transport.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t CHRIS KITCHING \/ FREE PRESS<\/p>\n Cpl. Andrew Hannus, an aviation systems technician, helps to keep CC-130H Hercules and CC-295 Kingfisher planes running.<\/p>\n The retirement of the CC-130H Hercules is bittersweet for Cpl. Andrew Hannus, an aviation systems technician whose work includes maintaining and fixing engines.<\/p>\n \u201cI love doing a lot of things on this plane. I love doing maintenance, I love doing servicing,\u201d said Hannus, who will remain in Winnipeg to work on CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft. \u201cStanding there in front of the (Hercules) as it takes off or as it\u2019s landing, it\u2019s always a little rush of adrenaline.\u201d<\/p>\n chris.kitching@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Chris Kitching Chris Kitching is a general assignment reporter at the Free Press. He began his newspaper career in 2001, with stops in Winnipeg, Toronto and London, England, along the way. After returning to Winnipeg, he joined the Free Press in 2021, and now covers a little bit of everything for the newspaper. Read more about Chris<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Chris produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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