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103 Search and Rescue Squadron of the
The unit was stood up on April 1, 1947, at RCAF Station Dartmouth as the 103 Search and Rescue Flight, a section of 101KU. Later that year, the unit moved to RCAF Station Greenwood. In 1950, the unit was renamed 103 Rescue Unit The unit was located in Greenwood NS until 1968 when it was moved to RCAF Station Summerside, where it remained until unification of the
Royal Canadian Air Force
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) 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 environmental commands within the unified Can ...
is a 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 9 Wing Gander on the Canadian
Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
island of Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. The squadron is responsible for a large area covering the offshore waters of Canada's Exclusive Economic Zone
An exclusive economic zone (EEZ), as prescribed by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is an area of the sea in which a sovereign state has exclusive rights regarding the exploration and use of marine natural resource, reso ...
in the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
and inland areas in the Maritimes
The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...
, Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the populatio ...
, and parts of Eastern Quebec. The squadron operates three AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant
The AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant is the air-sea rescue variant of the AgustaWestland AW101 (formerly EH101) helicopter for the Canadian Armed Forces. Developed by AgustaWestland in Italy (now merged as part of Leonardo), the CH-149 is a m ...
helicopters.
History
The unit was stood up on April 1, 1947, at RCAF Station Dartmouth as the 103 Search and Rescue Flight, a section of 101KU. Later that year, the unit moved to RCAF Station Greenwood. In 1950, the unit was renamed 103 Rescue Unit The unit was located in Greenwood NS until 1968 when it was moved to RCAF Station Summerside, where it remained until unification of the Canadian Forces
The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; , FAC) are the unified Military, military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air commands referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army and the Royal Canadian Air Force. Under the ''National Defenc ...
in 1968, when it was disbanded, with the remnants of the unit forming the new 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron at CFB Summerside. As 103 RU it flew a variety of aircraft: Canso-A (until 1962), Avro Lancaster
The Avro Lancaster, commonly known as the Lancaster Bomber, is a British World War II, Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to ...
(until 1965), Douglas Dakota (until 1968), Noorduyn Norseman
The Noorduyn Norseman, also known as the C-64 Norseman, is a Canadian single-engine bush plane designed to operate from unimproved surfaces. Distinctive stubby landing gear protrusions from the lower fuselage make it easily recognizable.
Intro ...
(until 1957), Sikorsky H-5
The Sikorsky H-5 (initially designated R-5 and also known by company designations S-48, S-51 and VS-327Fitzsimons, Bernard, (general editor). ''Illustrated Encyclopedia of 20th Century Weapons and Warfare'' (London: Phoebus, 1978), Volume 20, p ...
(until 1965). 103 also had detachments in Torbay, Newfoundland (which was then RCAF Station Torbay re-opened in 1953 on the former RCAF AerodromeTorbay, Newfoundland) and Goose Bay, with the latter closed and becoming 107 Rescue Unit in 1954. RCN provided high-speed launch vessels (ex-RCMP) support at select locations.
The unit was re-activated in 1977 at CFB Gander to meet the search and rescue demands in Canada's area of responsibility in the western North Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for ...
. At the time of its reactivation, the squadron was equipped with the Boeing Vertol CH-113 Labrador
The Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is an American medium-lift tandem rotors, tandem-rotor transport helicopter powered by twin turboshaft aircraft engine, engines. It was designed by Piasecki Helicopter, Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Helico ...
twin-rotor helicopter and was stationed in a permanent hangar constructed on the grounds of the airport in 1977. In 1997 the squadron was re-designated to its current name by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...
, and presented with its standard.
In 2009, the squadron, alongside its parent unit 9 Wing Gander, hosted SAREX 09, an annual search and rescue exercise involving SAR organizations across Canada, with units from the United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...
and international observers also attending.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:103 Search And Rescue Squadron Military units and formations of Newfoundland and Labrador Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons Military units and formations established in 1947