427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (427 SOAS) () is a tactical helicopter unit that provides aviation support to Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. The squadron is based at Garrison Petawawa (CFB Petawawa), Ontario with a fleet of Bell CH-146 Griffon helicopters. It was founded during the Second World War as No. 427 Squadron RCAF.

History

427 Squadron started as a

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 ...

(RCAF) bomber squadron formed at Croft, England on 7 November 1942 and spent its wartime entirely in England as a part of No. 6 Group RCAF, part of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

(RAF) Bomber Command. 427 flew

Vickers Wellington The Vickers Wellington (nicknamed the Wimpy) is a British twin-engined, long-range medium bomber. It was designed during the mid-1930s at Brooklands in Weybridge, Surrey. Led by Vickers-Armstrongs' chief designer Rex Pierson, a key feature of t ...

s, the Mk IIIs and Mk Xs, from its first operational mission on 14 December 1942, a minelaying sortie to the Frisian Islands, until May 1943 when it was relocated to Leeming, North Yorkshire. Re-equipped with Handley Page Halifax Mk V aircraft, the squadron flew intensely until early 1944 when it replaced its inventory with Halifax Mk III aircraft. This fleet saw the greatest number of missions and in slightly more than a year's time they were then replaced by

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 ...

bombers prior to the end of the Second World War. The Lancasters were used for

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

repatriation until the end of May 1946. 427 was stood down on 1 June 1946. The squadron was reformed on 1 August 1952 at RCAF Station St. Hubert ( Saint-Hubert is a borough in the city of

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

, Quebec) as 427 Fighter Squadron, flying

Canadair Sabre The Canadair Sabre is a Jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft built by Canadair under licence from North American Aviation. A variant of the North American F-86 Sabre, it was produced until 1958 and used primarily by the Royal Canadian Air Force ...

s, and was transferred to No. 3 (Fighter) Wing at

Zweibrücken Zweibrücken (; ; , ; literally translated as "Two Bridges") is a town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on the Schwarzbach (Blies), Schwarzbach River. Name The name ''Zweibrücken'' means 'two bridges'; older forms of the name include Middl ...

in March 1953. Selected as the first European RCAF squadron to receive the Canadair CF-104 Starfighter for the nuclear strike role, the squadron was stood down from its day-fighter role on 15 December 1962 and reformed as 427 (Strike-Attack) Squadron two days later. On 1 February 1968,

unification of the Canadian Armed 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 ...

integrated 427 into the new

Canadian Armed 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 ...

. The squadron was again disbanded on 1 July 1970. 427 came back into existence as 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron at Garrison Petawawa, where it remains today. The squadron has also taken an active role in humanitarian efforts such as the January 1998 ice storm in eastern Canada, where the squadron deployed eight aircraft to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and Kingston, and the November 1998 mission to help the victims of

Hurricane Mitch Hurricane Mitch was an extremely deadly and catastrophic Atlantic hurricane, which became the second-deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin on record. Mitch caused 11,374 fatalities in Central America in 1998, including approximately ...

. With only 24 hours' notice, four 427 Squadron Bell CH-146 Griffons deployed to

La Ceiba La Ceiba () is a municipality, the capital of the Honduran department of Atlántida (department), Atlántida, and a port city on the northern Caribbean coast in Honduras. It forms part of the southeastern boundary of the Gulf of Honduras. With ...

, Honduras. Once in the country, Griffon crews airlifted medical teams into communities cut off by the hurricane. For the next six weeks, the squadron ferried supplies and aid workers to many isolated towns and villages. On 1 February 2006, command of 427 was transferred to Canadian Special Operations Forces Command, as it took on a full-time role of special operations aviation support. Shortly thereafter, it was renamed 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron (427 SOAS). Qualified tactical aviators selected by 427 SOAS must complete SOTAC (Special Operation Tactical Aviation Course), which runs for approximately four months. The squadron has a dedicated concrete helipad, measuring , at Petawawa Heliport.

Aircraft flown by 427 Squadron

Historic aircraft

Current aircraft

Battle honours

Battle honours in small capitals are for large operations and campaigns and those in lowercase are for more specific battles. 427 Squadron was awarded the following

battle honour A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible. In ...

s, which are carried on their standard:

References

Notes

Citations

Bibliography

External links

* {{Canadian Special Forces Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons Helicopter units and formations Canadian Special Operations Force Command