442 Transport and Rescue Squadron () is 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 ...

tactical transport and

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 Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Comox in

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. The squadron flies six CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft, replacing six

CC-115 Buffalo The de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo is a short takeoff and landing (STOL) utility transport turboprop aircraft developed from the earlier piston-powered DHC-4 Caribou. The aircraft has extraordinary STOL performance and is able to take off ...

STOL A short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft is a fixed-wing aircraft that can takeoff/land on short runways. Many STOL-designed aircraft can operate on airstrips with harsh conditions (such as high altitude or ice). STOL aircraft, including tho ...

aircraft, which have been retired as of 2020, and five

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 ...

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 Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...

as well as 560,000 square kilometres in the Pacific Ocean, up to offshore. The squadron also serves as the operational training unit for the CH-149 Cormorant helicopter and CC-295 Kingfisher aircraft.

History

The unit was first activated in 1942 flying Curtis Kittyhawks as 14 Fighter Squadron with the

RCAF Western Air Command Western Air Command was the part of the Royal Canadian Air Force's Home War Establishment responsible for air operations on the Pacific coast of Canada during the Second World War. History Patrol operations When Canada declared war against Germa ...

due to the threat to Canada's west coast after the

Pearl Harbor attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the ti ...

. The squadron moved to Alaska and participated on

strafing Strafing is the military practice of attacking ground targets from low-flying aircraft using aircraft-mounted automatic weapons. Less commonly, the term is used by extension to describe high-speed firing runs by any land or naval craft such a ...

and bombing missions against then-Japanese held

Kiska Kiska (, ) is one of the Rat Islands, a group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. It is about long and varies in width from . It is part of Aleutian Islands Wilderness and as such, special permission is required to visit it. The island has ...

during the

Aleutian Islands Campaign The Aleutian Islands campaign () was a military campaign fought between 3 June 1942 and 15 August 1943 on and around the Aleutian Islands in the American theater (World War II), American Theater of World War II during the Pacific War. It was t ...

. The squadron was then renumbered to 442 Fighter Squadron and transferred to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

in January 1944 and flew attack and long-range bomber escort sorties in

Northwest Europe Northwestern Europe, or Northwest Europe, is a loosely defined subregion of Europe, overlapping Northern Europe, Northern and Western Europe. The term is used in geographic, history, and military contexts. Geographic definitions Geography, Geo ...

flying the North American Mustang IV, claiming over 58 enemy aircraft and hundreds of vehicles, locomotives and rail cars. The squadron was disbanded in England in 1945 following the end of hostilities, and reformed a year later at RCAF Station Sea Island as an auxiliary fighter squadron with deHavilland Vampires. Starting in 1956 the Vampires were augmented with the more modern Canadair Sabre 5. However, by 1958 they reequipped with deHavilland Otters and Beech Expeditors flying as a redesignated auxiliary transport squadron. It was again disbanded in 1964. The squadron was reformed during the 1968

unification of the Canadian 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 ...

as 442 Communications and Rescue Squadron at

CFB Comox Canadian Forces Base Comox , commonly referred to as CFB Comox or 19 Wing, is a Canadian Forces base on Vancouver Island in the Comox Valley, north northeast of Comox, British Columbia. It is primarily operated as an air force base by the Roy ...

before being redesignated to its current name and role a few months later. Since then, 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron has become the busiest search and rescue unit in the country. Image:DehavillandCC-115Buffalo12.JPG,

of 442 Squadron in 2004 (retired in 2020) Image:CAFcormorantYQR (cropped).JPG, 442 Squadron Cormorant 901 in 2008

References

External links

*
Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Victoria
{{Canadian Forces Air Command units Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons Military units and formations of Canada in World War II Military units and formations established in 1968