430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron
| 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Active | 1943–1945 1951–1970 1971–Present |
| Country |  Canada |
| Branch |  Royal Canadian Air Force |
| Role | Tactical Helicopter |
| Nickname(s) | City of Sudbury Silver Falcon |
| Motto(s) | Celeriter certoque (Swiftly and surely) |
| Battle honours | Fortress Europe 1943-1944 France and Germany 1944-1945 Normandy 1944 Arnhem Rhine Afghanistan[1] |
430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron is a unit of the Canadian Forces under the Royal Canadian Air Force. It operates Bell CH-146 Griffons from CFB Valcartier, near Quebec City in Quebec, Canada.
History
[edit]No. 430 Squadron RCAF was a unit of the Royal Canadian Air Force formed during World War II as the "City of Sudbury" squadron in 1943. Initially created as an army co-operation squadron, 430 was redesignated as a fighter reconnaissance unit later that year. The unit was stationed in England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany, and flew photo reconnaissance missions in support of planning for the Normandy landings. After D-Day, missions included before-and-after photography of attacks on V-1 flying bomb launch sites and support for ground forces. 430 Squadron was disbanded in Germany in August 1945.[2]
In the Cold War period, the squadron was reformed in November 1951 at RCAF Station North Bay, flying the Canadair F-86 Sabre. It was given the nickname Silver Falcon. 430 Fighter Squadron went to 2 Wing RCAF Station Grostenquin near Grostenquin, France in September 1952. The squadron was located at Grostenquin until deactivation in September 1962.[2]
430 Fighter Squadron was reactivated at 3 Wing Zweibrücken, West Germany in February 1963, and transitioned to the Canadair CF-104 Starfighter. The squadron moved to 1 Wing Lahr, West Germany in February 1969 until it was disbanded in May 1970.[2]
The unit reformed again in 1971 as a French-language Canadian Forces tactical helicopter squadron at Valcartier and known officially as 430e Escadron tactique d'hélicoptères. There it operated the Bell CH-136 Kiowa and the Bell CH-135 Twin Huey in support of 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group. The unit transitioned to the CH-146 Griffon in 1994.[3]
Operations
[edit]The squadron was deployed as part of the United Nations Mission in Haiti (UNMIH) and also provided core personnel to the Rotary Wing Aviation Unit of the Multinational Force and Observers on peacekeeping operations in the Sinai.[3]
Aircraft
[edit]- Curtiss Tomahawk Mk. I & II
- North American Mustang Mk. I
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk. XIV
- Canadair Sabre
- Canadair CF-104 Starfighter
- Bell CH-135 Twin Huey
- Bell CH-136 Kiowa
- Bell CH-146 Griffon
References
[edit]- ^ "South-West Asia Theatre Honours". Prime Minister of Canada. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 9 May 2014.
- ^ a b c 430 Tactical Helicopter Squadron Archived 2013-11-11 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2013-10-29
- ^ a b Canadian Forces (November 2008). "430 Squadron". Archived from the original on 6 December 2010. Retrieved 2 February 2011.
- 430 Squadron History Retrieved 2016-04-14
External links
[edit]
| Squadron numbers |
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1 Aircraft administered and serviced by the RCAF but manned by the Royal Canadian Artillery.
2 Non-standard code as unit using OW added L. Letters normally denoted parent Command, aircraft type (L Liberator transport, D Dakota etc), unit, and individual aircraft. 3 VC .svg){kind=small} XXA where VC was the civil code used by the RCAF replacing CF-, XX was the unit code and A was the aircraft ID letter4 XX nnn where XX was the unit code and nnn was the last 3 digits of the serial number. Unit code was replaced with "RCAF" in 1958 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
- Canadian Forces aircraft squadrons
- Royal Canadian Air Force squadrons
- Military units and formations established in 1943
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1945
- Military units and formations established in 1951
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1962
- Military units and formations established in 1963
- Military units and formations disestablished in 1969
- Military units and formations established in 1971
- 1943 establishments in Canada
- 1945 disestablishments in Canada
- 1951 establishments in Canada
- 1962 disestablishments in Canada
- 1963 establishments in Canada
- 1969 disestablishments in Canada
- 1971 establishments in Canada
- 1943 establishments in Quebec
- 1951 establishments in Quebec
- 1963 establishments in Quebec
- 1969 disestablishments in Quebec
- 1971 establishments in Quebec
- Military units and formations of Canada in World War II