1st of 2 CC-130 'Hercules' search and rescue planes arrives in Comox

Comox, B.C. -

Nearly two years after 19 Wing Comox took delivery of the first of its new "Kingfisher" search and rescue aircraft, the planes are still not in the air. And with the retirement of the "Buffalo" aircraft having taken place in January, a back-up plan was required to carry out rescue duties on the island.

The first of two CC-130 Hercules aircraft from is now situated in Comox, with a second one due by the end of June.

“We carry all kinds of survival equipment and rescue equipment that our search and rescue technicians employ and deploy," says Maj. Kyle Maurice, Squadron Detachment Commander for 435 Squadron out of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

"That’s everything from chainsaws and tents to food kits and life rafts.”

The Hercules are being re-deployed from Winnipeg to Comox to carry out search tasks until the Kingfishers are ready for duty. That could be as late as 2025 or 2026.

The wing’s commander is ensuring there will be no reduction in service during the interim.

“Canadian Armed Forces is extremely flexible on how we mange resources on a routine basis, whether that’s for search and rescue or other strategic or tactical levels of operations,” says Wing Commander Col. Rhonda Stevens.

Stevens notes the Hercules is being used at Canadian Forces Bases in Winnipeg, Greenwood and Trenton to carry out search and rescue activities.

“The Hercules aircraft have been conducting search and rescue operations in Canada for quite some time. It’s a very robust fixed-wing search and rescue aircraft,” she says.

Personnel out of Winnipeg will maintain and operate the Hercules in Comox on a rotational basis, with 35 members being deployed for one-month durations.

“The biggest challenge for us, really, is personnel," Maurice says. "We’re taking people away from their families and their homes for a month at a time, for an indefinite period of time, so coordinating that and making sure that people are supported on the home front, that’s the biggest challenge for us.”

Maurice says Comox was the last location to use the Buffalo, which has been in operational service for 55 years.

“The only remaining hold out was Comox and that’s just a function of the mountains and it can do valley chutes and things like that a lot better. We can do all those things in the Hercules, there’s not going to be any change to the service here,” Maurice says.

Crews will carry out training sessions four times a week during the day and three times a week at night, while remaining available for actual emergencies around the clock.

Lt. Col. Jean Leroux of 442 Squadron says the Hercules and crew members will fit seamlessly into search operations on Vancouver Island and across British Columbia.

“We have the utmost confidence in all the aircraft we’re using for search and rescue, including the Hercules, so a strong crew, a very capable aircraft, the teamwork between the helicopter and the fixed-wing asset is key and right now we’re set for success for the foreseeable future,” Leroux says.

He says the Hercules will work in unison with the Cormorant helicopter the same way the Buffalo did.

“Search and rescue in Canada always has the concept of two aircraft, the fixed-wing SAR asset will actually go out there faster than the helicopter asset gets there, find and pass the location to the helicopter, (then) the helicopter comes in and effects the rescue,” Leroux says.