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103 Search and Rescue Squadron

Field	Value
unit_name	103 Search and Rescue Squadron
image	103 Search and Rescue Squadron.png
image_size	175px
caption	Squadron badge
dates	1947–1968
1977–present
country
branch	CAN Royal Canadian Air Force
type	Search and rescue
command_structure	9 Wing Gander
motto	Seek and save
website
commander1	Major Blair Turner
commander1_label	Commander
aircraft_patrol	Canso-A, Avro Lancaster, Douglas Dakota, Noorduyn Norseman, Sikorsky H-5
aircraft_transport	CH-113 Labrador, AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant

1977–present

103 Search and Rescue Squadron of the Royal Canadian Air Force is a search and rescue unit based at 9 Wing Gander on the Canadian island of Newfoundland. The squadron is responsible for a large area covering the offshore waters of Canada's Exclusive Economic Zone in the Atlantic Ocean and inland areas in the Maritimes, Newfoundland and Labrador, and parts of Eastern Quebec. The squadron operates three AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant helicopters.

History

CH-149 Cormorant stationed at 9 Wing in Gander, Newfoundland.

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 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 (until 1965), Douglas Dakota (until 1968), Noorduyn Norseman (until 1957), Sikorsky H-5 (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. At the time of its reactivation, the squadron was equipped with the Boeing Vertol CH-113 Labrador 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, 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 and international observers also attending.

References

"103 Squadron - History".
(22 June 2014). "Lessons Forgotten? A Historical Examination of the RCAF Search and Rescue Operation".
Capt Sheppard, Tony. "A successful SAREX 2009 in Gander". SARSCENE.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

military-units-and-formations-of-newfoundland-and-labrador canadian-forces-aircraft-squadrons military-units-and-formations-established-in-1947

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