Thede Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as theCV-2 and laterC-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specializedcargo aircraft withshort takeoff and landing (STOL) capability. The Caribou was first flown in 1958 and although mainly retired from military operations, is still in use in small numbers as a ruggedbush airplane.
The design was further developed as thede Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo, addingturboprop engines and other changes that further improved its short-field performance to the point where it competes withlight aircraft even with a full load.
C-7B Caribou aircraft of the U.S. Army/California Army National GuardRAAF DHC-4 Caribou (A4-299) from No. 38 Squadron.
TheDe Havilland Canada (DHC) company's thirdshort takeoff and landing (STOL) design was a big increase in size compared to its earlierDHC Beaver andDHC Otter, and was the first DHC design powered by two engines. The Caribou was similar in concept in that it was designed as a rugged STOL utility aircraft. The Caribou was primarily a military tactical transport that in commercial service found itself a small niche in cargo hauling. TheUnited States Army ordered 173 in 1959 and took delivery in 1961 under the designation AC-1, which was changed toCV-2 Caribou in 1962.
The majority of Caribou production was destined for military operators, but the type's ruggedness and excellent STOL capabilities requiring runway lengths of only 1200 feet (365 metres)[1] also appealed to some commercial users. U.S. certification was awarded on 23 December 1960.Ansett-MAL, which operated a single example in theNew Guinea highlands, andAmoco Ecuador were early customers, as wasAir America (a CIA front in South East Asia during theVietnam War era for covert operations). Other civil Caribou aircraft entered commercial service after being retired from their military users.
PEN Turbo Aviation of Cape May, NJ, has undertaken the re-engineering of the DHC-4A Caribou to a turbine powered variant, designated DHC-4A Turbo Caribou. The conversion usesPT6A-67T engines andHartzell 5 bladed HC-B5MA-3MConstant Speed/Reversing propellers. Overall performance has improved and "new" basic weight is reduced while maximum normal take-off weight remained at 28,500 pounds (12,900 kg) Maximum payload is 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg). BothTransport Canada and the USFederal Aviation Administration have issuedsupplemental type certificates for the Turbo Caribou. As of September 17, 2014, only 3 air frames had been converted.[2] PEN Turbo has stockpiled dozens of air frames at their facility in NJ for possible future conversion. PEN Turbo Aviation named their company after Perry E. Niforos, who died in the 1992 crash of anearlier turboprop Caribou converted by a different firm, NewCal Aviation.[2]
In response to aUnited States Army requirement for a tactical airlifter to supply the battlefront with troops and supplies and evacuate casualties on the return journey, de Havilland Canada designed the DHC-4. With assistance from Canada's Department of Defence Production, DHC built a prototype demonstrator that flew for the first time on 30 July 1958.
Impressed with the DHC4's STOL capabilities and potential, the U.S. Army ordered five for evaluation as YAC-1s and went on to become the largest Caribou operator. The AC-1 designation was changed in 1962 to CV-2, and then C-7 when the U.S. Army's CV-2s were transferred to the U.S. Air Force in 1967. U.S. and Australian Caribou saw extensive service during the Vietnam War.
The U.S. Army purchased 159 of the aircraft and they served their purpose well as a tactical transport during the Vietnam War, where larger cargo aircraft such as theFairchild C-123 Provider and theLockheed C-130 Hercules could not land on the shorter landing strips. The aircraft could carry 32 troops or twoJeeps or similar light vehicles. The rear loading ramp could also be used for parachute dropping (also, seeAir America).
Under theJohnson-McConnell agreement of 1966, the Army relinquished the fixed wing Caribou to theUnited States Air Force in exchange for an end to restrictions on Armyrotary wing operations. On 1 January 1967, the 17th, 57th, 61st Aviation Companies (12th Combat Aviation Group) and the 92nd, 134th, and 135th Aviation Companies of the U.S. Army were inactivated and their aircraft transferred respectively to the newly activated 537th, 535th, 536th, 459th, 457th, and 458th Troop Carrier Squadrons of the USAF (This was Operation "Red Leaf"). On 1 August 1967 the "troop carrier" designations were changed to "tactical airlift".
SomeRepublic of Vietnam Air Force Caribou were captured by North Vietnamese forces in 1975 and remained in service with that country through to the late 1970s. Following the war in Vietnam, all USAF Caribou were transferred toAir Force Reserve andAir National Guard airlift units pending their replacement by the C-130 Hercules in the 1980s.
Ex U.S. Army CV-2A, operated by Chieftain Aviation, atOpa-locka Airport near Miami in 1989
All C-7s have now been phased out of U.S. military service, with the last example serving again under U.S. Army control through 1985 in support of the U.S. Army'sGolden Knights parachute demonstration team. Other notable military operators included Australia, Canada, India, Malaysia and Spain.
In September 1975, a group of 44 civilians, including armed supporters of theTimorese Democratic Union (UDT), commandeered aRoyal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Caribou,A4-140, on the ground atBaucau Airport in the thenPortuguese Timor, which was in the middle of a civil war. The Caribou had landed at Baucau on a humanitarian mission for theInternational Committee of the Red Cross. The civilians demanded that the RAAF crew members fly them toDarwin Airport (alsoRAAF Base Darwin) in Australia, which they did. After the Caribou arrived there, the Australian government detained the civilians for a short period, and then granted refugee visas to all of them.The Guardian later describedA4-140 as "the only RAAF plane ever hijacked", and the incident as "one of the more remarkable stories in Australia’s military and immigration history".[3]
The RAAF retiredA4-140, by then its last Caribou, on 27 November 2009.[4] The aircraft, which was manufactured in 1964, was donated to theAustralian War Memorial,Canberra.[5]
After retirement from military use, several examples of the Caribou have been purchased by civilian operators for deployment in areas with small airfields located in rugged country with few or poor surface transport links.
This designation was given to a second production run of 103 DHC-4 Caribou, which were sold to the U.S. Army, with reinforced internal ribbing.
C-7A/B
These designations were applied to all 144 Caribou transferred to theU.S. Air Force by the U.S. Army.
DHC-4A Caribou
Similar to the DHC-4, but this version had an increased takeoff weight.
DHC-4T Turbo Caribou
A conversion of the baseline DHC-4 Caribou powered by the PWC PT6A-67T turboprop engines designed, test flown and certified by thePen Turbo Aviation company.
Royal Australian Air Force – 18 ordered in 1963, with further orders for seven in 1964 and four more aircraft ordered individually between 1968 and 1971.[7] Retired 2009.
acquired C-GVGX in 1977 (delivered 1961) and unknown status after 1981 whenPropair formed from merger of La Sarre Air Services (used in El Salvador to Nicaragua 1986)[22]
A4-234 – DHC-4 airworthy with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, Shellharbour Airport, Albion Park, New South Wales. Now carries civil registration.[27][29]
A4-173 – DHC-4 on static display at theQueensland Air Museum in Caloundra, Queensland (fitted with the wings and tail off A4-164).[33]
A4-179 – DHC-4 fuselage on static display as part of a jungle-themed thrill-ride precinct at theDreamworld theme park on theGold Coast, Queensland.[34]
A4-195 – DHC-4 with the Australian Army Flying Museum inOakey,Queensland.[30]
CV-2B 62-4149C-7 on display at the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum, once used by theGolden Knights parachute teamdetail of C-7A Caribou atMuseum of Aviation,Robins AFB
57-3082 – YC-7A (4th of original 5 on order) on static display at Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, TX Linear Air Park. The U.S.Army accepted delivery at the DeHavilland plant in Toronto, Ontario during late November, early December 1959. On 31 December 1966 this aircraft and equipment was transferred from U.S. Army ownership to U.S. Air Force ownership. The aircraft served the U.S. Air Force at headquarters, U.S.Air Force Logistics Command at Wright Petterson AFB, Dayton, Ohio. until 1975. It was then transferred to Pope AF at Fayetteville, NC to serve the "Golden Knights" parachute team as a jump aircraft. Later, when Dyess was seeking a C-7 for display, they sent a team down to Pope AFB and secured this particular machine in 1992. The 463rd Maintenance Squadron deployed to Pope AFB to break this aircraft down so it could be brought to Dyess by a C5B Galaxy. It was officially dedicated here 2 May 1992.[52]
^"FAA REGISTRY [N149HF]".Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation. Archived fromthe original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved9 December 2016.
Harding, Stephen (November–December 1999). "Canadian Connection: US Army Aviation's Penchant for Canadian Types".Air Enthusiast (84):72–74.ISSN0143-5450.
Henley, Don and Ken Ellis. "Globetrotting Reindeers: De Havilland Canada's Caribou – an Airlift Legend".Air Enthusiast, No. 74, March/April 1998, pp. 20–33.ISSN0143-5450.
Hotson, Fred W.The de Havilland Canada Story. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983.ISBN0-07-549483-3.
