SQUADRON AIRCRAFT

Hampden


Full Official Name: Handley Page Hampden

Manufacturer: Handley Page

Role: Bomber

Crew: 4 (pilot, observer, gunner/wireless operator and air gunner)

Design: All metal. Its looks belied a strong and reliable type. Withdrawn from RAF service in mid-Sep 1942. Nicknamed the 'flying tadpole' it flew its first combat sorties from RAF Waddington.

Engines: Twin radial engines.

Armaments: 2 x free-standing .303 Vickers MG in a dorsal position a third ventral MG pointing aft and a fourth wing-mounted fixed forward-firing .303.

Performance: Max speed 254 mph.

Combat radius: With a combat load of 4000 lbs it had a combat radius of 1200 miles and max height of 19 000 ft.

Wellington

 

Full Official Name: Vickers Wellington

Manufacturer: Vickers

Role: Medium Bomber

Crew: 5 (pilot, observer (also navigator and bomber), front gunner, wireless operator and rear gunner)

Design: The Wellington was designed by Barnes Wallis. Due to its geodetic "basket-weave" construction, was renowned for the punishment it could take. Its skin was doped fabric. Both popular and reliable, the Wellington was used for advanced training well past 1945.

Engines: It was equipped with two inline or radial engines.

Armaments: 2 x hydraulic power-operated gun turrets, 2 x .303 Browning machine guns in front, 4 x .303 Browning MG in rear.

Performance: Maximum speed 235 mph

Combat radius: With a combat load of 4,500 lbs of bombs it could operate up to 1,200 miles, with a maximum height of 20,000 feet.

Halifax

 

Full Official Name: Page Halifax

Manufacturer: Handley Page

Variants:

MkI :: Merlins engines, 3 turrets.
MkII ::Merlins engines, 2 turrets.
MkIII :: Bristol Pegasus engines, square fins and rudders, glass nose, 2 turrets.

Role: Heavy Bomber

History: An early serious design flaw in the rudders caused many fatalities. The design was transformed through removing the front turret, armour plate, modifying or removing the mid-upper turret, re-engining and and redesigning rudders, it was transformed into a solid, dependable, but unexciting aircraft. The Halifax mainly replaced the Whitley-equipped Sqns in 4 Group.

Design: All metal, heavier and squarer than the Lancaster but very similar in design. Its early design faults and haphazard arrangement of internal controls, dials and switches made it harder work to fly.

Engines: 4 engines. Early models with Merlin engines suffered from being overweight. Later models were fitted with more powerful Bristol Hercules engines

Armaments: Similar to Lancaster.

Performance: 280 mph at 13 500ft. Max height 20 000 ft.

Combat radius: With combat load of 7 000 lbs it had a combat radius of 1985 miles.

Albacore

Manufacturer: Fairey
Engine:    One Bristol Taurus XII two-row radial engine (1,130 HP -843kW) 
Wing Span: 50 ft (15.24m)
Length: 40 ft (12.14m)
Height: 12.5 ft (4.32m)
Wing Area: 607 sq ft (57.88 sq m)
Empty Weight: 7,250 lb (3289kg)
Max.Weight: 12,500 lb (4745kg)
Speed:  159 mph (256km/h) 
Ceiling:  20,700 ft (6310m) 
Range: 932 miles (1500km) 
Armament: One forward firing .303in machine gun in starboard wing with 2 Vickers K in rear cockpit, One 1610lb torpedo, six 250lb or four 500lb bombs.
Crew: Three

Beaufort



 

  • Crew: 4
  • Length: 44 ft 2 in (13.46 m)
  • Wingspan: 57 ft 10 in (17.63 m)
  • Height: 14 ft 3 in (4.34 m)
  • Wing area: 503 ft² (46.73 m²)
  • Empty weight: 13,107 lb (5,945 kg)
  • Loaded weight: 21,230 lb (9,629 kg)
  • Powerplant: 2× Bristol Taurus VI 14-cylinder radial engines, 1,130 hp (843 kW) each

Performance

Armament

Argus

Max T/O weight 148,000 lbs
Armament 2x18ft bomb bays, holding 4000 lbs each including torpedoes, depth charges and mines.
Max Speed: 288 mph at 21,000 feet
Service Ceiling: 24,200
Propulsion 4x 3,700 hp Wright R3350 Turbo compound  18 cylinder engines
Length/Height:  128ft 3in/36ft 8.5in
Wingspan 142ft 3.5in
Role: Anti-submarine
Service dates (RCAF/CAF): 1957 to 1981
 

Aurora

Aircraft Description Originally designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the CP-140 Aurora’s 17-hour endurance and 9266 km range make the aircraft useful for a wide range of operations, including SAR and surveillance missions.

The Canadian version of the U.S. Navy’s turboprop-powered Lockheed P-3 “Orion”—a long-range, land-based maritime patrol aircraft—the Aurora features an enhanced ASW electronics suite.
Length 35.61 m
Wingspan 30.37 m
Height 10.30 m
Empty Weight 27 892 kg
Maximum Gross Weight 64 410 kg
Power 4 Alison T-56-A-14-LFE turboprop engines
Maximum Speed 750 km/h
Cruising Speed 648 km/h
Service Ceiling 10 668 m
Range 9266 km
Surveillance Equipment Radar; sonobuoys; forward-looking infrared (FLIR) camera; magnetic anomaly detector (MAD); electronic support measures (ESM); fixed 70 mm camera; hand-held camera; night vision goggles; gyrostabilized binoculars
Weapons System Mark 46 Mod. V anti-submarine torpedoes; signal chargers; smoke markers; illumination flares
(Note: can also be retrofitted to carry anti-ship air-to-surface missiles)
Other Equipment Two “Sea Survival Kit—Air-Droppable” (SKAD), and Arctic SKAD units
Crew 2 pilots, 1 flight engineer, 4 navigators, 3 airborne electronic sensor operators (AESOPs)
(Note: crew size will vary according to mission)
Year(s) procured 1980
Quantity in CF 18
Location(s)
  • 19 Wing Comox, BC
  • 14 Wing Greenwood, NS