Post by davebasing on Jan 18, 2022 11:52:49 GMT
3 days ago on 15 January, and after some 55 years of service, the Canadian Air Force flew their final DHC CC115 Buffalo flight. Over those years a few have visited the UK, including 115463 at the IAT at Greenham Common in 1981 and 459 which I graphed at Gatwick back in June 1968. 463 was one of 6 sold to Zimbabwe in 1995 which included 455 which became Z-SRE and which I took at Lockichoggio on the Kenya/Sudan border in 2000 while I was working with the EU’s aircraft aid programme in Somalia.
461 was lost with all 9 Canadians on board when it was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles on 9 August 1974 while on UN peace keeping duties (in full UN scheme and on a UN flight plan), despite being on its regular weekly route and in contact with Syrian ATC. That date later became National Peacekeeping Day in Canada. To honour those lost, a former Sudanese Buffalo was selected to be preserved at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton, Ontario. That aircraft was Sudanese Air Force serial 811 which I first saw in Khartoum in 1979, having been delivered via Shoreham in June 1978. While bringing supplies in support of a beleaguered Sudanese Army unit during the civil war in November 1984 it suffered a nose gear collapse when attempting a rough ground landing at Waat. After welding the nose gear and temporarily repairing the other damage the aircraft was ferried to Khartoum where it sat until November 1987 when it was flown to Greenville, S Carolina (via Prestwick) for permanent repairs. The US impounded it after a change of Government in Sudan and by the time it was released the Sudanese did not want it back. It sat derelict at Greenville until 2003 when it was saved by the Museum. I photographed her at Hamilton in 2007 as they were in the final stages of restoration with the fin already marked as 115461 the serial of the lost Buffalo. A fitting memorial.
bwb 006 by dave tompkins, on Flickr
00-ts by dave tompkins, on Flickr
can 021 by dave tompkins, on Flickr
can 021a by dave tompkins, on Flickr
461 was lost with all 9 Canadians on board when it was shot down by Syrian anti-aircraft missiles on 9 August 1974 while on UN peace keeping duties (in full UN scheme and on a UN flight plan), despite being on its regular weekly route and in contact with Syrian ATC. That date later became National Peacekeeping Day in Canada. To honour those lost, a former Sudanese Buffalo was selected to be preserved at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum at Hamilton, Ontario. That aircraft was Sudanese Air Force serial 811 which I first saw in Khartoum in 1979, having been delivered via Shoreham in June 1978. While bringing supplies in support of a beleaguered Sudanese Army unit during the civil war in November 1984 it suffered a nose gear collapse when attempting a rough ground landing at Waat. After welding the nose gear and temporarily repairing the other damage the aircraft was ferried to Khartoum where it sat until November 1987 when it was flown to Greenville, S Carolina (via Prestwick) for permanent repairs. The US impounded it after a change of Government in Sudan and by the time it was released the Sudanese did not want it back. It sat derelict at Greenville until 2003 when it was saved by the Museum. I photographed her at Hamilton in 2007 as they were in the final stages of restoration with the fin already marked as 115461 the serial of the lost Buffalo. A fitting memorial.
bwb 006 by dave tompkins, on Flickr00-ts by dave tompkins, on Flickrcan 021 by dave tompkins, on Flickrcan 021a by dave tompkins, on Flickr