De Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DHC-5 Buffalo
A DHC-5 "Buffalo" taxiing.
Type	utility aircraft
Manufacturer	de Havilland Canada
Maiden flight	22 September 1961
Introduced	1965
Produced	1965-1972, 1974 (second production run)
Number built	122
Developed from	De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou

The de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo is a short takeoff and landing (STOL) utility transport, a turboprop version developed from the earlier piston-powered DHC-4 Caribou. The aircraft has extraordinary STOL performance, able to take off in distances much shorter than even light aircraft can manage. de Havilland Canada was formerly a subsidiary of de Havilland of the UK and is now a subsidiary of Bombardier of Canada.

Contents 1 Design and development 2 Operational Use 2.1 RCAF/CF Use 3 Operators 4 Specifications (DHC-5) 5 Safety Record 6 Successors 7 References 8 External links 9 Related content

[edit] Design and development

The Buffalo arose from a United States Army requirement. Its first flight was on 22 September 1961 but due to a protracted test and development phase, only a pre-production run of four DHC-5As was delivered in 1965 and designated YAC-2 (later CV-7A and subsequently C-8A). Difficulties arose with the Buffalo program in the US, as despite having won the US Army competition, the contract was not awarded. Complications had arisen when US Army fixed wing operations were transferred to the United States Air Force who considered themselves adequately equipped with the American made Fairchild C-123 Provider.

In the early 1980s, de Havilland Canada attempted to modify the Buffalo for civilian use. The aircraft was to be branded as the "Transporter." After loss of the demonstration aircraft (SN 103 C-GCTC) at the 1984 Farnborough Airshow, the project was abandoned.

A production Buffalo was used for breaking time-to-height records in 1976 while another Buffalo was employed to test aerodynamic prototypes for NASA as an XC-8A.

[edit] Operational Use

Production of the DHC-5A ended in 1972 after sales to Brazil and Peru but restarted with the DHC-5D model in 1974. This variant sold to several overseas air forces beginning with Egypt.

[edit] RCAF/CF Use

The Royal Canadian Air Force (now the Canadian Forces) first acquired 15 DHC-5A designated as CC-115 for tactical transports. These were initially operated at CFB St Hubert, QC by No. 429 Squadron in a tactical aviation role as part of Mobile Command. In 1970 the Buffalo aircraft were tranferred to a transport and rescue role with No. 442, No. 440 and No. 424 Squadrons as part of Transport Command.

The aircraft were also deployed on UN missions to the Middle East with No. 116 Transport Unit. On 9 August 1974 a Buffalo was shot down by a Syrian Surface-to-air missile, killing all nine CF personnel on board. This represents the single biggest loss of Canadian lives on a UN mission as well as the last Canadian military aircraft to be shot down.

In 1975, the Buffalo dropped its tactical transport role and was converted to domestic search and rescue. The previous drab paint was replaced with the distinctive yellow and red scheme commonly seen today. The number of aircraft have been reduced to five, with three on active service and two in storage. The remaining operational Buffalos operate in the Search and Rescue role for No. 442 Squadron at CFB Comox.

[edit] Operators

•  United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi
•  Brazil
•  Cameroon
•  Canada
•  Chile: Chilean Air Force
•  Democratic Republic of the Congo (previously  Zaire)
•  Ecuador
•  Egypt
•  Indonesia
•  Kenya
•  Mauritania
•  Mexico
•  Oman: Oman Police Air Wing
•  Peru
•  Sudan
•  Tanzania
•  Togo
•  United States: United States Army
•  Zambia

[edit] Specifications (DHC-5)

General characteristics

• Crew: Three
• Length: 79 ft (24.08 m)
• Wingspan: 96 ft (29.26 m)
• Height: 28 ft 9 in (8.73 m)
• Wing area: 945 sq ft (87.8 m²)
• Empty weight: 25,159 lb (11,412 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 49,200 lb (22,317 kg)
• Powerplant: 2× General Electric CT64-820-4 turbine engines (upgraded from CT64-820-3 current standard in the Canadian Armed Forces) , 3,133 hp (2,336 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 290 mph (467 km/h)
• Range: 690 miles (1,110 km)
• Service ceiling: 31,000 ft (9,450 m)

[edit] Safety Record

In total, 26 hull losses have been recorded.

[edit] Successors

The EADS-CASA C-295 or Lockheed/Alenia C-27J Spartan are likely to replace the Buffalo in Canadian Forces service.

[edit] References

• Hotson, Fred W. The de Havilland Canada Story. Toronto: CANAV Books, 1983. ISBN 0-07-549483-3.
• Milberry, Larry. Aviation In Canada. Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd., 1979. ISBN 0-07-082778-8.
• Molson, Ken M. and Taylor, Harold A. Canadian Aircraft Since 1909. Stittsville, Ontario: Canada's Wings, Inc., 1982. ISBN 0-920002-11-0.

[edit] External links

• Diagrams of the DHC-5D
• Canadian Forces CC-115 Buffalo webaite

[edit] Related content

Related development

• DHC-4 Caribou
• Dash 7
• Dash 8

Comparable aircraft

• Transall C-160
• Alenia G.222

Designation sequence

• de Havilland: DHC-2 - DHC-3 - DHC-4 - DHC-5 - DHC-6 - DHC-7 - DHC-8
• U.S. Military: C-5 - C-6 - C-7 - C-8 - C-9 - KC-10

Related lists

• List of active Canadian military aircraft

See also