A WWII RCAF heraldic jacket patch for 435 Squadron. Although there is no back-stamp, the design and quality are indicative as being made by Crest Craft, Saskatoon.
435 Transport and Rescue Squadron (French: 435e Escadron de transport et de sauvetage), nicknamed "Chinthe Squadron", is a Royal Canadian Air Force strategic transport, aerial refuelling and search and rescue unit based at Canadian Forces Base (CFB) Winnipeg in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The squadron flies four Lockheed CC-130H Hercules aircraft. In addition to being the only provider of tactical fighter air-to-air refuelling in Canada, the squadron is a provider of primary search and rescue response for the largest search and rescue region in Canada, controlled from CFB Trenton.[3] The squadron keeps an aircraft on constant readiness to deploy, with airborne search and rescue technicians (SAR techs) standing by to respond within 30 minutes of notification during weekdays and 2 hours at other times.[3] The Trenton Search and Rescue Region, also covered by the 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron, extends from Quebec City to the Rocky Mountains, and from the Canada–United States border to the North Pole, covering most of Central, Western, and Northern Canada.[4]
Lockheed C-130B Hercules of 435 Squadron wearing the markings of the Royal Canadian Air Force Air Transport Command when at London Gatwick in 1966.
The unit was re-equipped with the C-130B Hercules in 1960 and upgraded to the C-130E in 1966. Due to the Chrétien government's budget cuts and the resultant closure of the airfield at CFB Edmonton, the squadron was moved to 17 Wing Winnipeg in 1994, operating from Hangar 16, a Recognized Federal Heritage Building since 2007.[5]
2 Non-standard code as unit using OW added L. Letters normally denoted parent Command, aircraft type (L Liberator transport, D Dakota etc), unit, and individual aircraft.
3 VCXXA where VC was the civil code used by the RCAF replacing CF-, XX was the unit code and A was the aircraft ID letter
4 XXnnn where XX was the unit code and nnn was the last 3 digits of the serial number. Unit code was replaced with "RCAF" in 1958