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De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou

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The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the United States military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian specialized cargo aircraft with short 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 rugged bush airplane.

The design was further developed as the de Havilland Canada DHC-5 Buffalo, adding turboprop engines and other changes that further improved its short-field performance to the point where it competes with light aircraft even with a full load.

Design and developmentEdit

File:DHC.4 C-7B 0-39765 CA NG Fresno CA 30.09.90R edited-3.jpg
C-7B Caribou aircraft of the U.S. Army/California Army National Guard
File:Royal Australian Air Force DHC-4 Caribou - A4-299.jpg
RAAF DHC-4 Caribou (A4-299) from No. 38 Squadron.

The De Havilland Canada (DHC) company's third short takeoff and landing (STOL) design was a big increase in size compared to its earlier DHC Beaver and DHC 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. The United States Army ordered 173 in 1959 and took delivery in 1961 under the designation AC-1, which was changed to CV-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)<ref>"Caribou Sales Brochure – 1962." c-7acaribou.com, 26 May 2011.</ref> also appealed to some commercial users. U.S. certification was awarded on 23 December 1960. Ansett-MAL, which operated a single example in the New Guinea highlands, and Amoco Ecuador were early customers, as was Air America (a CIA front in South East Asia during the Vietnam War era for covert operations). Other civil Caribou aircraft entered commercial service after being retired from their military users.

Today only a handful are in civilian use.

The Turbo Caribou ProgramEdit

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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 uses PT6A-67T engines and Hartzell 5 bladed HC-B5MA-3M Constant Speed/Reversing propellers. Overall performance has improved and "new" basic weight is reduced while maximum normal take-off weight remained at Template:Convert Maximum payload is Template:Convert. Both Transport Canada and the US Federal Aviation Administration have issued supplemental type certificates for the Turbo Caribou. As of September 17, 2014, only 3 air frames had been converted.<ref name="Boring"/> 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 an earlier turboprop Caribou converted by a different firm, NewCal Aviation.<ref name="Boring">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Operational historyEdit

File:DHC-4 Caribou Vietnam.jpg
A Royal Australian Air Force Caribou transport aircraft on landing approach, Vietnam War

In response to a United 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 the Fairchild C-123 Provider and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules could not land on the shorter landing strips. The aircraft could carry 32 troops or two Jeeps or similar light vehicles. The rear loading ramp could also be used for parachute dropping (also, see Air America).

Under the Johnson-McConnell agreement of 1966, the Army relinquished the fixed wing Caribou to the United States Air Force in exchange for an end to restrictions on Army rotary 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".

Some Republic 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 to Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard airlift units pending their replacement by the C-130 Hercules in the 1980s.

File:DHC-4 Caribou N1017H OPA 11.11.89 edited-2.jpg
Ex U.S. Army CV-2A, operated by Chieftain Aviation, at Opa-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's Golden 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 the Timorese Democratic Union (UDT), commandeered a Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Caribou, A4-140, on the ground at Baucau Airport in the then Portuguese Timor, which was in the middle of a civil war. The Caribou had landed at Baucau on a humanitarian mission for the International Committee of the Red Cross. The civilians demanded that the RAAF crew members fly them to Darwin Airport (also RAAF 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 described A4-140 as "the only RAAF plane ever hijacked", and the incident as "one of the more remarkable stories in Australia’s military and immigration history".<ref name="tg 2021-01-16">Template:Cite news</ref>

The RAAF retired A4-140, by then its last Caribou, on 27 November 2009.<ref name=ABC>"Defence 'workhorse' makes final flight." ABC News, 27 November 2009. Retrieved: 27 November 2009.</ref> The aircraft, which was manufactured in 1964, was donated to the Australian War Memorial, Canberra.<ref name="Fitzgibbon">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Civilian operationsEdit

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.

VariantsEdit

File:Royal Australian Air Force DHC-4 Caribou - A4-299 - 01.jpg
Royal Australian Air Force DHC-4
DHC-4 Caribou
STOL tactical transport, utility transport aircraft.
CC-108
Royal Canadian Air Force designation for the DHC-4 Caribou.
YAC-1
This designation was given to five DHC-4 Caribou, sold to the United States Army for evaluation.
AC-1
United States Army designation for the first production run of 56 DHC-4 Caribou. Later redesignated CV-2A in 1962.
CV-2A
United States Army AC-1 redesignated in 1962.
CV-2B
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 the U.S. Air Force by the U.S. Army.
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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 the Pen Turbo Aviation company.

OperatorsEdit

Military operatorsEdit

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  • Abu Dhabi Defence Forces Air Wing – Abu Dhabi operated five Caribou.<ref name="ae74 p24">Henley and Ellis Air Enthusiast March/April 1998, p. 24.</ref>
  • United Arab Emirates Air Force
File:De Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou A4-152 on display at the RAAF Museum.jpg
Caribou at the RAAF museum.
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  • Cameroon Air Force – two delivered in 1971. The surviving Caribou was sold in 1987.<ref name="ae74 p26">Henley and Ellis Air Enthusiast March/April 1998, p. 26.</ref>
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  • Indian Air Force – India received 20 new build Caribou, supplementing them with four ex-Ghanaian Caribou in 1975.<ref name="ae74 p26" />
File:An old de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou at THR.jpg
The only Iranian DHC-4 Caribou
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  • Kenya Air Force – received six DHC-4As, operating the type from 1966 to 1987.<ref name="ae74 p26" /><ref>Andrade 1982, p. 141.</ref>
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  • Liberian Army – Two refurbished aircraft were delivered to the Air Reconnaissance Unit in 1989.<ref name="ae74 p26,8">Henley and Ellis Air Enthusiast March/April 1998, pp. 26, 28.</ref> The aircraft were destroyed during the civil war.
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RMAF Caribou on display at the Malaysian Army Museum, Port Dickson.
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  • Spanish Air Force – received 12 new Caribou later supplemented by 24 former United States Air Force C-7As.<ref>Andrade 1982, p. 204.</ref> Final retirement 12 June 1991.<ref>Soupart Air Enthusiast March–May 1992, p. 47.</ref>
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  • Swedish Air Force – operated one DHC-4 Caribou designated Tp 55 between 1962 and 1965 for evaluation purposes at Skaraborg Wing (F 7).<ref name="Caribou Roster">Buser, Wayne. "Caribou Roster." Dhc4and5.org, 4 September 2010. Retrieved: 26 May 2011.</ref>
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  • Zambian Air Force – operated four Caribou.<ref name="Janes 71 p19">Taylor 1971, p. 19.</ref>

Civil operatorsEdit

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Aircraft on displayEdit

AustraliaEdit

Airworthy

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  • A4-234 – DHC-4 airworthy with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, Shellharbour Airport, Albion Park, New South Wales. Now carries civil registration.<ref name="HARS" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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On display
File:C-7A Caribou.jpg
C-7A 60-3767 at Travis Air Force Base Heritage Center
File:AU-Qld-Caboolture-Airport with Caribou-2021.jpg
A4-228 at Caboolture (2021).

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> This airframe was gifted to the museum in November 2009.<ref name="Fitzgibbon" />

  • A4-152 – DHC-4 on static display at the RAAF Museum in Point Cook, Victoria.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> This airframe was gifted to the museum in November 2009.<ref name="Fitzgibbon" />

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  • A4-275 – DHC-4 stored at Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, Albion Park, New South Wales.
  • A4-299 – DHC-4 on static display at Evans Head Memorial Aerodrome Heritage Aviation Association Museum at Evans Head, New South Wales.

Costa RicaEdit

On display
  • MSP002 - DHC-4 on static display at Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport, Liberia, Costa Rica

IndiaEdit

On display
  • BM769 – DHC-4 on static display at the Eastern Air Command Headquarters in Shillong, Meghalaya<ref name="BR" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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MalaysiaEdit

On display
  • M21-04 – DHC-4A on static display at the Royal Malaysian Air Force Museum in Sungai Besi, Kuala Lumpur.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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SpainEdit

On display

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|CitationClass=web }}</ref> This airframe was previously operated by the 37th Transport Wing.Template:Citation needed

  • T.9-25 – C-7A on static display at the Museo del Aire in Madrid.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> This airframe was previously operated by the former 37th Transport Wing.Template:Citation needed

ThailandEdit

On display

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United StatesEdit

File:Caribou CV-2B 62-4149.jpg
CV-2B 62-4149
File:C-7 Caribou at Fort Bragg.jpg
C-7 on display at the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum, once used by the Golden Knights parachute team
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detail of C-7A Caribou at Museum of Aviation, Robins AFB
Airworthy
  • 2 – DHC-2 airworthy with John K. Bagley of Rexburg, Idaho.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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|CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Removed from public display when the museum indefinitely closed on 1 January 2024. To be moved to North Texas Regional Airport in Denison, Texas.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On display

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  • 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.<ref>" The History of Dyess Air Force Base, 1941 to the present"; by Lt. Col. George A. Larson (Ret), Shiffer Publishing, Atglen, Pa., 2016. Pg. 208</ref>
  • 57-3083 – YC-7A on static display at the 82nd Airborne Division War Memorial Museum at Fort Bragg near Fayetteville, North Carolina.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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|CitationClass=web }}</ref> Last known Caribou delivered to U.S. Army, in U.S. Army Golden Knights markings.Template:Citation needed

Specifications (DHC-4A)Edit

3-view line drawing of the de Havilland Canada C-7A Caribou

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See alsoEdit

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ReferencesEdit

NotesEdit

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BibliographyEdit

External linksEdit

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