Although its origins are in the United States,
it was an icon of Canada’s search and rescue fleet from the early 60s through to the early 2000s.
From their coastal bases they were poised and ready to fly out in all kinds of weather to
rescue those who needed help. They were the Boeing Vertol CH-113 Labrador and Voyageur helicopters.
The story of the Labrador starts with the previous generation of Canadian rotary aviation.
In 1954 the Canadian Army acquired the Piasecki H-21 Workhorse and renamed it the CH-125 Vertols.
Thanks to their specialised cold weather adaptations,
it was heavily used in the upkeep of northern early warning radar bases.
By 1961 a replacement for the aging type was being looked at by procurement officials.
The Army wanted a new troop and cargo transport to form a new helicopter platoon.
At the same time the RCAF was looking to replace their old Grumman HU-16 Albatross
in the search and rescue role. They had been operating 10 Albatrosses since 1960
but it was clear from the beginning that they wouldn’t be up for the task for long.
A fit for both requirements was found in the new Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight.
It took its first flight in August 1962 and had been ordered by the American Navy and Marines.
The CH-46 used two General Electric T58-8B turbo-shaft engines spinning two 15.24 m tandem
rotors. It was 13.7 m long, 4.4 m wide, and 5.1 m tall. It could fly at 241 km/h
or remain in a hover for extended periods of time. The Sea knight was fully amphibious and could land
and taxi on water. The fuselage was watertight and relatively stable thanks to its two stub wings.
It could remain on rough water for up to 2 hours. A split side door allowed the
crew to conduct activities without fear of taking on too much water.
A Canadian variant was ordered based on the American Marine’s CH-46A.
6 were ordered for the RCAF and 12 were ordered for the Army.
Although they were both based on the same variant they were slightly different.
The RCAF wanted to use their new helicopter, which they called the Labrador,
for the search and rescue role. This role involves flying over the ocean a lot of the time
so being amphibious and having a long range was important. The Labrador was equipped with two
larger 1,706 L fuel sponsons, a weather radar, and an auto-hovering capability.
With these modifications the Labrador had a range of over 1000 kms and could fly in all-weather.
The Canadian Army wanted their new, called the Voyageur, in the troop and cargo transport role.
It had to be more rugged than the average model so it was equipped with reinforced hydraulics
and an auxiliary power system. In the troop transport role it could carry
18 fully equipped soldiers, or 3200 kgs of cargo including vehicles like Jeeps.
The Canadian Armed Forces was formed through the unification of the 3 service branches in 1968.
1975 saw the creation of Air Command which oversaw all airborne roles. Also in 1975,
international negotiations extended Canadian territorial waters to 375kms from
shore. This drastically increased the area that Search and Rescue would be responsible for.
These factors led to the need to replace the Army’s Voyageurs
with a more capable medium-lift helicopter.
The replacement came in the form of the Boeing CH-47C Chinook. This acquisition freed up their
12 airframes which could now be redirected towards the overstretched SAR squadrons.
The Voyageur and Labrador helicopters would be upgraded to fit their new extended role.
The best features of both models would be combined to form the definitive CH-113A Labrador standard.
The conversions were done by Boeing Canada Ltd. of Arnprior, Ontario.
In the first phase the Voyageurs were equipped with the Labrador’s larger fuel tanks,
auto-hover and weather radar. While Labradors were equipped with the hydraulics and APU found
in the Voyageurs. Both then had their cockpits and electronics rebuilt with improved VHF/FM marine
band radios, weather mapping radar and improved instrument flying capability. 12 airframes were
upgraded over 5 years to this standard and are known as CH-113A, regardless of origin.
The second phase of upgrades were undertaken to better meet its search and rescue role.
The upgrades consisted of a new front door hoist, a Bendix weather radar, UHF radios,
a Global Positioning Satellite Navigation System, Tactical Air Navigation System,
Automatic Direction Finder, and a new high visibility yellow paint scheme.
The new CH-113A Labradors went on to serve with 442 Transport and Rescue Squadron at CFB
Comox, British Columbia, 424 Transport and Rescue Squadron,
at CFB Trenton, Ontario, 413 Transport and Rescue Squadron,
at CFB Greenwood, Nova Scotia, and 103 Search and Rescue Squadron, at CFB Gander, Newfoundland.
The Labradors were starting to show their age by the end of the 1980s
due to heavy use and corrosion due to salt water. In 1992 a replacement was announced.
The CAF were to acquire 15 Agusta-Westland EH101s and called them the CH-149 Chimo. However
a subsequent government cancelled the order in 1993, incurring a steep financial penalty.
On 2 October 1998, a CH-113 Labrador crashed killing all 6 crewmembers on board.
With the aging Labradors back in the public eye, the replacement program was restarted
and the Agusta-Westland EH101 was again selected.
The first of the new helicopters was delivered in 2003 and were now called the CH-149 Cormorant.
In 2004 the last Labrador was finally retired after 40 years of service.
During its lifetime it conducted countless life saving rescues and
gave peace of mind to anyone living and working in Canada’s vast wild spaces.