Canadian and Australian J-model Hercules crews train together at Bondi Beach

By Eamon Hamilton

Canadian Hercules crews recently visited their Australian counterparts to share knowledge and fly a combined airlift training mission.

On September 9, 2016, a Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) CC-130J Hercules flew a tactical formation mission with a No. 37 Squadron C-130J from Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Richmond in New South Wales, Australia.

A Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130J Hercules flies over the coast of Sydney, Australia, on September 9, 2016. PHOTO: Corporal Oliver Carter © Commonwealth of Australia, Department of Defence

The flight included simulated airdrop and low-level flying around Sydney’s coast, making it a highlight during the week-long visit by the Canadians.

The RCAF Hercules, from 8 Wing Trenton, Ontario, was originally in Australia on a separate airlift support task.

On the ground, both countries received considerable value from the visit, according to 37 Squadron pilot, Flight Lieutenant Shaun Wilkinson.

“We’re in the initial stages of having a tactical formation procedure that we can conduct with a coalition C-130J crew,” Flight Lieutenant Wilkinson said.

“There are some common procedures that we can use already, but this week allowed us to practice it in a real aircraft.”

The flight from Richmond wasn’t the first time this year that Canadian and Hercules crews have flown together.

During Exercise Coalition Virtual Flag in August, both countries used their Hercules Full-Flight Mission Simulators to fly together in a series of online missions.

The timing of the Canadian visit also allowed Flight Lieutenant Wilkinson to share recent experiences by RAAF Hercules crews in using the Link-16 networking system at Exercise Pitch Black 16.

“Canada is about to introduce Link-16 networking to their aircraft, so this has been a useful chance to share information,” Flight Lieutenant Wilkinson said.

The Link-16 network system provides a battlespace picture to an aircraft crew, allowing them to receive information or share it with others connected to the network.

Exercise Pitch Black 16 in August marked the debut of an RAAF Hercules installed with Link-16 connectivity.

Captain Corey Gallagher from the RCAF’s 426 Transport Training Squadron, located at 8 Wing, said the Australian experience would prove valuable for his Air Force.

“The opportunity to share information about Link-16 is huge for us,” said he said.

“We've just got the Link-16 kit installed, but have not had the chance to test, evaluate, and run the training for it.

“The interoperability that we’ve been ale to accomplish with 37 Squadron this week has been valuable, especially as we head in to Exercise Bullseye,” he continued

Taking place in late September, Exercise Bullseye will be conducted by the RCAF, and involve participants from the RAAF and the Royal Air Force.

From 8 Wing Trenton, Hercules from all three countries will conduct a series of tactical airlift missions, including airdrop and tactical formation flying.
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Eamon Hamilton is a communications adviser with the RAAF’s Air Mobility Group.

Exercise Pitch Black provides ‘unique’ experience for RCAF

By Flight Lieutenant Nick O’Connor

Befriending Australian wildlife was just one challenge thrown at the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) during their debut at Exercise Pitch Black.

The RCAF’s 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron deployed a CC-130H Hercules aircraft to the exercise, providing air-to-air refuelling and transport capabilities to international partners. Based at Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Base Tindal for the exercise, RCAF detachment commander Major Josh Leveque outlined his detachment’s mission.

“Our main goal was to integrate with international partners and conduct air-to-air refuelling for the F/A-18 Hornets and the Super Hornets,” he said, adding that operating in the Northern Territory air spaced provided unique training experiences for his team. “We get a lot of force generation, a lot of training, by getting them outside their normal air space. My team will return to Canadian Forces Base Winnipeg in Canada with a whole new perspective.”

Before conducting any mission at the exercise, Major Leveque said, he was forced to “negotiate” with some of the Northern Territory wildlife. “When we first got here, I was a little bit surprised when I went to the bathroom and there was a frog in my toilet,” he said. “I guess that’s just something you’ve got to get used to, and we’ve made friends with them.”

Swapping the Great White North for the Land Down Under offered a unique operating environment in the Northern Territory, one that the Canadian Hercules crew rarely operate in. “We have enjoyed winter time here as opposed to winter in Canada,” Major Leveque said. “It’s a good experience and good training, and I’d definitely like to come back in two years.”

Flight Lieutenant O’Connor is a member of the Royal Australian Air Force.

RCAF Announces CF-18 Demo Team Pilot and Theme

Canadian Armed Forces Press Release:

WINNIPEG — The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Captain Ryan Kean as the pilot for the 2016 CF-18 Demonstration Team.

Captain Kean will wow audiences around North America during the 2016 air show season, flying his specially painted CF-18 Hornet commemorating the 75th anniversary of the start of the pan-Canadian effort to train aircrew for the Second World , including pilots, wireless operators, air gunners, and navigators through the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan.

2016 Season Theme - Training for Victory

The British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) and its contribution to the Second World War air effort and the Allied victory was an important chapter in Canada's history, leaving a legacy in our communities for generations to come.

Training for victory

The agreement for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan (BCATP) was signed in late 1939 and the program ran from 1940-45. Prime Minister Mackenzie King thought it would be one of Canada’s most significant contributions to the Allied effort during the Second World War, a contribution that would leverage "the power of the airplane in determining ultimate victory".
The exhaustive curriculum and intensive schedule of classroom and flight training in Canada turned out air crew members at a dizzying pace, ready to serve overseas. 

 
By the end of the Second World War, the training plan had produced 131,553 aircrew, including pilots, wireless operators, air gunners, and navigators for the Air Forces of Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The plan also trained citizens of other nations – including Poland, the United States, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands, Czechoslovakia and France – who joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

Tens of thousands more maintainers and support staff were recruited and trained by the RCAF to support the effort; without the contribution of these men and women, the plan would have failed.
Communities giving us wings

Approximately 150 Canadian communities can trace connections to the BCATP.
Besides finding employment at training aerodromes, citizens of host communities also contributed to the training plan by instructing at and operating schools. Twenty-eight of the 30 Elementary Flying Training Schools and all 10 Air Observer Schools were run by community flying clubs, local companies or airlines.

The tremendous support of local agencies allowed the training plan to get off the ground quickly. Incorporating civilians into the basic stages of aircrew training allowed the RCAF to take advantage of already-qualified civilian instructors and existing aerodromes as early as the spring of 1940.
Canadians took great pride in making the trainees feel a part of their communities, and community events did wonders to lift the spirits of Commonwealth air force personnel.
The lasting legacy

Article XV of the BCATP agreement indicated that Australian, Canadian and New Zealand air force personnel would be identified with their respective countries, either by organizing their own national units or formations or by other methods. This eventually led to the creation of specifically Australian, Canadian and New Zealand squadrons, rather than having all air personnel of those nations serve in Royal Air Force units (although many Canadians also served in RAF squadrons). The Canadian squadrons that grew out of this article of the agreement – the so-called 400 series of squadrons – continue to form the fabric of the Royal Canadian Air Force to this day.

The first of these squadrons came into existence in 1941, which is why Canada is celebrating the BCATP’s 75th anniversary in 2016.

Many reminders of this community effort can be seen across Canada today. The airports of many cities and towns were once part of the plan’s aerodrome infrastructure. Many military bases in use today were once flight training schools, and even Canada's participation in NATO air training stems from this legacy.

Many Canadian communities were also left with other somber reminders of the training plan’s history. Commonwealth recruits who died during training were buried in cemeteries of nearby communities, along with airmen from other nations undergoing training, most of them under the auspices of the Royal Air Force. . Of the 856 participants who died during training in Canada were:
469 members of the Royal Canadian Air Force
291 members of the Royal Air Force
65 members of the Royal Australian Air Force
31 members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force