The de Havilland Canada DHC-4 Caribou (designated by the US military as the CV-2 and later C-7 Caribou) is a Canadian-designed and produced 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" aircraft.
In response to a US 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 US 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 US Army's CV-2s were transferred to the US Air Force in 1967. US and Australian Caribous saw extensive service during the Vietnam War.
The US 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.
Under the Johnson-McConnell agreement of 1966, the Army relinquished the fixed wing Caribou to the US Air Force in exchange for an end to restrictions on Army rotary wing operations. On 1 January 1967, the 17th, 57th, 61st, 92nd, 134th, and 135th Aviation Companies of the US 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. On 1 August 1967 the "troop carrier" designations were changed to "tactical airlift".
Some US Caribou were captured by North Vietnamese forces and remained in service with that country through to the late 1970s. Following the war in Vietnam, all USAF Caribous were transferred to Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard airlift units pending their replacement by the C-130 Hercules in the 1980s.
All C-7s have since been phased out of the US military, with the last example serving again under US Army control through 1985 in support of the US Army's Golden Knights parachute demonstration team.
This aircraft, AC-1-DH s/n 60-3767, was the sixth airframe off the deHavilland Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, production line, was accepted in May 1961 and assigned to USAAVNS (US Army Aviation School) Ft Rucker, AL; in September 1966 it was assigned to the 4449th Combat Crew Training Squadron, Lawson Army Air Field, Ft Benning, GA. The squadron task was to provide training (by Army instructors) for USAF crews who would take control of the Caribous under operation "Red Leaf". On 1 January 1967 it was redesignated C-7A, transferred to the USAF under operation "Red Leaf" and assigned to the 4442th CCTW/4449th CCTS, Sewart AFB, TN. On 28 April 1967 it was flown to DeHavilland, Downsview, Ontario, Canada, for repairs; in 1969 it was assigned to the 18th TATS, Dyess AFB, TX; on 10 March 1972 it was assigned to the 700TAS/918TAG/94TAW (AFRES), Dobbins AFB, GA; in 1973 it was assigned to the 150TAS/170TAG, New Jersey ANG; in 1977 it was assigned to the 135TAS/135TAG, Maryland ANG; in October 1980 it was transferred back to the Army and assigned to California Air National Guard; in April 1981 it was assigned to California Aviation Classification Repair Activity Depot (AVCRAD) named 'Elvira"; in December 1990 it was assigned to the California Air National Guard. It was then transferred
to the Travis Air Museum, Travis AFB, CA, for display.
Specifications:
Crew: 3
Pax: 32 troops/24 paratroops/14 casualty stretchers
Power Plant: 2× 1,450 hp Pratt and Whitney R-2000-7M2 Twin Wasp 14-cylinder radial engines
Dimensions:
- Span: 95' 7"
- Length: 72' 7"
- Height: 31' 8"
Weight:
- Empty: 16,920 lb
- Maximum: 28,500 lb
Performance:
- Speed:
- - Max: 216 mph
- - Cruise: 181 mph
- Range: 1,280 miles
- Ceiling: 24,800 ft
- Climb: 1,355 fpm
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