Air force pays tribute to retiring CC-130H Hercules planes
The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) held a farewell ceremony for its last remaining CC-130H Hercules planes on Saturday in Winnipeg. These planes, dubbed "workhorses," had a long and varied history of service in combat, rescue, and transport operations. The federal government is phasing out the CC-130H Hercules fleet, which first entered service in 1974, in favor of newer aircraft, such as the CC-295 Kingfisher.
The RCAF's 435 Transport Search and Rescue Squadron, based at 17 Wing Winnipeg, is the final unit to fly the CC-130H Hercules. Two planes still in service at the Winnipeg base will be taken out of operation on November 1 and 18, respectively. The remaining aircraft will be either sold to a B.C.-based company for wildfire-fighting use or displayed publicly at museums or bases, potentially including a plane in Winnipeg.
The ceremony honored the plane's crews, past and present, including those who lost their lives in crashes or were repatriated after dying in combat. A CC-130H Hercules crew faced extreme turbulence during a mission in Norway House, Alta., in 2025, when a fire-threatened airport runway temporarily forced the crew to navigate through a pyrocumulus cloud.
The aircraft sustained significant damage but successfully returned to service. The CC-130H Hercules played a crucial role in NATO-led coalition operations in Afghanistan, air-to-air refuelling missions in Libya, and search-and-rescue missions across Canada, including multiple evacuations during the 2022 wildfires.
Written by urgent.news from Winnipeg Free Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
