Litvyak's profiles

[Litvyak]

In 1960 the standard 'red lightning' scheme was introduced for transports, bombers and other types; the variant of the scheme used on transports had white over sky blue, separated by the lightning stripe. 426 Sqn was the only Dakota unit in Canada at the time of the change, though after returning to Canada in 1963, 402 Sqn's Dakotas were also repainted into this scheme.


By the time the 1964 introduction of the new designation scheme - under which the Dakota was redesignated CC-129 Dakota - 402 Sqn was the only remaining RCAF squadron still operating the Dakota (aside from the two belonging to CEPE).


In 1965, 402 Sqn's Dakotas received the new roundel, and this scheme lasted all the way until the retirement of the CC-129 from regular operations in 1989. Drawings were made for the CC-129 for the new loviz scheme, but it was never applied.


The Electronic Warfare Unit formed in 1955 with four Dakotas, each with a different internal fit of EW equipment. These lasted until 1956, when the Daks were retired, replaced by the newly-converted "Electric Boxcars".

[Litvyak]

The Central Evaluation and Proving Establishment was formed in 1951, and its flying section, designated 448 Sqn, operated two Dakotas for personnel and equipment transport. CEPE aircraft were distinguished from others by the orange/green striping. From 1951 until the end of the AB+3 era in 1958, CEPE/448 Sqn's unit code was PX.


In 1958 the current 4+RCAF scheme was introduced, and CEPE's two Dakotas were not exempted from the change.


In 1960, in line with other transport Dakotas, CEPE changed from a bare metal base to a white painted base, though this was the only element of the new standard scheme that was incorporated; there were drawings prepared for an overall white aircraft with a green/orange lightning stripe in place of the red/white stripe, but this was not implemented on the unit's Dakotas.


In 1964, the lettering was changed to reflect the new designation system introduced by the RCAF...


...while a year later, the roundels were replaced with the current style of roundel. 448 Sqn operated their two CC-129s in this scheme until they were finally retired in 1988.

[Litvyak]

Of the Dakotas on hand, the RCN continued to operate four past 1946. Carrying serial numbers from 801 through 804, all four were operated by VR 840 squadron in the standard sea camo scheme from 1946 to 1950.


In 1950 the RCNAS introduced several changes, both in painting and in type designation. The Dakota was redesignated CCQ1 Dakota, and they were repainted into the new standard slate over grey scheme. They operated like this until 1967, when the three remaining aircraft (one was lost written off after a landing mishap in 1961) were retired and sold to a commercial operator.

[Litvyak]

Some new stuff...


The Canadair CL-84A Dynavert Mk. II - an assault version of the Dynavert Mk. I - was introduced to Army service in 1967, one year after the Mk. I. From February through April of 1967 three units were equipped with the "T. Rex" - 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards (illustrated), 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars and Le Régiment de la Chaudière. By 1968, all three units had been deployed to Vietnam.


By the time the King's Own Calgary Regiment was equipped with the Mk. II in August 1967, Canada had begun its involvement in Vietnam (as illustrated here). As such, its Dynaverts were delivered from the factory in the Southeast Asia camouflage. The Royal Westminster Regiment followed the same path, after taking delivery of its Dynaverts in October 1967.


The Dynaverts of the 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars were repainted into the SEA camo immediately prior to the unit's deployment to Vietnam. Not illustrated here, but the same happened with the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards and the Chaudière regiment. The lettering was adjusted in 1968 to reflect the type's new AFRP designation: CA-131 Dynavert.

[Litvyak]

After the withdrawal from Vietnam in 1975, all five units returned to Canada. The Chaudière Regiment (seen here), along with the King's Own Calgary Regiment and the Royal Westminster Regiment all received permanent assignments in Canada. As such, their aircraft were repainted into the standard overall green used on Army aircraft stationed in Canada.


After a very brief stay in Canada, the 17th Duke of York's Royal Canadian Hussars (illustrated) and the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards deployed to Fort Lahr, West Germany and Fort Wonju, South Korea, respectively. As such, they received the standard Army Aviation overseas camouflage.


In 1984 the specification for lettering was changed, replacing the yellow lettering with black. Illustrated here is a Dynavert of the Royal Westminster Regiment (home base Fort Abbotsford (BC)).


The change from yellow to black lettering in 1984 also applied to aircraft stationed overseas, as shown here by a T. Rex of the 4th Princess Louise Dragoon Guards, who were stationed at Fort Wonju, South Korea until 1992.

[Litvyak]

In 1988, the green low visibility schemes replaced both the overall green used on aircraft stationed in Canada, as well as on aircraft stationed overseas. After the Dragoon Guards returned to Canada from Korea and retired their Dynaverts in 1992, the King's Own Calgary Regiment transferred to Korea in their place. This Dynavert of the Calgarians shows off the loviz green scheme well. The Calgarians returned to Canada in 1994, retiring their Dynaverts at that time.


In late 1990, the Royal Westminster Regiment deployed to Saudi Arabia after Iraq invaded Kuwait, and the unit's aircraft were repainted into this improvised desert scheme. After the campaign was launched to liberate Kuwait, the Westies took part as well with great effect against Iraqi armour and positions - over twenty years after the Dynavert made its combat debut in Vietnam.


After seeing the successes the Canadians were having with the Dynavert in Vietnam, in 1969 the United States Marine Corps requested the type for their own use in the war. While a small number of the USMC's Dynaverts were built by Canadair, the majority were built under licence by Kaman; they were designated AV-3 Dynavert in American service.


In 1970, the Australian Army ordered 50 Dynaverts from Canadair for their own use in Vietnam. The Australians modified the Canadian AFRP-era designation for their own use, calling them A-131 Dynavert.

[AGRA]

Wow! Dyna-mite!

[ChernayaAkula]

Oooh, those Dynaverts look evil! 

[GTX_Admin]

Oh if only there were a Dynavert kit...in 1/48

[Litvyak]

Oooh, those Dynaverts look evil! 

Don't they, though? As I was finishing up the outline, I stopped to give my work an ogle, and my first thought was, damn, in the AltCan reality, seeing those pop up from behind the trees or a hill must not have been a high point of a Viet Cong's day! And a subsequent thought was this: you know that quote attributed to a Mujaheddin, about being afraid only of the Russians' helicopters? Well, I thought, perhaps in *that* world, it's attributed to a Vietnamese: "We're not afraid of the Canadians, but we are afraid of the Dynavert!"

Personally, I think the two Canadian loviz schemes and the USMC scheme suit it best...

Oh if only there were a Dynavert kit...in 1/48

Well, I'm sure you know Sharkit does one in 1/72. I'm planning to get one for my series of RealCan builds. One could probably hack up a Mk. II Dynavert using that, the upper cabin of a Mi-28 and the lower nose/turret bit of a Mi-24, but that'd be a pretty expensive kitbash there...

[Sentinel Chicken]

Okay dammit. Please tell me I can score a Dynavert kit in 1/144 scale. I'll sacrifice puppies and kittens to get it.

[Litvyak]

As far as I know, the only Dynavert kit is the one in 1/72 from Sharkit...

[Litvyak]

Also... damn. That's the first time TWO people have mentioned wanting to build what I've drawn (or something inspired by it), on the same subject!! Thanks guys!

[GTX_Admin]

I'll sacrifice SC for one in 1/48.

[Litvyak]

And here's some common or garden variety CL-84 Dynaverts:


The Canadian Army took delivery of sixteen CL-84s in 1966, designating them Dynavert AHA.2, carrying serials in the 3104 to 3119 range.


In 1967, the Dynaverts were deployed to Vietnam and were painted in the Southeast Asia camouflage scheme as used on helicopters: on helicopters, the camo wrapped around, whereas on fixed wing aircraft the underside was painted light grey.


With the introduction in 1968 of the Unified Aircraft Designation system the Dynavert AHA.2 was redesignated CH-131 Dynavert, and the aircraft were relettered by their crews in Vietnam. They saw extensive action, and nine of the sixteen were lost by the end of the war.


After returning to Canada in 1975, the Dynaverts were repainted into the standard overall green. Three were transferred to the Canadian Coast Guard in 1977, while the remaining four were withdrawn in 1979 and sent to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.


After testing of the prototypes was completed and the CL-84 Dynavert entered production, the two remaining prototypes were transferred to the RCAF's Central Evaluation & Proving Establishment, where they were used in various experiments as well as occasional transport duties until 1983, when both were transferred to museums - one is at the Canadian Air & Space Museum at the former RCAF Downsview, while the second was sent to the museum at Plant 42 in Palmdale, California - two of the prototypes were tested there in 1968 by the USAF.

[Litvyak]

A total of 43 CL-84 were built for Canadian customers: 16 for the Army, 12 for the Coast Guard, and 15 for other customers, including the provincial governments of Ontario and British Columbia.


The Canadian Coast Guard received three new CL-84s from Canadair in 1966. This was supplemented by a further nine in 1969 - the last nine built - and another three transferred from the Army in 1977. The CCG operated their Dynaverts until 1988.


The Royal Canadian Mounted Police received four ex-Army Dynaverts in 1979; they were used primarily in the Northwest Territories, and were finally replaced in 2003 by Mil Mi-17s bought new from Russia.

Apart from the 43 built for Canadian customers, 78 were delivered new to foreign customers.


The Royal Australian Navy received 14 CL-84s new from Canadair in 1967.


The Royal Navy took delivery of 12 Dynavert Mk. I from Canadair in 1967-68. These were assigned to 845 Naval Air Squadron and were used in support of Royal Marines operations from HMS Albion.

[Litvyak]

The first foreign order for the Dynavert came from the Finnish Air Force, who took delivery of a total of eight CL-84s, two in 1966 and six in 1967. The Ilmavoimat's Dynaverts were retired in 1982.


The Army of the Republic of China was largest single operator of CL-84s in the world, having operated a total of 28 units. Fifteen were delivered in 1967 and thirteen in 1968. They enjoyed a long life in ROCA service, the last Chinese Dynavert being retired in 1994.


The third foreign order came from the United States Coast Guard, who purchased ten for service in Alaska and Hawaii, with five delivered in 1967 and five more in 1968. Designated MV-3 Dynavert, they were withdrawn in 1976 and sold to private hands; a few are still in use.


The last foreign order came from South Africa, who took delivery of six CL-84s in 1967. The RSAAF operated them until 1990, and they saw combat in Angola.

[apophenia]

Love all those CL-84s! But now you've just got to do a Mi-17 in RCMP livery!

[Litvyak]

An RCMP Mi-17 is on The List.

I /was/ initially thinking of a Mi-25, but then I figured that'd probably be just a teensy bit Too Much.

[apophenia]

An RCMP Mi-17 is on The List.

Cool. Gotta be the Kelowna Flightcraft Mi-17KF Kittiwake of course 

I /was/ initially thinking of a Mi-25, but then I figured that'd probably be just a teensy bit Too Much.

Yeah, that'd be a bit of a jump up from the cops' usual Eurocopter AS350 B3s 

[elmayerle]

How about a scaled-up Dynavert as a joint Canadair-Bell effort with the engine nacelles moved out to the wing tips and using prop rotors without the interfaace problems that rotating nacelles have (sheesh you wouldn't believe how congested that area gets).  For those who don't need the stowing wing and nacelles, this would work well; it could also be adapted to a modified Dash 8 fuselage.

[Litvyak]

Ooh, Bell going to work with Canadair instead of Boeing to build the Osprey? If I'm understanding your suggestion right - something like the Osprey, but with the Dynavert-style tilting wings, instead of the MV-22-style fixed wing?

I dunno about Canadair going for a DHC fuselage, though. I suddenly had a vision of a fuselage based on the design of the Yukon/Britannia, though modernised somewhat, of course... or perhaps one based off the CRJ?

[elmayerle]

Pretty much the idea.  I was thinking Canadair could acquire DHC before Boeing did and make it legitimate (as 'tis, Boeing did propose a V-22/Dash-8 civil tiltrotor - I'm going to have to fish my old ESCI 1/72 V-22 kit out, if I can find it, and see whether it or the Hobbycaft kit as the more accurate nacelles as  the least accurate ones would go on the civil tiltrotor and I know the Hobbycraft ones are none too accurate).  You really need a high-wing fuselage like the Dash 8 has because you need all the ground clearance you can get with tiltrotors (as I remember, the V-22 can only go so far forward from the vertical position while on the ground - I have seen one back up that way).

[Litvyak]

Pretty much the idea.  I was thinking Canadair could acquire DHC before Boeing did and make it legitimate (as 'tis, Boeing did propose a V-22/Dash-8 civil tiltrotor - I'm going to have to fish my old ESCI 1/72 V-22 kit out, if I can find it, and see whether it or the Hobbycaft kit as the more accurate nacelles as  the least accurate ones would go on the civil tiltrotor and I know the Hobbycraft ones are none too accurate).  You really need a high-wing fuselage like the Dash 8 has because you need all the ground clearance you can get with tiltrotors (as I remember, the V-22 can only go so far forward from the vertical position while on the ground - I have seen one back up that way).

Good point re the high wing, though it's something obvious that I should have noticed!

Re: Canadair and DHC. In AltCan Canadair is still a Crown corporation - the governments there have all been very sensible as regards Crown corporations and handled all of them like Polymer Corp. was dealt with here - assign only qualified executives instead of using them as cushy jobs for friends, and then let said executives run the business as needed. As C. D. Howe said to the first Polymer CEO (paraphrased): "This is no different than the private sector - except that the Government of Canada is the sole shareholder. Run the business well and profit, you'll survive; if you run it into the ground, you'll die." And in handling the Crown corps like this, the unprofitable ones die (with very few exceptions that are essentials, like rail service in remote areas, and creative means are found to deal with other socially necessary but unprofitable things like some air transport in the North: use RCAF transports!), while the well-run ones profit, and the dividends are an extra source of revenue for the Government that can be invested in infrastructure, or put towards paying for the money-losing but necessary things...

...anyways, with that bit of background out of the way, I can move on to the question of de Havilland Canada. As I've worked out the Canadian aerospace industry *there*, (as I recall - I can't find the notes I'd made) Avro is private, DHC is (was) private, Canadair is Crown, Fairey-Fleet is Crown (the result of the Crown taking over Fairey Canada and Fleet and merging them), P&W Canada is private, Orenda is private (probably a wholly-owned subsidiary of Avro), and I think Bristol is private, too, but I'm not sure now. That covers the major ones anyways.

What would be the motivation for DHC to sell itself to Canadair? Being a Crown corporation, if Canadair were to initiate the takeover, I'm sure some elements of the business sector would make noise about nationalisation going too far, etc., especially if DHC is being profitable. Buuuuut... private ownership doesn't necessarily mean profitability, even with a good product, so if DHC were in some sort of financial trouble, the government could well intervene to keep a very important firm going. With the Crown owning all of the designs now, further rationalisations could be made, say with DHC dealing with civilian passenger aircraft (taking over the Challenger from Canadair?) and Canadair with military aircraft and heavy transports... this way, it's easy: Canadair needs a high-winged fuselage for developing a tiltrotor with Bell? It's easy as a call over to DHC and saying, hey, we need the Dash 8 fuselage for this project...

And in the meanwhile, some new profiles:


The Sikorsky H-5 was the RCAF's first helicopter. Seven were delivered in 1947, designated Dragonfly Mk. I and given the serials 9601-9607. All were assigned to 436 "Elephant" Squadron (VC-era unit code of 436 Sqn was BO), which was reformed that year as a helicopter unit at RCAF Abbotsford (BC). The Dragonflies were delivered in bare metal, and the large "RESCUE" titles were added by the unit within a month of delivery.


In 1951 two major changes came to the appearance of the Dragonflies. First was the change in the identification system, with the RCAF switching from the VC system to the AB+3 system that year; under the new system, 436 Sqn's new ID code was XK. Also in that year, dayglo was added to RCAF SAR aircraft. The Dragonflies retained this appearance until 1954.


After 436 Sqn received the Ojibwa Mk. I in 1954, within a few months the Dragonflies were relegated to a training role and repainted into the standard overall yellow training scheme.


In 1958, the RCAF abandoned the AB+3 ID system and introduced the current 4+RCAF system. This adjustment was the last change made to the appearance of the Dragonflies, which were retired in 1961.

[Litvyak]

A total of 79 Expeditor Mk. III were on strength in 1946. They were given serials in the 1400-1478 range, but not all remained in operation. The 'youngest' ones were gathered together at RCAF Blatchford (Edmonton, Alta.), and ten were assigned to 442 "City of Vancouver" Sqn at RCAF Sea Island (Richmond, BC) that had stood up that year as a composite air reserve squadron. They operated the Expeditors alongside Mustangs and Harvards.


In 1951, the RCAF switched to the AB+3 identification system, and 442 Sqn's aircraft were accordingly relettered; the unit code changed from BU to SL. The Mustangs were transferred to the newly-reformed 443 Sqn that year.


443 "City of New Westminster" Squadron reformed in 1951 at RCAF Sea Island as a composite air reserve squadron with 442 Sqn's Mustangs and eight Expeditors reactivated from the Blatchford stocks. 443 Sqn's Expeditors retained this scheme until 1958.


In 1955, 442 Sqn's Harvards were retired, while the fleet was expanded with four more reactivated Expeditors. At the same time, the unit was redesignated an active force transport squadron. The yellow stripes indicating a reserve unit were removed and full-text titles were added.


In 1958, the identification markings were changed from the AB+3 system to the 4+RCAF system, and at the same time the titles were changed to the standard RCAF letterforms.