{"id":29467378,"date":"2026-10-25T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-25T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cc-130h-hercules-retirement-rcaf-17-wing-winnipeg-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-10-25T10:01:02","modified_gmt":"2026-10-25T09:01:02","slug":"cc-130h-hercules-retirement-rcaf-17-wing-winnipeg-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/cc-130h-hercules-retirement-rcaf-17-wing-winnipeg-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"CC-130H Hercules Retires: RCAF Bids Farewell to the Mighty Herc"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\r\n<!-- mfsh:top -->\r\n\r\n<style>\r\n.mfsh-trigger{display:inline-flex;align-items:center;gap:10px;height:44px;padding:0 18px;margin:0 0 26px;border:2px solid 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Backdropped by a grey <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/c-130-hercules\/\">CC-130H Hercules<\/a>, the <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-forces\/royal-canadian-air-force\/\">Royal Canadian Air Force<\/a> held a retirement ceremony for the last of its H-model Hercules, the four-engined workhorses that have carried Canadian troops, rescuers and refugees since 1974.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The ceremony ended the way it had to: with a fly-by from one of the two CC-130Hs still flying out of Winnipeg. Those two aircraft will be taken out of service on 1 November and 18 November, 17 Wing commander Col. Curtis Wright told the <em>Winnipeg Free Press<\/em>. After that, the H-model&rsquo;s Canadian story is over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f4f6f9;border:1px solid #e2e7ee;padding:18px 22px;margin:22px 0 26px\"><p style=\"margin:0 0 8px;font-weight:700;color:#0d1117\">Quick Facts<\/p><ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:18px\"><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Event:<\/strong> Retirement ceremony for the RCAF&rsquo;s last CC-130H Hercules<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Date \/ place:<\/strong> 24 October 2026, 17 Wing Winnipeg, Manitoba<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Last unit:<\/strong> 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>In service:<\/strong> CC-130H since 1974; RCAF Hercules since 1960<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Last flights:<\/strong> Final two aircraft out of service 1 and 18 November 2026<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Replacement:<\/strong> CC-295 Kingfisher (search and rescue); CC-130J remains for airlift<\/li><li style=\"margin:4px 0\"><strong>Fleet fate:<\/strong> 10 conditionally sold to Coulson Aviation for firefighting; 2 for display<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Winnipeg-based 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron is the last RCAF unit flying the type. Its search-and-rescue role passes to the CC-295 Kingfisher, which the <em>Free Press<\/em> reports will fly search-and-rescue missions out of 17 Wing from November.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really part of our family and one of us. This was the backbone of a lot of things that we do here out of Winnipeg.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Col. Curtis Wright<\/strong> &mdash; Commander, 17 Wing Winnipeg, to the Winnipeg Free Press, 24 October 2026<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Fifty-two years of the &ldquo;mighty Herc&rdquo;<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>Canada was an early customer for Lockheed&rsquo;s airlifter, taking delivery of four C-130B models in late 1960. The H-model followed in 1974, and for half a century it did a bit of everything. The RCAF describes it as a search-and-rescue aircraft first, able to carry roughly 80 passengers, operate from short unpaved strips and fly more than 7,200 kilometres.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>At the ceremony, speakers ran through a career that stretched from the Arctic to Afghanistan. CC-130Hs supported Canada&rsquo;s war in Afghanistan after the 11 September 2001 attacks. In 2011, 435 Squadron crews refuelled NATO-led coalition fighters over Libya. In 2010 the aircraft flew personnel and supplies to Haiti after the earthquake.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/rcaf-435-squadron-cc-130-crew-rimpac-2014.jpg\" alt=\"RCAF 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron crew reviewing a flight plan in the cargo hold of their Hercules tanker during RIMPAC 2014\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">A 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron crew reviews the flight plan inside their Hercules before a refuelling mission during Exercise RIMPAC in July 2014. The Winnipeg squadron is the last RCAF unit flying the CC-130H. US Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Shannon Renfroe \/ public domain<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>The tribute also remembered crews lost in crashes over the decades, and the fallen Canadian personnel whose remains came home aboard the aircraft. Maj.-Gen. Chris McKenna, commander of 1 Canadian Air Division, put it in personal terms.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px 22px;margin:18px 0 24px;font-size:16px;line-height:1.7\"><div><em>&ldquo;This aircraft took me into Afghanistan. It took friends of mine out who didn&rsquo;t make it.&rdquo;<\/em><div style=\"margin-top:10px;font-size:14px;color:#555\"><strong>Maj.-Gen. Chris McKenna<\/strong> &mdash; Commander, 1 Canadian Air Division, at the retirement ceremony (Winnipeg Free Press, 24 October 2026)<\/div><\/div><\/div>\r\n\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Through a fire cloud at Norway House<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The Herc&rsquo;s last big domestic job came in 2025, when CC-130Hs airlifted thousands of evacuees out of northern Manitoba communities threatened by wildfires under Operation Lentus. McKenna told the audience about one crew that could not land at Norway House because the runway was surrounded by flames and smoke.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The missed-approach routing took them through a pyrocumulus cloud, a towering column of smoke, ash and violent turbulence. According to McKenna, the crew flew the aircraft to its limits to get out. The Hercules was so badly damaged that it never returned to service, but everyone aboard came home.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/dw9vEbF_iVU\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">Skies Plus spent a day with 435 Squadron and its CC-130H Hercules search-and-rescue crews in Winnipeg for the RCAF centennial in 2024.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Domestically, the Winnipeg aircraft spent decades on search-and-rescue missions across central Canada, from lost hunters to missing civilian aircraft. That is the work the Kingfisher now inherits.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Kingfishers, firebombers and museums<\/h2>\r\n\r\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/airbus-c295\/\">CC-295 Kingfisher<\/a> is a smaller, twin-engined aircraft built for search and rescue. The RCAF says its integrated sensors can spot people or objects from more than 40 kilometres away, even in low light. It already flies from <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/comox\/\">19 Wing Comox<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/greenwood\/\">14 Wing Greenwood<\/a>, with Winnipeg and <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/air-bases\/trenton\/\">8 Wing Trenton<\/a> listed as future locations.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\" style=\"margin:0 0 24px;width:100%\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" width=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/10\/rcaf-cc-295-kingfisher-search-and-rescue.jpg\" alt=\"Yellow RCAF CC-295 Kingfisher search and rescue aircraft taking off\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;max-width:100%;display:block\"><figcaption style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;margin-top:6px;font-style:italic\">The CC-295 Kingfisher takes over the Hercules&rsquo;s fixed-wing search-and-rescue role at 17 Wing Winnipeg. Photo taken in the UK in July 2024. Photo: Airwolfhound \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\r\n\r\n\r\n<p>Because the Kingfisher will not be used for transport, the Winnipeg flight engineers and loadmasters are moving to other bases and fleets, Wright said. Canada&rsquo;s tactical airlift continues with the CC-130J, the RCAF&rsquo;s newest Hercules model, flown from Trenton.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The old airframes are not headed for the scrapyard. In August, the federal government announced the conditional sale of 10 retired CC-130Hs to Coulson Aviation of Port Alberni, British Columbia, which plans to convert them into aerial firefighters once they are certified for civil use. The remaining two of the 12-aircraft fleet will go on public display at bases or museums, and Wright said one could end up in Winnipeg.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;margin:24px 0 8px\"><iframe class=\"skip-lazy\" data-no-lazy=\"1\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ptr7NHakffY\" style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;border:0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\r\n\r\n<p style=\"font-size:13px;color:#777;text-align:center;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px\">CBC News Manitoba, August 2026: Winnipeggers line up to see a retiring Hercules before it heads to a museum display.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>There is one more public farewell. A CC-130H and two <a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/aircraft\/fa-18-hornet\/\">CF-18 Hornets<\/a> are scheduled to fly over Princess Auto Stadium at around 6 p.m. local time on Sunday, 25 October, during the NHL Heritage Classic between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens. For a workhorse that spent 52 years doing the heavy lifting out of sight, one of its last public appearances will be in front of a stadium full of hockey fans.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<p><em>Sources: Winnipeg Free Press, CTV News Winnipeg, ChrisD.ca (DND information), Royal Canadian Air Force (CC-130H, CC-130J and CC-295 aircraft pages), Public Services and Procurement Canada, Skies Magazine, Wikipedia (Lockheed C-130 Hercules). Featured photo: BriYYZ \/ Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0<\/em><\/p>\r\n<!-- mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n<button type=\"button\" class=\"mfsh-trigger mfsh-bottom\" data-mfsh-placement=\"bottom\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><svg><use href=\"#mfsh-i-share\"\/><\/svg>Share this story<\/button>\r\n\r\n<!-- \/mfsh:bottom -->\r\n\r\n\r\n<style>.mfq{margin:34px 0 8px}.mfq h2{font:26px\/1.3 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117;padding-top:22px;margin:0 0 6px}.mfq .qa details{border-top:1px solid #5C91FF;margin:0;padding:0}.mfq .qa details:last-of-type{border-bottom:1px solid #e2e7ee}.mfq .qa summary{cursor:pointer;list-style:none;display:flex;justify-content:space-between;align-items:center;gap:16px;padding:22px 26px;font:18px\/1.7 \"Gilroy semiBold\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#0d1117}.mfq .qa summary::-webkit-details-marker{display:none}.mfq .qa summary::after{content:\"+\";font:24px Helvetica,sans-serif;color:#3568e0;flex:0 0 auto}.mfq .qa details[open] summary::after{content:\"\\2013\"}.mfq .qa details:hover summary{color:#3568e0}.mfq .qa .a{font:16px\/1.7 \"Gilroy regular\",Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;color:#454e5e;padding:0 26px 24px}.mfq .qa .a a{color:#3568e0}@media(max-width:680px){.mfq .qa summary{padding:18px 14px;font-size:17px}.mfq .qa .a{padding:0 14px 20px}}<\/style>\r\n\r\n\r\n<section class=\"mfq\"><h2>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h2><div class=\"qa\"><details open><summary>When did the RCAF retire the CC-130H Hercules?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The Royal Canadian Air Force held a retirement ceremony for the CC-130H Hercules at 17 Wing Winnipeg on 24 October 2026. The last two aircraft, flown by 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, will be taken out of service on 1 November and 18 November 2026, according to the 17 Wing commander.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>How long did the CC-130H Hercules serve in Canada?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The CC-130H Hercules entered Canadian service in 1974, giving it 52 years of service by its retirement in 2026. The Royal Canadian Air Force has flown Hercules aircraft since late 1960, when it received four C-130B models, and it continues to fly the newer CC-130J from 8 Wing Trenton.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What replaces the CC-130H Hercules for search and rescue?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">The CC-295 Kingfisher replaces the CC-130H Hercules in the fixed-wing search-and-rescue role at 17 Wing Winnipeg from November 2026. The Kingfisher is a smaller twin-engined aircraft whose sensors can find people or objects more than 40 kilometres away. It is not used for transport, which the CC-130J handles.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>What will happen to Canada's retired CC-130H Hercules aircraft?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">In August 2026 the Government of Canada conditionally sold 10 retired CC-130H Hercules aircraft to Coulson Aviation of Port Alberni, British Columbia, which plans to convert them into aerial firefighters once they are certified for civil use. The remaining two aircraft of the 12-aircraft fleet will be put on public display at bases or museums.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Which squadron flew the last CC-130H Hercules?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">435 Transport and Rescue Squadron, based at 17 Wing Winnipeg, is the last Royal Canadian Air Force unit to fly the CC-130H Hercules. The squadron used it for search and rescue across central Canada, and its crews refuelled NATO-led coalition fighters over Libya in 2011.<\/div><\/details><details><summary>Where can I see the CC-130H Hercules final flypast?<\/summary><div class=\"a\">A CC-130H Hercules and two CF-18 Hornets are scheduled to fly over Princess Auto Stadium in Winnipeg at about 6 p.m. local time on 25 October 2026, during the NHL Heritage Classic between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montreal Canadiens, weather and flying conditions permitting.<\/div><\/details><\/div><\/section>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"When did the RCAF retire the CC-130H Hercules?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"The Royal Canadian Air Force held a retirement ceremony for the CC-130H Hercules at 17 Wing Winnipeg on 24 October 2026. 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