End of an era - Australian Caribou

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FlightGlobal report -

The Royal Australian Air Force has retired its last DHC-4 Caribou light tactical transports, bringing to an end a service history spanning 45 years.

Operations with the Vietnam War-era type, which was acquired as a replacement for the Douglas DC-3 Dakota, came to an end on 26 November. Australia received a total of 29 Caribous between 1964 and 1971, and still had 13 in use before the retirement.

With a replacement capability to be ordered through Australia's Project Air 8000 Phase Two programme, the RAAF's 38 Sqn has an interim step taken ownership of three Beechcraft King Air 350s previously operated by the army's 173 Air Surveillance Sqn. These were accepted during a 24 November ceremony at Townsville, Queensland, with another five leased examples to follow by mid-2010.

Original article here - http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/20 ... sture.html