Piloting a heavily-armed Griffon helicopter over Afghanistan
By Gary Lewchuk
“The ability to prevent troops from being fired upon just by our presence, not even having to fire a round, is something to take pride in,” said Aircraft Captain (AC) Jason Marchinko, who flew a heavily armed CH-146 Griffon helicopter for his second tour in Afghanistan during the summer.
“With the armament we had on the Griffon, the Griffons became feared by the insurgents,” the former Canora resident said. “When our ground troops requested our support, the insurgents would stop fighting and hide as soon as we arrived on station. They would actually wait for us to leave, and once we were out of sight they would engage our ground troops again.”/more…
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408 Returns to Oudenburg
At 17:55 local time on November 9, 1941 a formation of nine aircraft took off for a night raid from Syerston airfield, ten miles to the north east ofNottingham. One of these aircraft was a Handley Page Hampden bomber from 408 squadron with the following four crew members: Douglas Victor Markall- 21, Evan Bertram Te Makahi Robertson- 29, Douglas Frederick William Norton – 19 , John Cayley Wilson -27
Their target was in the vicinity of Ostendbut a German flak battery engaged the aircraft resulting in a loss of a wing and part of the tail. Witnesses reported the aircraft lost control and the aircraft crashed near the town ofRoksem, now part of Oudenburg, at approximately 2200 hours. /more…
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Jumping into retirement Feb. 1, 2012 By Capt Geoff Dear
The CH-146 Griffon isn’t normally thought of as a time machine, but on Jan. 11, in Josephburg, Alta., a Griffon took Master Warrant Officer Ray Tanguay back 29 years. / more…
MWO Ray Tanguay prepares to jump from a CH-146 Griffon helicopter near Josephburg, Alta., on Jan. 11, 2011. Photo courtesy of MWO Ray Tanguay.
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