RCAF Patch Sqn Royal Canadian Air Force 427 TH Squadron Kiowa

RCAF Patch Royal Canadian Air Force 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron THS Patch 1970s CH 136 Kiowa LOH CH 135 Twin Huey CFB Petawawa Embroidered on twill merrowed edge 85mm by 85mm three and three eighth inches by three and three eighth inches.

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427 Fighter Squadron Lions was reactivated on 1 August 1952 at RCAF Station St Hubert Quebec equipped with the F 86 Sabre fighters for air defence under Air Defence Command. Following training at St Hubert the Squadron flew its Sabre fighters across the Atlantic during March and April 1953 on Operation Leapfrog III to Zweibrücken AB West Germany to join 3 Fighter Wing of 1 Air Division Europe as part of the Canadian contribution to NATO. The Squadron sent detachments regularly to Rabat Morocco and later Decimomannu Sardinia for air to air gunnery as well
as to RCAF Station Marville France to stand quick reaction alert.

The Squadron deactivated on 15 December 1962 and reactivated two days later on 17 December as the first of eight squadrons in RCAFs 1 Air Division Europe to be equipped with CF 104 Starfighter aircraft for nuclear strike attack and was redesignated 427 Strike Attack Squadron. The Squadron moved to Baden Soellingen in June 1969 reassigning from 3 Wing to 4 Wing and was disbanded in June 1970.

The Squadron reactivated on 1 January 1971 at CFB Petawawa Ontario as 427 Tactical Helicopter Squadron initially equipped with L 19 Bird Dog then CH 136 Kiowa LOH light observation helicopter and CH 135 Twin Huey utility helicopters. The Squadron participated in numerous overseas operations including Norway Egypt the Sinai Peninsula on Operation Calumet as well as a United Nations peacekeeping mission in Central America Operation Sultan.

In 1992 the Squadron retired the Kiowas replacing them with more CH 135 Twin Hueys. In March 1993 the Squadron deployed a flight to Somalia in support of Operation Deliverance and supported United Nations missions in Haiti from 1995 on Operations Pivot. 427 Squadron replaced the Twin Hueys with CH 146 Griffon helicopters in July 1997 and continued on operations including Honduras and Bosnia.

The Squadron was reassigned to Canadian Special Operations Forces Command on 1 February 2006 to provide aviation capability to Canadian Special Operations Forces with its Griffons and was renamed 427 Special Operations Aviation Squadron SOAS.

This patch dates from the 1970s.