DHC-4 Caribou light transport The Royal Australian Air Force DHC-4 Caribou was a versatile tactical light transport aircraft . Its main operational role was tactical air transport in support of the Australian Army. The Caribou was last operated by No 38 Squadron from RAAF Base Townsville in December 2009. The Caribou is a twin-engined high-wing monoplane with full-span double-slotted Fowler flaps and fully-reversible propellers, which allow it to achieve its trademark steep approach with very short take-offs and landings on unprepared runways. The high wing and distinctive high placement of the tail provide easy access to a large cargo compartment, while the low-pressure tyres permit operation on unprepared runways. It was the last piston-engined aircraft in the Air Force and was our only aircraft to employ the Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System (LAPES), where up to 2000kg of sled-mounted cargo is extracted from the aircraft by a parachute from a metre above the ground. The Caribou is equipped with GPS satellite navigation and night-vision equipment, giving it the capability to operate in any weather, day or night, to either land or drop soldiers and equipment by parachute with pinpoint accuracy. The Caribou is not pressurised and is not fitted with auto-pilot or weather radar. The first Caribou arrived in Australia in April 1964 and they were deployed to Vietnam from July 1964 to February 1972 and carried over 600,000 passengers and a huge quantity of cargo while they were there. Since 1997 the Caribou participated in famine-relief operations in Papua New Guinea and Irian Jaya during Operations SIERRA, PLES DRAI and AUSINDO JAYA, as well as the tsunami-relief operation in PNG in 1999 and operations in East Timor and the Solomon Islands since 1999. Their service life was over 40 years. raaf caribou aircraft