Seats - Box Seats

Box seats

Along the right cabin wall behind the right spotter seat were three box seats that doubled as equipment storage.  Technically, the boxes differ, but in size and colour only, so from a modelers perspective hardly worth the effort to acknowledge the difference...at least in 1/72 scale.  The most noticeable difference in the seats was the colour of the cushions and the boxes themselves. Along the wall, both variants used only the back of red nylon troop seats. Just as often as the red nylon webbing was in place, the webbing was removed for any number of unspecified reasons, but more likely than not to gain a view of something other than the dark and stinky interior of the helo.

Labrador seat cushions arrived from the factory covered in red nylon.  Voyageur seats were locally manufactured, accounting in part for the different size, so the cushions were covered in whatever material was locally available.  In my experience, red, blue or tan leatherettes were common.

The locally manufactured boxes used in the Voyageurs were made of sturdy gauge aluminum that was left unpainted (aluminum) for several years. Voyageur boxes were all the same dimensions were as the front two Labrador seats were shorter, than aft most box which were slightly longer to accommodate FE equipment. Voyageur seats were also marginally (perhaps 2 or so inches) taller than the Labrador seats. Labrador boxes were painted the same colour gray as other interior features.!

The red seat covers on airframe 301 above are in leatherette whereas the original covers were of red nylon. The picture above lacks any evidence of the red 1" webbing used as a back support for passengers. Seatbelts are secured on the webbing support rail in an unconventional manner, although 424 Squadron Trenton seemed to have stored them this way more so than the other three 113 operators. Picture courtesy Jeff Wilson

Robert Pionteck's photo above is a fairly typical representation of  an operational  Labrador.

Note the blue cushion covers on this 113.

MCpl Ron Langevin of 442 Squadron in Comox. Things to note: no red webbing back rests and the black and yellow handle of the cutaway knife stowed in its' red webbing sleeve. The cutaway knife is used by SAR Techs to cutaway a hung up jumper (or parasupply bundle) while carrying out parachute drops from the 113. Picture courtesy Pat Martin

The above aircraft is American, but may be a reasonable representation of a CF Mobile Command CH-113A Voyageur although Canadian helicopters would almost certainly had insulation blankets on the sides of the fuselage. The floor rails would also be accurate for a Canadian Army Voyageur.

This Mo Eagan/Carole Smith photograph shows the webbing backrest partially in place although the box seats have been removed to reduce weight for a CASARA training exercise likely handy to an airport with all the necessary services to support it in an emergency and with the crew in no fear of getting diverted to an actual SAR.

Full backed trooped seats can be seen through the window of this Edmonton based Voyageur. Photo Bill Ewing