serviceability rate. On 1 December 2018, the CH-124 was officially retired in a ceremony at Vancouver Island, British Columbia, concluding 55 years of service. Of the surviving 28 Canadian Sea Kings, nine are destined for museums or to be displayed as monuments, 15 are to be sold, three scrapped, and one retained as a training aid. Replacement From 1983 onward attempts were made to replace the aging Sea King helicopters. Due to a series of financial and political issues, the process was hampered by repeated delays. In the end the CH-148 Cyclone, a new variant of the Sikorsky H-92 Superhawk was selected. Variants CH-124 Anti-submarine warfare helicopter for the Royal Canadian Navy (41 assembled by United Aircraft of Canada). CH-124A The Sea King Improvement Program (SKIP) added modernized avionics as well as improved safety features. CH-124B Alternate version of the CH-124A without a dipping sonar but formerly with a MAD sensor and additional storage for deployable stores. In 2006, the five aircraft of this variant were converted to support the Standing Contingency Task Force (SCTF), and were modified with additional troop seats, and frequency agile radios. Plans to add fast-rope capability, EAPSNIPS (Engine Air Particle Separator / Snow & Ice Particle Separator) did not come to fruition. CH-124B2 Six CH-124Bs were upgraded to the CH-124B2 standard in 1991–1992. The revised CH-124B2 retained the sonobuoy processing gear to passively detect submarines but, the aircraft was now also fitted with a towed-array sonar to supplement the ship's sonar. Since anti-submarine warfare is no longer a major priority within the Canadian Forces, the CH-124B2 were refitted again to become improvised troop carriers for the newly formed Standing Contingency Task Force. CH-124C One CH-124 operated by the Helicopter Operational Test and Evaluation Facility located at CFB Shearwater. Used for testing new gear, and when not testing new gear, it is deployable to any Canadian Forces ship requiring a helicopter. CH-124U Unofficial designation for four CH-124s that were modified for passenger/freight transport. One crashed in 1973, and the survivors were later refitted to become CH-124As. Former operators NOTE: Last aircraft was retired in December 2018 Royal Canadian Navy Royal Canadian Air Force 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron 406 Maritime Operational Training Squadron 423 Maritime Helicopter Squadron Specifications (CH-124 Sea King) Replicas The Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia is commissioning a full-sized model of the CH-124 to be submerged with the destroyer HMCS Annapolis. See also