Truck Stop Unlimited - All About Trucks & Trailers

A History Of Coast Guard Aviation

During the war, Coast Guard aircraft found one thousand survivors and directed rescue units to the scene. Coast Guard aircrews rescued one hundred survivors additionally by landing in the open sea [below: Hall PH-2 medevac, circa 1942]. On occasion, the aircraft had to taxi ashore because weight of those rescued prevented the aircraft from taking off.

By 1941 the Coast Guard was very interested in developing the helicopter for search and rescue. LCDR William Kossler had represented the Coast Guard on an inter-agency board formed in 1938 for the evaluation of experimental aircraft, including the helicopter aircraft. However, World War II interrupted these plans. The Coast Guard, incorporated into the Navy on 1 November 1941, was tasked in early 1943 with developing the helicopter for antisubmarine warfare. Sikorsky HNS-1 and HOS-1 helicopters were ordered and pilot training began at Brooklyn Air Station. Coast Guard personnel trained British pilots who undertook a joint British-American helicopter trial on board the merchant ship Daghestan. In fact, during the war all Allied helicopter pilots were trained by the Coast Guard at Brooklyn Air Station. The Daghestan, fitted with a landing deck and carrying two HNS-1 helicopters, crossed the Atlantic in convoy in November 1943.

A photo of a Coast Guard aircraftAdditional helicopter evaluation tests were carried out on the cutter Cobb. This old coastal passenger ship had been converted into the world’s first helicopter carrier. On 29 June 1944 CDR Frank Erickson made the first landing on its deck in Long Island Sound. A photo of CDR Frank EricksonAs the war progressed and the U-boat threat moved deeper into the North Atlantic and then abated, the service re-oriented its helicopter research from antisubmarine warfare to search and rescue. CDR Erickson pioneered this Coast Guard activity, developing much of the rescue equipment himself and carrying out the first lifesaving flight. He delivered two cases of blood plasma lashed to an HNS-1’s floats following the explosion on board the destroyer USS Turner off Sandy Hook on 3 January 1944.

One of the early helicopter’s most successful rescues occurred in 1945. A Royal Canadian Air Force plane crashed in a remote area of Labrador. Two ski-equipped aircraft tried to rescue the nine survivors; however, one crashed on landing and the other was trapped on the ground by the snow after having successfully flown out two survivors. The only way to rescue the remaining men was by helicopter. A Coast Guard HNS-1 was disassembled at Brooklyn Air Station, loaded into a C-54 transport A photo of a Coast Guard aircraft and airlifted to Goose Bay, Labrador. There, LT August Kleisch flew it 150 miles to a staging station and then on 35 miles more to the crash site. Obstacles such as a frozen engine and skis that would freeze solid to the ground were overcome and all were rescued.A photo of Stewart Graham In 1943 an Air Sea Rescue Squadron was formed at San Diego, Calif. The primary impetus for this was the increasing number of offshore crashes, mostly by student pilots. These were the result of the rapid expansion of military aviation during the war. Initially, the amphibious PBY-5A and high speed rescue craft were chosen as the rescue vehicles and additional squadrons were formed. In December 1944 the Office of Air Sea Rescue was established at Coast Guard Headquarters. By 1945 Air Sea Rescue was responsible for 165 aircraft and nine air stations. During that year, it had responded to 686 plane crashes. The PBY-5As were replaced by Martin PBM-5Gs following the war.A photo of a Coast Guard aircraft

With the increasing responsibilities in defense readiness, law enforcement, fisheries patrol, and environmental protection, the Coast Guard acquired a new generation of aircraft to replacing its aging fleet. During the 1980s, 1990s, and into the new century, the primary aircraft in the Coast Guard inventory were the HU-25A, HU-25B, and HU-25C Guardian,A photo of a Coast Guard aircraft the HC-130H Hercules, the HH-65A and HH-65B Dolphin, and the HH-60J Jayhawk .A photo of a Coast Guard aircraft The HU-25C Guardian is the service’s first multi-mission jet. It is nearly twice as fast as any aircraft in the inventory and can get to the scene quickly to perform its role. Sixteen new HC-130H Hercules turboprop aircraft have joined the Coast Guard fleet and replaced earlier models. The primary missions of the Hercules are long-range surveillance and transport. A photo of a Coast Guard aircraft