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U.S. Coast Guard Aviation History

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"The Class of 1916"
The first Coast Guard aviation personnel, 22 March 1917.

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General Coast Guard Aviation History:

• A History of Coast Guard Aviation

• Coast Guard Aviation History Bibliography

• Coast Guard Aircraft: A Complete List

• Coast Guard Aircraft Files (by type of aircraft) held by the Coast Guard Historian's Office.

• Coast Guard Aviation Subject Files held by the Coast Guard Historian's Office.

• The 1916 Letter that Led to the Creation of Coast Guard Aviation

• Coast Guard Aircraft Painting & Marking Details

• Coast Guard Air Stations

• Photo Galleries: Volume I (1916-1941); Volume II (1941-1945); Volume III (1946-2000)

• Coast Guard Aircraft Drawings

• Historical Chronology

• Coast Guard Aviation History: A Detailed Timeline (courtesy of the Pterodactyls)

Fixed-Wing Aviation:

 

• "The Seaplane in the U.S. Coast Guard," a paper presented at the SAE National Aeronautic Meeting, New York City, 16 April 1951, by Captain Donald B. MacDiarmid.

Rotary-Wing Aviation:

• "Despair and Visions: The Birth of the Rescue Helicopter", an article by Lieutenant Commander Barrett T. Beard, USCG (Ret.)

• "History of Coast Guard Rotary-Wing Aviation: From Inception to the Modern Day": an article by First Lieutenant Andrew Conwell, USAF

• "The Eyes and Ears of the Convoy: The Coast Guard's Development of the Helicopter as an Anti-Submarine Weapon During World War II," an article describing the Service's early rotary-wing history by Robert Browning.

Pilots & Aircrews:

• "Elmer F. Stone '13 and the Pioneering Role of Coast Guard Academy Graduates in Early Naval and Coast Guard Aviation" by William Thiesen.

• Coast Guard Enlisted "Aviation Pilots."

• Coast Guard Aviators That Did Not Return: a list of Coast Guard aircrews killed in the line of duty.

• "Cap'm Mac And Flying Coffins: Captain Donald B. MacDiarmid, USCG," an article by LCDR Barrett T. Beard, USCG (Ret.) about Captain D. B. MacDiarmid and his pioneering role in developing the use of seaplanes for Coast Guard use.

Rescue Swimmer Program:

• Coast Guard Rescue Swimmers: A History by LCDR Richard M. Wright, USCG (Ret.): a detailed history of the development of the Rescue Swimmer program.

• A History of SARWET: the precursor to the Rescue Swimmer program, written by CDR Bill Thrall, USCG (Ret.).  CDR Thrall noted that "SARWET pre-dated the Rescue Swimmer Program by 13-plus years.  It ran successfully out of San Francisco for almost 6 years. . .Rescues were made, lives saved and medals awarded.  It was real."

Miscellaneous:

• HITRON: Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron, by Craig Neubecker.  A detailed history of the development and operation of this historic Coast Guard aviation program.

• "Coast Guard Aviation in Vietnam: Combat Rescue and Recovery": An Article By John "Bear" Moseley, Coast Guard Aviator #743; a detailed history of Coast Guard exchange pilots who served with the Air Force in a combat SAR role.

• USCG Aviation During the Vietnam War, by Thomas Kalisz.

• "Eyes of the Icebreakers," a 1958 article by LTJG Gilbert Shaw that describes the CGC Mackinaw and its use of a helicopter during ice-breaking missions on the Great Lakes.

• A History of the Ancient Albatross Award, by Coast Guard Archivist Ms. Nora Chidlow

• The Coast Guard & the Wright Brothers, 17 December 1903

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Biographies of Famous Coast Guard Aviators & Aviation Crewmen:

Elmer F. Stone
Benjamin A. Bottoms
Frank A. Erickson
David Gershowitz
Stewart Graham
William J. Kossler
Donald B. MacDiarmid
John A. Pritchard
Jack Rittichier
Victor V. Utgoff
Bobby C. Wilks

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Coast Guard Aviators' Oral Histories & First-Person Accounts:

• Captain William Wishar, USCG (Ret.), the commanding officer of the Coast Guard's first air station describes the early years of Coast Guard aviation and personalities involved in his article entitled: "Some Recollections of Early Coast Guard Aviation."

• Rear Admiral Eugene Coffin, USCG (Ret.) provides a letter and a narrative about the flight training he received in 1916 at Pensacola.

• Captain David Oliver, USCG (Ret.): "My Life in the Coast Guard" a narrative of his career as a Coast Guard aviation pioneer, including helicopter development and operations in Alaska.

•  Aviation Radioman Second Class Jack Sutherlin: After graduating in the top of his class at Aviation Radioman School, ARM2 Sutherlin served as an instructor before being posted to Coast Guard Air Station San Diego for the rest of the war.  There he participated in ASW and SAR flights while meeting some of the Coast Guard's most famous personalities along the way, including Jack Dempsey, Donald B. "Cap'm Mac" MacDiarmid, Chester R. Bender, and W. A. "Little Bull" Halsey, the grandson of Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey.

• Bernard Bailey, USCG (Ret.): An oral history covering his service as a Coast Guard aviator in World War II, including flight training, flying PBYs off the West Coast, and operating on photographic survey flights with the Coast & Geodetic Survey.

• Captain David W. Sinclair, USCG (Ret.): A Memoir: a detailed look at his career which spanned the years 1935 through 1969, including flight training and service at many air stations throughout the nation.  

• "Best Shot": Former Coast Guard airman Gerrett Gregory describes a rescue attempt of a downed Navy pilot by a Coast Guard PBM-5 Mariner from Air Station San Diego.

• Lieutenant Commander W. E. Prindle, Jr., USCGR (Ret.): A Coast Guard Aviator in World War II." (CG Aviator #144; CG Helicopter Pilot #24)

• Captain Pete E. Prindle, A Memoir: Grand Fun While It Lasted -- a memoir of his Coast Guard aviation career (CG Aviator #1184; CG Helicopter Pilot #581)

• Captain Pete E. Prindle: Pelican Tales: The Last of the Coast Guard's Amphibious Aircraft -- a narrative describing a number of his SAR missions as the command pilot of an HH-3F Pelican.

• Jack Rittichier's 12 May 1968 Vietnam combat rescue flight: in his own words.

•  CDR Ronald Huddleston, USCG (Ret.), commanding the Aviation Detachment on board the USCGC Jarvis in 1972, relates the story of how the cutter was almost lost when it grounded on an uncharted pinnacle off the coast of Alaska.

• Rescue Swimmer AST1 Wil Milam describes his rescue of the four-man crew of the fishing vessel Illusion from the Bering Sea in February, 2007.

• The oral history of LCDR Andrea Sacchetti, who served as the Air Operations Officer during the 2008 "Concept of Operations" deployment to Barrow, Alaska.

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Accounts & Documentation of Historic Rescues, Flights, and/or Operations:

• "Superpower Rescue": the rescue of the crew of the Soviet M/V Komsomolets Kirgizii in March, 1987.  This rescue garnered significant international (and Presidential) attention.

• "Cosmic Air": a pictorial history of the Coast Guard's efforts to resupply the far-flung chain of LORAN stations in the Pacific via Coast Guard aircraft.

• A Summary of Action" for a SAR case in 1978 when HC-130H CGNR-1500 assisted in the rescue off Alaska of the crew of a ditched Navy P-3C (BuNo. 159892) on 26 October 1978.  A Soviet trawler, the Mys Sinyavin, also participated, making this a unique case of cooperation by the principal antagonists of the Cold War.  

• "27 Hours in the Cold Alaska Sea." AD1 Greg King writes about the rescue of the crew of the fishing vessel Clover Leaf in April, 1980 while serving as an HC-130 crewman based at AIRSTA Kodiak.

• "Out of Gas at 9,000 Feet and Lost in the Bahamas."  AD2 Greg King writes about a SAR case conducted during Hurricane Dorothy in 1977 while serving as a crewman aboard HC-130 CG-1414.

• 1937 rescue at sea by a seaplane from Air Station Salem: a period illustrated magazine article.

• "LCDR Edward 'Iceberg' Smith, '13, and the 1931 Arctic Expedition of the German Airship Graf Zeppelin," an article by William H. Thiesen as published in the April 2010 issue of the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association's publication The Bulletin, pp. 58-62.

• "The Inauguration of the Coast Guard's Only Air-Land Rescue Unit at CGAS Port Angeles: The Rescue of the Crew of a Navy Bomber" in 1945 by Coast Guard Archivist Ms. Nora Chidlow.

Historic Documents, Regulations, Flight Manuals & Other Professional Aviation-Related Publications:
 

• 1916: The letter that began the Coast Guard's long association with aviation, written by First Lieutenant Benjamin Chiswell, commanding CGC Onondaga, dated 18 April 1916.
• 1936: Aviation Instructions, U.S. Coast Guard
• Coast Guard Aircraft Painting Regulations (through 1968)
• 1945: Consolidated Vultee PB4Y-2 Bombardment Airplane Flight Manual
• 1945: Consolidated Vultee PBY-5A Navy Model Pilot's Handbook of Flight Operating Instructions, (AN 01-5MA-1).
• 1952: The U.S. Navy's Helicopter Training Manual, (NAVAIER 00-80T-41).
• 1955: Aircraft Emergency Procedures Over Water, (CG-306).
• 1955: Martin P5M-2 Aircraft (Navy Model) Flight Handbook, (Revised 15 December 1956; AN 01-35EJB-1).
• 1961: Convair C-131A Flight Manual (Changed 25 September 1962; TO 1C-131A-1)
• Sikorsky HH-52A Flight Handbook & Standardization Manual; 1963 (Amended 1971, CG-384-1)

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