1. First military helicopter school for pilots and mechanics for the Coast Guard, Army, Navy, British and French.
2. First to develop and use the hydraulic hoist on helicopters.
3. First mercy mission with a helicopter; Air Station to Battery Park to pickup and deliver much needed plasma for the crew of the U. S. S. Turner which exploded and burned in New York Harbor.
4. First actual hoist from a helicopter; the rescue of the pilot of a Navy fighter plane which crashed in Jamaica Bay.
5. First in the use of floats on a helicopter. The floats, designed by CDR. Frank Erickson, made the helo more versatile in that it could land on the water to rescue incapacitated victims.
6. September 25, 1945, ADCM-AP John Greathouse, while TDY at CGAS Brooklyn, and AD3 John Smith, bailed out of their HOS-1G helicopter over the city of Philadelphia after control of the helo was lost due to heavy winds. This was the first ever bailout from a helicopter.
7. The first Grumman Albatross UF-IG 1240 (later to be redesignated UF-2G and HU-16E) was picked up at the Grumman Plant at Bethpage, Long Island and delivered to CGAS Brooklyn to become the first operational Albatross in the Coast Guard. This type aircraft, would be one of the main workhorses of Coast Guard Aviation for the next 25 years. Unfortunately, on 5 March 1967 while assigned to CGAS St. Petersburg, the 1240 was lost with all on board while on a search and rescue mission.
