1934 – Coast Guard Air Station Biloxi Established During 1933 the Coast Guard was looking for a location to establish an Air station that would provide effective life saving and property protection in the upper Gulf of Mexico region. A site on the eastern edge of Biloxi Mississippi, with direct access to Biloxi Bay, was […]

1934 – Coast Guard Obtains the Grumman JF-2 Duck Grover Loening formed his own company in 1928 when the original Loening Aeronautical Engineering Corporation combined with Curtiss-Wright. Grover submitted plans for a privately developed XO2L-1 amphibian to the Navy and requested evaluation. This amphibian retained many of the Loening OLs features but presented them in […]

1934 – Coast Guard Commences Aerial Border Patrol Operations In the early 1930s Prohibition had been the law of the land for over 10 years.  The Coast Guard was heavily involved in maritime interdiction and the Customs Service and Border Patrol had the enormous task of combating the smuggling of alcohol, illegal aliens and drugs […]

1932:  Coast Guard Air Station Miami Established Dinner Key was originally an island in Biscayne Bay which was connected to the mainland with fill in 1914. In 1917 the Navy chose this site to become a Naval Air Station. The base was commissioned the following year and conducted flight training with 12 seaplanes and a […]

1932 – The Flying Life Boats A Coast Guard Aviation Section had been established at Headquarters under the direction of CDR. Norman B. Hall in 1928. The potential of aviation had been proven and aircraft with increased capabilities were desired. A statement of requirements was presented to aircraft manufacturers: “An aerial ‘eye” capable of extended […]

1929 – Air Traffic Flight Following Established by USCG The great expansion of the Coast Guard incident to anti-smuggling activities during the Prohibition years brought about a major expansion in radio communication capabilities. Prior to that time cutters were equipped with Navy type radio equipment and used Navy frequencies for handling ship-shore traffic. The need […]

1926 – The First Permanent Coast Guard Air Stations Established The prohibition of the manufacture, importing, transportation and selling of alcoholic beverages had become the law of the land on January 16, 1920. Enforcement of the law fell to the Treasury Department and as part of the Treasury Department, the Coast Guard was tasked with […]

1920 – The First Coast Guard Air Station, Morehead City, NC The Coast Guard was transferred from the Navy back to the Treasury Department on 28 August 1919. Coast Guard Captain Stanley V. Parker who had been the Commanding Officer of the Naval Air station Rockaway, New York was ordered to Headquarters and assigned as […]

1919 – NC-4 Transatlantic Flight NC-1 in original three engine configuration In the summer of 1917 the United States was fully engaged in World War I and was very concerned about the sinking of Allied ships by German submarines. The Navy was convinced that aircraft had real possibilities as an anti-submarine weapon and developed a […]

1956 – Promulgation of the National SAR Manual In 1956, with the publishing of the first National Search and Rescue Plan, the US Coast Guard was designated the federal Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinator responsible for search and rescue in the maritime regions, and, likewise, the US Air Force was designated the federal SAR Coordinator  responsible for […]