1969 – Air Station Cape May New Jersey Re-established HH-52A helicopter on the left, HH65A helicopter on the right In 1926, a second Coast Guard Air Station was established at Cape May, New Jersey to deter rum-runners. The Air Station was decommissioned in 1938 due to a lack of funding. However, air patrol detachments were […]

1969 – Simulator Training Program Initiated at the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center In early 1969 the long range aviation plan reflected a need for modification in the way the Coast Guard conducting aircraft training.  The Navy and the Air Force were diverging from the direction the Coast Guard was going and training was costing more […]

1969 – Coast Guard Deploys a Detachment to Greece to Provide HU-16 Pilot Training for the Hellenic Air Force Albatross 515289, named “Faethon” was modified for the Electronic Warfare role. The situation in Cyprus had brought Greece and Turkey, both NATO members, to the threshold of war. In the spring of 1968, a military junta […]

 1969 – Coast Guard Air Station Chicago Established Commissioned in March 1969 by then-Commandant Willard J. Smith, Coast Guard Air Station Chicago, located on the Glenview Naval Air station, was the primary Search and Rescue unit for southern Lake Michigan. It was responsible for the waters from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Muskegon, Michigan and south to […]

1969 – VC-11A Executive Transport Entered Service. The first Turbojet Aircraft in Coast Guard Service The Coast Guard acquired a single Grumman Gulfstream II in February 1969 as a high speed executive transport for use by the Commandant and the Secretary of Transportation. A turbo-jet, purchased off-the-shelf, it was equipped with an Inertial Navigation System that […]

1969 – Icebreaker Support Section (IBSEC) Established at Aviation Support and Training Center Mobile The Coast Guard’s first ship-helicopter operations were on icebreakers. In December 1946, the CGC Northwind participated in the U.S. Navy’s Operation High Jump, the largest Antarctic expedition ever. Northwind carried a Grumman J2F-6 “Duck” airplane and a single Sikorsky HNS-1 helicopter. […]

1967 – HH-3F Helicopters Entered Coast Guard Service In November 1967 the US Coast Guard procured the first of the HH-3F Pelican Helicopters.   This twin turbine, medium range, amphibious, all weather helicopter extended the Coast Guard offshore search and rescue capabilities.  The HH-3F had a maximum speed of 142 knots with a normal cruise […]

1967 – The Now Familiar Coast Guard Red Stripe Identification Symbol Was Adopted and Was Incorporated Into the Aircraft Paint Scheme In the early ‘60s, America’s visual image had been neglected both inside as well as outside the United States. Since image building played an important role in the recent election of President John F. […]

1967 – United States Coast Guard Transferred to the Department of Transportation In his 1966 State of The Union Message, President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his intention to seek legislation creating a cabinet-level department that would oversee all federal transportation-related activities. The Coast Guard was to be part of this department. This was strongly opposed by […]

1967 – Coast Guard – Air Force Pilot Exchange Program Initiated The Coast Guard Aviators Served With the Air Force Combat Air Rescue and Recovery Squadrons in Vietnam HH-3E Helicopter Painted in Jolly Green Livery The Joint Chiefs of Staff ordered that search and rescue forces be sent into Southeast Asia in May of 1964.  […]