Hangar Tales
Stories That Just May Be Beyond Belief
Aviators always precede an actual tale with “True Story”. As CDR F. J. Wight once put it: a story most likely to have occurred without too much embellishing in the telling. It can be an imaginative narrative of a search and rescue story or just a humorous look at the day in the life of a Coast Guard Aviator.
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Throckmorton P. Gildersleeve
Throckmorton P. Gildersleve was a gibbon which is a small ape that lives in the trees and native to India and South China. It seems he got a little playful and bit an Admirals wife. This earned...
The Great Philly Bail Out
My Dad, Tal Sivils, CGAP 118/CGA 344, went to flight school with the legendary and last of the Coast Guard’s Aviation Pilots, John Greathouse. Among Master Chief Petty Officer Greenhouse’s many...
CGAD Sangley Point
was XO at Sangley under Don Lucius and Gus Shrode. Don had done ground work to lease land for a 300 foot extension on the North end of the runway at Naulo Point. Wining and dining the Skipper of...
Malcolm Smith and the Rental Car
They all stood atop the open ramp at the rear of the C-130 aircraft. Behind them I saw a I saw a brief metallic glint. I walked up the open ramp to where Connelly Beacham stood, dead center of...
How Paul Lamb Got Hooked on Coast Guard Aviation.
In September 1947, I left the farm in Illinois, went to Chicago and finally convinced CBM Charles P. Ashe (the CG Recruiter) to permit me to take the necessary exams for admittance into the Coast...
Fun and Games at Miami Air
I was stationed at Air Station Miami, what was then and probably still is, ‘The Busiest Air/Sea Rescue Unit in the World,’ as a third-tour Lieutenant from January 1971 to December 1975. During...
A Ptero Ptale
Jack loved a good joke or story, and was known to pull off a gag or two when the occasion presented itself. The PBYs at Sangley point routinely re-supplied remote LORAN (Long Range Radio Aid to...
A Helo Tale
One morning I came to work and suddenly noticed that the H-52s had new signs on their sides – Ladley’s Ambulance Service. Bill Kozlovsky, our engineering officer at the time, surely had a hand in...
Parachutist Wings
The following story is unique in the annals of Coast Guard Aviation History. I know of no other situation like this and while on active duty including 7 years of continuous service at Coast Guard...
Annette Air Station: Penal Colony or Paradise?
So what was the secret of Annette? To me, at least, it was a two year respite from the dirt and din of civilization, a return to the simple life....
WW II Attack on Port Angeles, Washington
Men came tumbling out of the building through doors and windows, carrying with them empty rifles, dashing to the air raid trenches. One sensible sailor, like the fictional television character,...
Scared Out Of My . . . Wits?
Ocean Station Vessel Delta reported a critical shortage of weather balloons, and requested that Coast Guard Air Station Salem fly out and air drop replacements. Sheesh! Fly over the North...
Pelican Tales: The Last of the Coast Guard’s Amphibious Aircraft
Water landing rescues were not always possible, of course, and in the aftermath of the Marine Electric sinking in 1983, the Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer program was developed. This new capability...
I Learned To Fly the Helicopter
To learn to fly a helicopter it takes time, perseverance, patience etc., and of course, an understanding instructor. My instructor was a nice fellow. At times he would become somewhat excited....
Rescue of Cuban Refugees on the Olo Yumi
That afternoon we started to ferry the survivors from Courageous to the USS Saipan. We made three sorties to Saipan, the first with the five most seriously injured. The second sortie we moved...
Vermillion Dam, Ohio SAR Case Summary
During 3 – 7 July 1969 a strong weather front blanketed the eastern Great Lakes and the North East. Within the front were an unusual number of severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. CCGD9 RCC in...
T’was a Dark and Stormy Night
Well , t’was a dark and stormy night on February 7, 1969, at Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Port Angeles, Washington. I was standing the HU-16E ready Copilot duty with my Aircraft Commander LT...
PBM Training at NAS Corpus Christi in the 1950s
The PBM training program was divided into morning, afternoon, and evening launches. Crews reporting for the morning launch found their planes lined up on the concrete apron and standing tall on...
A “Cut” on the Cap
For a first-tour Coast Guard aviator right out of flight training, standing the duty at old Salem Air Station was exciting. The anticipation of a possible SAR case kept the adrenaline pump at the...
First Flight of the International Ice Patrol
On 6 February 1946, as Patrol Plane Commander, I flew the "First Flight" of the International Ice Patrol. Subsequently, a trophy was presented to me commemorating this flight. It has been donated...
Retracing the Flight of NC-4
This is the story of Captain Bud Muench. His flight was inspired by the 1919 flight of USCG Aviator #1, Elmer Stone, the pilot on very 1st flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Captain Muench's...
Road to Mandalay
...before abandoning ship, the survivors had raided the New Year's booze supply and had tucked bottles into their wet suits, which they were now using most enthusiastically to celebrate their...