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Chronological History
Search & Rescue
In Their Own Words
Aircraft

Home
Chronological History
Search & Rescue
In Their Own Words
Aircraft

The Early Years Videos

The Early Years

1915: The United States Coast Guard Was Established

1916: The Beginnings of Coast Guard Aviation

1916: The Navy Offered Flight Training to the Coast Guard

1917: Coast Guard Aviation in World War I

1919: NC-4 Transatlantic Flight

1920: The First Coast Guard Air Station, Morehead City, NC

1926: The First Permanent Coast Guard Air Stations Established

1929: Air Traffic Flight Following Established by USCG

1932: The Flying Life Boats

1932: Coast Guard Air Station Miami Established

1934: Coast Guard Commences Aerial Border Patrol Operations

1934: Coast Guard Obtains the Grumman JF-2 Duck

1934: Coast Guard Air Station Biloxi Established

1935: Coast Guard Air station Salem Established

1935: VIP Executive Transport Purchased

1935: Coast Guard Air Station St. Petersburg Established

1935: Coast Guard Air station Port Angeles Established

1936: Coast Guard Cutters Designed to Carry Aircraft

1936: Viking Flying Boat 00-1 Obtained

1937: Coast Guard Air Patrol Station Charleston Established

1937: Coast Guard Air Station San Diego Established

1938: Coast Guard Purchases Hall PH-2/3 Flying Boats

1938: Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn Established

The Early Years Videos

The Growth Years

1939: Grumman JRF-2/3 and 5G Purchased

1939: Coast Guard Participates in the Neutrality Patrol

1940: The Coast Guard and the Birth of the Helicopter

1940: Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City Established

1940: Coast Guard Provides Aircraft and Crews for the US Coast and Geodetic Survey

1941: Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco Established

1941: Grumman J4F-1 Purchased

1941: Coast Guard Acquires Consolidated PBY-5/-5A/-6A Aircraft

1941: Coast Guard Aviation Anti-Submarine Operations

1942: The Coast Guard Acquires OS2U Kingfisher Aircraft

1943: Coast Guard Assigned the Sea-going Development of the Helicopter

1943: Coast Guard Acquires Martin PBM 3/-5 Flying Boats

1943: The Development of Air-Sea Rescue

1943: Coast Guard Patrol Squadron VP-6CG Established

1944: Air Detachment Annette Island Alaska Established

1945: Coast Guard Auxiliary Aviation

1945: Coast Guard Acquires P4Y-2G Privateers for Air Sea Rescue Duties

1946: Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City Established

1946: Post World War II Coast Guard Search and Rescue

1946: Coast Guard Air Detachment Argentia Established

1946: Pacific LORAN and Post War Aviation Support

1946: Post War Helicopter Development

1946: International Ice Patrol – Aerial Surveillance Becomes Primary

1946: Coast Guard acquires PB-1G Long Range Search and Rescue Aircraft

1946: Operation HIGH JUMP

1947: Coast Guard Aircraft Repair and Supply Base Established

1947: Coast Guard Air detachment San Juan Puerto Rico Established

1947: Coast Guard Air Detachment Kodiak Alaska Established

1948: Coast Guard Provides Aviation Support for the Treasury Department’s Alcohol Tax Unit

1949: Coast Guard Air Detachment Barbers Point Established

1950: The Korean War – Coast Guard Aviation Participation

1950: Coast Guard Air Detachment Corpus Christi, Texas Established

1951: The ASW Helicopter Becomes a Reality

1951: Coast Guard Acquires the UF-1G/2G Albatross Aircraft

1951: Coast Guard Acquires the HO4S Helicopter

1952: Coast Guard Air Detachment Arlington Established

1952: Coast Guard Air Detachment Bermuda Established

1954: Coast Guard Acquires Martin P5M Seaplanes

1955: Coast Guard Air Detachment New Orleans Established

1956: Promulgation of the National SAR Manual

1944-1946 Rotary Wing Deployment Videos

1944: Ocean Going Trial of the YR-4B Helicopter Videos

1943: Helicopter Deck Landings Videos

Coming Of Age

1957: Aircraft Requirements Submitted to Congress

1958: C-123B Aircraft Obtained

1958: Air Detachment Naples, Italy Established

1959: HUS-1G Helicopters Obtained

1959: LORAN C Chains Established

1959: First of the HC-130 Aircraft were Obtained

1961: Coast Guard Roles and Mission Study Initiated

1962: Coast Guard Aviation Development Master Plan initiated

1962: The Cuban Missile Crisis

1962 – First Coast Guard Standardization Manual for Aircraft Operation

1962: Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles Established

1963: The First of 99 HH-52A Helicopters Entered Coast Guard Service

1963: The VC-4A Executive Transport Was Purchased

1963: Air Station Savannah Established

1963: Coast Guard Air Station Houston Established

1964: Coast Guard Air Station Astoria Oregon Established

1964 : First of the 210 foot Coast Guard Cutters Were Launched

1965 : Air Station Miami Moves from Dinner Key to Opa-Locka Airport

1966: Air Station Detroit Michigan Established

1966: The Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Established at Mobile Alabama

1967: Coast Guard – Air Force Pilot Exchange Program Initiated

1967: United States Coast Guard Transferred to the Department of Transportation

1967: The Coast Guard Red Stripe Identification Symbol Was Adopted

1967: HH-3F Helicopters Entered Coast Guard Service

1969: Icebreaker Support Section (IBSEC) Established

1969: VC-11A Executive Transport Entered Service

1969: Coast Guard Air Station Chicago Established

1969 – Coast Guard Deploys a Detachment to Greece

1969: Simulator Training Program Initiated at the Coast Guard Aviation Training Center

1969: Air Station Cape May New Jersey Re-established

1970: Air Station Cape Cod Massachusetts Established

1970: Evaluation of Hovercraft Suitability for Coast Guard Use Conducted

1971: The Air Station Borinquen Puerto Rico Was Established

1972: The Coast Guard Uniform is Changed

1973: Medium Range Search Aircraft Evaluation Conducted and the Procurement of the HU-25:

1973: Coast Guard Deployed Helicopters on Surface Vessels and Drug Interdiction Operations Begin

1974: Air Station North Bend Oregon Established

1964: A History of Alaska Patrol (ALPAT) Aviation Support

The Modern Era

1976 – Air Station Clearwater Established

1976 – 200 Mile Fishing Zone Established by Public Law 94-265: The Coast Guard Was Given the Responsibility for Enforcement

1976 – The Marijuana War Begins: The Coast Guard Becomes the Lead Agency for Maritime Drug Interdiction

1976 – HC-131A: Obtained as a Medium Range Search (MRS) Interim Replacement Aircraft for the HU-16

1977 – Coast Guard Air Station Sitka Established

1977 – Air Station/Group Humboldt Bay, California Commissioned

1978 – The Coast Guard Aviation Technical Training Center Was Established

1978 – Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento Established

1979 – HH-65 Aircraft Program Office Established

1980 – Mariel Boatlift -U. S. Coast Guard Operations During the 1980 Cuban Exodus

1981 – Coast Guard Air Detachment Guantanamo Bay Cuba Established

1982 – Coast Guard and the Department of Defense Conducted Joint Evaluation of Lighter Than Air (LTA) Aircraft

1982 – HU25 Falcon Jet Enters Service

1982 – OPBAT – Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos; a Cooperative Drug Interdiction Operation Initiated

1984 – U. S. Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer Program Established

1984 – Operation Hat Trick –The Coast Guard Takes the Offensive in the Drug War

1985 – HH-65A Dolphins Enter Coast Guard Service

1987 – Coast Guard Aviation Established an Air Interdiction Role in the Drug War

1986 – RG-8A Condor: Covert Surveillance Aircraft Enter Coast Guard Service

1990 – HH-60J Jayhawk Helicopter Enters Service

1990 – CASA 212-300 Light Transport Aircraft Obtained

1990 – CDR Bruce Melnick – First Coast Guard Astronaut

1991 – Desert Storm – Coast Guard Aviation Participation

1994 – Coast Guard Acquires Executive Transport: C-20B

1994 – Alien Interdiction: The Flow Becomes a Flood

The Present Era

1995 – The Deepwater Mission and Capability Analysis Report

1995 – Migrant Interdiction- Operation ABLE RESPONSE and Beyond

1998 – Drug interdiction: Operation FRONTIER LANCE; Operation NEW FRONTIER and Airborne Use of Force

1998 – Group-Air Station Atlantic City Established

1999 – USCG Cutter Bear deployed with the U.S. Navy Sixth Fleet for Operation ALLIED FORCE

1999 – The Interagency Task Force on Coast Guard Roles and Missions

2000 – Coast Guard Aircraft Mission Capabilities Upgraded

2000 – LCDR Daniel C. Burbank Selected as a NASA Astronaut

2001 – Coast Guard Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON) Established

2001 – Drug Interdiction in the Eastern Pacific Transit Zone

2002 – Initial Contracts for the Deepwater Project Awarded

2002 – Coast Guard Acquires the C-37A Long Range Command and Control Aircraft

2002 – The Coast Guard Aviation Transformation Plan

2003 – Coast Guard Transferred to the Department of Homeland Security

2003 – Coast Guard Units Deploy During the Iraq War

2003 – Airborne Use of Force – Coast Guard Arms HH-65C and HH-60J Helicopters

2005 – Coast Guard Acquires the C-143A Medium Range Command and Control Aircraft

2005 – Hurricane Katrina

2006 – Coast Guard Assumes National Capital Rotary Wing Air Intercept Mission

2007 – Coast Guard Acquires HC-144A Maritime Patrol Aircraft

2007 – Arctic Awareness – The Coast Guard Prepares

2008 – Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center Dedicated

2008 – Coast Guard UAS (UAV) Program Office Established

2010 – The Haitian Earthquake

2010 – The Deepwater Horizon Drilling Rig Explosion

2014 – Coast Guard Acquires C-27J Aircraft

1996 – Drug Interdiction Surge Operations Re-established

2018 – The Coast Guard Selects the ScanEagle UAS for NSC Cutters

2015 Coast Guard Increases Airborne Reconnaissance Capabilities With The Minotaur System Architecture

1998: Operation Jester – Coast Guard Aviation in Peru

Oral History

CMR Tom Walters, USCG (Ret.)

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