U.S. military purchasers of the airplane, originally built as an “air yacht” for the commercial market, included the Navy, Army Air Corps and Coast Guard, the latter service procuring 13 of the airplanes and naming each of them after a star (i.e. Rigel, Vega). In Coast Guard service, the planes flew primarily in the search … RD-4 Dolphin
The museum aircraft entered service in 1950 and flew entirely with the Coast Guard, including a September 4, 1951, mission in which the pilot deployed its flotation bags to land in the Atlantic Ocean to pull an Air Force pilot from the water after he parachuted from his plane. The original purchase price for an … HO3S-1G
The HH-52 took helicopter search and rescue to a new level when delivered in 1963. With its watertight hull and stabilizing floats on each side of the fuselage, the Sea Guard could land on water or an ice cap to assist those in distress as well as pull them to safety using a rescue hoist. … HH-52A Sea Guard