55 Years Ago in ARS

25 Jan 52

     A helicopter rescues a downed airman near the coastline of the Yellow Sea, while F-84’s strafe enemy troops in the area.  Escorting F-86’s destroy three MiG-15s during the pickup.

26 Jan 52

     A Rescue helicopter, behind enemy lines near the coastline of the Yellow Sea, receives small-arms fire while rescuing F-84 pilot, Capt. A.T. Thawley.

12 Feb 52

     A B-36 with 17 men aboard crashes in the snow near Goose Air Base, Labrador.  A two-man pararescue team parachutes from an SC-47 assigned to the 54^th ARSq.  They land in eight feet of snow in temperatures dipping to 20 degrees below zero.  Staying overnight, the pararescuemen find and care for the 15 men still alive.  A helicopter from the 54^th picks everyone up the next day.

27 Mar 52

     A helicopter crew, learning that Chinese troops have captured a downed US pilot near Pyoksong, make several low passes, enabling him to escape.  While one helicopter crew member fires at the Chinese soldiers with a rifle,  others  lower  the  hoist cable  and  rescue  the  pilot.

11-12 Apr 52

     Personnel  from  Flight C, 1^st ARSq,  rescue six persons

from the crash of a Pan American airliner at sea near Puerto

Rico.    The six survivors and a  number of  bodies are evac-

uated in an SA-16 aircraft.

14 Apr 52

     An SA-16 of the 3d ARSq, while under enemy small-arms fire, rescue a US naval aviator from the water.

28 Apr 52

     An H-19 helicopter of the 3d ARSq picks up a downed Royal Netherlands Air Force Sea Fury pilot.  It is the second time in three weeks that the same pilot has been picked up by a 3d ARSq chopper.

18 May 52

     An SA-16 amphibian from the 3d ARSq, while under fire from the enemy shoreline, rescues a downed F-84 pilot.

4 Jun 52

     An H-19 helicopter of the 3d ARSq picks up a downed British pilot, encountering automatic weapons fire during the rescue.

9 Jun 52

     A 3d ARSq H-19 helicopter picks up a downed UN pilot, encountering moderate small-arms fire en route.

9 Jul-18 Aug 52

     Following the departure of Colonel Richard T. Kight, Colonel J.C. Bailey assumes temporary command of ARS, pending the arrival of Colonel Thomas J. DuBose.

15-31 Jul 52

     Project  Hop-A-Long.      Two  ARS H-19’s  complete the first trans-Atlantic helicopter flight, touching down five times en route between Westover Field, Mass., and Prestwick, Scotland.  The test demonstrates the possibility of ferrying helicopters over long distances.  Captain Vincent H. McGovern and 1Lt Harold W. Moore piloted the H-19s. (We will have more coverage of this flight in our May issue.)

27-30 Jul 52

     The crew of an ARS SA-16 from the 58^th ARSq rescues 32 survivors after the crash of a British DC-3 commercial airliner in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and Benghazi, Libya.  After the SA-16 lands on the water, all 32 survivors, most of whom are seasick,  climb aboard.  Eventually, British destroyers pick up the downed personnel.  The SA-16, damaged by contact with a destroyer, is towed to port.  Captain Kendrick U. Reeves, pilot of the SA-16, is later awarded the Cheney Award for 1952.

30 Jul 52

     Following extended rains, helicopters of the 3d ARSq carry approximately 650 flood-stranded US military and Koreans to safety.  Flying more than 100 sorties, five large H-19s transport some 600 evacuees, while two H-5s carry the rest.  In the I Corps sector, two H-5s fly more than 30 sorties to rescue 60 flood-stranded Koreans and US soldiers.

19 Aug 52

     Colonel (later Brigadier General) Thomas J. DuBose assumes command of ARS.

4 Sep 52

     An H-19 from the 3d ARSq rescues a downed fighter pilot and two crewmen of a USN helicopter, which had lost power and crashed in the water while attempting to pick up the pilot.

12 Oct 52

     An SA-16 pilot, 3d ARSq, participates in two rescues within 30 minutes and more than 100 miles apart. After directing a helicopter pickup of a downed Saberjet pilot, the SA-16 pilot lands in the Haeju Harbor and, while overhead fighters suppress ground fire from the shore, picks up from a dinghy a 69^th FBS pilot who had parachuted from his burning F-84.

4 Nov 52

      Dwight D. Eisenhower, having campaigned on a promise to seek an end to the Korean War, is elected President.

14 Nov 52

      Reorganization of ARS Units.  Most of the former ARS squadrons with digits 1 through 12 are re-designated Air Rescue Groups.  Concurrently, the men and equipment of the former Air Rescue Flights are assigned to new Air Rescue Squadrons with digits 26 through 84.  These new squadrons are assigned to the aforementioned groups.  Air Rescue Service now consists of 11 groups and 41 squadrons.  The various groups and squadrons outside the contiguous United States are attached to the USAF commanding generals in the appropriate theaters for operational control.

2-5 Dec 52

      President-elect Eisenhower tours the front in Korea and meets with South Korean President Syngman Rhee.

22 Dec 52

     An SA-16 crew lands in an inlet near Haeju, a North Korean port just north of the 38^th parallel on the Yellow Sea, and rescues a downed HMS Glory Sea Fury pilot in his dinghy.

28 Dec 52

     An SA-16 crew of the 3d ARGp picks up a downed pilot in the Yellow Sea north of Cho-do.  He was in the water less than three minutes

  54 Years Ago in ARS

Jun 50-Jul 53
During the Korean War, the 3d Rescue Squadron (later 3d Air Rescue [AR] Group) rescues a total of 9,898 United Nations personnel, including 996 combat saves. In recognition of this service, the 3d AR Group receives three Distinguished Unit Citations (DUC’s), two Republic of Korea (ROK) Presidential Unit Citations (PUC’s), and ten campaign streamers.

31 Jan 53
During record floods in England, Airman Second Class Reis L. Leming, assigned to the 67th ARRSq, is directly responsible for saving 27 lives. Although he is unable to swim, he dons an exposure suit and pushes a rubber life raft through flooded areas to pick up stranded persons. Airman Leming later receives the George Medal from the United Kingdom.

3 Feb-17 Feb 53
During floods in the Netherlands, 12 aircraft (SA-16s, H-19s, C-47s, and C-82s) of the 66th, 68th, 69th, 82d, and 83d ARSq fly 198 sorties, evacuating 161 persons and delivering 32,900 pounds of relief supplies.

28 Feb 53
Third Air Rescue Group receives two new and larger H-19 helicopters. MATS C-124s fly the dismantled helicopters directly from the factory in the US to Japan, where they are assembled and test-flown before being ferried to Korea. Two additional H-19s arrived later aboard a C-124 from Camp Drum, NY, where they were participating in a cold weather test. 

18 Mar 53
The 33d ARRSq launches SA-16, H-19, and SC-47 aircraft to rescue survivors of the Japanese ship Ryosho Maru, which had run aground on the small island of Tori Shima near Okinawa. ARS personnel, aided by United States Army personnel, rescue 31 of the 38 personnel aboard the ill-fated ship.

12 Apr 53
Members of the 581st ARC squadron pulled Joe McConnell out of the water North of Cho-do after he shot down his eighth MIG and was downed in turn. This was in support of Air Rescue, and was prosecuted in daylight. Crew members and their helicopters went 26 miles South of Antung at night, straight line over water, from Cho-do, and then inland in a vain attempt to locate an evadee. That was the deepest helicopter penetration of the war, according to 5th Air Force.  One of Air Rescue's SA-16 crews flew navigation for them on that mission at about 100 feet off the water, and then stayed up with them until they came back out off-shore. Man, that crew was good!

18 May 53
An H-19 helicopter rescues two members of a B-26 crew 20 miles inside enemy territory by using tactics presaging those of later conflicts. The helicopter scrambles from its base and flies to a small island off the Haeju Peninsula to await fighters to clear the path to the downed airmen. Penetrating enemy territory at 5,000 feet, the helicopter follows the fighter pilots' directions until it locates the survivors who are signaling with a mirror. After the survivors set off a flare to indicate wind direction, the helicopter lands and rescues them, staying on the around for approximately 30 seconds.

11 Jul-23 Jul 53
The 58th ARSq rescues 16 survivors from a Royal Air Force (RAF) Hastings aircraft which had gone down in the Mediterranean Sea. An SA-16 lands near two life rafts, gathers up the survivors, and transfers the victims to a British destroyer.

27 Jul 53
At 10 a.m., Lt. Gen. William K. Harrison, USA, the senior delegate for the UN Command, and Gen. Nam Il, the senior delegate for the North Korean Army and the Chinese Volunteers, sign the armistice agreement to produce a ceasefire in the Korean War. As the Korean War formally ends, by 10:01 p.m., all FEAF's aircraft are located either south of the front line or more than three miles from North Korea's coast.

In accordance with the Armistice Agreement, in August, POWs are exchanged in Operation Big Switch—77,000 Communists for 12,700 UN men, of whom 3,597 are Americans.

July-December 53
ARS manpower strength drops to 6,333 people in 55 units at the end of the Korean War.

5 Aug 53
An RB-36 declares an emergency over the North Atlantic Ocean south of Iceland. Two engines are on fire, and the crew ditches the plane. The 67th and 68th ARSq respond, locate the wreckage, and drop an A-3 lifeboat to the four survivors. Surface vessels are directed to the scene.

21 Sep-18 Nov 53
As part of the post Korean War drawdown, eight ARS squadrons are inactivated.

52 Years Ago

29 Jul 55  

An SA-16 from the 58th ARSq rescues 19 survivors from a C-47 which had ditched in the Mediterranean Sea.  Because of the extra passengers’ weight, the plane cannot take off from the sea; it taxies 90 miles to the coast.  En route, the survivors are placed on crash boats and taken to shore.

18 Aug-2 Sep 55  

            Floods in the wake of Hurricane Diane threaten the northeastern United States.  ARS forces fly 72 sorties in 176 hours, and evacuate 54 people.

Sep 55     

            The Norwegian vessel Jopeter is caught in a North Atlantic ice pack.  A large-scale rescue effort is directed by the 55th ARSq, and 26 passengers and crewmen are evacuated to the safety of another ship.

Oct 55

            Brigadier General Thomas J. DuBose visits Air Rescue units in Europe.            

22 –28 Dec 55      

            The 41st ARSq uses SA-16s and SH-19s to evacuate more than 500 persons from flooded areas of northern California, particularly Yuba City, Eureka, and Maryville.  Some of these people were stranded on rooftops, automobiles, or clinging to debris.

27 Dec 55  

The 38th ARSq hoist-rescues 14 crewmen from the Japanese coastal steamer Tanda Maru, driven aground near Hachinohe in a storm.

51 Years Ago

MAR 56        National SAR Plan.    The first National Search and Rescue (SAR) Plan is published.  The object of the plan is to coordinate all United States SAR resources and activities.  USAF is responsible for coordinating SAR activities in the contiguous United States (or "Inland SAR Region").  USAF delegates this responsibility to the Continental Air Command (CONAC), and ARS supported CONAC between 1956 and 1961.

  25 MAY 56   Operation Wring Out. HQ USAF announces important forthcoming changes in the organization of ARS. The number of ARS groups and squadrons will diminish, and the number of small detachments, equipped with lightweight helicopters, will increase.  At the same time, these detachments will be spread over a broad area, since studies have indicated that 70 percent of all aircraft accidents occur within 20 miles of assigned bases.

  JUN – DEC 56  Four ARS groups and nine squadrons are inactivated.  At the end of 1956 ARS is comprised of eight groups and twenty-nine squadrons.

  18 AUG – 8 OCT   Three Air Force Reserve (AFRES) squadrons (the 301st, 302d, and 303d) are activated, and ARS is designated as the intermediate gaining command for the three squadrons.

  11 OCT – 19 OCT 56   ARS engages in an extensive but fruit­less search for a MATS Navy R6D (C-118) with 59 servicemen aboard.  The aircraft was lost between England and the Azores.  A total of 64 aircraft fly more than 4,000 fly­ing hours in a vain effort to locate survivors.

  12 OCT 56  SH-19s from the 33d AR Squadron rescue 28 crewmen from a light Army tug LT-578, which is stranded on a reef off of Okinawa.

  21 OCT – 26 OCT 56   The 31st AR Squadron searches for survivors of the Philippine ship SS Lepus which was caught in Typhoon Jean off Luzon.  Three SA-16s sight 11 survivors, and guide the USS Castor to their position

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