The Coast Guard’s multi-faceted missions during World War II including search and
rescue, anti-submarine warfare and patrol saw further development of the helicopter
platform. A helicopter training base was established at the Coast Guard Air Station in
Brooklyn, NY and in fact, all allied helicopter pilots of World War II were trained there.
Shipboard experiments soon followed, along with more powerful and practical
helicopters with great ranges and capabilities. Erickson would soon earn the honor of
being Coast Guard helicopter pilot #1 in June 1943. Lieutenant (jg) Stewart Graham
became the USCG’s #2 helicopter pilot a few months later and would go on to become
the US Navy’s first helicopter test pilot and played a key role in the development of
helicopter anti-submarine warfare. Although there were those who opposed further
helicopter development and failed to see its promise, Erickson, Graham and others
persevered. It seemed that every time the utility of the helicopter came into question,
some event or remote rescue would prove the indispensability of the platform.
Today, the aviation community within the Coast Guard is as strong as ever as the crews of
fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters work hand in hand with their seaborne colleagues to
fulfill the Coast Guard mission. As the names of the great pioneers of Coast Guard
aviation reverberate throughout the USCG aviation community and beyond…Stone,
Chiswell, Erickson…today’s Coast Guard heroes pay tribute to 100 years of heritage and
chart a course into the next century. Today, as always, the men and women of the Coast
Guard are true to their motto: SEMPER PARATUS – Always Ready!
Left: LT Commander Frank Erickson (4th from right) and the first USCG helicopter detachment in front of a Sikorsky R-4 (called the HNS-1 in Coast Guard service). Photo: USCG
Right: The HNS-1's ability to operate in almost any environment was instrumental in Erickson's ability to demonstrate the utility of the helicopter. As seen in this photo, the HNS-1 was instrumental in the rescue of a stranded Canadian aircrew that crash landed in remote northern Labrador. Photo: USCG
23