Made in the 1960s by Sikorsky, this promotional film shows the Coast Guard’s HH-3F helicopters in action in a variety of rescue scenario. The film begins with a boating accident that resulted in a severe fire. At 4:45, a hunting accident is shown, with one hunter shot in the leg by another. At 5:17, the hunter fires a flare, and in minutes a USCG chopper appears for the rescue. At 7:23, a remote LORAN station and light house is seen so that choppers can fix their position at any time. At 7:55, buoys and shore markers that are serviced by USCG helicopters are seen. Helicopters are used to retrieve buoys that have become demoored. At 8:25, helicopters are seen monitoring deep sea fishing and poachers. A deep sea fishing vessel is spotted by an Hu-16 aircraft at 9:00. The Grumman HU-16 Albatross is a large twin–radial engine amphibious flying boat that was used by the United States Air Force (USAF), the U.S. Navy (USN) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), primarily as a search and rescue aircraft. Originally designated as the SA-16 for the USAF and the JR2F-1 and UF-1 for the USN and USCG, it was redesignated as the HU-16 in 1962.
At 9:30, environmental pollution is seen on a beach, and USCG copters are shown enforcing environmental laws over an oil field where a spill is occurring. At 10:20, a sinking oil tanker is seen, and a test of a special rapid deployment system is seen that would allow rapid containment of an oil spill. At 11:30, USCG copters are seen responding in hurricanes, floods and tornado aftermath scenes. At 11;50, ships and oil tankers that are on fire and sinking are shown. At 12:00, the USCG Academy at New London is shown.
The HH-3F was a variant of the Sikorsky S-61R, a twin-engine helicopter used in transport or search and rescue roles. A developed version of the S-61/SH-3 Sea King, the S-61R was also built under license by Agusta as the AS-61R. The S-61R served in the United States Air Force as the CH-3C/E Sea King and the HH-3E Jolly Green Giant, and with the United States Coast Guard as the HH-3F “Pelican”.
USAF variants served in numerous air rescue squadrons and aerospace rescue and recovery squadrons of the Military Airlift Command (MAC), rescue squadrons of the Air Combat Command (ACC) and other USAF major commands worldwide. The aircraft was also used by a number of Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard rescue squadrons. All USAF HH-3Es, to include Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard, were retired in the 1990s and replaced by the current HH-60G Pavehawk.
The HH-3F Pelican was a dependable workhorse for the US Coast Guard from the late 1960s until it was phased out in the late 1990s. All USCG HH-3Fs were replaced by the HH-60J Jayhawk and those aircraft have since been upgraded to the MH-60T Jayhawk version.
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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com
