From the Ford Island control tower, LT Erickson watched in horror as men drowned in the harbor. Boats tried to rescue the sailors, but they could not get through the flames. The frustrated Erickson remembered an article about new kind of aircraft called the helicopter. Helicopters could hover over a position, making them perfect for flying to swimming sailors and hosting them to safety. LT Frank A. Erickson spent the rest of his career in the United State Coast Guard making his dream of rescue helicopters real. He was, in many ways, the father of Coast Guard helicopter rescue.

LT Frank A. Erickson was the early morning duty officer for Naval Air Station Pearl Harbor. From his post in the Administration Building on Ford Island, LT Erickson watched the morning flag- team prepare to hoist the colors. Following that, he would be relieved. Suddenly, bombs began to fall near the southern end of the base. As LT Erickson turned toward the shipyard, he could see torpedo bombers attacking the USS California, which was moored near the Administration Building. The phone rang immediately and the agitated NAS commander, CAPT James M. Shoemaker, asked, “What the hell kind of drills are you pulling down there?” LT Erikson convinced the captain it was a real attack. A few minutes later, CAPT Shoemaker drove from his home on the island and took charge.

LT Erickson was on the crew of the USCG Taney. He flew the ship’s J2F Duck seaplane. However, the Taney was far away, in Honolulu Harbor. He would not be able to reach it during the attack. Instead, LT Erickson was told to go to the landplane control tower, Building S-84, and take command. Running through bomb shrapnel, made it to the tower and began to operate it. Enterprise CAG “Brig” Young went to the control tower after landing his SBD Dauntless that had been damaged by friendly fire. Young later wrote, there was only a single officer on duty, and he was a Coast Guard officer. LT Erickson had a very small command.

Five months later, LCDR Erickson was posted to Floyd Bennett Field in New York. He was quickly sent to the Sikorsky Aircraft plant in Bridgeport, Connecticut, where he was to learn to fly helicopters and act as liaison between Sikorsky and the Coast Guard. (His training made him Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot No 1.) While at Sikorsky, he wrote a series of influential reports arguing that helicopters would be useful for many activities, including convoy support, police operation, and, of course, rescue. In 1943, CDR Erikson became executive officer of the Coast Guard Air Station at Floyd Bennett Field. He later became commanding officer for a year before being released to work on research full time. He continued to work on helicopter issues for the remainder of his Coast Guard career. In the picture that follows, he is flying with a passenger—Igor Sikorsky.

In 1942, when he was at Sikorsky, German U-Boats were sinking large numbers of merchant ships, particularly in the gap in the middle of the ocean route, where land-based aircraft could not provide cover. Erickson pushed the idea of operating helicopters from merchant ships to go on patrols and even drop depth charges. Operational tests quickly demonstrated that the idea was feasible. Helicopters perform exactly that service for the Navy today, although operating from Navy ships instead of merchants. However, by late 1942, the need for helicopters to do anti-submarine missions became a low priority because escort carriers with significant air groups were becoming available.

This gave Erickson a chance to develop rescue concepts. He demonstrated that helicopters could pick people up with slings, although the power of current helicopters limited the rescue weight to 130 pounds. In the figure that follows, Erickson is at the controls. The person being “rescued” is Igor Sikorsky.

Erickson believed that helicopters could perform rescues in almost any weather. He personally demonstrated this in 1943, when the USS Turner exploded near Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Blood plasma was desperately needed, but weather conditions had grounded all flights. Asked if he could deliver the plasma by helicopters, Erickson gave a big smile and said, “Yes, Sir!” Despite challenging conditions, including the need to leave the plasma pickup site backwards under zero-visibility conditions, Erikson succeeded in delivering two cases of badly-needed plasma. This was the first helicopter rescue mission in history.

Although the potential for rescue helicopters was now well established, funding was thin. Ironically, it was an application that had not been anticipated that kept the helicopter group in operation during the war. Ships in port needed to calibrate their gun control radar systems. Helicopters, with their ability to fly in the confined space of the harbor and hover if necessary, were ideal for the task. Erickson and other helicopter pilots that he had trained flew many radar sighting missions, keeping demand high for the helicopter group.

Frank A. Erickson spent most of his remaining Coast Guard career working on helicopters. He retired as a captain. Today, we think nothing of helicopters saving people at sea under the most challenging conditions. Yet the idea was born when a young Coast Guard Lieutenant watched in horror from the land plane control tower (Building S-84) as men died in the water around Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

References

Beard, Barrett Thomas, Wonderful Flying Machines: A History of U.S. Coast Guard Helicopters, Naval Institute Press, 1996.

LT Connie Braesch, “Coast Guard History Day—Honoring Captain Frank A. Erickson, July 1, 2009. http://coastguard.dodlive.mil/2009/07/coast-guard-history-day-%E2%80%93-honoring-captain-frank-a-erickson/

Lt. Frank Erickson, Report on his Experience in Pearl harbor, December 7, 1941. http://www.uscg.mil/history/docs/PH_Erickson_Report.asp

United States Coast Guard, “Captain Frank A. Erickson, USCG” http://www.uscg.mil/history/people/EricksonFrankBio.asp.

Ray@Panko.com

Douglas C-47/DC-3 “Cheeky Charley”

Twin-engine Military Transport and Cargo Aircraft with a Crew of Three

Figure 1: The Cheeky Charley in Hawaii, in Military Camouflage Source: www.oldprops.ukhome.net

• The C-47 “Gooney Bird” was a military version of the Douglas DC-3, which entered service in 1936. The DC-3 is one of the most important transport aircraft of all time.
• More than 16,000 civilian and military versions of the DC-3 were built.
• C-47s could carry 28 passengers or 6,000 pounds of cargo, at a cruising speed of 160 mph, over a range of up to 1,600 miles. Civilian DC-3s normally served 21 passengers in seven rows of seats, with two on one side an isle and one on the other.
• C-47s were used everywhere in World War II. They hopped among in the Pacific to fly long distances. They also flew supplies “over the hump” from India to China.
• After World War II, most C-47s and other military variants were sold as surplus to airlines, making the DC-3 dominant for short and medium routes for decades afterward.
• In Vietnam, some C-47s were converted into AC-47 “Spooky” gunships. Each Spooky had three 6-barrel 7.62 mm miniguns that fired out the side of the aircraft. Each minigun could fire up to 6,000 RPM or 4,000 RPM, depending on the model. Spookies flew pylon turns around ground targets.
• Our aircraft served in the Pacific from 1943 to 1945. One of its names was “Cheeky Charley.” Afterward, it was used by a series of Australian airlines. When used by the Australian National Airlines, it was called “Tarrana” (Kangaroo). In 1972, Charley flew to Hawaii to handle commercial cargo service. While here, it had cameo roles in two movies—Pearl Harbor and Outbreak. During its time at Genavaco Corporation, it was used for interisland cargo operations in 1976. Genevaco called her “Tyranna.”
• By the end of its war service, this aircraft had flown a little over 3,000 hours. By the end of her civilian life, this was  55,000 hours. In April 2012, Charley was towed from the Honolulu International Airport to its new home, Pacific Aviation Museum on Ford Island in Pearl Harbor.

The Boeing website states that that the Douglas DC-3 “is universally recognized as the greatest airplane of its time. Some would say that it is the greatest of all time.”[1] Certainly there is no doubt that passenger versions of the DC-3 introduced new levels of speed, comfort, and range. Beginning in 1936, DC-3s carried people across the U.S. continent with “only” three refueling stops and in less than 18 hours. When World War II became imminent, production shifted to military versions. The main USAAF variant was the C-47 Skytrain, which the British Commonwealth called the Dakota. Over 16,000 civilian and military versions of the DC-3 were built, including 607 civilian DC-3s, over 10,000 C-47s and other U.S. military variants, almost 5,000 Lisunov Li-2 in the USSR, and even 487 Showa L2Ds with Mitsubishi Kinsei engines in Japan.

Figure 2: Japanese Showa L2D Source: Wikipedia, Showa/Nakajima L2D

Douglas introduced its DC-2 in 1932, with encouragement from TWA. (Only a single DC-1 prototype was built). The DC-2 could carry 14 passengers or 3,600 pounds of cargo. In comparison, the competing Boeing 247 could only carry 10 passengers. Figure 3 shows that the Douglas DC-2 and DC-3 shared a strong family resemblance.

Figure 3: Douglas DC-2 Source: Wikipedia, Douglas DC-2

Surprisingly, the DC-3 almost did not get built. American Airlines pushed Douglas to produce a larger aircraft that could carry more passengers and have sleeper berths. Douglas was reluctant to do so given the success of the DC-2 and uncertainty about the commercial viability of a larger aircraft. However, Douglas relented when American guaranteed an order for 20 of the aircraft. This became the Douglas Sleeper Transport.

Figure 4: Douglas Sleeper Transport Source: California State College

Douglas then extended this design to be the iconic DC-3, which carried 21 passengers with traditional seating in 7 rows of 3. A legend was born.

Figure 5: DC-3 Seating Source: California State College

Figure 6: DC-3 Cockpit Source: Paul Phelan, Aviation Advertiser.

Today, we think of the DC-3 as a relic. When it came out, however, it was the latest and greatest thing in passenger speed, comfort, and range. A Douglas advertisement placed a DC-3 by a Cord Speedster to show their similar lines and to emphasize the new airplane’s performance.

Figure 7: Douglas DC-3 and Cord Speedster Source: Boeing

Figure 8: Norwegian Douglas DC-3 at the Duxford Air Show, 2007 Source: Ray@Panko.com

From its introduction in 1936, the DC-3 revolutionized the air transport industry. It was an advanced design with multi-cellular wings and an autopilot. Its innovative design won the Collier Trophy that year. The president of American Airlines said that the DC-3 was the first airliner that was profitable with passenger carriage alone, without government subsidies. Other airlines were quickly sold on the $160,000 DC-3 as well. By the beginning of 1939, an astounding 90% of the world’s passengers were flying on DC-2s or DC-3s.

As war came closer, the USAAF began to take over DC-3s originally destined for the airlines. The first of these military DC-3s was the C-53 Skytrooper, which was little-changed from the DC-3. It was designed to carry 28 paratroopers into combat.

Figure 9: Paratroopers U.S. Library of Congress, fsa.8e0022.

Figure 10: Paratroopers Deploying Source: Imperial War Museum, 4700-30 BU 1162.

The C-53 was also designed to tow gliders. Normally, the glider would trail the aircraft at take-off.

Figure 11: C-47 Taking Off, Towing a Glider Source: Imperial War Museum, 4700-06 EA 37974.

For field recovery, the C-53 would snag a tow line, yanking the glider into the air. It was even possible to tow a pair of gliders.

Figure 12: Retrieving a Glider U.S. National Archives, 342-FH-3A20143-82467AC

Given the cargo limitations of the C-53, the USAAF purchased only about 380 Skytroopers. Then production began on the improved C-47 Skytrains. Douglas built more than 10,000 C-47s. However, the first C-47 did not fly until just after the Pearl Harbor attack, so civilian DC-3s and C-53s had to hold the line until massive numbers of C-47s began to appear.

Figure 13: C-47s in Flight Source: U.S Air Force Photo

Compared to DC-3s and C-53s, C-47s had strengthened floors for carrying cargo and stronger landing gears. However, their most visible feature was their double-wide doors designed to facilitate cargo loading and unloading. It was even possible to push a ramp up to the door and drive a jeep inside.

Figure 14: C-47s and R4Ds in the Berlin Airlift Source: U.S. Navy National Museum of Naval Aviation

Figure 15: Driving a Jeep into a C-47 Source: USAAF Photograph at Lonesentry.com

More versatile than the C-53, the C-47 quickly became the standard model, even taking over paratroop insertion. Soon, the C-47 “Gooney Birds” were everywhere in the war. They were especially important in the Pacific, where they island-hopped to fly very long missions. They especially also critical in moving supplies “Over the Hump” from India to China after Burma fell.

For wounded soldiers, its ability to do medical evacuation was literally a life saver. The situation inside was crude by modern standards, but the C-47 was the only option in most theaters.

Figure 16: Medical Evacuation Source: United States Army Air Forces

The Navy version of the C-47 was the RD4. In the World War II Navy designation system, R stood more-or-less for transport, and 4D indicated that this was the fourth transport aircraft from Douglas.

Figure 17: Navy R4D Source: United Kingdom, public domain.

After the war, the armed forces dumped most of their C-47s and other military versions of the DC-3 on the civilian market. Airlines quickly converted this flood of aircraft into civilian cargo and passenger airplanes. Although DC-3s lacked the range of the new four-engine civilian aircraft that were becoming popular for longer flights, their extremely low cost, high reliability, and ability to land everywhere made them a natural for almost everything else. DC-3s dominated the civilian aircraft market for many years, and the aircraft’s lifespan was lengthened by such extensions as turbofan engines. Quite a few DC-3s are still in use.

Although the Air Force reduced its C-47 inventory after World War II, it continued to use Gooney Birds heavily. In Vietnam, in addition to C-47s providing passenger and cargo services, EC-47s took on electronic warfare tasks. They quickly became known as the “Electric Gooneys.”

More dramatically, the C-47s were finally given guns and redesignated AC-47s. Three six-barrel 7.62 mm General Electric miniguns would fire out the left side of the aircraft. One fired through the open door, the other two through windows. These AC-47s were called Spookies or Dragons (after Puff the Magic Dragon).

Figure 18: AC-47 Gunship with Its Three Miniguns Visible Source: Marine Aviation Museum

In action, the C-47 flew a pylon circle on the targets. Initially able to fire up to 6,000 rounds per minute from each minigun (later up to 4,000 rounds per minute to conserve ammunition), the AC-47s could fire a devastating volume of bullets into any target that lacked strong anti-aircraft defenses. The pilot was the actual gunner, controlling the weapons through a button on the control yoke and using a camera viewfinder attached to the left window to aim the gunfire. AC-47s were soon joined by the much more powerful and more heavily armed AC-130 gunships.

Figure 19: AC-47 Gunship Pass Source: Marine Aviation Museum

Figure 20: AC-47 Gunship in Pylon Turn Source: Marine Aviation Museum

Our C-47, which was called Cheeky Charley during its World War II career, had a distinguished service record in the Pacific. Afterward, it operated in Australia until 1972, when it was transferred to Hawaii. It came to Pacific Aviation Museum in April, 2012. It’s service life exceeded 50,000 flight hours.

Our C-47 was completed at the Douglas Long Beach Plant in October 1943.

It was built as a C-47-A-65-DL.

Douglas serial number was 18949.

USAAF serial number was 42-100486.

Delivered to the 5^th Air Force at Brisbane on December 12, 1943.

Operated by 40^th TCS as “Cheeky Charley” with nose number 32.

Also operated by the 6^th TCS, the 67^th TCS, and the 68^th TCS.

1945

Withdrawn and transferred to the U.S. Foreign Disposals Commission in 1945, with 3,012 flight hours.

Converted to DC-3A with seating for 21 passengers.

Given Australian Aircraft Registry number VH-ANX.

Registered to Australian National Airlines, with the name “Tarrana” (Kangaroo).

Served with other airlines during its time in Australia.

Converted to freighter configuration in 1970.

Flown to Hawaii in 1972.

Purchased by Inter Island Transfer, which carried outsized tourist luggage to resorts.

Received U.S. civilian serial number N99131.

Leased to Genavaco Corp. for cargo operations in 1976. Named the “Tyranna”

Flown by Aloha Airlines on its 40^th anniversary in April 1998. (Having flown more than 51,000 by that date.)

Arrived at Pacific Aviation Museum in April 2012, with 55,000 flight hours.

Source: Francillon (1979).

Note: All links last visited in April, 2012.

Arizonawrecks.com, Douglas C-53B Skytrooper.

Aussieairliners.org. H-ANX. Douglas C-47A-65-DL. c/n 18949, http://www.aussieairliners.org/dc-3/vh-anx/vhanx.html

Boeing, DC-2 Civilian Transport, http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/dc-2.htm

Boeing, DC-3 Civilian Transport, http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/dc-3.htm

Boeing, Skytrain Military Transport, http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/skytrain.htm

Centennial of Flight Commission, The Douglas DC-3, http://www.centennialofflight.gov/essay/Aerospace/DC-3/Aero29.htm

Coates, Ed, VH-ANX “Tarrana,” http://www.edcoatescollection.com/ac1/austa2/ANA Fleet/VH-ANX.html

DC-3 Aviation Museum, Gene E. Guthrie Collection. http://www.dc3museum.org/content/gallery/Gallery/Gene+E+Guthrie+Collection

Francillon, Rene J. (1979) McDonald Douglas Aircraft since 1920, London: Putnam.

Gunston, Bill (1980) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Propeller Airliners, New York: Exeter Books.

Marine Aviation Museum, dba Vietnam War Flight Museum, Douglas AC-47 “Spooky,” http://vietnamwarflight.com/aircraft/spooky.shtml

Mutza, Wayne (2009). Gunships: The Story of Spooky, Shadow, Stinger, and Spectre, North Branch, Minnesota: Specialty Press.

Wikipedia, Douglas AC-47 Spooky.

Wikipedia, Douglas C-47 Skytrain.

Wikipedia, Douglas DC-2.

Wikipedia, Douglas DC-3.

Ray@Panko.com