HELICOPTER HISTORY

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Igor Sikorsky and the first prototype electric rescue hoist in a 1944 8demonstration at Floyd Benne" Field. Piloting the Sikorsky HNS-l was ~USCG Cmdr Frank Erickson-father of the concept of the rescue hoist. ~

Developing the missing link­how the rescue hoist was bornHow wartime innovation and the dreams of a fewmen made the helicopter's lifesaving role possible.By Sergei SikorskyContributing Writer

As Hurricane Katrina movedinland from the Gulf Coast

late last year, leaving a trailof death and destruction, the firstcall once again was "Send in thehel icopters!"

Among the first to arrive were theUS Coast Guard (USCG) helicop­ters, which had been prepositionedjust outside the predicted track ofthe storm. They were joined by heli-

116 PROFESSIONAL PILOT / February 2006

copters from the armed forces andthe National Guard. Operating fromdemolished airfields in and aroundNew Orleans LA, the helicopter air­crews and the often unsung servicecrews performed maintenance mir­acles while living under the mostprimitive conditions.

At the peak of the rescue opera­tions, more than 400 helicopterswere involved. Hovering over half­submerged homes, helicopter crew­men were lowered onto the slipperyroofs by the rescue hoist. Often theywould have to chop holes in the

roof to rescue people trapped in theattic by high water. Despite the haz­ards posed by power lines, brokentelephone poles and half-destroyedtrees, hovering at night using nightvision goggles, the helicopter crewssaved an estimated 30,000 peoplein the hardest-hit areas of Louisiana

and Mississippi. Thousands morewere supplied with drinking water,food and ice while waiting to beevacuated in small boats.

Interestingly, much of the rescuetechnology displayed on TV screensduring Katrina was developed dur-

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-~-"'~"'-"f"I 't:c~'* ~ ~~~~~~~~;--==~~~Rescue hoist training demonstration at Floyd Bennett Field. The date is Aug 15, 1944 and the pilot is Cmdr Frank Erickson. Rescuee's name isunknown. Note the floating "horse-collar" and seat-type sling used in early versions of the rescue hoist.

ing WWII by a visionary USCG avi­ator, Lt Commander Frank Erickson.This writer had the honor of servingunder him as a helicopter mechanicduring WWII. Like an earlier "mav­erick" aviator, US Army Col "Billy"Mitchell, Erickson had his servicecareer destroyed by his peers. And,like Mitchell, Erickson had theuncomfortable gift of looking intothe future, and the problem of try­ing to sell that vision to his peers.

Erickson was an early convert tothe helicopter. He had visited theSikorsky factory in Jun 1942, andwatched a flight demonstration ofthe small VS300, with Igor Sikorskyat the controls. And he knew that

the Army had just taken delivery ofthe larger, 2-place XR4 and hadplaced an order for 30 more for ser­vice trials.

In addition, contracts had alreadybeen issued to Sikorsky to design 2larger helicopters-the 450-hp XR5and the 240-hp XR6. During themonths that followed, Erickson anda few fellow officers in the so-called

"helicopter mafia" started buildingsupport for a USCG helicopter pro­gram.

Their problem was that senior USNavy (USN) and USCG officerswere fighting the German subma­rine threat. The helicopter was notconsidered to be of use in the Battlefor the North Atlantic-hence not

worth funding.

Turning the first corner

In early 1943, the helicoptermafia gained credibility when the

British, with some 20 YR4 Hover­flies already on order, signed anorder for 200 R5s and openednegotiations for another 800 R6s.

Reluctantly, senior USN andUSCG officers agreed that USCGshould establish a Helicopter Testand Development Unit (HTDU) forevaluation purposes. And in Jun1943 Lt Commander Erickson andLt Stewart Graham were sent to the

Sikorsky factory for flight training,along with several hand-pickedUSCG aircraft mechanics. Theysh,!fed a small office at the Sikorskyfactory with 3 newly-arrived Britishpilots, also assigned to the heli­copter program.

On Dec 1, 1943, the world's firsthelicopter training base was formal­ly activated at Coast Guard AirStation (CGAS) Brooklyn-other­wise Floyd Bennett Field. Newly­promoted Commander Ericksonwas designated to lead the base,and Graham and the British pilotsmoved out of the Sikorsky plant toFloyd Bennett. A few draftees-for­mer Sikorsky employees with priorhelicopter experience-were culledfrom the ranks and reassigned to thebase. This writer was one of them.

The hel icopter soon began itslong history of saving lives. In theearly morning of Jan 3, 1944, thedestroyer USS Turner blew up offSandy Hook NJ. The blast was sopowerful that it woke the teammembers at Floyd Bennett, some20 miles away. The weather wasterrible-winds were gusting to 30mph, and driving snow and sleethad closed all the New York area

airports. Despite the near-lethalzero-zero weather, CommanderErickson successfully flew critical­ly-needed blood plasma to a SandyHook hospital treating the Turnersurvivors. In its Jan 6 editorial, theNew York Times said, "Nothing candim the future of a machine whichcan take in its stride weather condi­tions such as those that prevailed inNew York on Monday."

In Apr 1944, US Army Air Force(USAAF) Lt Carter Harman flew hisYR4 helicopter deep into Japanese­held territory 4 times to rescue thesurvivors of an American medevacaircraft which had crashed in the

Burmese jungle. The 4 survivors hidby day and moved by night to thesafety of a friendly native village.Harman used a village rice paddyas a landing field, flying out the 4men one at a time to a secret

airstrip, where they were trans­ferred to waiting aircraft and flownout to India.

A link defined

As details of the Burma rescue

reached Floyd Bennett, Ericksonstudied the mission. An idea struck

him. What the helicopter needed,literally, was a "missing link"-awinch or hoist that could lift a manfrom land or water, and into thecabin of a helicopter. By May, sev­eral ideas were being explored.

Basically, they were short-rangesolutions that could be tested on

the light, somewhat underpoweredHNS-1 (USN's R4) trainer. Long­range solutions would have to wait

PROFESSIONAL PilOT / February 2006 117

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large enough to carry a seated man.Large cork floats were fixed nearthe. upper edge, so that it floatedsemi-submerged, allowing easieraccess for the person being res­cued. Today, many call it the"Erickson Basket."

Shortly afterwards, USAAF Col HF Gregory visited the base to famil­iarize himself with its activities.

Gregory was the US Army's seniorrotary-wing test pilot, and directlyresponsible for all its helicopterprograms. He too was intrigued bythe concept of a rescue hoist andbegan to follow its progress.

Another early demonstration of the rescue hoist. USCG Aviation Mechanic Sergei Sikorskyhangs below a Sikorsky HNS-l, again piloted by Cmdr Frank Erickson, at Floyd Bennett Field

in Brooklyn NY on Jul 30, 1945.

for the larger, more powerful heli­copters expected in a year or two.There was no lack of ideas. Some

of them (fortunately) stayed asideas, while many of the other con­cepts that were developed are sti IIin use today.

The first rescue hoist was an exer­

cise in low-budget improvisation.After scouring local junkyards forparts, the team fixed a boom to theside of the helicopter, braced to thelanding gear. The outer end of theboom was near the top of the copi­lot's doorway, about 12 inches out­board. A series of hovers and for­

ward flights were made, whilegradually increasing the weighthanging at the end of the boom. Asa result, it was determined that a200-lb weight would not poseproblems in CG or lateral controlauthority.

In Jun 1944, a small team ofUSCG aviation mechanics, underthe direction of Machinist Mates

Oliver Berry and George Lubben,mounted the first experimentalhoist on HNS-1 BuAer No 39040.

The key part of the rig was a 12­volt rotary actuator that had oncebeen part of a bomb hoist.

The first tests showed a prob­lem-the 1000: 1 gear ratio resultedin a painfully slow hoist speed.Another unexpected problem wasthe magnetic brake, which had atendency to slip when lifting heav­ier loads, such as husky USN com-

U8 PROFESSIONAL PILOT / February 2006

manders. The hoist was then limit­ed to 170 Ib, which made life moreinteresting for the younger, lightermembers of the base.

Development continued duringJuly, and the parachute shop creat­ed various slings and "horse collar"harnesses. Pilot training was gener­ally done with dummy weights.Most "manned" testing was doneover the water, just off the seaplaneramp, to minimize injury in case ofbrake malfunction or sling failure­which happened more than once.

That same month, while watchingthe training, Robert Barry of theSperry Gyro Company, who wasaware of a small Vickers pump thatmight work, suggested that Ericksoncontact the Vickers HydraulicCompany. A few days later, hereturned with Vickers Representa­tive Tom Doe. After examining thehoist, Doe agreed to del iver 2 mod­ified Vickers hoist pumps, promis­ing they would lift 400 Ib at 2.5 ftper see.

Igor Sikorsky visited the USCGfacility on Aug 14. After he hadreviewed the British and Americanairmen, a series of demonstrationswas flown for him.

Sikorsky was particularly interest­ed in the hoist, realizing its poten­tial. Erickson raised him carefully inthe hoist to an altitude of about 12feet. If this writer's memory is cor­rect, Sikorsky was also shown aprototype rescue hoist basket, just

Enter the hydraulic pump

On Sep 23, Vickers' Doe andHenry Laher arrived with the 2hydraulic pumps and associatedhardware. The Berry-Lubben teamwent to work. Literally overnight,they removed the old hoist, rebuiltit with the Vickers hydraulic pumpand had it ready for test on 39040the next morning. The results werespectacular. Not only could it lift aheavier load-the higher hoistspeed allowed the helicopter toaccelerate from hover to best climb

speed much faster.The improved hoist could not

have come at a better moment.

USN had scheduled a major air-searescue demonstration off Mana­

squan NJ on Oct 2, 1944, andscores of civil and military govern­ment representatives were putaboard a flotilla of boats to watch.

For roughly 3 hours, the assembledaudience watched aircraft droppingrescue teams by parachute into thewater and demonstrations of largeand small inflatable life rafts and

other survival gear.Last on the program was the heli­

copter. A small boat put out 4"coasties" in 2 life rafts. Their inflat­

able life vests were equipped withspecial harnesses to hook to thehoist cable. Piloted by Lt Graham,helicopter 040 took off from a plat­form on one of the ships, flew 1/4mile to the rafts, picked up the 4men one at a time, and had themall back on deck in less than 10minutes.

To Erickson's delight, the heli­copter captured the majority of theheadlines in the press the followingday. But, more importantly, thedemonstration converted Chief of

Sergei Sikorsky, son ofthe late Igor Sikorsky,joined United Aircraft(later United Technol­ogies) in 1951 andretired from SikorskyAircraft as vp specialprojects in 1992.Today he is a Phoenix

AZ-based aviation consultant for several

companies, as well as an active freelancewriter and historian.

Undaunted, Erickson had the heli­copter reassigned to CGAS StPetersburg in Florida. The tests werehighly successful, and today, crop­dusting by helicopter is a world­wide industry.

Another program, started at FloydBennett in 1945, saw the modifica­tion of an HOS-1 (USN's R6) tocarry a prototype sonar installation.That summer, Graham proved theconcept of helicopter antisubmarinewarfare in a series of tests off BlockIsland NY. Much more sonar devel­

opment would follow before itbecame viable, but the seed hadbeen planted.

In May 1945, Germany surren­dered, followed by Japan in August,and the war was over. CGAS Brook­

lyn began to reduce manpower aspersonnel became eligible for dis­charge and return to civilian life. InFeb 1946, this writer also returnedto civilian life, just before Ericksonand the HTDU moved to CGAS

EI(zabeth City in North Carolina. Bythen, the unit had been reduced to3 hel icopters and a handfu I of"rotorheads" who would continue

the fight.Eventually, Erickson retired as a

commander and became a heli­

copter test pilot. Much later, theUSCG would recognize him bynaming a training facility at MobileAL-Erickson Hall-after him.Graham later retired as a comman­der, too, after founding and leadingfor several years the prestigiousHelicopter Test Pilots School atNaval Air Test Center Patuxent River

in Maryland.Some 60 years on, I can clearly

remember the feeling of floating onthe water in a one-man life raft,hooking up to a cable, and thenbeing lifted up as the engine noiseand airspeed increased, the sea gotfurther away and that friendly cabindoor drew closer. ~

Nov 29, 1945 saw what is believed to be

the first rescue of civilians by a hoist­

equipped helicopter. A Sikorsky YR5

flown by Sikorsky Chief Pilot D D "Jim"

Viner and USAAF Pilot Capt J Beighle

picked up 2 men trapped on an oil bargethat had been driven onto Penfield Reef,off Fairfield C1

ber of rides in the covered Stokes

litter, both during tests and laterdemonstrations, this writer neverfelt comfortable in the casket.

In the spring of 1945, thingsbegan to change. World War II wasclearly coming to an end-the lastclass for helicopter pilots andmechanics finished training in Feb1945, and the school closed.Shortly afterwards, CommanderErickson was relieved of his com­mand of the air station. His visionof converting the USCG to heli­copters was on target, but the tim­ing was premature.

Erickson's replacement was afixed-wing officer who was con­vinced that the future of Coast

Guard aviation lay in large flyingboats. A limited number of heli­

copters remained under Erickson'scommand, for "special projects,"but now the HTDU, and Ericksonhimself, were mere "guests" at theair station, rather than the owners.

Two special projects that Ericksonpreserved deserve mention. The firstwas to test the helicopter as a cropsprayer-the objective being to fightmalaria around US bases in Africa

and Asia. Berry designed the instal­lation of a 30-gallon tank, spraybooms and associated plumbing.The rig was ready by Nov 1945, butthe mosquitoes had gone south forthe winter.

Refining the hoist and sling

Development of the rescue hoistand accessory slings continuedthrough 1944. The team tried hoist­ing a "Stokes" litter, but found thatrotor downwash from the hoveringhelicopter tended to rotate the litter.Slip lines were then used to alignthe litter with the helicopter while itwas being hoisted.

In the fall, a team member sug­gested a hinged cover for the litter"to keep the patient warm" in flight.A coffinlike contraption, it had asmall window in the top. The onlything one saw through the windowwas the rotor head-as long as itwas turning, one presumed that allwas well. However, despite a num-

,

Naval Operations Admiral Ramseyfrom a skeptic to a supporter of thehel icopter.

After the Manasquan demonstra­tion, Col Gregory ordered severalhoists from the Vickers Company.Engi neers from Wright Field,Sikorsky Aircraft and the KellettAircraft Company visited FloydBennett Field to study the new,improved hydraulic hoist. TheArmy's hoists were ready in late Oct1944, and Erickson sent Chief PettyOfficer Leo Bryzicki to Wright Fieldto assist in the first installation of thehoist in one of USAAF's R4s.

90 PROFESSIONAL PILOT / February 2006