Museum Audio Tour 45: Cold War Gallery: Air Sea Rescue

DAYTON, OH, UNITED STATES

12.31.1969

Audio by NMUSAF PA 

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force

After World War II, the U.S. Air Force’s Air Rescue Service needed different specialized aircraft types for all environmental conditions and locations. Look above to see such aircraft as the OA-12 or LC-126. Air Force amphibian OA-12s served in Alaska with the 10th Air Rescue Squadron. The LC-126 could be equipped with interchangeable floats and skis to permit operation from land, snow or water. The HU-16B on display is one of the last U.S. Air Force Albatrosses and it established a world altitude record for twin-engine amphibians when it reached nearly 33,000 feet in 1973. The CH-21B, originally called the “flying banana” was adapted to perform rescue missions under combat conditions. All of these rescue aircraft served vital missions for the Air Force during the Cold War. You may also be interested to learn that the OA-12 on display starred in several films, including "Murphy's War" of the early 1970s, before arriving at the museum.

• Date Taken: 12.31.1969
• Date Posted: 09.02.2015 13:52
• Category: Newscasts
• Audio ID: 41968
• Filename: 1509/DOD_102704389.mp3
• Length: 00:01:06
• Album: Museum Audio Tour
• Track #: 45
• Location: DAYTON, OH, US