Description
Celebrating the Centennial of Coast Guard Aviation
The Coast Guard’s first purpose-built, air-sea rescue aircraft was the Fokker PJ-1 Flying Lifeboat. In smooth waters like this, it could be a very useful tool, but in heavier seas or in situations where a vessel was on fire or someone onboard was severely injured, it could do little. This shortfall in capability led to the Coast Guard’s requirement for air-sea rescue helicopters.
Rescuing people at sea has always been a hazardous undertaking and the idea of being able to pluck someone from a distressed vessel from above goes back to the earliest days of powered flight as this December 1913 Flying editorial about the potential of airplanes to have rescued Titanic survivors illustrates. Between the World Wars, the Coast Guard helped pioneer air-sea rescue with flying boats and amphibian aircraft.
In June of 2016 the United States Coast Guard has been flying for 100 years, and they’re celebrating the anniversary of their aviation roots at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016. Several aircraft have been confirmed to attend the 2016 convention to help commemorate this important milestone in the U.S. Coast Guard’s history.
Planned aircraft include: Eurocopter MH-65 Dolphin short-range recovery helicopter , Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk medium-range helicopter, Lockheed HC-130 Hercules long-range surveillance aircraft, EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry, medium-range surveillance aircraft, Alenia C-27 Spartan, medium-range surveillance aircraft.
While the aircraft and events honoring the Coast Guard aviation centennial will took place throughout AirVenture week, many of the activities will be focused on Thursday, July 28. That day’s events included a large contingent of Coast Guard aircraft, both fixed-wing and rotorcraft, with plane-side interviews throughout the day from Coast Guard pilots and aircrews. Some of those aircraft flew in the air show and a special evening program was held at the Theater in the Woods which highlighted the Coast Guard’s illustrious 100 years of aviation history.
This handsome challenge coin is minted in a brass alloy, given an antique bronze finish.
Each coin measures 1 3/4 inch (44mm) in diameter.
This is a surplus NWTMint item, packaging may vary.
This is an out of date design and will not be remade after product is sold out.
