is there a role for modern day seaplanes in open ocean search and rescue.pdf

7/29/2019 Is There a Role for Modern Day Seaplanes in Open Ocean Search and Rescue.pdf

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IS THERE A ROLE FO R M O D E R N D A Y S EA PLA N ESIN OPEN O CEA N S EA R CH A ND R ES CUE?

A thesispresentedto th eFacultyofth eU.S.Army CommandandGeneralStaffCollegein partialfulfillmento fth erequirementsfo rth e degreeMAS T E R O F MILITA R YA R T A N D SCIENCE

byDAVID R.B R O W N ,LCDR,US N B.A.,Universityo f Wisconsin-Eau Claire,December1980

FortLeavenwQith,Kansas1997

Approvedfo rpublicrelease;distributionis unlimited.

1 9 9 7 1 1 1 4 0 7 0


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REPORTDOCUMENTATIONAGE FormApprovedOMBNo.0704-0188Publicreportingburdenforthiscollectionofinformationsestimatedtoaverage hourperresponse,includingthetimeforreviewinginstructions,searchingexistingdatasourcesgatheringan dmaintainingthedataneeded,an dcompletingan dreviewingthecollectionofinformation.end commentsregardingthisburdenestimateoran yotheraspectofthicollectionofinformation,includingsuggestionsforreducingthisburden,toWashingtonHeadquartersServices,DirectorateforInformationOperationsandReports, 21 5JeffersonDavisHighway,Suite 204 ,Arlington,VA2202-4302,andtotheOfficeofManagementan dBudget,PaperworkReductionProject (0704-0188), Washington,DC 0503.1 . AGENCYSEONLYLeaveblank) REPORTAT E7June1997 3 . EPORTYPE AND ATESOVERED Master'sThesis , 4Aug96-6June1997 4.ITLEANDUBTITLEIs Therea Rolefo rM o d e r nD aySeaplanesin OpenOceanSearchand Rescue? 6.AUTHOR(S)LcdrDavidR.Brown ,U.S . Navy

5 . FUND ING UMBERS

7.ERFORMINGORGANIZATION AME(S )AND DDRESS(ES ) U.S .Co mma n dand GeneralStaffCollegeA T T N :AT Z L - S W D - G D For tLeavenwor th ,Kansas 66027 -1352

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1 3 .BSTRACTMaximum 200words)This thesiseviewsth euse ofth eamphibiousairplanein open oceansearchan d rescue ,nd examinesth eapplicabili tyofa seaplanetofutureocean rescueoperat ions . T he authorexamineshehistoryofamphibiousaircraftnd w hy theyare no longerin use b y theU. S.military,ncludingtheCoas tGuard .Then a comprehens iveeview ofopenoceansearchan drescuemissionsonduc tedby th e U.S .Coas tGuard be tween993nd 1995sused toanalyzean d predic twhetherth e use ofseaplanesb y U.S .searchan d rescuegencieswould save additionall ivesoverth ecurrentmethodsin th eopen oceanenvironment.

OTIC Bn,.1 4.UBJECTERMS

CoastGuard,searchan drescue,seaplanes 1 5 . UMBEROFAGES 761 6.RICEOD E1 7. SECURITY LASS IF ICAT IONOFEPORTUnclassified

1 8 . SECURITY LASS IF ICAT ION OFHISAG EUnclassified 1 9 . SECURITY LASSIF ICATIONOF BSTRACT Unclassified

20 . IMITATION OF ABSTRACUnclassified

NS N540-01 -280-5500 Standardorm98Rev.- 89)PrescribedyNS Itd Z39-18 298-102


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IS T H E R E A R O L E FO R M O D E R N D A Y S E A P L A N E S IN O P E N O C E A N S E A R C H A N D R E S C U E ?

A thesispresented to th eFacultyofth eU.S.A r m y C o m m a n dand Genera lStaffCollegein partialfulfillmentofth erequirements forth e degree

M A S T E R O F M I L I T A R Y ARTA N D S C I E N C E

byD A V I D R.B R O W N ,L C D R ,U S N B.A. ,Universi ty ofWisconsin -EauClaire,December1980

FortLeavenwor th ,Kansas1997

Approvedforpublic release;distr ibution is unlimited.


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M A S T E R O F M I L I T A R Y A R T A N D S C I E N C E T H E S I SA P P R O V A L P A G E

N a m eofCandidate :C D R DavidR.B r o w nThes i sTitle:sThe reaRo lefo rMo d ernDaySeaplanesinOp enOceanSearch andRescue?

Approvedby:

LTCJesseD.Kreinop,B. A.

A M(/(y&n/sAr^C O LKennethR .Garren ,Ph.D.

,Thesis CommitteeChairman

_ ,Member

_ ,M e m b e r ,ConsultingFaculty

Accepted this6 thday ofJune1997by:

_ ,Director ,GraduateDegreeProgramsPhil ipJ.Brookes ,Ph.D.T heopin ionsandconclus ionsexpressedhereinar ethoseofth estudentauthoran ddo no tnecessari lyrepresentth eviewsofth eU.S.A r m yC o m m a n dandGenera lStaffCollegeo rany o thergovernmental agency.References to thisstudyshouldincludeth eforegoingstatement.)

1 1


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A B S TR A CT IS THERE A ROLE FOR MO D ER N DA Y SEAPLANES IN OPENOC E AN S EA R CH A ND RESCUE?byLCDRDavidR.Brown,USN,76pagesThisthesisreviewsth euse o f th eamphib iousairplanein openoceansearchan drescuean dexaminesth eapplicabilityo faseaplane to future oceanrescueoperations.Theauthor examinesth ehistoryo f amphibiousaircraftan dexamineswhy theyar enolonger in us ebyth eU.S.military,including theCoas tGuard.Thenacomprehensivereview o f openoceansearch-and-rescuemissions,conducted byth eU.S.Coas tGuardbetween1993an d1995,isusedto analyzean dpredictwhether theus eo fseaplanesbyU.S.search-and-rescueagencieswouldsaveadditionallivesoverth ecurrentmethodsin th eopenoceanenvironment.

m


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A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S Thisthesiswou ldnothavebeen possiblewithoutth ededicated effortsa number of

peop le . irst,Iwou ldlike to thankm yfacultycommit tee atth eC o m m a n dandGeneralStaffCol lege,CommanderB r o w nandLieutenantColone lKreinop ,fo rtheircommonsenseand guidance. specialnote ofthanksgoestom yConsul t ingFacultymember ,ColonelGarren ,fo renthusiasmand encouragement .Finally,m ysincereappreciat iongoesto EnsignCraigJarmarillo,U S C G ,forh is humorandt i relesseffor tsonm ybehalf .hanksto all ofyo u ,Ilook forward tocrossingpathsagain.

IV


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TABLEO F C O N T E N T S

Page APPROVALPAGEABSTRACTACKNOWLEDGMENTS v

C H A P T E R 1 .N T R O D U C T I O N2.ITERATUREREVIEW 8 3.RESEARCHMETHODOLOGY 04 .A N A L Y S I S 35.CONCLUSION 5

A P P E N D I XA .APPROXIMATES E A S T A T EE Q U I V A L E N T S 0 B .E A R C H A N D R E S C U E VEHICLE

CAPABILITYS U M M A R Y 1C.E A R C H ANDRESCUES I T R E P FORMAT 2D.DENTMCATION O F C O A S T G U A R D C A S E SU S E D IN THIS T H E S I S 3

BIBLIOGRAPHY 4I N I T I A LDISTRIBUTIONL I S T 6


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C H A P T E RI N T R O D U C T I O N

Background Waterandaviat ionhavebeenclosely associated from th e earliestdaysflightw as

envis ioned .W h e nponder ingflight,LeonardodaVincisuggestedflying machinesshould betestedoverwate randadvisedo naddit ionalsafetyequipment .Almostfrom th em o m e n t th e Wrightbro therst ookto th eair,a flyingb o a tw as underconst ruct ion .

From it sinception unti lth e196 0sth eseaplane andgeneralaviation followedsimilarpaths .irstbui l tin1 9 1 1 ,th eseaplane quicklygained acceptanceand useworldwide .orat ime it w asth e even th efastestaircraftflying.1 uring Wor ld W arH,seaplanessaw actional loverth eglobe in anumberofdiverseroles .ro m attackto supply to open -oceanrescue,amphib i answere truly th eindispensable utilityaircraft.eaplanesperformeddaring searescues ofdownedaviators during Wo r ldW ar T w o ,aswel lasin th eKorean andVietnam conflicts.nth elate 1950sandearly1960s ,th eU.S.Navy consideredth eseaplane o neof it spr imaryanti-submarinewarfareplatforms.2 udden ly,howeve r ,byth elate196 0sseaplanes werea ll buteliminatedfrom th eU.S .mili taryaircraftinventory.

O n6Apri l1996 ,asolo Americansailorin th ePacificOceanradioedan emergency requestforimmediatemedica lhelp,tw o hundred milesfrom th enearestland.Noshipswere anywherein th evicinity.heil lsailor'svesselw aswel loutside th erangeofanyland-basedrescuehelicopter .heU.S.Coas tGuard ,with th eassistance ofU.S.Navy S ea AirLandSpecia l


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Operat ionForces(SEALs) ,respondedtoth eemergencyb yflyingovero ne thousandmileswitha C-130 aircrafttoassistth estrickensai lor .Becausetherew asno shipin th earea,th eU . S .N a v yS E A L sparachutedinto th ewate ran d tendedto th everyil lsailor.heythensailed th e boatovertw o hundredmilesto theneares tisland thathada runway .romthereth evictim w asf lownto th enearestmedicalfacilities.3T hetotalt imefromth edistresscalltoreachingmedicalfacilities w asoverfive days .Whi lethereis no doubtthattheCoastGuardand th eS E A L sperformedbrill iantly,couldanamphib iousaircrafthavem a d eth erescuein f ivehours?T h o u g hthisrecenteventhasahappyending,couldother t ragedies atseab eavoided b yusingmodernseaplanes?

In1996 ,w em u s trecognizethateventhough t echnology hasm a d eth ewor ldseem smal le randthatcancrossanyoceanin amatter ofhours ,overtwo- thi rds ofth e planetis covered b ywater ,andth eoceans remainth emajorgeographiccharacterist icofth eearth.heuniquecombinat ion of speed,range,and th eabili tytolando nwate rwou ldseem to maketh eseaplane a required partofan yorganization thatconductsmari t ime search andrescue operat ions .heU.S .CoastGuardandNavywou ld certainlyfallinto thatcategory .oweve r ,bothserviceshave s toppedoperat inganytypeofamphib iousaircraftaltogether.

Therehasbeen no single decis iontocance lamphib iousaircraftfromth eU.S .mili taryinventory.nstead,th e cancellat ion ofseaplaneandamphib ioushelicopterprogramsevolvedseparatelyin th eNavy ,AirForce ,andCoastGuard .hecostofoperat ionsandmaintenance ,th e availabili tyofmaintenancesupport ,changingro lesandmissions ,andth eevolutionofth e helicoptereach playeda partin th emili taryservice'sdecisionsto eliminateseaplaneuse.heAirForceeasilysurrendered th emari t imesearch andrescue mission to th e Navy .CompetingNava lairprograms an dth egrowth and improvedship compatibilityofhelicopters,gradually reducedth e rolesofNavyseaplanes.Budgetrealities,whichl imitairframechoices ,affectedth e U.S .CoastGuard'sopt ionsofwhich airframeto purchase.


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A m p h i b i o u shelicopters in th eU.S.havemetasimilarfate.hecostofdeveloping a new amphib ious airframe hasprovento b e excess iveincompar ison to othermili tarybudge trequirements.Addi t ional ly ,th esuccess of th eRescue Swimmerprogramin bothth eU.S .Navy andCoas tGuardhasreducedth eamphib ioushelicopterrequi rement .4

Because th edecis ionsto cance lmili taryseaplaneswereno tcoordinatedbe tweenth e serviceso rm a d ein th el ight ofnationalrequi rements ,w asth ecancellat ion ofseaplanes a mistake?Especially in th efieldofsearch andrescue whereh u m a nlife is atstake,do amphib iousaircraftoffer acapabili ty thatneedsto b esuppor tedb ys o m enationalmeans liketh emili tary?

Theseaplane b yit snatureis avery utilitarian aircraft.tis capab leofamult i tudeofmissionsincluding patrol,supply and t ransport ,aswel lassearch and rescue .esides th e ability to lando nwater ,seaplanesoffergreaterrangeandspeedsthanhelicoptersandgenerallybetterweight -car ry ingcapacity.hisversatilitymakesanamphibiousaircraftparticularlywel lsui ted forth emari t imesearchandrescue role.

Thisthesisinvestigates th eneedforareturn ofth eseaplaneto U.S .mili taryinventories in asearch andrescuerole.While it istruethatth esearch and rescue roleis beingadmirab lycarriedo utb y anumber ofother platforms, thisthesisexaminesth elackofth eamphib iouscapabili t ies in th e currentU.S .mili taryinventory.ouldU . S .l ivesno w beinglostatsea b e saved b yreturningamphib iousaircraft,specif icallyaseaplane,to th einventoryof th eservicesthatconductmari t imesearch an d rescue mission?

Currently,open-oceansearch andrescue operat ionsin th eU.S .are conductedb y helicopters, pat ro l - typeaircraft,andshipsofvar ioussizes.nth e event ofarescueatsea,seathatis an ygreatdistancefrom shore,these assetshaves o m edrawbacks .

Helicoptershaveonly fairforwardspeed.orasearch and rescuemissiono nehundredmilesfrom shore ,currentCo as tGuardhelicopterassetswilltake welloveran hourto arrive at


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th erescue locat ion .Additionally,ifth evictim is no timmediate lyfound,th ehelicopterwouldhaveto go into asearch pattern.h issearchpatternwillalso b es lowe rdue toth espeedofth e helicopter .inally,currentU.S .search andrescuehelicopters cannotlando nth ewater.Ahoistsystem is used toraiseth evictimuptoth eaircraft.fth evic t imsare incapacitated,helicoptersdependo nrescuesw immersw ho jump outand bringth evictim to th erescue hoist .

Fixed-wingpatrolaircraftare ofteninvolvedin searchand rescue operat ions .atroltype offixed-wingaircrafthavegoodforwardspeed in reachinga distresslocat ionaswellasspeedin asearch pattern. singth epreviousexampleofo nehundred miles ,a pat ro ltypeofaircraftcanoften coverthedistancein halfofth et imeofahelicopter . oweve r ,onceth erescuesiteis reached ,fixed-wingaircraftare l imited todirectingotherpla t formstoassistth evic t imsorifthey are equipped,to droppingaliferaftandsuppliesd o w nintoth ewater ,hopingtheywil lberecovered b ythosein distressd o w n below.fth evict ims are incapacitatedo rinjured,thesuppliesm ayneverb erecovered .

A searchand rescueshipoffersexcellentrecoveryabili tyandm o r eimmediate andlargerfirstaid facilitiesthanaircraft.Alsoit doesno thaveth el imitedspaceofanaircraft. ship'sspeed to th erescuesite,however,wil lobviously b esignificantly slowerthananyaircraft.smal lmili taryship mighttake five o rsi xhou r sto cove rahundred-mi le distanceassumingit w asalreadyatsea.venth e fastestrescueboats wou ld takecloseto threehou r stocoverthedistanceassuming thereis favorablesea-state andweathercondi t ions .inally,oncein th esearch area ,a surfacevesse lis atadistinctdisadvantagecomparedtoan aircraftin locatinga victim orvessel.T h eship'sspeedwil ll imitth eareain whichit cansearch in agiven amountof t ime .Also,sensorslike radar,distressemissionreceivers,and th ehuman eyewil lperformbetteriftheyare liftedoffofth esurfaceofth eocean .


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Currently th eU.S .CoastGuardDeepWaterMission AnalysisCellis lookingtwenty yearsinto th efuturein orderto define theirairframe needs .5They know whateverassets they b uyin th enextfe w yearsmustcont inuetomee tthose needsforalongt ime .Aircraftservice life is expectedto b enearlythirtyyears.ue to budgetconstraints,th eCoastGuardreadilyadmitsthatit wil lnothaveenough assets to comple te lyfulfillall ofit smissions .

Ifth eseaplane representsasignificantly betteropen -oceansearch and rescueasset ,thatfactmustb eestablishedn o w.hisstudyhasdirectre levanceto those plans.

Seaplane HistoryIn order to answerth equestion ofwhe the rornotth eopen-oceansearch and rescue

missiondemandsanamphibiouscapabili ty,th efirstquest ionto answer is ho w andw hydidamphib iousaircraftdisappearfrom usein th efirstplace?A fe w highlightsin thehistoryofseaplanes andamphib ioushelicopterswillhelp explaintheircurrentlimiteduseand wil lhighlightth e capabili t ies ofthistype ofaircraft.talsoshedss o m el ighto nw hyseaplanecommerc i a lusehasdeclinedso dramaticallysinceW o r l dW ar II .

W h e naviation pioneerGlen Curt issofferedto trainth efirstnavalaviatorfreeofcharge at h is North Is land,California,flyingschoo lin1910 ,little did heknow th elast ingimpacthe wo uldhaveo n navalaviat ion.urtisswantedto sellh is airplanesto theNavy . ethoughta f loatunderth e newly inventedairplanewo uld createaproductth e Navycould useand wou ld wan tto purchase .With TheodoreEllyson,navalaviatornumbero neand no w fellowseaplaneenthusiast ,Curtiss demonstratedth enew "flyingboat"to th eNavyDepartmentin Februaryof1 9 1 1 ,andin th eprocessbecameth efirstm anto takeoffand lando nwater .Ellysonwroteto h is navalsuper iorsthathew asamazedho w fard o w ninto th e wate rhecould se ewhile flyingth e new invent ion . ew assureaflyercouldse easubmar ine beneath thesurfaceand tossab o m b


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d o w nonit .6Alreadyatthisearlystagein it slife,th eseaplane w asviewed asamultipurposefunctionalweaponsys tem.

Laterthatmo n th ,afterprovingth eCurtissHydroplane could b ehois tedaboa rdaship,th eNavyboughtit sfirstaircraftfrom Curt iss ,th esingle-engine A-l. reatBritain,Germany,andItalym a d esimilarachievements in th esameyearusingCurt issaircraftormode l sbased o n th eCurt issdesign.yth eendof1912,Grea tBritainw asbuilding eighty-horsepowersingle- engine seaplanesandItalyw aslaunchingatwin-enginemonoplane.nnovat ions in th enextfe w yearsincluded aerodynamic flyingb o a thulls ,enclosedfuselages,andmult i s teppedfloatdesign.Also ofno te ,th efirstregularly scheduledairlinetrip tookto th eai rwaysw h e naflyingb o a tbeganscheduledf lightsbe tweenTampaand S t. Petersburg,Florida,in early1914 .

T heBrit ish mili taryboastedf if ty-two seaplanes to only thir ty-nine aeroplanesatth estartofWor ld WarI.nAugustof1915,a Brit ishseaplane operating in Turkishwatersrecordedth e firstshipsunkb yanair-launchedto rpedo .Also in th es ameyear ,th econvertedmerchantship H M S ArkRoyalsaw useas th eworld'sfirstseaplanecarrier.tdid no ttake long forcatapultsandfo ld ing-wing aircrafttodevelop .n German yand Austr ia ,seaplanes based o nAmericanan d Brit ishplansappearedin1915.

W h e nth eUnited Sta tesenteredWo r ldWarI, th eU.S.Navyf ieldedhundredsofseaplanes,though theirpr imaryusew as scouting missionsforth eNavy'scapitalships.W h e n th eGermansbegantheirdeadlysubmar ine effort,anew missionappeared:ntisubmarinepatrol.O nth eAmericaneastcoastand all aroundth eBrit ishIs les ,seaplanes wo uldsearch forU-boa t s o nth esurface. oweve r ,th el imited open -oceancapabili tyofseaplanes duringthisperiodpreventedthemfromassistingmany ofth emerchantshipsthatwere attacked byGerman submar ines .


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In1 9 1 9 ,threeU.S.Navy flyingboatsbecame th efirstaircrafttoattemptto crossth e AtlanticOcean .ross ingfrom N ew Yo rkto Plymou th ,England,b yw ayofNewfoundlandand th eAzore s ,a Navy flying boa tm a d eth etrip in fifty-fourhoursofactualflyingt ime .Weatherand mechanicaldelayso nth eground ,howeve r ,extendedth etripto anactualcrossingt imeoftwenty-threedays.h epilotatth econt ro lsofth esuccessfulaircraftw asLieutenantE.F.S to n e ,Uni tedSta tesCoas tGuard ,th eonlynon-Navym an in th ewhole endeavor .

Betweenth ewars ,th emili taryseaplane'sdesign cont inuedto improve .Mostnotab ly construction materialsgraduallyswi tchedfrom w o o dto meta l . oweve r ,duetopostwarmili tarybudgetcutbacks ,aircraftdesign hadtob emultifunctional.heprimarymilitarymissionfocusforseaplanescontinuedto b eantisubmarinewarfareandscouting.

Meanwhi leth enew civilianaircraftindustrylooked foraircraftimprovementsthatwou ld ult imatelymean profi t .Thistranslatedinto increased size.y1930 German flyingboatscouldcarryover1 50 passengers .yth e end ofth e1930sdecade ,largeflyingboatscould cruisein excessof25 0 milesperhourandhad arangeofoverfive thousand miles .

Whi le much hasbeenwrit tena b o u tth ecarrierair batt leslaterin WorldWarII ,lessis known aboutth ehundredsofseaplanesthatcarriedonamult i tudeofmissionsincludingscout ingforth eenemyfleet,seasearchand rescue ,antisubmarinewarfare,antishipwarfare,aswellaslogist ics ,allwith relat ivelylittlement ion in th ehistorybooks .

Inanticipation ofth e comingwar ,th eindustrialpowersofGreatBritain,Japan,Germany ,andth eUnitedSta tesallwere producingadvancedseaplanedesigns.ta ly,France ,and th eSov ie tUn io nhad amphibiousaircraftin product ion .hewarmadespeed,range ,and liftingcapabili tyessentiale lementsofdesign.Aircraftbuilto nto pofpontoonsfello utoffavorforaerodynamic reasonsgiving w aytofloatinghulldesigns.M a n ynewseaplanesalso hadwingfloats thatfolded into th ewing to lessenth edragandenhanceth eforwardspeed .


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Throughoutth eU.S.warwith Japan,th eConsolidatedPBYCatalinaplayedanimportantrolein a lmos teveryAmer i canoperat ion. lreadyte nyears o ld and consideredto o slow andobsole tein1941 ,th enumber ofoperat ional PBY'sin th ePacificw asreducedfrom overfiftyto lessthante n afterth eJapaneseb o m b e d Pear lHarbor .arly in th ewar ,howeve r ,th e P B Y w as th eon lymili tarypat ro laircraftin fullproduc t ion . sth eU.S.N a v ym o v e dto awarfootingin th ePacif ic,th eseaplane had to comple teanumberofchallengingmissions .he followingyearatth eBatt leofMidway ,Catalinaswereusedto locate th eenemy fleetand providedintell igencethatwou ldaffectth eou tcomeofth e bat t le.heyalso conductednightto rpedo raidsand pickedupcarrierpilotsforcedto ditchin th eopenoceanduring th e bat t le.he valueofrescuingtheseaviators w ho couldliveto f ightanotherday cannotb eunderes t imated .Finally,th eP B Y ssunksevera lhundred thousand tonsofenemy shippingduring th erestof th e warwithJapanb yusingnew radarequipmentan dradaralt imeters.

Forth e Americans , th eseaplane cameinto it so w nasa dedicatedsearch and rescueasse tduringthisperiodw h e nrescuesquadronswere formed in SoutheastAsia .hroughoutth ewarwith th eJapan,seaplaneswereregularlydispatched to find and recoverdowned aviators.Ofspecialnotear esevera lper i lousnightsearchand rescue missionsincludingth eevacuationoff if ty-f ivenursesandwounded soldiersatCorregidorbeforeth eisland w asoverrunb yth e Japanese .aterP B Y s wou ld rescuedowned aviators an descaped Alliedprisonersoffth ecoastofth ePhilippineIslands duringth ef ightingto retake th eis lands.7

T h eUnited Statesw asno ta loneinit sappreciat ion ofth ecapabilitiesofth eamphibiousaircraft. reatBritain ,Germany ,I taly,andJapan f ieldedanumber ofnewseaplanesduring th e war . e rmanHeinkeand th eBrit ish SupermarineWalrusseaplanes rescuedanumber offlyersfromth enotor iouslyrough Engl ishChanne lduring th eBattleofBritain .h elongerrange Brit ishShort-Sunderlandflyingboa tsalso rescued peoplefrom U - b o a tattackso nmerchan t


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shippingo naregularbasiso utin th eAtlant icOcean .Whi le Europeanmode l ssaw wo rkmost ly as patroland logist icassets,th eJapanesedevelopedanotablesea-born fightervariantofth e f amousZero.he NakajimaA6M2-Nw as capableofspeedsin excessof430milesperhourand had arangeofoverseventeen hundredki lometers .

TheU.S .wart ime seaplaneproduct ionincluded anumberofnewmo d e l s :hem o s tsuccessfulexample beingth eMartinPBM-Mariner.yV E D ayovertwelvehundredofthistypeofaircrafthad rolledoffth e assemb lyline.8Also duringthistimeHowardHughesbeganbuilding his giantflyingboa tforth eU.S .government .Designedtocarryseven hundredt roops ,th eH -4 Herculesw asm a d eentirely ofw o o d sinceothermaterials werebe ingusedin th ewareffor t .Afterth egovernmentcanceledthisproject ,Hughes decidedto finish ito nhis o wn .Thestory ofth eo neandonlyf light ofth e SpruceGooseiswel lknown.)Nearth eendofth ewar ,a MartinMarsflying b o a tse taworld recordcarrying30 1U . S .Navy passengersand acrew ofseven .

T he civilianseaplane industryfollowedasimilarpatterntoth emilitaryaircraftduringthisperiod.n th e1930s ,seaplane passengerservicecrossedth eAtlant icand th ePacif icOceanso nadailybasis .anAmer i canAirwayspioneeredtranspacificand transatlanticroutesusinglargemult iengineflyingboats .rench flyingboats crossedth eMediterraneanandtiedFrancetoNorth AfricaandSou thAmer i ca .ritish Empire-classseaplanesfollowedaroutefrom Englandto India.hegrowinguseofpassengerseaplanescontinuedunti lth ewarpressedman y ofth e flyingboa tsinto mili taryservice.9

Wor ldwide ,overeightthousand militaryand civilianseaplaneswerecompletedbetween194 0and194 6 .Followingal loftheirsuccesses ,it is no wonderthatmany peoplebelievedtheywo uld cont inueto b eth epreeminentm o d eofcivilianairt ravel . numberofseaplane

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manufacturers hadpostwarplansfo rlarge,amphib ious ,commerc i a laircraft. oweve r ,s o m e not -so -sub t le changesin aviationhadoccurredin th elastsi xyears.

Duringth ewar,th ereliability and e c o n o m yofland-based planesincreaseddramatically.Theirrangewitha fullpayload grew to th epointwherenons topcross ingstoHawaiiandacrossth eAtlantic Oceanto Englandwereno w feasible and consideredsafe forpassengerservice.Addi t ional ly ,th ehundredsoflongrunwayswhichhadbeenbuiltaround th ewor ldforwartimeusewere no wavailable to th ecivilianai rways . ftentheselocat ionsalso hadhangersandothersurplusbuildingswere from th ew arandwereavailable ataverylo w cost .inally,because ofaerodynamic design,th enew land-based aircraftdesigns weregenerally fasterthanseaplanesofth eday.

Commerc i a lseaplane operat ionsstillrequiredcostly overnightstops.heflyingboatmarketw asalso hur tb yth efactthatfe w ofth eleadingaircraftmanufacturesofth edaywerewillingto riskth ehigh cos t ofdeveloping new typesofseaplaneso ntheiro w n to competeinadwindl ingcivilian market .ecausewart imegove rnmen tfinancialbackingw asno longeravailable to designersandmanufacturers, olderrefurbished wart ime seaplanesprovidedth eonly compet i t ionforth enew land-basedcivilian airliners. 10T helackofsuitable civilianseaplaneterminalsalso addedto th ecos tandinconvenienceofbuilding aseaplane business .he costofmaintenanceandoperat ionsw asalso afactor.Aircraftsitting in th ewate rare mo re difficulttoservicethanland-based aircraftwhich canb equicklyrolledinto ahangerundercover .heextrapassengerinconvenienceofboarding and disembarkingfrom a pieralladdedto th edifficultiesfacedb yseaplane operators.

Since1950 ,commerc i a lpassengeruseofseaplanes hasgraduallyslippedto specializedusein remoteareaso rislandsthatcannotsupportrunways .nth eUnitedSta tes ,th ebest

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example ofthistypeofaircraftis th etwin-engineGrumman Albatross.Man y have been remanufacturedandare in useascharteraircrafto r forsmal lisland-hoppingair services.

MilitarySeaplaneU se Sinceth eSecondWor ldW arThough technologicaladvances havecontinuedto improveaircraftperformance ,mili tary

useofth eseaplanehasgraduallydeclinedsinceth eSecond W o r l dWar . round th eworld ,seaplanesgenerally receivedlowermili taryfundingpriori t iesin dwindlingpos twarbudgets .he Sov ie tUniondid develop averysuccessfulfamily oftwin-engineamphib ians .heBeriev-6 sa w service into th e1 9 7 0 sandw asadditionallyexportedto China .ts follow on,th eBe-12( N A T O coden a m eMAIL)is stillanexcellentlong-rangepatrolplaneand is also wellsui tedto ant i submar inewarfare.thasalso providedanidealsolution to th etransportprob lemscaused b y th elargeundevelopedlandmassin easternRussiaand Siber ia .heproduct ionendedin th e early 1970saftercompletingovertwohundredaircraft.

T heBrit ish experimentedwith th efirst jet-poweredflying boatin1947 . oweve r ,th e program neverleftth eexperimentalstage.heFrenchand Italian postwareconomie sconcentratedo nciviliangoodsandservicesratherthan mili taryaircraft.

Inth eUnitedStates,th epopularGrummanAlbatrossseaplaneentered mili taryservice in 1949 .Thissmal ltwin-engineseaplanew asproducedin greatnumbe r sand used b yall th e mili taryservices. riginally designedforcivilian use,thisutilityamphib i ancouldcarrytwenty - tw o passengersanda crew ofsix.h eU.S .Navy ,th eCoastGuard ,ArmyAirCorps ,andlaterth eAirForceall hadhighly successfulAlbatross programs.tservedadmirablyfo r overtwentyyearsincludings o m e difficult combatsearch and rescuemissionsoffth ecoas tofVie tnam.

T h eMartinMarlinamphibiousaircraftreplacedth esuccessfulearliermo d e l ,th e MartinManner,in th e1950s .h is highlysuccessful long-rangeantisubmarinewarfare and pat ro laircraftsaw action up unti lth eearlydaysofth eVietnamWar .tw asto beth e finalmass -

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produced mili taryseaplane mad ein th e United Sta tes .he U . S .CoastGuardand th e FrenchNavyalso operated Marlinsforat ime.

Duringth e1950s ,Americandesigners attemptedto push th elimits ofseaplane use.Thoughtheysaw veryl imitedoperat ionaluse,largeamphib iouscargo planesand tacticaljet-poweredseaplanes completedth etestandevaluationphaseofdevelopmentand wen tinto l imited product ionduringth e1950s .

Convairdeveloped a four -engineflyingboatin th eearly1950sto fillth e Navy'spat ro lmiss ions .heprojectw asreevaluatedb yth eNavyin1953and developed into atransportaircraftcalledth eTradewind.levenoftheseaircraftwerebuiltandusedin alogist icalrole be tweenth eU.S .and Hawai i .h eTradewindcouldcarrytwenty-fourtonsofcargo over2,000 miles.ElevenTrade windswerecompletedbeforeproductionw ashaltedbyth eNavy forbudgetconsidera t ions .

T h eU.S .also builtan amphib iousstrategicbombe r .heMartinSeamasterw asdevelopedwith th ecold-warideaofspreadingoutstrategicairassetsaroundth ewor ldto protectt h em.Developmentw asplaguedbyaccidents and onlythreeofth eplannedtwenty-fouraircraftwere everbuil t .y th e endofth e1950s ,competingbudge tpriori t iesplaced th edampero nany furtherseaplane developmentin th eUni tedSta tesmili tary.

Thefinaldecis ionsto replacemili taryseaplanesandtheircapabili t ieswithland-basedaircraft beganin th e1960s .hecoldw arw asin fullv igo rand th e rateofchange in technologyw asincreasingat afurious pace.Antisubmarinewarfarew asato ppriority forth eU.S .Navy .O n18January1 9 67 ,th e NewYorkTimescarriedastorystat ingth eNavy plannedto eliminateth euseofseaplanes by1969 in favorofth enew shore-basedLockheedP-3antisubmarinepatrolplane.

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A dozenseaplane facilitiesatvariousshore installat ionsclosedtheirdoo r sandth eneed forexpensiveseaplane tendershipsw aseliminated ataprojected cos tsavingsofover$20million annually to th eU.S .Navy .n17 M ay196 7 ,th elastoperationally deployedP-5 Marlinfrom Patro lSquadron40mad e it sfinalflightfrom th ePhilippines.heVP-40m a d eth e t ransit ionto theP-3sho re -b asedaircraft laterthatyear .aterin196 7 ,th eNavy officiallyret iredth eMartinMarlin,th elastofth emilitary missionseaplanes makingw ayfo rth e new LockheedP-3Orion.heP-3hadlong-rangeandlongon-stat ion t ime,whichwereth emainrequi rementsforth epat ro lmiss ion .xportcustomersFrance and N ew Zealand also gave uptheirMarlinorders in favor oflongerrangeland-basedpatrolplanes.hus ,improvemen t sand cos tsavingsin new antisubmarinewarfareaircrafthadsqueezedth eseaplane o utofit smaritimepat ro lmission in th eU.S .Navy andaround th eglobe.

T he Amphib ious Searchandrescue HelicopterT h edevelopmentof th eamphib ious helicopterhad adirectinf luence o n th edeclineof

th eseaplane'susein search and rescue roles .heU.S .CoastGuardpioneeredth e useofhelicoptersassearch and rescuevehicles in remoteareas. fteranearlymodelhelicoptergainedwor ldw ideattentionfora daringrescue ofsurvivors ataplanecrash sitein Newfoundlandin 194 6 ,a number ofnew mili taryhel icopterprograms began."he Navy placedhelicopterso n aircraftcarriersforrescuingpilotsw ho crashedatseadur ingtakeoff.Helicoptersreplacedfloatplaneso nbattleshipsand destroyers becausetheycould takeoffwithoutacatapultandland o nthedeckratherthanin th ewater ,eliminating th eneedfora hoist .

A number ofearlyhelicopters were fittedwithf loatat iondevices ,butth efirsttruly amphib ioushelicopterw asintroduced in1963.h eSikorskySeaguardw asa true flyingl ifeboat .Builtto U.S.CoastGuardspecif ications,it h ad awater t ighthull ,outrigger'ssponsons ,anda rescue platformthatfolded d o w nando utoverth ewater .helongerrangeandm o r e

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powerfu lSikorskyPelicanjoinedth eCoas tguardfleetin1969 .talso w asafullyamphibioushelicopter .

B utchangecame w h e nth ePelicanand Seaguardwere replaced.henew U.S .Navy replacementhelicopterw asno tamphib ious .h is forced th ebudge tconscious Coas tGuardto choosehelicopters aslessthanopt imalforth esearch and rescuemiss ion .Neitherofth etw o currentCoastGuard helicopters are amphib ious .heU.S .Navy is phasing o utit sremainingSikorskys,thoughmo s tsea-servicehelicopterpilotswou ld preferamachine thatcanlando nth e water .12n th eend,search and rescue helicopters are relat ivelyfe w in numbers ,andowingto largedevelopmentcosts ,mustb eadaptedfrom machines primarily designed forotherpurposes .

TheU.S.Coas tGuard Seap lane E xperienceT h eU.S.CoastGuardexper iencewithseaplanesclose lyparalleledth ecivilianand

mili taryaviation experience.nfact,th eCoas tGuardw aspresentonthatfatefuldayin1903when th eWrigh tBrothersm a d ehistory.M enfrom th elocalCoas tGuardLifesavingSta t ionprovidedth emuscle to m o v e th ebiplane from it sshelter to th elaunchsiteatKittyHawk .n 1915,th eidea ofth enew flyingboatsaidingth eCoastGuardin theirmiss ionw asconceivedand in1916 si xCoastGuard officerswereassigned toflighttrainingatth eNavy'sflightschoo lin Pensacola .hemissionofearlyCoastGuard seaplanesw as cr imefight ing.n1925,th eCoas tGuardacquiredsevenseaplanes tohelpc o m b a ti l legalru m runningduring th eprohib i t ionera.

Withinafe w years,howeve r ,th emissionofthese flyingboatschanged . startlingincreasein oceantrade andnew traderoutes furthero utto seamean tthatw h e n an emergencydidarise,itw asfrequentlyfa r offth e coast .n1928 ,th enewlyes tab l i shedCoastGuardaviation sect iondevelopedth especificationforaflyinglifeboatcapab leoflandingin th eopenseaand carryingo utarescue ofpeople .nth efollowingyears,th e PJ-1General AviationFlyingLifeboatw as involvedin numerousrescues alongth eeasternseaboardofth eUnitedSta tes .

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O neofth eunusualaspectsofCoas tGuardaviation is theirprocurementhasusuallyc o m ethrough th eU.S.Navy . searlyas1920 ,th eCoastGuardw asborrowingseaplanes from th eNavy forcoastalpat ro landsearch andrescueexper iments .henat ionalimpor tancegivento th enew CoastGuardaviationl i fesavingmissionw asdemonstratedin1929,whenth eCoastGuardw asspecif icallygivenmo n eyb yth eU.S.Congre s sforsevenaircraftspecif icallydesignatedforthemari t imesearch andrescuemission ,insteadofth eusualaircraft budgetacquisitionmethodsthrough th eNavy.

DuringW o r l dWarII ,th eCo as tGuardtransferredinto th eNavy Depar tment .CoastGuard shipsandplanesrescued ove rfifteen hundredsurvivorsfrom th e Atlant ican dGreenland watersaloneduringth ewar.13Tho ughalwaysdifficult,open -oceanlandingswereno tunusual .Occasional ly ,th eCoastGuardseaplanewo uld haveto taxito shorebecauseofth eweigh tofth e large numberofpeoplerescued.

During1943,aCoas tGuardAirS eaRescue Squadronw asformed at S anDiego Nava lAirSta t ionin California.hepr imaryreason forthissquadron w as th eincreasingnumber ofoffshorecrashesb ystudentpilotsin th erapidly expandingmili taryaircraftt rainingprogramduring th ewar .heseaplane selectedto fillth emissionw asth ePBYCatalina,already in product ionas aNavy aircraft.heprogram w assosuccessful thatit w asincorporatedaround th ecountrywith an officein th eCo as tGuardHeadquar te rs .y1945,AirSeaRescue w asresponsibleforover160 seaplanes and nine air stat ions.hatyear th e AirSeaRescue squadronsrespondedtooversi xhundred fiftyopenwate rrescuemissions .

T heCoastGuardseaplane w asacoordinationassetaswel lasa rescuevehicle.atein th ewar ,th esubmar ine threathad diminishedalongth eU.S .eastern seaboard . smerchan tmarineandairoperationsoverth eoceant raderoutesincreasedworldwide ,so did th eneedforairsearescueforces.egionalrescue taskunitswereorganizedsoth eCoastGuardcould

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coordinaterescueeffortsofallth emili taryservicesanda ll oftheirvar iousassets.h is highly successfulsystem linkedshorestat ions,seaplanes,andshipsinto o nesearch andrescuenetworkandis creditedwithsaving ove rfortyl ivesin1944offth enorthern Californiacoas talone.14

Notall searchand rescue missionshadahappyending.T heopen ocean tookit stollo n manyseaplanesandtheircrews .helargeran dfasterseaplanesofW o r l dWarI Ih it th ewaterharder,often causingdamageto th eaircraft.Commander D.B .MacDia rmid ,United Sta tesCoastGuard ,is creditedwith developingimprovedopenwate rlanding t echniquesin194 4and 1945 .UsingaPBMMarinerspeciallyins t rumentedto measure deceleration forces,CommanderMacDiarmiddevelopeda n u m b e rofnew landingt echniques .nsteadoflandinginto th ewind andwaves ,th eaircraftw aslanded paralleltoth ewavesacceptingth eresultingcrosswind.h is techniqueis stillin usetoday. o tonly haveseaplanes adoptedthismetho d ,butit hasb e c o m e th e recommendedprocedurefo rth editching oflargeland-based aircraft.15

AfterWorldWarII ,th eCoas tGuardcont inuedto successfullyoperatea numberofseaplanes.imultaneously,helicopter deve lopmen taccelerated.escueb y hoistw asdemonstratedin194 4and th efirstamphib ioushelicopterw asevaluated b y theCoastGuard in 1945. Initially fittedwith floats,amphib ioushelicopters provedveryversati le .heability tolandaboardsmallerCoastGuard vesselsw asespeciallywelcome .Helicoptersfoundgratefulsupportforanotherreason:eaplanes ofth edaywerefineformoderate seas,butin th eopenocean landingw asstillverychallenging andoftenperilous. e l icopterrescuefrom th ehoverposi t ionw asviewedasaw ayto avo idthesedangerouslandings inorder to effectarescue. 17

T hepopularGrummanAlbatrossentered th emili taryservicein194 9 .heCoas tGuardtookit sfirstdeliveriesofth eaircraft in1951using it to replacea numberofaircraftithad beenoperatingsinceth ewar.ventuallyove rseventy f iveofthese amphib ianswou ldse erescue servicein th eCoastGuard .Man yoftheseaircraft weret ransferredfrom th eotherservicesw h e n

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th eCoas tGuardw asgiventh esoleresponsibili ty fora ll nonmil i tarysearch and rescue missions in U.S.waters .

Duringth elate196 0sand early1970s ,th eCoastGuard beganreviewingit sopt ionstoreplacemuchofit sagingaircraftfleet.nterest inglyenough ,th e1972requi rementsfora medium-rangesurveillanceaircraftdid no tspecifyamphibiouscapability,nordidth e1977 requirements foranew shor t - rangesearch and rescue pla t form.n1977 ,when th elastGrummanAlbatrossleftth eCoastGuardservice,th eamphib iousSikorskyHH-3helicoptercould fulfillm o s t ofth eservice'samphib iousneeds .W h e nth eU.S .Navy replacedit svers ionofth eH-3,th e Co as tGuardcouldno longeraffordth eoverhead ofsupportinganaircrafttypealone.he FalconJetCorporat ion receivedth econt ractforth emedium-rangemissionandAerospatialeHelicopterCorporat ion forth eshor t - rangesearchand rescuemiss ion .Neitheroftheseaircraftcanland o nwater .

TheCoas tGuarddid notmakeasingle decisionto discontinueth e amphibiousaircraftcapabil i ty.inceit sbudge tisso l imited,and withoutanaircrafttype sponsor ,such asth eU.S.Navy ,th e CoastGuards implycannotaffordto maintain anaircrafttype alone.hedecis ionswere duein largepartto th efinancialneedto acceptandb uyacurrentproductionm o d e laircrafto r procurecurrentU.S .Navymo d e l s .heseindependentdecis ionshaveremovedall amphibiousaircraftcapabili ty fromth eU.S.mili tary.

CommercialSeaplane ProductionandU se TodayAround th ewor ld ,anumberofmanufacturersare currently buildingseaplanes.hevast

majori ty,howeve r ,are bettertermed"floatplanes."Theseaircraftare usuallysingle-enginelandplanes with f loatsadded to give themacalm-wateramphibiouscapabili ty.helowoperationalcostsofthesesmal lfunctionalaircraft makethempopularworldwide . oweve r ,th e poorrough

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wate rcapabili tyofa f loatplanemakesit svalueasanopen-watersearch and rescuet oo lveryl imited.

Undoubtedly , th elargestrepository ofcommerc i a lseaplane experienceis heldatChalksInternational Air l ines ,founded in1 9 1 9 .nfact,Chalksho ldsclaimto th etitle ofth ewor lds oldestinternationalairlinein continuouscommerc i a lservice.urrently,it seightG r u m m a n amphib ians serviceth eFlorida Keysand muchofth eBahamas .ChalkhashighlyremanufacturedGrumman Mallardand Albatrossaircraftand offersanextensiveseapla service.

anerepair1 8

Leadingth emo d ernindustryin th emanufactureoflargermultipurposetwin-engineseaplanesis Canadair,asubsidiary ofth e BombardierCorporat ion .heCL-215m o d e lis th e m o s tsuccessful commerc i a lamphib iansinceW o r l dW ar H.19Designed asa fire-fightingaircraft,thispremier"waterbomber"hasseen usefrom Canadato Southern Europe .h is multi - missionaircrafthasalso seenusein amili taryroleasa pat ro laircraftandsupply plane.hefo l low-onCL-415m o d e lis aneven mo re capab lef ire-f ightingaircraft.Canadairis currentlyin product iono nordersto Franceand Italy.Canadair is also proposingamili taryvers ionofth e CL-415forusein specia lforcesand searchandrescueroles .

T heonlyothercompaniesthathave recentlyconsideredbuildinglargerseaplanesare th e G r u m m a nCorporat ion ,Domier in German y ,and Sh in Miewain Japan.Grummanno longer is manufactur ingaircraft.Dornierhasreachedth edesign testphase ,butit spotentialcustomershavealreadyselected th eCanadairofferingandSh inMeiwais in l imited productionofamili tary seaplane.

T heBerievmili taryaircraftdesign bureauin th eformerSovietUnionhasproposedcivilian applicationsforanumber ofit smili taryseaplane designs,though to datelittle hasc o m e ofthese proposals.

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MilitarySeaplane U seandProduct ionTodayA numberofmili taryforcesuse seaplanestoday.hesecountriestypicallyhavea

numberofcoas ta lislandsto guardlikeJapan,longcoastlines,orlargeundevelopedregionslike th eformerSov ie tUnion.nBrazil ,Wor ld WarH vintage seaplaneshavemad ehistoricflights into th eA m a z o n regions.Additionally,theyar ecreditedwithmuch ofth eexplorationin th e area.Othersuccessesincludel ifesavingandtransportofmedicine ,people ,andsupplies.20Chinaoperatesfourlargeseaplanesmode ledafterth e JapaneseUS-1.hough greatc la imshavebeenm a d ein th e Chinesemedia ,th e capabilitiesofthisaircraftare highlysuspect .heSpan ish ,Greek,Thai ,and Venezuelanmili tarieshave al lpurchasedCanadairCL-215s.heiruse is primarily pat ro lalongwiths o m esearch andrescue.21

Today in th eformerSovietUnion ,th eBerievBe-12stillseess o m el imitedusein coastalpatrol,butoverall ,th eapproximatelyseventyremainingaircrafthavenotbeen properlymainta ineddue to l imited mili taryspending.22Themajori ty seem to b elocatedin th eBlackS eawhereth e Be-12 'sl imited seaworthinessdoes nothamperoperat ions .henumberofaircraftremainingin actualflyingconditionis unknown .

Inth elate1980s ,Berievcompleteda newtwin-engine amphibiancalledth eBe-40Albatross.h is aircraftis capableofcarryingseventypassengersoveradistance ofm o r ethantw o thousandmiles.oweredb y twin jetengines,thisamphib ian hasse tanimpress ivenumberofseaplane records.Becauseofa lackoffundingon lytw o aircrafthavebeen comple ted .h e searchandrescue variantofthisaircraftis notexpectedto b e funded.

Berievalso hasplansforasmallercivilianvers ionofth e Be-40calledth e A-200.h is aircraftwouldhave passengerandfire-fightingapplications and is plannedto cos tlessthanth e CanadairCl-215aircraftseenasth e A-200 'smajorcompet i tor .23

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Onlytw o amphib ious aircraftin on -go ingproduct iontodayare largeenoughan dare designed withaposs ib lemili taryoropen -oceanuse.o th are discussedatlengthlaterin this paper .hefirstis th eCanadairCL-415.h issturdytwin-engineaircrafthasalong-range and on-stat ion t ime.hepr imaryvariantis afire-fightingmodel .Canadairiscurrentlyseeking customersforthisaircraft inamari t imepatrolandsearchandrescue role.

Theothercurrentseaplaneinmanufactureis th eUS-1from Sh in MiewaofJapan.he US- 1is operatedb y th eJapaneseMari t imeSelf-DefenseForce .h is largefourengineaircraftw asdesigned andbui l tto landin th eopen ocean envi ronment .ts unique"blown"f lapsgiveit anunsurpassedshor ttakeoff-and-landing(STOL)capabili ty.

RecentOpen-WaterSeaplaneProposalsThere havebeen relativelyfe w recentlargeseaplaneproposalsputforwardb y th e

aircraftindustry.nth elate196 0s ,th e LockheedCorporat ionstudied th eadaptabili ty ofth e C-130aircraftinto aseaplane conf igurat ion .Howeverfullyopening th eintegratedrearcargo doorprovedto b eaninsurmountab le problemwithoutsignif icantairframeredesign.onvers ion ofth eC-5AGalaxyw asalsobrief lyreviewed.

Probab ly th em o s trecentseaplaneresearchstudieshavebeen completedin Japan.nth e 1980s ,agroupofJapanese aerospacecompan ie scompletedanextensivestudyofJapaneseaviat ionand released arepor trecommendingaserious review of th ecommerc i a lapplication offlying boa t sasaposs ib lesolution to difficulties in ob ta in inglandforairportsandso lvingrelatedenvi ronmentalprob lems.24n1 9 7 7 ,ShinMeiwabeganresearchingagiantpassengerflying b o a tcapableofcarrying twelvehundredpeop le . oweve r ,th et echnology requiredand th esheersizeandcost keptthisdesign o nth edrawingboard .o th Shin Miewaand th eG r u m m a n Corporat ion have new designsfo radurable 30- to 50-passengercommuterseap lane,butneitherhasfounda potentialbuyer(Grummanno longermanufacturesaircraft).Mostrecently,in1996 ,th e

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LockheedCorporat ion is againlookingat th eC-130 as apotentialseaplane.Undera Navycontract ,Lockheedis reviewingequippingth eC-130with f loatsto b eusedasaU.S.Navy SEALdeliveryvehicle.

ThesisAssumpt ionsS o m ebas icassumpt ionsm u s tbemad ein orderto examine th efeasibilityofreturning

seaplanes to act ivedutyin th emili tarysearch andrescuerole.1 .hecasestudiesexaminedoverathree-yearperiod in thisstudyare representativeof

th ekindandamountoffuturesearch and rescuescenar iosin th eopenocean .2.ealities ofl imitedfundsformili taryresearchand deve lopmen tand procurementwil l

l imitseaplane alternativesto currentproductionandt echnology.3.W h e ncomparingseaplanesto helicopters, it is assumedthatsimilarelectronicsearch

andrescue equipment(radar,etc.)andinstrumentationcanb einstalledin bo thtypesofaircraft.

Definit ion ofTermFloatplane.h is is asmall ,usuallysingleengineaircraftthatgetsit samphibious

capabili tyfrom f loatsorpon toonsf ixedunderth efuselage.Flying Boat .lyingis synonymouswithSeaplane .Op en Ocean .orth e purposeofthisstudy,openocean refersto waterm o r ethan o ne

hundred milesfromth eU . S .coastline. enerally,o nehundredmilesis th eaccepteddistanceo utto se awhereth eland formsand land weatherno longeraffectth eocean'swaves .

Seaplane .h is is anyo neofanumberofamphibiousaircraftthatgets it samphib iouscapabili tyfrom afuselage designedforbuoyancy .

Search andrescue(SAR ).orth epurpose ofthispaper ,search andrescuerefersonlytomari t imemissions .

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S eaState.eaState is anumericalrat ingfrom o neto eightthatattemptstosummarize th esurfacecondi t ionsofan areaofwater .ea-staterat ingis affectedb ywindspeed ,th elength oft imeth ewindhas beensignif icant,th e distanceth ewind hasbeen blowingoveropenwater ,waveinteraction,nearbylandfo rms ,andseaswel loriginatingelsewhere .25Append ixA providesa generalsummaryand description ofseastateslessthan five.Notably,thistypeofoceanrating system is falling o ut offavorbecause ofth edifficulty in generalizingsea-state factorsinto o nenumer ical lyratingin a consistentfashion.urrentlyth eCoastGuardprefersto simply callo utth ewindandw a v eheight,and leavesea-state rat ingsto th e computermodels .

Limita t ionsInaddit ion to th eassumpt ions ,thisthesisisshapedb yth efollowingl imitat ions:1 .hecase -s tudyapproachreliesonth eaccuracy ofth ereportsgeneratedbyth e

participantsin thesearchand rescue events .2.erformancef iguresfors o m eaircraftare available onlyfrom th emanufacturer.

Whi leno tth e thrustofthisstudy,theirvaliditycouldinf luence th evalidity ofconcluding

recommendat ions . 3.hestudydatais l imitedto datacollected from search and rescue effortsbyU.S .

agencies in U.S.andsurroundingwaters .4.Thisstudydoesno tspecificallyaddress th euniqueenvironmentofcombatsearch and

rescue( C S A R )atseafortw o reasons.irst,rescue datafrom c o m b a tscenar iosis affectedbyto o man yuniquevar iab lesto applyto areview ofamphib iousS A R aircraft.Hostilefire,th e presenceofmili taryvessels andaircraftin th earea,andth e extrasurvivalequipmentan dskills ofserv icemenmaketheirsurvivalsi tuationsaseparatearea ofinquiry.econd,thisinquiryis particularlyfocusedo n open -oceansearch andrescue missions .hemajori ty ofC S A R missions

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in th eKorean Warand th eVietnamWarwerelocatedcloseto shoreandinsomewhatprotectedwaters ,makingthemlittleuse relativeto thisstudy.26

Delimi ta t ionsT hestudy addresses open -oceansearchand rescueevents andspecificallydoesnot

addressMarinerescue missionsc loseto shoreoro ninlandwaters .

T he ResearchApproachIn orderto evaluate th ecase forreturningseaplanesto usein th esearchand rescuerole,

bo thcapabili t iesandeffectivenessar eaddressed.hediscussionofth ehistoryandbackgroundofseaplanes addressedseaplane capabili t iesand th equestionofw hyseaplanesdisappearedfrommili taryuse.hedeve lopmen tofth e helicopterandlongerrange,landbasedaircraftplayeda part.h elackofseaplane facilitiesashorean dafloatandth erelat iveinconvenienceofwaterborne maintenance andembarkationalso playedapart.hesecondhalfofth equestionis ,Arereplacementaircraft forth eseaplaneeffective?

A definitionofeffectivenesscanb edeterminedfromth eU.S .CoastGuardmission statement .heprimary goalofth eCoas tGuardsearch andrescue programis to minimizeth e lossoflife,personalinjury,andproperty damagein th emari t imeenvironment.27Thus ,amajorcomponentin measur ing effectivenessis in t e rmsofl iveslost.

S o th equest ioncanb erephrasedto :fth eU.S .didhaveamphibiousassetso nit scoas ts ,could additionallivesb esaved?tis th epotentialforlivessavedthatm ay determineth e needto returnseaplanesto service.

A casestudyapproach hasbeenselectedto determineifamphibiousaircraftcouldsaveaddit ional l ivesoverandabo ve th ecurrentsearch and rescueaviation assets in placein th e United States . .S .Coas tGuard caseswereselectedforusebecause they areacomprehensive

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andwel ldocumentedcollection ofsearch andrescue missioncasesonfile.ueto th emission ofth eCoas tGuardservice,it is also believedthattheserecordswillb eaccurate.Additionally,th e CoastGuardmainta insasearchand rescue compu te rdatabasethatcanb equeried forcasesmeet ingspecific parameters .earchingthiscomputer izeddatabase ensuresa comprehensivereview ofpertinentcasefiles.

A casestudyapproachalso permi tsth eimpact ofcontributing factors to b eaddressed .T hesearchand rescuemissionin th eopen oceanisaffectedb yanumbe r ofexternalvariables, suchas wind,waves ,and th e distancefrom shoreth eeventtakesplace.Casestudiesal low forth e review ofeach ofthese factorswhiledetermining whe the ro r no taseaplane wo uld havemade adifferencein t e rmsofl ivessavedin each searchandrescue at tempt.

A reviewofth eactualrescuecasesm ay also exposeth eimpac tofotherfactorsaffectingsearchandrescue missions ,such asequipmentavai lable,th eamoun toftimespen tsearching,th e typeofinjury,th evesse linvo lved ,andth e t imeofday.tis hopedthatacasereview willb e mo recomprehensivein exposingthesefactorsand m o r eclearlydeterminewhethero r no tth e uniquecapabilitiesofaseaplanecanmakea differencein th eo u t co meofs o m esearch andrescuemiss ions .

'TheConciseColumb ia Encyclopedia.ThirdEdit ion,1995,CompactDisc .2RichardA .Hof fman ,"The84 ,000 Pound Sonobuoy ,"Proceedings.fJanuarv1996) :6.3CarryMathews ,"ForOpenWaterRescues ,Revive Seaplanes ,"NavyTimes(8 July1996):7 ."ArthurPearcy ,U.S .CoastGuardAircraf tSince1916 .(Annapolis:S N I ,1991) ,7 0 .5EdwardWalsh ,"CoastGuardFocuseso nDeepWaterMissions ,"S ea Power(Augus t1996):5. 6GeorgeV anDuers ,Wingsforth eFleet .(Annapolis:S N I ,1966),89 .7RichardKnott ,BlackCatRaiders.(Bal t imore ,M D : auticalandAviationPublishingCo. ,1981) ,22 .

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John Batche lor ,LouisCasey ,T he IllustratedHistoryofSeaplanesandFlyingBoa t s .(New York:xterBooks ,1980) ,114.9Ibid . ,26 .10 DavidOliver ,Flying Boa t san dAmphib i ans Since1945.(Annapol i s ,M D :NavalInst i tutePress,987),7."JohnWate r s ,RescueatSea.(Annapol i s ,M D :SNI ) ,131.12Ibid . ,155.I3ArthurPearcy,A HistoryofU.S.Coas tGuardAviat ion .(Annapol i s ,M D : S N I ,1989) ,26 .14 Ibid . ,4 0 .15Waters ,116.16 Pearcy ,66 ."Waters,130.18ArnoldLewis ,ChalksInternational Businessan dCommerc i a lAviation.(July1994) ,C - 12.19Ohver,110 .^AlgeuKreniski ,"The U se ofSeaplanesasan Advanced WeaponSystem,"MasterThes i s ,(NavalPostgraduateS c h o o lMastersThesis ,Monte rey ,C A :ep t embe r ,988 . )21 PaulPhelan ,"Amphib ious ForceMultiplier,"AsianDefenseJournal.(June1994) :2. 22iPiotrButowski ,"TheA-40Albat ross ,"JanesIntell igence Review.(Novembe r .,1991) :0 0 .23Ibid. ,500 .^Maurice Allward ,A nIllustratedHistoryofSeaplanesand FlyingBoats .(Derbyshi re ,

U K :Moor land Publ ishing,1981) :8 .25 -Mel Walker ,"SeaState What?,"CanadianForces Polar i s.Vo l .4 No.l975.26,- OfficeofNava lResearch.Navy CombatSearch -and -Rescue.(1979 TaskN o .NR207- 0 0 7 . )

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27UnitedStatesCoastGuard,Commandant Publication P16107 .6.(Washington,D.C.I995),2-3.

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CHAPTER2LITERATUREREVIEW

PublicationsS inceth edecis ionsinvolvingth eeliminationofamphibiouscapabili t iesin th eU.S.

serviceshaveevolved overs o m ethirtyyears,it issurprisingtofind arelat ivelysmal lamoun t ofliterature directlyrelatingto th etopic.hereare afairamountofhistoriesdescribingamphib iousaviat ion.M o s tendin th e196 0sasth ehelicopterbecomesm o r epopular.M a n yoftheseaccountsseem to relegateseaplanes to th epast ,owingto new technologieso rdeclining budgets .opularcommen ta ryin mili taryperiodicalsis very l imited and also dwindlesafterth e early196 0s .hereis verylittle debateo rcomparisonofhelicopterandseaplane capabili t iesto b efound.

Forease ofreference thesesourcesare dividedinto books ,governmentpubl ica t ions ,periodicals,andmaterialsprovidedb ymanufacturers.

B o o k sDavidOliver'sFlyingBoa t sand AmphibiansSince1945is asummaryofmultiengined

seaplanesproducedin th emodern era.ndividualaircraftare describedin detailand th ecurrentuse andlocationofman ytypesofseaplanesisgiven.Oliveralso clearlyexplainshis beliefson w hythese aircrafthavefallen into disfavor.

T heAmer i canFlying B o a tb yCaptainRichardKnott ,UnitedSta tesNavy ,is anotherinformat ivehistory o nalltypes ofseaplanesfrom theirincept ionattheturnofth ecentury

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to post-WorldW arI I designs.h is detailedbookalso includes th ecurrentstatusofman yaircraft,whichmightb ehelpfulfo ranyonestudying th ehistoryofseaplanes ,sinceman y amphib ians havebeenremanufacturedo rr emode ledextensively.Olderflyingboa tsand amphib ians are stillseeing usewor ldw ideasfirefighters,crop-sprayersandahos t ofotherspecializedapplications.

JohnKillen'sbookA HistoryofMarine Aviat ionis anexcellentaccountofth emilitary'sdevelopmentin amphib iousaviation. g o o ddealofattentionis givento th e European theaterin Wor ldW arII .

A nIl lustratedHistoryofSeaplanesand Flying Boa t sb y MauriceAllwardisa thorough seaplane history through1980 whichalso conta insadditionaldetailo nBritishseaplane development .

TheIl lustratedHistoryofSeaplanesand FlyingBoatsb y JohnBatchelorandLouis Casey conta insdetailedaccountsofseaplaneresearch and development.eaplaneexploi tsduring th eW o r l dWarsare detai led.Alsocontainedisahistoryofth e commercialseaplane aviationandit srelat ionship to mili taryseaplaneaviation.

U.S .CoastGuardaircraft ar enicelydetailedin Arthur Pearcy'sU.S .CoastGuard Aircraft S ince1916 .esides descr ib ingth eninetyaircrafttheCoastGuardhasoperated,thisbookalso summarizesth eCoast Guard'soperat ionalhis tory ,airstat ions,andcurrentoperat ions .Pearcyalso authoredanotherb o o ktitledA HistoryofCoastGuardAviation.esidesahistorical rev iew,thisvo lumedetailsanumberofsearch and rescuemissions .

T he UnitedStatesCoastGuardb yGeneGurneyis apictorialhistoryofth eCoas tGuard .Includedis earlyCoas tGuard history,operat ionsduringwart ime ,andCoastGuardassets .h is wo rkalso detailsth eh u m a naspect ofbe ing a Guardsman .

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RescueatS eab y CaptainJohnWaters ,United Sta tesCoas tGuard (Retired)is avery up c loseandpersonalaccountofth eCoastGuard'ssearchand rescue w o r koverth elastfiftyyears.Captain Watersservedaboa rdshipin Wor ld W arII ,asth eCoas tGuard Searchan drescue Chiefin th emid-1960sandcoauthoredthenationsfirstsearch and rescuemanual .h is bookdetails,minute-by-minutein man y cases,openoceansearch and rescuemissionsaround th eworld .Ofparticularinterestisa chaptero nseaplanes.Theauthorconc ludesopen oceanlandings were alwaysverydifficultand se ldom worth th erisk.tshouldb enotedthatthisb o o kw asauthoredbeforeth eintroductionofs o m emodemdayamphib ians .

Gove rnmen tPubl ica t ionsTheUnitedSta tesCoastGuardmaintainsanextensive stat ist icaldatabaseo nit ssearch

and rescue missions .Datafromsearch and rescue missionsis forwardedto UnitedStates CoastGuard ( U S C G )headquartersb yth evar iousCoas tGuardunitsv ia search and rescue incidentreportswhereitis enteredintoth eSearch an dRescue Managemen tInformationSystem (search and r e scueMIS) .ndividualreportsare heldatth eCoas tGuard unitoriginatingth ereportforaper iodofthreeyears.Thisinformationis avai lable to anyonebased o n th eFreedomofInformationAct .ach yearth eCoastGuardproducesC O M D T P U BP 1 6 1 0 7search andrescue Statist icsforthatyear .h is documentusessearchandrescuemission datato evaluateth esearch andrescueprogramgoalsandto measure it seffectiveness and eff iciency.he publicationalso summarizes t rendsin th eCoastGuardsearchan drescueprogram.

Researcho nsearch and rescuenac o m b a tenv i ronmen thasbeencompletedb yall ofth emili taryservices.h eOfficeofNava lResearchhasstudiesonth eeffectiveness ofmari t ime searchand rescueduringth eVietnamWar .ThefinalreporttitledNavy CombatSearch and rescuew asproducedbyth eBiotechnologyCorporat ion ofVirginia and deliveredin9 7 9 .his

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Rescue,"aJapanesemaritimeself -defense forcepilotdescr ibesanopen-oceanlandingand rescuein heavyseass o m ethreehundredmilesfrom th eJapaneseshore .

IndustryResources TheCanadairCorporationpossessesago o d dealofinformationaboutseaplanesin

generalaswellas theiro w nproducts .heG r u m m a nCorporation(now Northrop/Grumman)hasprobablybuiltm o r eamphib ians thananyo ther firm in history. r u m m a nstillmainta insa historicalofficewith recordsofaircraftit produced .h eSh inMeiwaCorporation,in c losecooperationwith th eJapaneseMaritimeselfdefense force,hascompi led th em o s trecento p en - oceanseaplanesearchand rescuestatistics. tth etimeofthiswrit ing,neitherth eChinese norRussianf i rmsthatproduce amphibianshave releasedproductinformat ion .

OtherSources ofInformationT heU.S .CoastGuardInterneth o m epageconta insasummaryofth eCoastGuardSearch

and Rescuemission andalisting ofit saviat ionassetsand theircapabilities.hereare also a number ofotherInternetseaplaneresourcesdedicatedtocivilianseaplaneand floatplaneenthusiasts.

T heCoastGuard SearchandRescueProgramInordertoevaluatesearch and rescue aviation assets,itis helpfu lto understandth egoals

ofasearch andrescueprogram.heU.S .Co as tGuardSearch andrescueSearch andRescue Programgoalswil lserveasagoodexample ofwhatis expectedin anysearch andrescue program.

T h eU.S .CoastGuardSearch and RescueProgramis guidedb y threegoals .h efirst is to minimizeth elossoflife,personalinjury,an d propertylossin th emaritimeenvi ronment .he secondis to minimizeth esearch timerequiredin arescuethrough education,researchand

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developsKguatiMandenforcementn,as,is too-io-h.world ,eadershipin maridnresearchandrescue

Thesegoalsare suppor tedb y tw o impor tantobjectives.hefirstis to save9 0 percentofth epeopleatriskofdeath o nwatersoverwhich th eCoas tGuardhassearchand rescueresponsibly,onceth eCoastGuard hasbeennotified.hesecond is to preventth elossof7 0 percentofth epropertyatriskoffurtherdestruct iononth ewate roverwhichth eCoastGuardhasresponsibili ty,also afterth eCoastGuardhasbeennotified.2

Thesearch andrescueprogramstandards established to suppor ttheseobjectivesare:1)to initiate actionwithinfive minutesofinitialnotif icationofadistressincident,(2)to haveth e search and rescueunitready to proceedwithinthirty minutes ,and (3 )to haveth esearch and rescue unito nsceneorwithin th esearch areawithinninetyminutesofgettingunderway.

T hesearch and rescue programassumes thatthosel iveslos tbeforeCoastGuardnotif icationare no tsavab leandare excludedfromth eeffectivenessmeasure relatingto th e savingofl ives.ives lostafternotif icationref lectth epotentialnumberofadditionall ivesto b e saved.

Search and rescueprogrameffectivenesscanthenb edefinedasfo l lows:

LifeSaving ProgramEffectiveness=-aVedLivesSaved+ LivesLostAfterC G NotificationUsing thisformula ,th eU.S .Coas tGuardaveragedslightlylessthan a 90percenteffectiveness ratingforlifesavingduring th e1980sandslightly betterthan 90percentratingin theyearsafter1990 .3

T heCoastGuardsearch and rescue programreceives overfiftythousandcallsforassistance each year .CoastGuardresourcesrespondto approximately8 0 percentof these

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requests ,whilecommercia l ,private,andindustry resourcesrespondtotheremaining20 percent.Currently th eCoas tGuardaveragesover4500livessavedand115 ,000 assistseach year .ives lostafter CoastGuardnotificationaveragejustoverfourhundred .Aircraftmissionsaccountforove r10 percentofth el ivessavedwhichis asignif icantnumberw h e no ne considersth eannualn umber salso includeall inlandwatersand all Coas tGuardsma l l -b oa trescuesnationwide.4

Search and RescueCapab leSeaplanes Therear etw o amphibiousaircraftin product iontodaythatcouldb econsideredfor

open-oceansearchand rescue:heCanadairCL-415and th e ShinMeiwaUS-1A.Whiletheseaircraftcan trace theirdesignhistory backto earliert imes ,each incorporatesruggednew designsmakingthem signif icantlysuperior to th eamphib ians ofth e1960s .

T heU S - 1 A w asdevelopedb y th eShin M e i w a AircraftC o m p a n yasashor ttakeof f -and-landing( S T O L )aircraftforsearch andrescueroles .heUS-1Ais at rueamphibianand canb e operated equallywel lfromwatero rland.heaircraft stronglyresemblesa formerU Sflyingboa t ,th e twin-engine MartinP5MMarlin,buthasseveraluniquefeaturesdesignedto provide

Sho r tTakeoffandLandingperformance .hehigh winghasa rectangularcentersection mo un t edapproximate lymidway along theto pofth e fuselage.h is highplacementgivesth e aircrafta humped profile .heouter-wingpanelsare doub letapered and haveleading-edgeslatsaswel lastrailing-edgef lapsand poweredailerons.

T hedorsalhumpalso coversth e1 ,400 horsepowergasturbineenginethatgenerates th e air fo r th eBoundary LayerCon t ro l(BLC)system thatis th esourceofth eUS-Is'STOLper fo rmance.T heB L C airis b lown ove rth einsidesect ion trailing-edgef lapswhichcanb e deflectedto eighty degrees . uter -edgetrailingflapscan b edeflected tosixty degreesto take advantage ofth epropellersl ipstream.h issystem givesth eUS-1veryslow landingandtakeoff- speed capabil i ty.

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Theaircraft hasalargeT-ta i lcarriedhigh o n to pofth efuselage.o th th elargerudderand th ee levatorsare alsob l o w nb yth e B L Csystem fors low-speed performance . or izonta ltai lplaneso nto pofth erudderhaveleading-edgeslatsandfull-span elevators.heU S-1hasanautomat icf lightcon t ro lsystem an dtw o independenthydraulicsys tems .

Four3 ,500 -ho r sepowertu rboprop enginesdriveth eaircraft.thasaveryhydrodynamical lyefficientDeep -Vee hulland along length-to-beamratio.h ehull'ssingle- stepdesign andsprayskirtaddto th equickplanning ability ofth ecraft.his design permi tslandingsand takeoffs in highse astateswithwavesrunning eight-to-thirteen-feet high .hef lightdeckisse thighabo ve th er adomeforg o o dvisibi l i ty.heaircrafthasfixed strut,bracedwingfloatsand retractabletncyclelandinggear .ts overal llengthandwingspan are just under110 feet.heaircraftmissionradiusis overo nethousandmiles.

US-1searchand rescue aircraft carryas ix-man motor ized inf latabledinghythatis launchedandrecoveredfrom ar ampdeployedfrom a rearslidingdoor .

Thesecond productionseaplane capab leofopen -oceanoperat ionis th e CanadairCL-415.heaircraft is animproved vers ionofth eCanadairCL-215.nit spr imaryconfiguration, th eCL-415is designedto scoopup13,500poundsofwate rforfiref ighting.he aircraftalso c o m e sin amari t imepatrolvers ionwithr oom forpassengers ,litters,o rmission equipment .heCL-415hasamissionradiusofapproximate lysi xhundredmiles.

T heCL-415hasah igh -moun tedwing,b o w ,andchinespraysuppressorsand a hydrodynamical lyefficienthull .levatorsare moun tedhigh o n th etail.heaircrafthasretractablelandinggearand so is alsoa t rueamphib ian .w o 2,380-horsepowerturbopropenginesare moun tedo n th ewings.ropellers are fully reversiblegiving th eaircraftexcellenthandling capabili tyin th ewater . ll flightcont ro lsurfacesare hydraulically driven.he CL-415design permi tslandinginwaterwithwave heights ofoversi xfeet.

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CurrentAmphibiousHelicopterS u m m a r y T he productionoffullyamphibioushelicoptershasallbutceasedworldwide .tillin

service are th eMI-14Haze,th e Aerospatiale SuperFrelon,and th eSikorskyH-3.heseaircrafthavefullyamphib iousboa thullsandare excellentsearchand rescuecraftwith ranges in excessof250miles.h eChinese are producingavariantofth e SuperFreloninl imited numbers .

Wing-In-Ground-EffectCraft Anothertype ofamphib iousaircraftthathas notyetbeen fullydevelopedusewing- in -

ground-effect( W I G )t echnology.W IG vehic lestakeadvantageofanaddit ionalliftprovidedby acushionofdenseairt rapped be tweena largewing andth esurfaceofth ewater .hedragonanaircraftdueto liftis considerab lyreducedifth ealtitudeofth eaircraftissimilarto th elength (chord)ofth ewing.his technologypotentiallyoffers rangeand fueleconomy even betterthan standardflight.

Beforeth edissolution ofth eSov ie tUnion,Russiandesign bureaushaddesigned,tested,and builtlargeamphib iousWIGcraftforuseo nth eCaspianSea.incem o s tearlyt echnicalprob lemshavebeenove rcome ,th e technologyis no w forsale,b utdueto alackoffunds developmenthass lowed considerab ly .h is technologyholdsgreatpromiseforsearchand rescue b uthasnotbeen developed.

Duringth esecondweekin January1997 ,th enewspaperChinaTodaycarriedth e announcementbyth eChinesegovernmentthatasixteen-passengerW IG aircraftw as in product ionand dueto beginoperat ionsthisyear .hearticlealso stated a m u c h largercraftis in development .Whi le it is difficultto judgeth evalidityofth eChinese cla ims,it isverylikelythatthisis exportedRussiant echnology.

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CurrentA m p h i b i o u sAircraftSearch and Rescue OperationsT he bes texample ofacurrentseaplane search andrescueoperationcomesfrom th e

Japanese Mari t ime Self -DefenseForce(JMSDF).heyare operatingte nShinMeiwaUS-JAsforopen-ocean search andrescue aswel lassuppor to revacuat ionofvic t imsfrom remote islandswhichdo no thaverunways .Widely regardedasth e bes tand m o s tadvancedseaplane everbuilt ,th eUS-1Ahasbeen inservicesince1976 .nJapan,helicopters performth esearch andrescuemissionc loseto shorewhi leth eUS-JAis taskedwith rescuesfartheroutto sea.apanesef iguresshow th eUS-lAs fromth eJMSDFhavecomple ted anaverageoften-to-f if teen lifesavingrescueseach yearsincetheyhave been putinto service.5A number ofrescues havebeenaccomplishedmo rethansix hundred milesoffth eshoresofJapan.

Howeve r ,seaplanes dohave their l imits .eawor thinesslimitationsare amajo rfactorin operat ionofth eUS-JA.heoperationalcapabili ty areasofth eUS-JAare summarized in figure1 .

Thisfigure indicatesthatin orderforth eUS-JAto land in ten-footseas,th ew a v elength mus tb eapproximate lytw o hundredfiftyfeetin length,notunusualin theopen ocean .andingcapabili tyis also affectedbyanumber ofotherfactorsincludingaircraftweigh tatlanding and th ea m o u n t ofheadwind .

Stud ieswereconducted byth e JMSDFandShin Meiwato matchth eUS-JAs'performance capabili ty agains tth echaracteristicsof th eocean waterssurroundingJapan.eastates andwaveperiodsweremeasured andaveragedin th eS ea ofJapanandth e NorthernPacific .hesestudiesindicated thatth eUS-JAwouldb eoperable7 7 percentofth e t ime .he other23percentofth e t imese astateswou ld b ein excessofth eaircraft'scapabilityto lando n th eocean ifrequired.n actualoperat ions ,th eUS-JAhasactuallybeensuccessfulin 87percentofit srescue attempts.6

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T he JapaneseMari t ime Self -Defense Forcepilotsw ho flyth eUS-1Aalso undoubtedlypossessth elargestamountofexperienceavailable regardingopen -oceanseaplane landing.Personalaccountsattesttoth echal lengesoflandingalargeseaplane in th eopen oceanaswel lmaneuver ing th eaircraftonceonth ewater .7

as

W a v e Heigh t(ft)

10

15

0 W a v e Length(ft)

20000 60 0 800U S - 1Landing andtake-offw a v eheightcapabili ty

.Convent ionalseaplane landingandtake-offwave heightCapab i l i ty .Figure1 .

ComparisonofA ll CurrentSearch and RescueAsse t sAppend ixBis ageneralcomparat ive summaryofaviationaswellasshipsearch and

rescue assetscurrentlyusedin theUnited States .Allrangeandspeeddataprovidedare approximate .

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w,t > < 'Ra"diCorPQratio" S o m eLogisticalandCo s tCons iderat ions inMilitaryOpera t ionnfWaterBased Aircraft ,(RandCorporat ion ,955declassif ied).2S A R Statist ics1993,Uni tedStates Coas tGuard ,C O M D T P U BP16107 .6 ,994 .3SARStatist ics1993 ,UnitedSta tesCoastGuard ,C O M D T P U B P16107 .6 ,994 .4S A R Statist ics1993 ,United Sta tesCoastGuard ,C O M D T P U B P16107 .6 .994 .

C o . IM lZt a" d "*"A"" * M" '"Alrrnfl'"hp 1 n (Shi" Md **"6Ib id .7S h o k iInoue,"A D ayin th eLifeofAirRescue,"U S N I Proceeding(Mrrh995):5.

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C H A P T E R 3R E S E A R C HM E T H O D O L O G Y

T h eResearch Plan Theplanto evaluate th ecaseforreturningseaplanesto usein th esearch-and-rescuerole

consistsoftwoparts.hefirstpartreviewsth e historicaluse andapplication ofth eseaplane. T he purposeofthispartis to examine pastsearch-and-rescuesuccessesand to determineth e capabilitiesofth eplatformasasearch-and-rescue tool . historical perspective also highlightss o m eofthestrengths andweaknessesofthistypeofaircraft.

Thesecond halfofth eresearch reviewsmoderndaysearch-and-rescuecasestudiesandlooksforth eapplicabilityofth emoderndayseaplane. casestudyapproachw asselected since seaplane capabilitieshaveimproved dramaticallyin recentyears,andthereis little orno researchavailableo nth e possibleeffectiveness ofasearch and rescueseaplane in U.S .waterstoday .

Inorderforaseaplane to b eeffectivein th eUnitedSta tessearch and rescueeffort,it m u s tenhanceth ecurrentsearch-and-rescueforce:amely th e U.S .CoastGuard .pecifically,it m u s taddh eabili tytosavel iveswhereandw h e ntheywou ldotherwiseb elostusingcurrentsearch-and-rescuemethods .ylookingatcaseswhereliveswere lostat se aduringaCoastGuard search-and-rescueeffortand theoretically,insertingaseaplane into th escenario,itis possibleto evaluatewhetherorno taddit ionall ivesmightb esaved insimilar ,futuresi tuations.Deliberately,th ecasesselectedwere thosewhereaseaplane mightoffers o m emission capabili t iesno tfoundin othersearchand rescueplatforms.yreviewingcaseswherel iveswere lostatseamorethano nehundredmilesfromshore ,th epotentialofth eseaplane mightbe

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highlighted.headvantageto thismethodis comprehensiveness .inceit is reasonable(andposs ib le)to examine everycasewhereCoas tGuardassetswereinvolvedin asearch andrescue overo nehundredmilesatseaandl iveswerelost ,a"bigpicture"assessment canb emad e .

T hedistanceofo nehundredmilesfromshorew asselected fortw o reasons.ince a seaplane operatesatapproximatelytwiceth eforwardairspeed ofahelicopter ,o nehundredmilesapproximatesth epoin twheretimeofflightto alocation becomessignificant.Aftero nehundred miles,th edifferencein timeofflightbe tweenaircrafttypesis mo rethantwentyminutes .ne hundred milesalso approximatesth edistance from shorewhereth ese astateisindependent ofnearbylandfo rms ,so amo reaccurate assessment ofopen-ocean performancecanb emade.

Obtainingth esearch andrescue caseinformat ionis poss ib lebecauseofth erecord- keepingsystem ofth eU.S.CoastGuard . etailedaccountsofsearchand rescuemissionsare keptforthreeyearsatth eoriginatingCoastGuardstat ionbeforetheyare sentto th eNat ionalArch ive sin Washington,D.C.Thesereportscalledsi tuationreports( S I T R E P S )also provideth e ra w dataforth eannualsearchand rescue stat ist icalsummar ies produced b yth eCoastGuard .Usingth e U.S .Coas tGuardsearch and rescuedatabasecomputer ,thir ty-nine caseswere identif iedin th elastthreeyearswhereCoastGuardaviation participatedin asearch and rescue effortm o r ethano nehundredmilesatseaan dwhereatleasto nelifew aslostafterCoastGuardnotif ication.hecompletedescriptionofth eeventsin th eform ofth eoriginalSITREPw asob ta inedfrom th eCoastGuardstat ioninvolvedin each ofth eforty-three searchand rescuemissions .AppendixC containsa genericSITREPreport ing format .

Speed ,t imeto th e rescue ,timeo nstat ion,relat ivecargo capaci ty,and an amphib iouscapabili tyare th eadvantagesaseaplanebrings to amari t imesearch and rescue.hroughexaminat ionofth eoriginal CoastGuardsearch andrescue S I T R E P S ,anevaluat ionofho w thesefactorsplayedinto th eresultantlossoflife canb emad e .hefuturevalueofasearch and rescue

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seaplanecan thenbeestablished bysimplypluggingaseaplane intoth ecasesan ddetermining ifth eresultswouldhavebeendifferent.

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C H A P T E R 4 A N A L Y S I S

In t roduct ionT hecasestudies1evaluated here representth ethirty-nineevents recordedb yth eU.S .

Coas tGuard in which alifew aslostmo rethan1 00 milesoffth ecoastline be tween1993and 1995afterth eCoastGuard w asnotifiedofth eemergency .ndoub tedly ,thereare m o r ecasesthatfitthisdescriptionthatwereno trecordedo r reported,buttheseare th eeventsth eCoastGuardparticipatedin ,makingrecordsm u c hm o r eaccurate andinformative.

Sp eed ,t imeto th e rescue site,t imeo nstation,relativecargo capacity,and an amphibiouscapabili ty are th eadvan tagesaseaplane br ingsto a mari t imesearchand rescue.Otherfactors affectinganamphib iousrescue are wea the randseastate,timeofday,physicalconditionofand injuries to th evict im,an dth etypeofvesselinvo lved .ach ofth e casesis evaluatedusing thesefactors.hetypeofrescue effortmoun tedis brief lydescribedandfinally th equestionis posed,"Wouldaseaplane havemad ean ydifferencein th eou tcome of thisevent?"

Thecasesare arrangedb y yearwithin each Coas tGuardreportingdistrictin orderto exposeanycase similari t iesarising from oceancharacterist icso rgeography.o m e casesinvolvemultipleCoastGuardunitsfrom neighbor ing districts.T o avoidconfusionandduplication,thesecasesare onlylistedin th edistrictw h o s eassetsdid th emajori ty ofth esearch and rescueeffort .

Whi leth eactualcasen umber s ,namesofvessels ,andn amesofpeopleinvolvedin theserescueattemptsar eavailable to virtually anyone v ia th eFreedomofInformationAct ,thesedetailsweredeemed no timpor tan tto th e research and ar eomit ted .

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Ins o m eofth ecasesth elossoflifeis immediateorth esituationissuchthatlittle canb e gainedfromreviewingth ecase. briefdescriptionofthesetypesofcasesisstillincludedforcomple teness . inally,anywhere th eCoas tGuardfilesare incompleteorth eoriginalrecordofth eeventis missing,thatfactis notedandwhateverinformat ionisavailablefrom th enationalstatisticalsummaryis given.

CaseStudiesSeven th District

TheCoastGuard'sSeventh Districtasresponsibilitiesin bothth e AtlanticandGulfofMexico and hasheadquar te rsin Miami ,Florida.ix casesmatchingthe1 0 0 -mi l eandloss-of-l ife profi lewere foundin Seventh Districtfiles.

T h efirstcaseoccurredin January1993 . 150 -foo tColombianvesse lcarryingsevenpeopleand60 0 t onsofsand capsized20 0 milessouthofMiamiw h e ntheloadit w ascarryingshifted.Rescueauthori t iesdivertedanearbyU.S .NavyshipandaP- 3patrolaircraftafterth e mishap w asconfirmedb y asecond source .heNavyshiplaunched it srescuehelicopterasso o n asit w asin range of th esinkingvessel.T hepat ro laircraftw aso n th escenein o ne hour ,th e ship'shelicopter in fourandone-halfhoursand th eshiparrivedalmosteighthourslater, justbeforedarknessfell.hree peoplewererescuedbythehelicopter,andafourth foundfloatingdeadin his lifejacket.heotherthreepeoplenevermadeit offth esinkingvesse lordrownedand werenotfound .

T heweatherw asreported to b ego o dwithfour-footseas ,l ightwinds ,andvisibility in excess ofte nmiles.ueto th eincapacitat ionofth esurvivors ,th ehelicopterdeployedit srescue s w i m m e rtwicewithin thirtyminutesto aid in hoistingvictims.

A nanalysis of thiscases h o w saseaplane launchedfrom th eCoastGuard stat ionin Puerto Rico wo uld havebeen o nstat ionin lessthantwohours ,potentiallyrescuingth eseaman

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founddead in h is lifejacket.ddit ionally,th edangerofanoverworkedrescueswimmerwou ld b ereduced o reliminated.h esearch fo r th ethreemissingcrewm e m b e r swou ldhavestarted atleasttwohoursearlier.im ew asespeciallycri t icalin thiscaseasrescueassetswererequiredto se to uto n asecondconcurrentdistresscallassoon asitw asdeterminedth echancesoffindinganymo revict ims w assmall .

Thenextcaseoccurred inSep tembe r1993. U.S .seaman apparentlyelectrocutedhimselfwhileweldingo nth eboilerofa500-foottankervesse llocated250milessouth ofMiami .re w member s beganlife suppor timmediate ly .oastGuard rescuecoordinatorsdeterminedthatth e neares thelpw as a Navy helicopterovertw o hoursaway . oweve r ,there w asno placeforth ehelicopterto land.heCoastGuardflightsurgeonrecommendeddiscont inuingth e firstai dcardio -pulmonary resuscitat ion (CPR)andanyrescue attemptbased o n th eremotechanceofsurvivaland th elengthoftimeunti lmedicalpersonnelwouldarr ive.

I tis unknown whe the rth evictim had any chance ofsurvivalin thiscase . oweve r ,a seaplane could haveleftM i a m iand beenfloatingalong side th etankerin o nehour ,unliketh e helicopterwhichhad no place to land. ddit ionally,it couldhaveeasilycarriedadditionalemergencymedicalpersonnelandmedicalequipmentforthissi tuation.

Thethirdcasefrom th eSeventh DistrictinvolvesaU.S.citizenw h o felloverboardfrom a commerc i a lfishingvesselin January1 9 9 4 . eapparently drownedimmediately.hevesse lan dcrew wereab leto returnand grab ho ldofth evic t im,b utwere unabletobringhimaboard because ofhisweight . Coas tGuardhelicopterb rough tth e bo d ybackto Clearwater ,Florida, wherehew aspronounceddeado narrival. nly a personalf loatat ion devicewouldhavechanged th eou tcome ofthiscase.

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T h efourth casetookplaceover200mileswes t ofM i a m iin January of1995 .650 - f oo tbulkcargo vesselradioedforCoastGuard helpforo neof th ePol ishc rewmen apparently sufferingaheartattack.heshipsemergencylifesaveradministerednitroglycerin and beganC P R .ecauseofthedistance,th erescue hel icoptert ooktw o hoursto arrivefrom Clearwater ,Flor ida .hevictimw asthenhoistedup into th ehelicopterwhereCPRw ascont inuedforth etwo-hourtrip backtoth ehospitalwherehew aspronounceddead .

In thissi tuation,aseaplanemighthavedeliveredadoctorandmedicalequipmentto th e shipin halfofth et imeit tookth ehelicopterto arrive. ls o th eprocedureofhoistingofth e vic t im,temporarilystoppingth eC P R ,could havebeeneliminated.Whetherthisactionaffectedth eeventualdeathis unknown.

T henextcaseoccurredin April1995.A180 -foo tvesse lfrom Belizesank20 0 milesnor thofVenezuelaw h e nit scargoofcementshifted.Fourofth eeightC u b a ncrewcl imbed into araftand driftedforfivedaysbeforethey werepicked up b yapassingship.heotherfourcrew werethoughtto b ewear ing life jacketsand to b ein th eship'sten-footutilityboat .h eCoastGuard receivedashipoverdue reportth eday beforeth esurvivorswere pickedupand c o m m e n c e dsearchingafterth erescuevesse lreported pickingupsurvivors .heC-130and P -3patrolaircraft searchedforthreedayswi thou tfindingan y evidenceof th eothercrewmember s .

Duringth esearchth ewindincreasedto thirtyknotsandseaswells reachedte nfeet .It s eemslittle elsecould b e donein thiscase .hepatrolaircraftcarriedoutalarge,relativelyfastsearch forth emissingc r ew .Hadth ecrew beenlocated,theywo uld havebeenwi thou tfoodorwater fornearlyaweek .fa fixed-wingaircraftwo uldhavespotted additionalsurvivors,theirrescue wouldhavebeendelayedanadditionalfourhourswhilea CoastGuardhelicoptersort ied o utto retr ievet hem ,assumingtherew asahelicopterwithinrange.

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