Tuesday, January 23, 2018

First Helicopter rescue in Canada

Larry Milberry, Aviation in Canada, McGraw-Hill Ryerson 1979

On May 19 1945 a US Coast Guard Sikorsky R-4 was used to rescue the crew of a downed plane. The disabled Canso was 130 miles southwest of Goose Bay and was otherwise inaccessible. The two seater helicopter flew the crew out one at a time.
 The R-4 was the world's first mass produced helicopter and had been in service since early 1944. About 100 were built including twenty for the US Army, 45 for the Royal Air Force.


Partially disassembled R4 in the storage hangar at The Canadian Aviation and Space Museum.

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