Sea Guard

The HH-52 was the U.S. Coast Guard’s first turbine-powered helicopter and the first that could land in the water next to vessels or personnel in distress without using awkward floats, making it the most effective air-sea rescue helicopter of its time. The Coast Guard operated ninety-nine HH-52s between 1962 and 1989, saving 15,000 lives.

The aircraft on display, tail number 1426, completed 12,619 flight hours in 22 years of service. It participated in several significant missions including the 1969 rescue of 104 school children from a burning ship near Tarpon Springs, Fla., and the dramatic rescue of 22 survivors of the fiery, pre-dawn collision of the Burmah Agate and the Mimosa in the Gulf of Mexico in 1979. “1426 lets us showcase the Coast Guard’s critical life-saving role for the first time,” said Roger Connor, curator of the museum’s Vertical Flight collection.