7/26/2023 0 Comments I39 albatros flight clearwater51-5282 to the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio in July 1973 after setting an altitude record of 32,883 ft earlier in the month. The final USAF HU-16 flight was the delivery of AF Serial No. Coast Guard as both a coastal and long-range open ocean SAR aircraft for many years until it was supplanted by the HU-25 Guardian and HC-130 Hercules. Navy HU-16s from locations such as NAS Agana, Guam Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba NAS Barbers Point, Hawaii NAS North Island, California, NAS Key West, Florida NAS Jacksonville, Florida and NAS Pensacola, Florida, among other locations. Open water landings and water takeoff training using JATO was also conducted frequently by U.S. Goodwill flights were also common to the surrounding Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in the early 1970s. It was also employed as an operational support aircraft worldwide and for "skunk runs" from the former NAS Agana, Guam during the Vietnam War. Navy also employed the HU-16C/D Albatross as a search and rescue (SAR) aircraft from coastal naval air stations, both stateside and overseas. Other examples of the HU-16 made their way into Air Force Reserve air rescue units prior to its retirement from USAF service. In addition a small number of Air National Guard air commando groups were equipped with HU-16s for covert infiltration and extraction of special forces from 1956 to 1971. Air Force's Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service and saw extensive combat service during the Vietnam War. Later, the redesignated HU-16B (long-wing variant) Albatross was used by the U.S. The USAF used the SA-16 extensively in Korea for combat rescue, where it gained a reputation as a rugged and seaworthy craft. Air Force, primarily by the former Air Rescue Service, and initially designated as SA-16. The majority of Albatrosses were used by the U.S. The Albatross was designed for optimal 4-foot (1.2 m) seas, and could land in more severe conditions, but required JATO (jet-fuel assisted take off, or simply booster rockets) for takeoff in 8–10-foot (2.4–3.0 m) seas or greater. Its deep-V hull cross-section and substantial length enable it to land in the open sea. An improvement of the design of the Grumman Mallard, the Albatross was developed to land in open ocean situations to rescue downed pilots and other flight crew members.
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