World War II and occupation of Japan World War II The unit was first activated at
Gulfport Army Air Field, Mississippi in February 1944 as the
3rdEmergancy Rescue Squadron, a
Consolidated OA-10 Catalina unit. As with most
Army Air Forces rescue units, especially those deploying to the Pacific, the unit was organized primarily for water recovery of downed aircrews. A number of the squadron's
cadre had already received training from the
United States Navy with the Catalina at
Naval Air Station Pensacola. The unit continued its training at
Keesler Field, Mississippi in April. On 18 May the ground echelon departed for the
Southwest Pacific Theater, while the air echelon continued training at Keesler. The ground echelon arrived at
Oakland Army Base, California on 20 May 1944 to ship out for Australia on the , arriving at
Archerfield Airport near Brisbane, Australia on 17 June. It moved to
Oro Bay Airfield, New Guinea three days later, and moved forward to
Mokmer Airfield on
Biak in the Netherlands East Indies on 2 September 1944. The squadron also provided courier service, carried supplies and messages, evacuated allied prisoners and wounded personnel, and occasionally provided
reconnaissance. Experience in the
China Burma India Theater had demonstrated the need for land rescue capabilities using helicopters and light planes.
Korean War Deployment of elements to Korea Following the North Korean invasion of South Korea on 25 June 1950, the squadron deployed two L-5 Sentinels and one
Douglas SC-47 Skytrain to
Pusan West Air Base to perform search and rescue missions. These were replaced a week later by
Sikorsky H-5 helicopters. By late August, a squadron representative was stationed with the Joint Operations Center to coordinate rescue operations. Three months later, this single officer expanded into a Rescue Control Center, under the command of the squadron's deputy commander, and was also known as "3rd Air Rescue Squadron in Korea."
Operations in Korea Combat operations in Korea, and the changing tactical situation there, soon added the missions of rescuing aircrew downed behind enemy lines, and evacuating wounded personnel with the squadron's helicopters. The squadron's first rescue of a downed pilot behind enemy lines occurred on 4 September, when a
North American F-51 Mustang pilot of the
35th Fighter-Bomber Squadron was rescued by a squadron helicopter. Initially, because of the aircraft available to the unit, now called the 3rd Air Rescue Squadron, efforts were limited to short range missions. The squadron's H-5 helicopters could operate from Korea's many rice paddies, sometimes escorted by the unit's L-5 Sentinels, which also flew aeromedical evacuation missions from small unprepared fields. Because of the limited resources of the squadron, it was augmented by crews and aircraft of the
2nd Air Rescue Squadron at
Clark Air Base in the Philippines. The squadron's Boeing SB-17 Dumbos and SC-47 Skytrains were used in the search role, with the C-47 "Gooneybirds" being commandeered on occasion to fly critical supply missions. Early in the war, both these planes began to be replaced by SB-29 Superdumbos. In March 1951, the squadron received a YH-19 test model of the Sikorsky helicopter to evaluate in combat. Replacement of the H-5s by the
Sikorsky H-19 greatly extended the range of the squadron's rotary wing elements. Over 7,000 casualties were evacuated by the 3rd during the war. Squadron elements operated out of
Paengnyong-do and
Cho-do islands off the coast of North Korea, enabling its limited range helicopters to rescue aircrew far behind enemy lines. Associated in part with these forward locations, the squadron assumed a secondary mission of
special operations. Shortly after the arrival of the YH-19, it was used to extract "
United Nations personnel" (most likely Korean
guerillas) from behind enemy lines. During November 1950, squadron SB-17s dropped a number of agents near the Chinese border, along with radio equipment, to provide intelligence data on enemy components. In April 1951, the unit recovered components of a MiG-15 that had crashed near
Sinanju for study by
military intelligence.
Squadron to group While still flying combat missions, in November 1952, the squadron was expanded, becoming the
3rd Air Rescue Group. Each of the squadron's flights was replaced by a newly-activated squadron, assigned to the new group: : A Flight at
Johnson Air Base, Japan was replaced by the
36th Air Rescue Squadron : B Flight at
Komaki Air Base, Japan was replaced by the
37th Air Rescue Squadron : C Flight at
Misawa Air Base, Japan was replaced by the
38th Air Rescue Squadron : D Flight at
Ashiya Air Base, Japan was replaced by the
39th Air Rescue Squadron At the same time, Detachment 1 of the squadron at
Seoul, Korea was expanded into the 2157th Air Rescue Squadron During 1955, the group replaced its SB-29s with
Douglas SC-54 Skymasters. The SC-54 carried four 40-man inflatable rafts that were safer to drop than the single wooden boat carried by the SB-29. In 1957, group headquarters and the 38th Squadron were inactivated, and the 36th and 39th Squadrons were transferred to the 2nd Air Rescue Group. By 1961 Air Rescue Service would have only eleven squadrons assigned. Rising aircraft losses in late 1965 led to the expansion of Air Force rescue assets in Southeast Asia. The group was reactivated as the
3rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Group, with Detachment 1 at Da Nang, and Detachment 2 at Udorn, manning the regional rescue centers. The 38th Squadron became responsible for local base rescue detachments at bases in Vietnam and Thailand, using
Kaman HH-43 Huskies. The 37th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron was established at Da Nang, and was responsible for rescue missions in North Vietnam, Laos and for Air Force rescue efforts in the Gulf of Tonkin. It used
Sikorsky HH-3 Jolly Green Giants for combat rescue, and Lockheed HC-130s as command and control aircraft to coordinate rescue operations. It was also assigned HU-16s for long range water rescue over the Gulf of Tonkin. Later, the HC-130s at Da Nang and Udorn were combined to form the group's third squadron, the 39th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron.
Improved equipment The capabilities of the "off the shelf" rescue helicopters assigned to it limited the group's effectiveness. The HH-43 could not hover at higher altitudes, and the HH-3 needed to stage from forward bases in Laos to provide rescue coverage for North Vietnam. This deficiency was partially remedied by the addition of air refueling capability to the HH-3s. Within a few months after the first combat refueling in June 1967, in flight refueling became standard, but staging bases in Laos continued to be used. In addition to extending the range of the group's refuelable helicopters, air refueling permitted them to dump fuel when needed to lighten the aircraft, and to enable it to hover for rescues at high altitudes, knowing that it would be able to connect with a tanker after the rescue attempt and on-load sufficient fuel to return to its home base. In parallel with the introduction of the HC-130H air refueling aircraft, in the spring of 1967, the group implemented Operation High Drink, which enabled the HH-3s to take on fuel from virtually any Navy ship operating in the Gulf of Tonkin, either landing on larger ships, or hovering alongside smaller ones. Combined with the Jolly Green Giant's ability to land on water, this permitted the withdrawal of the HU-16 amphibians, which flew their last combat rescue sortie on 30 September 1967. In the fall of 1967, the group received its first
Sikorsky HH-53 Super Jolly Green Giant, which were stationed at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base. These helicopters improved capabilities over Laos and North Vietnam, since they were faster, could hover at altitudes up to 6,500 ft
pressure altitude and were armed with three
GAU-28/A 7.62mm miniguns. Because of their larger size, HH-53s also carried a second pararescue specialist. However, despite the improved capability provided by the BUFF (as it was called by crewmembers), the unit's night rescue capability remained very limited and night rescue attempts were rarely successful. In March 1968, expanded rescue missions over Laos and North Vietnam led to the formation of a second squadron at Udorn, the
40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. Although the group did not directly participate in the
Son Tay Raid in November 1970, when the Joint Contingency Task Force arrived in theater, it used seven HH-53s from the group's 40th Squadron, and two HH-3s from the 37th Squadron. In March 1972, the HC-130Ps of the 39th Squadron left Vietnam for
Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base. Shortly after its arrival there, the squadron was inactivated, and its planes were temporarily absorbed by the Korat local base rescue detachment. However, in July, the
56th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron was activated to manage these aircraft. By late in the year, withdrawals in connection with the
cease fire had resulted in the withdrawal of almost all rescue forces from Vietnam. The 37th Squadron at Da Nang Air Base was inactivated in November, and its remaining assets were absorbed by the 40th Squadron. The group moved with Seventh Air Force to Nakhon Phanom, and the existing Joint Rescue Centers were replaced by a single one located with group headquarters.
1975: Eagle Pull, Frequent Wind and the Mayaguez incident On 3 April 1975, group forces were placed on alert for the possible implementation of
Operation Eagle Pull, the evacuation of Americans from
Phnom Penh, as
Khmer Rouge forces surrounded Cambodia's capital. A group helicopter flew a
United States Marine Corps command element into Phnom Penh to assume control of the evacuation. On 12 April, the group's helicopters positioned for evacuation, and flew a
combat control team to the beleaguered city. After Marine helicopters had evacuated civilians, two group helicopters returned to the landing zone to extract the combat control team and remaining security forces. One HH-53 was hit by ground fire and badly damaged, but was able to return to base for an emergency landing. As conditions in Southeast Asia continued to deteriorate,
Operation Frequent Wind, the evacuation of Saigon, was implemented at the end of the month. The group placed rescue helicopters on alert at bases in Thailand and aboard . On 29 April, the two helicopters aboard
Midway accompanied Marine CH-53s on three missions to evacuate people at the
Defense Attaché Compound. The last flight carried as many as 97 refugees aboard one of the aircraft. By the end of the last mission, both Super Jollys were out of commission, having flown the group's last mission in Vietnam. On 12 May, Khmer Rouge forces seized the , a U.S. merchant ship. The group initially flew two of its HH-53s to transport
Security Policemen from Nakhon Phanom for use as a possible rescue force. On 15 May, group HH-53s again joined CH-53s of other units in transporting a Marine assault force from
U-Tapao Royal Thai Navy Airfield to the island where the
Mayaguez had been run aground. After offloading their Marines on the , the Jolly Greens headed for one of the CH-53s, Knife 21, which had been shot down after offloading its Marines. Although the crew was rescued, one of the pararescuemen on the Jolly was lost in the effort. The Jollys then escorted another CH-53, which had been struck while attempting to land its Marines. As the attempt to extract the Marines from
Koh Tang Island began, additional HH-53s transported a relief force of Marines for additional security. Evacuation efforts continued under heavy enemy fire throughout the afternoon and evening in the Air Force's last combat operation in Southeast Asia. In October 1975, the 56th Squadron was inactivated, and its remaining HC-130s absorbed by the 40th Squadron. As the United States continued its withdrawal from Southeast Asia, the Rescue Coordination Center was shut down on 15 December 1975, and the group and the 40th Squadron were inactivated at the end of January 1976. The group was credited with 3,681 saves during the war, including 2,632 combat saves. Previously assigned as a geographically separated unit of the
347th Rescue Wing and later of the
23rd Wing, both at
Moody Air Force Base, Georgia, the 563rd was later reassigned to the
355th Fighter Wing, later the 355th Wing, collocated at Davis-Monthan. During June 1951, Lt John J. Najarian landed his SA-16 amphibian in the
Taedong River, which was not only shallow, but filled with floating debris, while low-hanging
high-tension power lines ran over the river, to rescue a Mustang pilot, who had bailed out of his plane at twilight. Assisted by covering flights of Mustangs to suppress enemy flak, Lt Najarian was able to make the difficult night landing, pick up the pilot and take off successfully. For this mission, he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross. Airman First Class
William H. Pitsenbarger of the group's 38th Squadron was the first enlisted man to be awarded the
Air Force Cross. Flying as a parajumper, or PJ, on an HH-43 sent to extract an Army unit caught in a
Viet Cong ambush on 7 March 1966, he descended to assist with hoisting soldiers up to the helicopter. When the Pedro (radio call sign for the tasked helicopter) had been loaded with all the wounded soldiers it could hold, Airman Pitsenbarger elected to remain behind to render aid to the remaining soldiers, all of whom were wounded. When a second HH-43 arrived on the scene, its PJ descended and found that the Viet Cong had killed Airman Pitsenbarger and the remaining soldiers. On 8 December 2000, following a review, Airman Pitsenbarger's Air Force Cross was upgraded to an award of the Medal of Honor, and he was posthumously promoted to the rank of
Staff Sergeant. Airman First Class
Duane D. Hackney, a PJ with the 37th Squadron, was awarded the Air Force Cross for actions on 13 March 1967 in a rescue operation for two Marine helicopters, a
Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave that had been shot down, and a
Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight that had crashed while attempting to aid the first Marine chopper, when it reported that enemy forces were closing in on the crash site. Airman Hackney made multiple trips to the ground while exposed to enemy fire, loading as many Marines on his HH-3's
Stokes litter as possible each trip. The HH-3 was struck by enemy fire, losing hydraulic pressure, and forcing the pilot to head for an emergency landing field. Airman Hackney continued to tend to the wounded on board, even after being rendered temporarily unconscious from a bullet that had struck his helmet. ==Lineage==