Most Albatrosses were used by the
United States Air Force (USAF), primarily in the
search and rescue (SAR) mission role, and initially designated as SA-16. The USAF utilized the SA-16 extensively in Korea for combat rescue, earning a reputation as a rugged and seaworthy craft. Later, the redesignated HU-16B (long-wing variant) Albatross was used by the
United States Air Force Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service and saw extensive combat service during the
Vietnam War. 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. Other examples of the HU-16 made their way into
Air Force Reserve rescue and recovery units prior to its retirement from USAF service. The
United States Navy (USN) also employed the HU-16C/D Albatross as an SAR aircraft from coastal
naval air stations, both stateside and overseas. It was also employed as an operational support aircraft worldwide and for missions from the former
Naval Air Station Agana,
Guam, during the Vietnam War. Goodwill flights were also common to the surrounding
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in the early 1970s. Open-water landings and water takeoff training using JATO was also conducted frequently by USN 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. In July 1952, an SA-16 from the 58th Air Rescue Squadron rescued 32 survivors of a British DC-3 that had crashed in the Mediterranean Sea. The pilot, Capt. Kendrick U. Reeves, would later receive the
Cheney Award for his actions. In October 1957, an SA-16B flew to a position 120 nautical miles south-southeast from Sardinia to pick up a
F-100 pilot. After recovering the pilot, it was determined that takeoff was impossible due to damage from the landing, and the aircraft taxied 45 nautical miles towards
Bizerte, Tunisia before being taken in tow by a French corvette for the remainder of the trip. This set the Air Force record for the longest taxi time from water to dry land. As part of the
International Ice Patrol, in 1958 and 1959, Coast Guard UF-2Gs dropped Mk 35 and Mk 36 incendiary bombs on icebergs. On 24 May 1962, an Air Force SA-16 was launched to assist in the recovery of the
Aurora 7 space capsule and astronaut
Scott Carpenter. Despite arriving on scene ahead of two Navy
Sikorsky SH-3 Sea King helicopters, the Albatross was instructed not to land by the recovery force commander due to concerns over its ability to take off again in heavy seas. A minor controversy later arose over whether the decision was motivated by
interservice rivalry. In February 1964, an Air Force HU-16B sent to retrieve the nose cone of a missile fired from
Cape Kennedy Air Force Station ran out of fuel after rough seas forced it to attempt to taxi back to land. As no nearby ships carried aviation gasoline, a fuel truck was lashed to the deck of the , the aircraft was refuelled, and it was finally able to take off after five days on the ocean's surface. On 14 March 1966, an HU-16B, serial number 51-071, attempted a rescue of the crew of an
F-4C that had ejected over the
Gulf of Tonkin. After landing to pick up the pilot, the aircraft was struck by a mortar round fired from the nearby shore, killing the radio operator and seriously injuring the flight mechanic. The aircraft then sank, drowning the pararescueman, who was tethered to it. The pilot, copilot, flight mechanic, navigator and both F-4 crew were later rescued by
H-3 helicopters. The navigator, Captain Donald Price, was later awarded the
Air Force Cross for his actions. Three days later, on 17 March 1966, an HU-16 was involved in the recovery of
Gemini 8. The HU-16 was also operated by the
United States 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. The final USAF HU-16 flight was the delivery of AF Serial No. 51-5282 to the
National Museum of the United States Air Force at
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, in July 1973 after setting an altitude record of earlier in the month. The final US Navy HU-16 flight was made 13 August 1976, when an Albatross was delivered to the
National Naval Aviation Museum at NAS Pensacola, Florida. The final USCG HU-16 flight was at
Otis Air National Guard Base in
Cape Cod in March 1983, when the aircraft type was retired by the USCG. The Albatross continued to be used in the military service of other countries, the last being retired by the
Hellenic Navy of Greece in 1995. The
Pakistan Air Force operated 4 SA-16As from 1958 to 1968, which it received under the
Mutual Defense Assistance Act. No. 4 Squadron was equipped with them while based at
Drigh Road Air Base. The SA-16s were used for maritime reconnaissance and coastal patrol during the
1965 War with India. At least one SA-16 was on patrol during the 17-day war, flying fourteen missions in support of the
Pakistan Navy. They were stored on August 19, 1968. The
Indonesian Air Force operated 8 UF-1 acquired in 1958 and 4 ex-West German Navy UF-2S acquired in 1977, all were assigned to the 5th Air Squadron and were retired in the 1980s. The
Indonesian Navy also operated two ex-USN UF-2 received in 1960. Three Grumman Albatrosses from the Indonesian Air Force took part in the 1975
invasion of East Timor for maritime patrol role. Due to shortage of ground attack aircraft in the initial stage of the invasion, the Albatross was modified so it could be armed with 12.7 mm
M2 Browning machine guns, bombs and rockets. The Albatross was only used once for a ground attack mission. The
Royal Canadian Air Force operated Grumman Albatrosses with the designation "CSR-110".
Civil operations SA-16 used for Trust Territory service,
Oakland 1954 In the 1950s,
Transocean Air Lines flew SA-16s under contract to the
United States Department of the Interior between the islands of Micronesia. After Transocean's 1960 bankruptcy, Pan American World Airways and finally Continental Airlines'
Air Micronesia operated the Albatrosses serving Yap, Palau, Chuuk (Truk), and Pohnpei from Guam until 1970, when adequate island runways were built, allowing land operations. Many surplus Albatrosses were sold to civilian operators, mostly to private owners. These aircraft are operated under either Experimental-Exhibition or Restricted category and cannot be used for commercial operations, except under very limited conditions. In the early 1980s,
Chalk's International Airlines, owned by Merv Griffin's Resorts International, had 13 Albatrosses converted to Standard category as G-111s. This made them eligible for use in scheduled airline operations. These aircraft underwent extensive modifications from the standard military configuration, including rebuilt wings with titanium wing spar caps, additional doors and modifications to existing doors and hatches, stainless steel engine oil tanks, dual engine fire extinguishing systems on each engine, and propeller auto-feather systems installed. The G-111s were operated for only a few years and then put in storage in Arizona. Most are still parked there, but some have been returned to regular flight operations with private operators. Satellite technology company
Row 44, now known as Anuvu, bought an HU-16B Albatross (registration N44HQ) in 2008 to test its in-flight satellite broadband internet service. Named
Albatross One, the company selected the aircraft for its operations because it has the same curvature atop its fuselage as the
Boeing 737 aircraft for which the company manufactures its equipment. The plane purchased by Row 44 was used at one time as a training aircraft for space shuttle astronauts by
NASA. It features the autographs of the astronauts who trained aboard the plane on one of the cabin walls. In 1997, a Grumman Albatross (N44RD), piloted by Reid Dennis and Andy Macfie, became the first Albatross to circumnavigate the globe. The 26,347
nmi flight around the world lasted 73 days, included 38 stops in 21 countries, and was completed with 190 hours of flight time. In 2013 Reid Dennis donated N44RD to the
Hiller Aviation Museum. Since the aircraft weighs over 12,500 pounds, pilots of civilian US-registered Albatross aircraft must have a
type rating. A yearly Albatross fly-in is held at
Boulder City, Nevada, where Albatross pilots can become type-rated.
Proposed new build Amphibian Aerospace Industries in
Darwin,
Australia, acquired the
type certificate and announced in December 2021 that it planned to commence manufacturing a new version of the Albatross from 2025. Dubbed the G-111T, it would have modern avionics and
Pratt & Whitney PT6A-67F turboprop engines, with variants for passengers, freight, search and rescue, coastal surveillance, and aeromedical evacuation. ==Variants==