"BOEING377" wrote

Note the etc., I called on 2, 4, 8, 16 Mhz freqs. Back then (1980s) satcom
gear
was just too expensive for most small fishing boats. The US Albacore tuna
fleet
is comprised of small boats, usually in the 50-85 ft range. We knew we
were on
our own and accepted that risk. None of us expected the USCG to protect us
so
far from the US, but it's always worth a try. Another resource that
actually
has in some respects superior long range air rescue capabilities compared
to
the USCG is the USAF Rescue Squadrons. They have HC 130H aircraft very
similar
to the USCG planes, but with a couple of big differences. They can carry
pararescue jumpers who sometimes jump thousands of miles offshore to do
emergency medical work on a ship. Also, the USAF planes carry air
refueling
gear and can extend the range of a Blackhawk rescue helo waaay beyoind
what the
USCG can fly with their unrefuelable Jayhawks. They have helped in a
number of
civilian sea rescues. Not sure how the USCG and the USAF divide tasks, but
I
assume that the USAF is contacted by the USCG RCC since the USAF planes do
not
normally monitor marine HF SSB freqs. The USAF planes do not normally
carry
dropable pumps but they do carry dropable liferafts and can drop a very
impressive large inflatable with a big waterproof outboard which is used
by the
pararescue jumpers after they land in the water.

Mr. ____

The USAF Air National Guard is called on to make any at sea recovery which
is out of range of the USCG HH-60 Jayhawks, and no surface asset is near
enough or able to assist. That kind of effort cost the life of a pararescue
jumper after his helo team rescued the crew of s/v Satori. and required
refueling before they could commence searching for the m/v Andrea Gail. The
UH-60 was unable to air refuel, and ditched, causing the loss of the
pararescue. For the USCG's work, the HH-60 is better suited than the
Blackhawk, as the refueling probe adds so much weight that the resulting
loss of single-trip range available to the Blackhawk makes it unsuitable for
the typical USCG rescue missions. Also, the USCG HC-130's do not monitor
marine band SSB either, although both the ANG and all USCG a/c are capable
of any HF comms that a distressed vessel needed to communicate with. We also
drop VHF hh radios to a vessel that has lost power and cannot communicate
with an orbiting Hercules, Jayhawk or Falcon a/c.

73
Jack Painter
Virginia Beach