Introduction
In this paper we will discuss the first documented use of helicopters for the primary purpose of Air Ambulances in World War II. During 1943, the United States, British Commonwealth and the Chinese faced the armies of Japan, Thailand and Indian National Army. The Burmese Independent Army started off on the Japanese side, but later switched sides fighting with the allied forces. Under the control of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States made a decision to support the Chinese during the war with aircraft.1 With Japan controlling much of the Chinese territory, the main supply route for the Chinese was thru the Burma Road. This supply route was essential to operations in the area shaped a restructure for the way supplies would be delivered to soldiers fighting and patients being able to get the urgent care they extremely needed. The only logical and expeditious way to do all of this would be through the use of aircraft flying a supply route known as “the Hump.”2
History
Commanders from all units across the world have thought about how to take care of their troops in times of war. Maybe one of the most heavily weighed thoughts is how much risk I am willing to take if I can’t provide my men immediate medical care at the time when they most need it.
Dated back as far as 1866, the idea of an “Air Ambulance” has been on the minds of certain individuals across the world. Paris, France first used the hot air balloons in order to evacuate more than 160 soldiers from the besieged city to medical care facilities.3 In the beginning, using a hot air balloon to rescue shipwrecked sailors seemed logical since the balloons where already delivering mail and supplies across the area of operations. This action dire...
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...pter Evacuation, http://olive-drab.com/od_medical_evac_helio_ww2.php
Ed Holmes, MEDEVAC Flight in WWII, http://www.helis.com/stories/burma45.php
History of Air Ambulance and MEDEVAC, Mercy Flight, http://www.mercyflight.org/content/pages/medevac
Map Of Burma, BBC, Animated Map: The Burma Campaign, http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/animations/wwtwo_map_burma/index_embed.shtml
Mark W. Bielauskas, Imphal, The Hump and Beyond, http://www.comcar.org/Air%20Commando%20Group/1st_air_commando_group_beginings.htm
Peter Dorland and James Nanney, DUST OFF: Army Aeromedical Evacuation in Vietnam, CMH Publisher, 90-28-1, page 9
U.S. Army Medical Department, Call Sign – DUSTOFF “Chapter 1” http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil/other_pub/dustoff/Dustoffch1.pdf
World War 2 Burma, History Channel, http://www.history.co.uk/explore-history/ww2/burma.html
In 1968, the United States Army activated the 123rd Aviation Battalion, creating a remarkable unit that was comprised of several Army assets. The design of the battalion revolutionized how assets could be combined to complete many missions by mixing infantry, signal, aviation, and support units. The 123rd’s mission ranged from was to collect intelligence, deliver supplies, insert and extract infantrymen, and provide air support. In addition to their primary mission they also participated in medical evacuation, an invaluable asset on the battlefields of Vietnam.
William, M. (1975) The Vietnamese Air Force, 1951-1975: An analysis of its role in combat and fourteen hours at Koh TanWashington: [Dept. of Defense, Dept. of the Air Force]: for sale by the Supt. of Docs., U.S. Govt. Print. Off.
Fixed wing evacuations were conducted from April 1st 1975 to April 29th 1975. Between the C-130 and C-141 airframes, 376 flights took place to evacuate over 45,000 people from Saigon (Hualman 1975). The Air Force also employed their helicopters and several other fixed wing in support of Operation Frequent Wind.
This paper will briefly discuss or attempt to discuss the evolution of Aerial Reconnaissance. I will talk about what reconnaissance is exactly and why it is important to every aspect of conflicts; before, during and after. Early methods of reconnaissance will be discussed and then lead to how aerial reconnaissance came about. I will talk about what platforms were used for aerial reconnaissance and what their missions were in the beginning. World War I forces aircraft technology to start advancing out of necessity, reconnaissance starts moving further and further out front as capabilities improve. During World War II cameras are being used on aircraft as that technology improves. During World War II we see aerial reconnaissance mainly
Ambulances were further developed from the base model which already existed during the war. The ambulance’s main purpose was to speedily take injured soldiers from the battlefield to the medicine and doctors in order to receive appropriate care. Jonathan Lettermen created the ambulance that was used during the Civil War; this ambulance could carry three injured people at a time along with all the supplies necessary. This ambulance was not the ideal ambulance: the ride was extremely bumpy and unstable, but they accomplished their job of taking people from the battlefield to the hospital area. Incredibly, during the Civil War there were multiple “trains” of ambulances; each train consisted of forty ambulances, and there were always forty trains on call at a time (Frederick). They were stocked with supplies and stretchers for those unable to get in unaccompanied. The ambulances were exceptionally helpful during the Civil War. The battle of Antietam was considered the bloodiest day of the Civil War. There were over twenty three thousand casualties during the Antietam battle, and in twenty four hours the ambulance corps had all the dead men off the field (Kagan 164). At the end of the war, the ambulance was widely recognized as a significance lifesaver (Oshinsky
Here at the Chelsea Naval Hospital, the influx of patients arriving home from the war inflicted with "battle wounds and mustard gas burns," has created a shortage of physicians and it is becoming increasingly difficult to fight this influenza. Even our own physicians are falling ill from the disease and dying within hours of its onset. Today I received a letter from Dr. Roy, a friend and fellow physician at Camp Devens, who describes a similar situation:
The Medical advancements of WWI had a huge impact on the war; many soldiers’ lives were saved due to advances in medicine and the invention of the ambulance. The First World War had many casualties and deaths, many of these deaths were not caused by the “invisible soldier”. Most of the injuries in the war were caused by large explosions and gunshot wounds. With the invention of the ambulance, many soldiers were aided sooner rather than later, resulting in their lives being saved.
Medical science had not yet discovered the importance of antiseptics in preventing infection. Water was contaminated and soldiers sometimes ate unripened or spoiled food. There weren’t always clean rags available to clean wounds. Because of frequent shortages of water, surgeons often went days without washing their hands or instruments. So now germs were passing from patient to patient.
On December 1, 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order that started the Civil Air Patrol. No one, not even its creator, Gill Robb Wilson, foresaw the importance that Cap would play in protecting the waters along the coast from the dreaded German U-boats attacking the shipping lanes. Sixty years later the CAP is still going strong. Performing its missions of aerospace education, cadet programs and search and rescue, CAP is preparing today’s youth to become successful leaders. This was not all that CAP has done. In the beginning of its creation, CAP played a major role in the defense of the U.S. during World War II. CAP played a vital role in the coastal defense of the Southern and Eastern coasts of the U.S. that could not have been done effectively by any other agency at that time.
World War II was one of the deadliest military conflicts in history. There were many different battles that took place within this war; some more important than others. World War II began once Germany’s new dictator, Adolf Hitler, decided that he wanted to gain power for Germany and for himself. One of Hitler’s first moves in power was invading Poland on September 1, 1939. Many other countries became involved in this war because of the alliance system. The two sides during this war were the Allies and Axis powers. German, Italy and Japan were on the Axis powers; France, Britain, and the United States were on the Allies. Germany first began with the Blitzkrieg tactic meaning “lightning war”. This tactic is based on speed, surprise and was the most popular tactic. It is set up with military forces based around tanks which are supported by planes and infantry. The Blitzkrieg tactic lead to air wars with airplanes between countries. All of the countries were allowed to participate in the air wars but the four main countries were United States, Japan, Britain, and Germany. During the 1920’s and 1930’s airplanes grew in size and structure giving them more power, and making planes more effective. Planes made it easier to drop bombs, or plan attacks. All of these countries fought over air superiority. Air superiority is the position in which the air force has control over all of the air warfare and air power of the opposing forces. Germany began with air superiority but they lost it when Britain defeated them at the Battle of Britain. Gaining control over the air is a very big advantage because it is easier to plan an attack on an opposing country. All of the countries relied on their aircrafts during this war. The issue about the use of...
In 1794, the French Committee of Public Safety developed a “Corp d’ Aerostiers” also known as a military balloon that was initially created to make it easier to scrutinize the enemy. Thaddeus Lowe then set out to invent a portable gas generating device that could be used anywhere. The first balloon was used in the battles of Charleroi and Fleurus in 1794. (Civil War Ballooning, 1987) The balloon was indeed a success for those battles until it became disbanded in 1798. (About.com, Napoleons Dream.) Before the balloon was disbanded, it did not move until later after the development became more of a popular topic between the Union and Confederate armies. In fact, military ballooning was so popular its own” Balloon Corps” army was developed. Even though military balloons were not shot down in a war, military ballooning was overall an unsuccessful development in military history. The communication of balloon intelligence to a commander engaged in battle was sometimes difficult and the corps faced difficult logistical problems that sometimes prevented it from moving as quickly as desired.
Haulman, Daniel L., “Vietnam Evacuation: Operation Frequent Wind”, The Air Force Historical Studies Office Website, http://www.afhso.af.mil/topics/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=19872
In 1957, the army began developing a new fighting force based on the helicopter. ...
Johnson, it was time to change the way we were distributing our forces to help aid the Southern Vietnamese military forces (History.com, 2010). The use of aircrafts first started out to transport wounded off the battlefield, but quickly turned into the use of different chemicals such as agent orange, to destroy brush for troops to travel through easier. Operation Rolling Thunder started out as just a discussion among those of higher ranking command, but on March 1965 the talk became action (Pike, 2016).
... of South Vietnam that resulted in the fall of Saigon on 30 April. In the previous month a RAAF detachment of 8 Hercules transports flew humanitarian missions to aid civilian refugees displaced by the fighting, and carried out the evacuation of Vietnamese orphans before finally taking out embassy staff on 25 April (Dudley 179).