Don’t often think about helicopters in WWII (at least I don’t). Check out the link for the full story.
Some highlights:
Lieutenant Carter Harman, 1st Air Commando Group, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his accomplishment in a Vought-Sikorsky YR-4B helicopter.
A Stinson L-1A liaison plane, which was a STOL aircraft before STOL was a thing, crashed behind Japanese lines in Burma carrying 3 wounded Brits plus the American pilot. All survived the crash. Japanese found the wreckage and were searching the jungle for the crew.
Harman had to fly 24 hours from his base in India just to get into position to try to rescue them. The landing strip he operated from was itself behind enemy lines.
Because of the heat and humidity degraded both the engine power and lift, he could only carry one passenger at a time. So he picked up one Brit and flew him to a sandbar on a nearby river where another L-1 could land to carry the rescuees to safety. Then Harman went back for another. It took all day to do the first two, and on his second trip back to the sand bar his engine overheated and seized. He stayed with his helicopter and waited for the engine to cool off overnight, and hoped the Japanese wouldn’t find him.
The next morning he was able to start the engine and rescue the remaining Brit and the US pilot and return to safety.
Prior to WWII Harman helped Duke Ellington write his biography.
Some highlights:
Lieutenant Carter Harman, 1st Air Commando Group, was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his accomplishment in a Vought-Sikorsky YR-4B helicopter.
A Stinson L-1A liaison plane, which was a STOL aircraft before STOL was a thing, crashed behind Japanese lines in Burma carrying 3 wounded Brits plus the American pilot. All survived the crash. Japanese found the wreckage and were searching the jungle for the crew.
Harman had to fly 24 hours from his base in India just to get into position to try to rescue them. The landing strip he operated from was itself behind enemy lines.
Because of the heat and humidity degraded both the engine power and lift, he could only carry one passenger at a time. So he picked up one Brit and flew him to a sandbar on a nearby river where another L-1 could land to carry the rescuees to safety. Then Harman went back for another. It took all day to do the first two, and on his second trip back to the sand bar his engine overheated and seized. He stayed with his helicopter and waited for the engine to cool off overnight, and hoped the Japanese wouldn’t find him.
The next morning he was able to start the engine and rescue the remaining Brit and the US pilot and return to safety.
Prior to WWII Harman helped Duke Ellington write his biography.
