Masters of the Ice
Some 64 years ago this month: The last U.S. Coast Guard Boeing PB-1G “Flying Lifeboat” CG-77254 parked next to the first Coastie Lockheed SC-130B Hercules; beyond them is a Coastie R5D Skymaster seen at Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, in 1959. The final PB-1G, the last B-17 Flying Fortress in U.S. military service, as far as I can tell, was not withdrawn from service until October 1959.
USCG photo
Converted B-17G bombers, the PB-1G carried no armament and, in addition to Loran, fitted a surface search radar in place of the chin mount, but still toted the Norden bombsight. It came in handy when dropping the self-bailing lifeboat it carried under the belly.
As noted by the USCG Aviation History Association:
Eighteen B-17Gs were set aside by the USAAF for transfer via the US Navy to the Coast Guard to be used as search and rescue aircraft. Rework began to convert the aircraft in question for search and rescue duties. On 1 January 1946, the Coast Guard was returned to the Treasury Department, but nevertheless, the Navy continued to rework the B-17s and transferred the first of 18 to the Coast Guard in July 1946. These aircraft were Lockheed-Vega and carried Navy serial numbers. An additional PB-1G was obtained directly from the USAAF in 1947 and it served with a truncated AAF serial number. Two additional aircraft PB-1R configured for VIP operation and one aircraft configured for photo mapping were also provided.
The PB-1Gs were stationed throughout the hemisphere and were used primarily for search and rescue purposes. They were also used for Ice Patrol. The photo aircraft carried a nine-lens, $1.5 million dollar, aerial camera for mapping purposes. Interestingly, the Norden bombsight, used by the B-17s in the bombing campaign against Nazi Germany was retained and was used to pinpoint targets for the camera.
They saw lots of use on the Ice Patrol.
Coast Guard PB-1G (B17) ice patrol plane, 1958
Original caption: “Somewhere in the region of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, taking a Loran fix in a Coast Guard PB-1G (B17) ice patrol plane, is John D. Murphy, Aviation Electronics man, 3rd class, working in close coordination with his navigator and the observer. By means of Loran, the navigator plots the plane’s position frequently over the fog-wrapped area under survey. Loran fixes enable the observer to check the exact location of icebergs along the course after they have been sighted. Working out from a Coast Guard attachment located at Argentia, Newfoundland, a four-engine PB-1G’s ordinary search flight lasts 10 or 11 hours and covers approximately 1,500 linear miles. The 1954 International Ice Patrol season began in February and extended into August.” NARA 026-g-051-005-001
Original caption: “Framed in the plexiglass nose of a Coast Guard PB-1G (B17) ice patrol plane, Ensign Theodore J. Wojner, USCG, Observer, with binoculars scans the ocean for field ice, growlers, and icebergs, in the vicinity of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. In this position, the observer has unrestricted visibility from beam to beam. Although Radar and Loran are used on International Ice Patrol aerial surveys, the observer knows that the human eye is still the most dependable instrument for detecting icebergs. Only after he sights an iceberg does he use the radar instrument shown here at his elbow, to determine the distance of the berg, which he enters in his log with the time. After the flight, the observer’s log entries are checked against the Loran fixes obtained by the navigator along the flight track. From this data, the location of the bergs is accurately determined. Working out of the Coast Guard Air Detachment at Argentia, Newfoundland, a PB-1G’s normal flight lasts 10 or 11 hours. During that time the observer constantly watches the area under survey.” NARA 026-g-051-003-001
The Forts were replaced by C-130s in the early 1960s, and the USCG still rocks the big Hercules.
Original caption: “The SC-130B is the first turbin[e]-propelled aircraft to enter U.S. Coast Guard Aviation. Built by Lockheed, this was the second accepted early in 1960 as the first step in the Coast Guard’s program of modernizing its air fleet and is station in Honolulu. A four-engine, all-weather, high-speed, long-range land plane, its primary mission is search and rescue but can also be used for transporting personnel, emergency equipment, and cargo. The “Hercules” replaces the old PB-1G (B-17) long-ranged model planes used since World War II.” National Archives Identifier 205576270
As detailed by the USCG Historian’s Office:
The final flight of the last PB-1G in Coast Guard service ended at 1:46 p.m. on Wednesday 14 October 1959 when PB-1G 77254 landed at AIRSTA Elizabeth City. She had faithfully served the nation’s oldest continuous sea service for fourteen years.