Combat Search And Rescue
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Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of
helicopters A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling tankers and an airborne
command post Command and control (abbr. C2) is a "set of organizational and technical attributes and processes ... hatemploys human, physical, and information resources to solve problems and accomplish missions" to achieve the goals of an organization or e ...
. The USAF HC-130, which was introduced in 1965, has served in the latter two roles.


History

The
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
was the background for the development of early combat search and rescue doctrine, especially in the more fluid theaters of war in the
Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
and the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...
. In the opening fluid stages of the
First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
the Royal Navy Air Service Armoured Car Section was formed with armed and armoured touring cars to find and pick up aircrew who had been forced down. When trench warfare made this impossible the cars were transferred to other theatres, most notably the Middle East. In 1915, during the First World War, Squadron Commander
Richard Bell-Davies Vice Admiral Richard Bell Davies (19 May 1886 – 26 February 1966), also known as Richard Bell-Davies, was a senior Royal Navy commander, naval aviator, and a First World War recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry ...
of the British Royal Naval Air Service performed the first combat search and rescue by aircraft in history. He used his single-seat aeroplane to rescue his wingman who had been shot down in Bulgaria. His
Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
citation included "Squadron-Commander Davies descended at a safe distance from the burning machine, took up Sub-Lieutenant Smylie, in spite of the near approach of a party of the enemy, and returned to the aerodrome, a feat of airmanship that can seldom have been equalled for skill and gallantry." Like the search and rescue efforts of the future, Davies' action sprang from the fervent desire to keep a compatriot from capture or death at the hands of the enemy. It was during the
Mesopotamian campaign The Mesopotamian campaign was a campaign in the Middle Eastern theatre of World War I fought between the Allies represented by the British Empire, troops from Britain, Australia and the vast majority from British India, against the Central Po ...
that British and other Commonwealth forces began to use similar tactics on a larger scale. Shot down aviators in hostile Bedouin territory were often located by search parties in the air and rescued. Other nations also contributed to the development of modern-day CSAR. During
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, the ''Luftwaffe'' (''
Seenotdienst The ''Seenotdienst'' (sea rescue service) was a German military organization formed within the ''Luftwaffe'' (German Air Force) to save downed airmen from emergency water landings. The ''Seenotdienst'' operated from 1935 to 1945 and was the first ...
'' organization) operated armed camouflaged air-sea rescue aircraft. In the
First Indochina War The First Indochina War (generally known as the Indochina War in France, and as the Anti-French Resistance War in Vietnam) began in French Indochina from 19 December 1946 to 20 July 1954 between France and Việt Minh (Democratic Republic of Vi ...
French doctor, pilot and parachutist
Valérie André Valérie André (; born 21 April 1922) is a veteran of the French resistance, a neurosurgeon, an aviator and the first female member of the military to achieve the rank of General Officer, in 1976, as Physician General. In 1981, she was promoted ...
pioneered MEDEVAC tactics, a precursor to what we know as CSAR today, by flying helicopters into combat zones to retrieve (or sometimes treat) injured soldiers. In August 1943 a wing flight surgeon, Lt. Col.
Don Flickinger Don Davis Flickinger (26 November 1907 – 23 February 1997) was a military flight surgeon and pioneer in aerospace medicine who retired from the United States Air Force as a brigadier general. Flickinger was born in Erie, Pennsylvania on 26 Nov ...
, and two combat surgical technicians, Sgt. Richard S. Passey and Cpl. William G. MacKenzie, parachuted from the search planes in the Naga area of Burma to assist and care for the injured. At the same time, a ground team was sent to their location and all twenty walked to safety. Although parachute rescues were not officially authorized at the time, this is considered by PJs to be the birth of
United States Air Force Pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...
. Eric Sevareid said of his rescuers: "Gallant is a precious word: they deserve it". A few short months later, Capt. Porter was killed on a rescue mission when his B-25 was shot down. During the
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
the costly rescue of Bat 21 led the US military to find a new approach to high-threat search and rescue. They recognized that if a SAR mission was predestined to fail, it should not be attempted and other options such as special operations, diversionary tactics and other creative approaches tailored to the situation had to be considered. Recognizing the need for an aircraft that could deliver better close air support, the US Air Force introduced the
A-7 Corsair The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...
, originally a carrier-based
Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
light attack aircraft, to replace the Air Force's
A-1 Skyraider The Douglas A-1 Skyraider (formerly known as the AD Skyraider) is an American single-seat attack aircraft in service from 1946 to the early 1980s. The Skyraider had an unusually long career, remaining in front-line service well into the Jet Age ...
s, an aircraft that also was originally a carrier-based naval attack bomber. As a result of the Vietnam CSAR experience, the US military also improved the night capability of helicopters and area denial munitions. During the Vietnam War, U.S. SAR forces saved 3,883 lives at the cost of 71 rescuers and 45 aircraft.


Notable missions


World War I

On 21 April 1917, Captain Richard Williams of the
Australian Flying Corps The Australian Flying Corps (AFC) was the branch of the Australian Army responsible for operating aircraft during World War I, and the forerunner of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). The AFC was established in 1912, though it was not until ...
landed behind enemy lines to rescue a downed comrade during
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.


Vietnam War

In 1972, Lieutenant Colonel
Iceal Hambleton Iceal E. "Gene" Hambleton (November 16, 1918 – September 19, 2004) was a United States Air Force navigator who was shot down over South Vietnam during the 1972 Easter Offensive. He was aboard an EB-66 aircraft whose call sign was Bat 21. As the ...
, a navigator/electronic warfare officer with a background in ballistic missile technology and missile countermeasures in the
US Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sig ...
, was the sole survivor of an EB-66 shot down during the
Easter Offensive The Easter Offensive, also known as the 1972 spring–summer offensive ('' vi, Chiến dịch Xuân–Hè 1972'') by North Vietnam, or the red fiery summer (') as romanticized in South Vietnamese literature, was a military campaign conducted b ...
. He eluded capture by North Vietnamese forces until his rescue, eleven-and-a-half days later. During the rescue operation, five US military aircraft supporting the CSAR effort were shot down, eleven US servicemen were killed, and two men were captured. The rescue operation was the "largest, longest, and most complex search-and-rescue" operation during the entire
Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
. It has been the subject of two books and the largely fictionalized film
Bat*21 ''Bat*21'' is a 1988 American war film directed by Peter Markle, and adapted from the book by William C. Anderson, novelist and retired United States Air Force colonel. Set during the Vietnam War, the film is a dramatization based upon the rescu ...
.


Others

The
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
(USAF)
24th Special Tactics Squadron The 24th Special Tactics Squadron is one of the Special Tactics units of the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). It is the U.S. Air Force component to Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC). It is garrisoned at Pope Fi ...
was involved in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu. Timothy Wilkinson, a Pararescueman, was awarded the Air Force Cross for his heroic actions during the battle. Air Force
pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...
personnel (PJs) have been awarded one United States Air Force Medal of Honor and 12 Air Force Cross's since the Southeast Asia conflict. During the opening moments of
Operation Desert Storm Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
, an
MH-53 Pave Low The Sikorsky MH-53 Pave Low series is a retired long-range special operations and combat search and rescue (CSAR) helicopter for the United States Air Force. The series was upgraded from the HH-53B/C, variants of the Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stal ...
crew from the
20th Special Operations Squadron The 20th Special Operations Squadron is part of the 27th Special Operations Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. It operates Bell Boeing CV-22 Ospreys on special operations missions. It traces its history back to the activation of the 20th ...
recovered an
F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the ...
pilot who was shot down over Iraq. On June 2, 1995, a USAF
F-16C The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF). Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successf ...
was shot down by a
Bosnian Serb Army The Army of Republika Srpska ( sr, Војска Републике Српске/Vojska Republike Srpske; ВРС/VRS), commonly referred to in English as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of Republika Srpska (RS), the self-proclaimed Serb ...
SA-6 The 2K12 ''"Kub"'' (russian: 2К12 "Куб"; en, cube) (NATO reporting name: SA-6 "Gainful") mobile surface-to-air missile system is a Soviet low to medium-level air defence system designed to protect ground forces from air attack. "2К12" is ...
surface-to-air missile near
Mrkonjić Grad Mrkonjić Grad ( sr-cyrl, Мркоњић Град, ) is a town and municipality located in the western part of Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the region of Bosanska Krajina, between Banja Luka and Jajce. A ...
,
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
. The American pilot,
Scott O'Grady Scott Francis O'Grady (born October 12, 1965) is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot. On June 2, 1995, he was shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina by a 2K12 Kub mobile SAM launcher and forced to eject from his F-16C into hostile ter ...
,
ejected Ejection or Eject may refer to: * Ejection (sports), the act of officially removing someone from a game * Eject (''Transformers''), a fictional character from ''The Transformers'' television series * "Eject" (song), 1993 rap rock single by Sense ...
safely and was rescued six days later. The operation became known as the
Mrkonjić Grad incident Scott Francis O'Grady (born October 12, 1965) is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot. On June 2, 1995, he was shot down over Bosnia and Herzegovina by a 2K12 Kub mobile SAM launcher and forced to eject from his F-16C into hostile t ...
. In 1999, members of
United States Air Force Pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...
along with Air Force Special Operations recovery aircraft successfully rescued the pilot of an
F-117 The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is a retired American single-seat, twin-engine stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was the first operational aircr ...
"stealth" attack aircraft (''see 1999 F-117A shootdown'') and also the pilot ( David L. Goldfein) of an F-16 fighter, aircraft. Both of the aircraft were shot down over
Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
while on a
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
-led mission.


See also

*
Joint Personnel Recovery Agency The Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) is a Chairman's Controlled Activity and is designated as DoD's office of primary responsibility for DoD-wide personnel recovery (PR) matters, less policy. JPRA is headquartered in Fort Belvoir, Virginia w ...
*
United States Air Force Pararescue Pararescuemen (also known as PJs) are United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) and Air Combat Command (ACC) operators tasked with recovery and medical treatment of personnel in humanitarian and combat environments. These speci ...
* Special warfare combatant-craft crewmen *Israel Air Force
Unit 669 Airborne Combat Rescue And Evacuation Unit 669 ( he, יחידת החילוץ והפינוי הקרבי בהיטס 669,''Yechidat HaHilu'tz VeHaPinu'i HaKravi Behetes 669'') is the Israel Defense Forces heliborne Combat Search and Rescue extract ...


References

* ''Leave No Man Behind: The Saga of Combat Search and Rescue.'' George Galdorisi, Thomas Phillips. MBI Publishing Company, 2009. , .


External links

{{commons category, Combat Search and Rescue Military tactics Rescue aviation Military rescue aircraft Search and rescue Search procedures