Coast Guard Aviation (Hangar Bay One)

Coast Guard Aviators, all Navy trained and recipients of Wings of Gold, have influenced key events in Naval Aviation’s history. The Coast Guard’s first aviator, Elmer Stone, flew the famous NC-4 on the first transatlantic crossing in 1919. During World War II, Coast Guard Aviators patrolled American shores for enemy U-boats and spearheaded experimentation with rotary wing flight, introducing the helicopter to Naval Aviation. Since that time, Coast Guard fixed-wing and helicopter pilots have kept our shores safe, working at home and abroad, from air stations and aboard Coast Guard cutters, and always at the ready to rescue those lost at sea.