CAP First Ground Search Team?

Started by RADIOMAN015, May 15, 2011, 10:55:16 PM

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

RADIOMAN015

Anyone know when CAP first started its' ground search teams ???  Be interesting to see some historic documents of how the training evolved over the years.   It seems to me in the early year it was more AIR Patrol and ground support for that mission.  When was the first successful CAP search mission with a ground team?

BTW my history expert in the local area never could find any historic information on Civil Air Patrol :(  I'm think now if just approaching the local major newspapers and seeing if they have an easy way to search their archives (with little or no expense to me! (which is probably going to be the biggest challenge).
RM   

BillB

#1
I joined CAP as a cadet in 1945. CAP was doing ground SAR then, but cadets could only work flight line or mission base. However they could be mission pilots if they held a PPL with overb 100 hours. I know of cases where an aircrew where both pilot and observers were cadets. I flew as PIC on a mission with a cadet observer and we had a save in that we found the downed plane and was able to get a ground team to the site (crashed pilot had very minor injuries) There were no ELTs so for a missing aircraft search, ground teams were sent out with a portable aircraft reciever to hear aircraft calling locations of possible crash sites. The majority of CAP aircraft did not have even FAA frequency radios, so message drops were the primary means of communications between aircraft and ground teams. Empty spark plug containers with a streamer worked fine. Advanced first air training was a required part of the cadet program then so, Senior members also took part in the training, which was about the only training ground teams got.  Aircraft search areas were determined by geographical features, such as road X or river X, not grids. Aircraft, mainly L-4's and L-5's flew slower patterns and often at 500 ft AGL.  Member owned aircraft were encouraged for all flight operations since CAP had so few USAF issued aircraft available.
In 9 out of 10 cases ground teams and aircrews were trained with on-the-job taining through practice missions, there were no training programs set up by National for mission training. My experiences in air and ground search were based on conditions in Florida and south Georgia only. Other Wings may have had training programs set up. Wings were the units that set up their own SAR training depending on local conditions. Keep in mind that CAP was about the only organization with air SAR capability during this period. Sheriffs Offices and other "official" government agencies other than the National Guard had any aircraft,
Gil Robb Wilson # 19
Gil Robb Wilson # 104