Grumman HU-16E Albatross

By Htam

@Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport, Santa Rosa, CA

July 2012

This example of the U.S. Coast Guard Albatross is part of the collection at the Pacific Coast Air Museum.  In the early fifties the Grumman HU-16E Albatross replaced the San Francisco air station’s aging WWII fixed wing inventory. This general purpose amphibian, affectionately known as the “Goat”, proved to be a highly adaptable platform for SAR and LE until it was supplanted by the HU-25 Guardian and HC-130 Hercules.  USCG fixed wing aircraft operated from San Francisco until 1978 when fixed wing operations moved to Sacramento.