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.