Group
1 - Pennsylvania Wing
The Primary Missions of Civil Air Patrol
In
1946, Congress granted a charter to Civil Air Patrol, charging its
members with three missions. First, CAP was to promote aviation. As
years passed, that mission expanded to include aerospace education as
well. Second, CAP was to provide a training program to support the
nation’s youth in contributing to society and preparing for successful
adult lives. Finally, CAP was to continue its emergency services, the
work for which CAP is still best known today.Aerospace Education
CAP maintains both internal and external aerospace education programs. CAP members, both adults and cadets, follow a rigorous program to learn about aviation and aerospace principles. CAP also reaches out to the general public through a special program for teachers at all grade levels. Through this program, CAP provides free classroom materials and lesson plans for aerospace education and each year sponsors the premier national conference in this field.
Cadet Programs
CAP’s cadet program trains young men and women in teamwork, moral leadership, aerospace education, technical skills to support emergency services, and military history and customs. Through national encampments, a college and flight training scholarship program, and the International Air Cadet Exchange, CAP cadets broaden their horizons, learn to assume responsibility, feel self-confidence and set goals for their lives.
Operations
Best known for its members’ work in search and rescue and disaster relief missions, CAP is expanding its role in the 21st century to include an increasing number of homeland security operations and exercises. CAP also performs counterdrug reconnaissance missions at the request of law enforcement agencies and can do radiological monitoring and damage assessment. CAP members undergo rigorous training to perform these missions safely and cost-effectively. Civil Air Patrol crews fly approximately 85% of all search and rescue missions assigned by the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center (AFRCC) at Langley Air Force Base, Langley, VA. The AFRCC is the command location for search and rescue (SAR) dispatch operations in the lower 48 states.
When an aircraft crashes a beacon [Emergency Locator Transmitter (ELT)] is activated by the impact. The ELT sends a signal on a specified frequency that is picked up by a series of geosynchronous satellites and transmitted to the AFRCC. The AFRCC, in turn, pinpoints the approximate location of the signal and notifies the appropriate Wing. The Wing notifies the Group and the Group Emergency Services officer activates the appropriate squadron.
In addition to the air crew, there is a ground team. The air crew and the ground team work as one in the attempt to locate the aircraft. While the air crew is attempting to home on the beacon from the air, the ground team, using Direction Finding equipment, is doing the same thing on the ground. Once the crash site is located it is the ground team that will effect the rescue.
This is the Civil Air patrols most publicized function. In fact, during a recent 5 year period the Civil Air Patrol was involved in over 5200 search and rescue or other Emergency Service Missions. They were credited with over 400 life saves.
CAP participates in Emergency Services in more ways than Search and Rescue.
Disaster Relief
Civil Air Patrol provides the Red Cross, Salvation Army, and other disaster relief organizations with much assistance during times of need. These services include shelter management, air fly-overs and damage assessment of disaster areas, and evacuations (air and ground).
Mission Training
The Civil Air Patrol regularly sponsors, on the national, regional, and local levels, Search and Rescue Exercises (SAREX). There are many disciplines required to successfully run any mission (even the smallest) and Civil Air Patrol Cadets and Seniors are thoroughly trained in the following:
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Volunteers Serving America in Times of Need
Civil Air Patrol was conceived in the late 1930s by legendary New
Jersey aviation advocate Gill Robb Wilson, who foresaw aviation's role
in war and general aviation's potential to supplement America's military
operations. With the help of New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, the new
Civil Air Patrol was established on December 1, 1941, just days before
the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor.
The CAP insignia, a red three-bladed propeller in the Civil
Defense white-triangle-in-blue-circle, began appearing on private
aircraft everywhere. CAP initially planned only on liaison and
reconnaissance flying, but the civilian group's mission expanded when
German submarines began to prey on American ships off the coast of the
United States and CAP planes began carrying bombs and depth charges."
A
CAP crew first interrupted a sub attack on a flight out of Rehoboth
Beach, saving a tanker off Cape May, N.J. Since radio calls for military
bombers were often unproductive, unarmed CAP fliers dived in mock
attacks to force subs to break and run.
The CAP coastal patrol flew 24 million miles, found 173 submarines,
attacked 57, hit 10 and sank two. By Presidential Executive Order, CAP
became an auxiliary of the Army Air Forces in 1943.
A
German commander later confirmed that coastal U-boat operations were
withdrawn from the United States "because of those damned little red and
yellow airplanes."
In all, CAP flew a half-million hours during the war, and 64 CAP
aviators lost their lives in the line of duty.
The U.S. Air Force was created as an independent armed service in
1947, and CAP was designated as its official civilian auxiliary the
following year.
Thanks To:
"The Aviation Annual of 1944"
Copyright, 1943 by Aviation Research Associates.
Printed in the United States at The Country Life Press, Garden City, N.Y.
First Edition.
This is an excerpt from page 127:
"The Courier Service"
"Outstanding among the original experimental courier services was that operated by the Pennsylvania Wing in March of 1942 for the Army Air Forces. The CAP flew 2,500,000 pound miles during a thirty-day period from the Middletown Army Air Depot to subdepots along the Atlantic seaboard; the northernmost was in Maine and the farthest destination in Florida."
This book goes on to detail the involvement of the Pennsylvania Wing in the courier service. This book is available online through various sites such as e-bay, amazon.com and a few more. If you perform an internet search, you'll find it. I believe it to be an excellent read for any aviation enthusiast.
Group 1 of the Pennsylvania Wing was established on...?
Group
1 encompassed the major portion of western Pennsylvania, from Erie to
the north to Connellsville in the south. In April of 2007, Group 6
was created to cover the northwestern portion of the state. The
dividing
line is currently along route 422, but plans are in motion to use the
county boundary lines sometime in the near future. Western PA has two
squadrons originally chartered when the PA Wing was back in 1941. These
are the Franklin Squadron, which is now a part of Group 6 and the
Somerset Squadron in Group 1. The Washington Squadron is the newest
member of Group 1; chartered in 2007.
More information is available in the following documents:
History of the CAP and CAP Pamphlet 50-5