Footage Of First Helicopter Rescuing Soldier In Burma

Amazing This Footage Is Still Around.

We just came across a great Youtube channel called HistoryFlicks4u which amassed some great historical footage we’ve never seen before. This particular clip was once kept secret by the War Department and is really quite unique.

Helicopters were in the early stages of development at that time which is most likely why this film was classified for some time. The particular helicopter you’ll see in the video is a Sikorsky YR-4B.

Its first flight took place on January 14th 1942, and as the film states, the extraction took place on the 22nd of January. They were put to really good use extremely fast as the film will point out. As the thick jungles in the Pacific Theater made it almost impossible to reach and rescue downed airmen, this relatively new invention was quite a godsend to casualties deep in the jungles.

Not requiring a long airstrip like airplanes do, these helicopters could land on most clearings as you can imagine. For the first time in history these extractions were possible, saving countless men who might otherwise been left to die.

Check out this neat story for yourself. It’s a first hand account of a man being extracted by a YR-4.