Helicopters as Air Ambulances The first time a helicopter was used as an ambulance was in January 1951 during the Korean war. The American army transferred injured soldiers from the front line to a M.A.S.H. unit. The casualty was strapped onto an outside stretcher beside the pilot. A total of 21 212 soldiers were evacuated by the time the war ended in June 1953. The success of the helicopters was such that servicemen wounded in battle had better rates of survival than motorists injured on Californian freeways. The armed services were the main users of helicopters to airlift casualties in various war zones. The first county in the UK to use a helicopter as an Air Ambulance was Cornwall in 1987. The London HEMS ambulance came into service the following year. Devon had its first Air Ambulance in August 1992. The early Air Ambulances loaded patients into the rear of the helicopter. This made it difficult for the paramedics to work. There was also no room for anyone to accompany the patient.
Today, Devon is the only county to support two of the most up to date helicopters in the Air Ambulance service.
You will need to use the Internet or other research material to answer these questions. 1. What do the initials M.A.S.H stand for? ________________________________________________________ 2. Suggest reasons why helicopters are used as air ambulances instead of fixed wing aircraft. ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ 3. (a) Find a picture to show how a patient is loaded / treated in a modern air ambulance. Either print out and attach the picture or write down the reference where the picture can be found. ________________________________________________________ (b) How has the design of an air ambulance improved during the past twenty years? ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________