Combat search and rescue Combat search and rescue ( CSAR ) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones . A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters , ground - attack aircraft , aerial refueling tankers and an airborne command post . The USAF HC - 130 , which was introduced in 1965 , has served in the latter two roles . History . During World War I there were several impromptu rescues that would now be described as CSAR . In World War II the " Luftwaffe " ( " Seenotdienst " organization ) operated armed camouflaged air - sea rescue aircraft . During the Vietnam War the costly rescue of Bat 21 led the US military to find a new approach to high - threat search and rescue . They recognized that if a SAR mission was predestined to fail , it should not be attempted and other options such as special operations , diversionary tactics and other creative approaches tailored to the situation had to be considered . Recognizing the need for an aircraft that could deliver better close air support , the US Air Force introduced the A - 7 Corsair , originally a carrier - based Navy light attack aircraft , to replace the Air Force ' s A - 1 Skyraider s , an aircraft that also was originally a carrier - based naval attack bomber . As a result of the Vietnam CSAR experience , the US military also improved the night capability of helicopters and area denial munitions . During the Vietnam War , U . S . SAR forces saved 3 , 883 lives at the cost of 71 rescuers and 45 aircraft . USAF SAR was under AFSOC control from 2003 until 2006 and AFSOC vice commander Maj . Gen . George Williams has called for its return , citing the speed and range of the CV - 22 operated by his branch . Notable CSAR missions . World War I . In 1915 , during the First World War , Squadron Commander Richard Bell - Davies of the British Royal Naval Air Service used his single - seat aeroplane to rescue his wingman who had been shot down in Bulgaria . His Victoria Cross citation included " Squadron - Commander Davies descended at a safe distance from the burning machine , took up Sub - Lieutenant Smylie , in spite of the near approach of a party of the enemy , and returned to the aerodrome , a feat of airmanship that can seldom have been equalled for skill and gallantry . " On 21 April 1917 , Captain Richard Williams of the Australian Flying Corps landed behind enemy lines to rescue a downed comrade . Vietnam War . In 1972 , during the Vietnam War , Lt Col Iceal Hambleton , a USAF navigator / electronic warfare officer with a background in ballistic missile technology and missile countermeasures , was the sole survivor of an EB - 66 shot down during the Easter Offensive . He eluded capture by North Vietnamese forces until his rescue 11½ days later . During the rescue operation , five US military aircraft supporting the CSAR effort were shot down , eleven US servicemen were killed and two men were captured . The rescue operation was the " largest , longest , and most complex search - and - rescue " operation during the entire Vietnam War . It has been the subject of two books and the largely fictionalized film Bat * 21 . Others . The United States Air Force ( USAF ) 24th Special Tactics Squadron was involved in the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu . Timothy Wilkinson , a Pararescueman , would later be awarded the Air Force Cross for his heroic actions during the Battle of Mogadishu . On June 2 , 1995 , a USAF F - 16C was shot down by a Bosnian Serb Army SA - 6 surface - to - air missile near Mrkonjić Grad , Bosnia and Herzegovina . The American pilot , Scott O ' Grady , ejected safely and was rescued six days later . The operation became known as the Mrkonjić Grad incident .