Grumman JRF-2/3/5 G "Goose"
Historical Information:
Grumman developed the G-21 Goose as a civilian transport aircraft and put it on the market in 1937. According to Pearcy, however, Grumman originally marketed a twin-engine monoplane flying boat, then-designated the G-3, to the Coast Guard in 1930 but the Coast Guard declined interest at that time.
The Navy began acquiring the G-26 version in 1938 and designated them as JRF. They were a monoplane, high-wing twin engine amphibian with retractable landing gear. The Navy utilized them as transport aircraft but the Coast Guard saw their value as search and rescue seaplanes. The Coast Guard purchased seven JRF-2s (G-39s) and three JRF-3s between 1939 and 1940. Many were fitted with de-icing boots along the leading edges of the wing surfaces for northern service. All were fitted with electric starters and automatic pilots and were capable of carrying a single-lens aerial mapping camera. The Coast Guard purchased 24 of the G-38 model, designated JRF-5G, beginning in 1941.
Prior to the war these amphibians carried out search and rescue as well as aerial mapping flights and participated in the Coast Guard's contribution to the enforcement of the Neutrality Patrol. During the war, the JRFs conducted search and rescue operations, hunted submarines (depth charges or bombs could be loaded under the wings), and transported supplies and personnel.
Most of the remaining Coast Guard's JRF-2/3s were disposed of shortly after the end of World War II while many of the JRF-5Gs remained in service with the Coast Guard until at least 1956. See the table below for specifics. The crash site of Coast Guard JRF V175 in Alaska has recently been located.
Photographs (click on description to view image):
Grumman JRF-2 V176; on tarmac, starboard forward-quarter view; no caption/photo number/date.
Grumman JRF-3 V192; riding at anchor off White Fish Point, Michigan; port forward-quarter view; no caption/photo number/date.
Grumman JRF-2 V176; on tarmac, port forward-quarter view; no caption/photo number/date.
Grumman JRF-2 V176 (?); in flight, port forward-quarter view; no caption/photo number/date.
Grumman JRF-5G (?); color photo; painted in World War II camouflage; in flight, starboard forward-quarter view; no caption/photo number/date; this is an air station Port Angeles-based amphibian in flight over the Olympic Mountains in Washington sometime in World War II.
Sources:
"Coast Guard Acquiring New Planes." Coast Guard Bulletin Vol. I, No. 18 (December 1940), p. 146.
Gordon Swanborough & Peter M. Bowers. United States Navy Aircraft Since 1911 (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1990-third edition), pp. 228-229.
Arthur Pearcy, U.S. Coast Guard Aircraft Since 1916 (Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 1991), pp. 192-195.