Hi.Tony,
Your Photos bring back so many memories!
If that Belgian Sea King shot was taken around 1987,then the reason it did'nt have a hoist fitted was they had
burnt out all their hoists on the Zeebrugge ferry disaster on the 6th March.
They had fitted all the spare hoists to the operational a/c back at base and the rest were away for overhaul/repair.
The Air National Guard C130 was from the same unit (featured in the 'Perfect Storm' story) which tragicly lost the rescue swimmer when they ditched in horrendous conditions.
The pilot tried to keep the a/c in a hover over the surface, so the crew could jump when closest to the surface
but one crewman unfortunately exited over a trough and possibly dropped 90 to 110 ft to his death.
The pilots then ditched the a/c under control with the last few pounds of fuel remaining,the three other crew were picked up by Coast Guard Cutter
