Fairfield’s Penfield Reef, Site Of Heroic Helicopter Water Rescue, Receives Historic Honor

FAIRFIELD, CT — Penfield Reef off the shores of Fairfield was designated a Vertical Flight Society Heritage Site on Friday, during a ceremony at Penfield Pavilion.

The honor was bestowed on the town to commemorate the world’s first successful helicopter hoist water rescue in 1945, in which a Sikorsky R-5 helicopter equipped with an experimental hoist system rescued two men from a barge stranded on the reef during a storm.

Considered a daring rescue at the time, the incident signaled the impressive capabilities of a Sikorsky aircraft, which had been proudly built in Connecticut. In the decades since, Sikorsky helicopters equipped with hoists have been used in tens of thousands of similar rescues throughout the world.

Sikorsky, owned by Lockheed Martin, remains one of the world's preeminent manufacturers of commercial and military helicopters.

— The plaque that will hang on the wall of Penfield Pavilion in Fairfield in honor of Penfield Reef being designated Vertical Flight Society Heritage Site. Photo credit: Alfred Branch/Patch

"On the stormy night of November 29th, 1945, a Texaco oil barge broke free of its mooring and crashed into the reef, leaving two men stranded on board," said First Selectperson Christine Vitale during Friday's ceremony. "The event could have ended in tragedy. But instead, lives were saved, and history was made."

Friday's ceremony was attended by more than a hundred residents and town and Sikorsky officials. Vitale also read a town proclamation in honor of May 15, 2026, being Penfield Reef and Vertical Flight Society Day.

Nick Viner, son of the late Jimmy Viner, the pilot on that fateful night in 1945, was presented with a commemorative pin in honor of the heroic deed.

Steve Schmidt, Vice President of Engineering and Technology at Sikorsky, said it was more than coincidence that the rescue occurred just three miles from Sikorsky's Bridgeport factory.

"As early as 1944, Igor Sikorsky and the Coast Guard had the same vision," Schmidt said, adding that virtually all of the company's helicopters are now outfitted with similar rescue hoists. "That is that a hovering machine would be an outstanding vehicle for saving lives.

"Very important lessons were learned that day for that first water rescue operation 80 years ago. Lessons that forever changed how Sikorsky helicopters are designed, built, and equipped."

— Steve Schmidt, Vice President of Engineering and Technology at Sikorsky, during Friday's ceremony. Photo credit: Alfred Branch/Patch