Piper HE-1 (AE-1) Air Ambulance

The Piper HE-1 was a military air-ambulance version of the civilian J-5C Cub Cruiser, a single-engine, high-wing light monoplane built by the Piper Aircraft Corporation of Lock Haven, Pennsylvania. Ordered by the U.S. Navy in 1942, it was modified so that the rear fuselage decking, from the wing trailing edge back to the fin, hinged upward to allow a single standard litter patient to be loaded behind the pilot. The aircraft was fitted with a fully cowled 100 hp Lycoming engine, an electrical system, and revised landing gear.

More than 100 were built. Because the Navy reassigned the "H" (Hospital) designation to its new helicopters in late 1943, the surviving HE-1s were redesignated AE-1 (Ambulance). Inexpensive and simple, the little Cub ambulance demonstrated the practicality of light aircraft for casualty evacuation.