The US Army created Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals at the end of World War II. Army doctors, including renowned heart surgeon Michael DeBakey, conceived of them as an alternative to the general hospitals that the Army had been using. They were so successful that during the Korean conflict it was said that a wounded soldier had a 97% chance of survival if he was treated at a MASH unit.
MASH units were located close to the front, usually within range of enemy artillery. Soldiers were initially treated by a medic, then sent to a battalion aid station for emergency or stabilizing treatment, and then transported to a MASH unit for more extensive treatment. MASH units were immortalized in the television series, “M*A*S*H,” which aired from 1972-83.
This display depicts a US Army H-13 helicopter (Bell Model 47) that has airlifted a wounded soldier to a MASH unit in the Changjin area of Korea, circa 1950.
The Bell Helicopter Co. produced over 400 H-13’s, delivering the last ones in 1960. The Hiller H-23 was also used extensively to medivac soldiers. The demonstrated success of these pioneers in lifesaving is found today, both on the battlefield and in the extensive use of medical transport helicopters by hospitals and other lifesaving units.