In 1938, the government allocated two million dollars toward development of the machine, and an inter-agency board—which included a representative from the U.S. Coast Guard, Commander William J. Kossler—was established to oversee the program.

Kossler had difficulty persuading the U.S. Navy of the utility of the helicopter and eventually enlisted the aid of Executive Officer Lieutenant Commander Frank Erickson of Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn.

[1] Erickson, who had helplessly watched sailors burn to death in oil slicks with no hope of rescue during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, immediately saw the utility of the helicopter in a search-and-rescue role.

However, as the Navy showed little interest at this time in development of improved search-and-rescue methods, Erickson promoted the helicopter's usefulness as an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) weapon instead.

[2] For the sea trials, the Coast Guard acquired an ageing passenger steamer, SS Governor Cobb, from the War Shipping Administration.