Rescue Vehicles

"RUN TO JIMMY GIBBS JUNIOR!"

- Ellis

"Our chopper's here, let's get the hell outta Dodge!"

- Bill

Rescue vehicles are common to both Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2. As the name indicates, these units provide the means by which Survivors escape at the end of individual campaign scenarios; reaching a rescue vehicle in order to escape the Infected and attain some place of safety is thus a generic campaign goal.

There are five Rescue Vehicles in Left 4 Dead and four in Left 4 Dead 2. The Survivors access the vehicle either by using a radio or fulfilling a prescribed task, e.g. lowering a vehicle hoist in the "Crash Course" campaign. In all instances, the Survivors face a time delay and concomitant Crescendo Event before they can board the rescue vehicle and, even then, there is a chance that one or more of them will fall at the climax immediately preceding its departure.

"Rooftop Finale"
A helicopter called News Chopper 5 flies through the skies over the city of Fairfield and its pilot uses a loudspeaker to alert any Survivors left in the city that, if they can make their way to Mercy Hospital, he will pick them up and fly them to safety.

At the end of the "No Mercy" campaign, on reaching Mercy Hospital's roof, the Survivors summon News Chopper 5 using a radio. The pilot acknowledges their call, tells them "to prepare" and to call him back when they are ready. Thereupon, he announces that he is on his way and that his estimated time of arrival is a nominal seven or ten minutes. He will also state that this will probably be his "final run"―a legacy dialog from an alternative campaign ending. A little while later, he will give an updated arrival time and announce his final approach. Once in position hovering next to the helipad, he will shout at survivors if they delay in boarding. The helicopter later crashes after the pilot succumbs to his infection and was killed by Zoey.

The News Chopper 5's design is a mix of the Bell 204/205 and borrows its features from both models.



"The Truck Depot Finale"
After News Chopper 5 crashes in a parking lot in Whitney County, the Survivors attempt to walk to Riverside. They stumble upon a crudely armored delivery truck stuck on a lift at a truck depot.

The lift is electric, and to lower the truck, the Survivors need to activate a temperamental portable power generator connected to the depot's power. Unfortunately, the generator is noisy and attracts waves of Infected, whilst the lift operates very slowly. The Survivors must defend themselves and nurse the generator in order to get a chance to board the vehicle and ride out of the town towards Riverside.

This vehicle may be a reference to the movie Dawn of the Dead, wherein the movie characters build armored vehicles out of a shopping mall's shuttle buses. The Survivor's vehicle in-game is almost identical visually to those seen in the movie, apart from minor differences such as being a delivery truck instead of a bus, and having barbed fencing wire strung around its roof instead of razor wire.

Since "Crash Course" is a sequel DLC campaign, chronologically it fits between "No Mercy" and "Death Toll". So evidently the truck took the Survivors along the road to Riverside until they were forced to abandon it due the road ahead was filled with abandoned cars that the truck can't just simply ram through.

After The Last Stand update, the truck was added to first chapter of Death Toll and can be seen behind fallen trees at beginning of the map.

The truck is modeled after the Utilimaster Aeromaster.



"Boathouse Finale"
Outside of the small town of Riverside is a boathouse. On a table inside is a radio being hailed by John and Amanda Slater who own a small fishing vessel called the Saint Lidia II. The Slaters have been circling around the river while attempting to attract the attention of any survivors who are suitably armed. In return for protecting them, the Slaters offer to take any armed Survivors to a military stronghold up the river. Fortunately for Bill and the others, since the boathouse appears to have been used by the military as a base, it contains plenty of weapons (including a minigun), ammo, grenades and medkits. At the end of the "Death Toll" campaign, the Survivors answer the radio and make use of these weapons and supplies to defend the location until the Slaters arrive in their boat to take them off.

But all does not end well. According to Francis in The Sacrifice comic, the Slaters kick the Survivors off the boat near Newburg. They are never heard from ever since.

In the second chapter of "The Sacrifice" campaign entitled "The Barge", a boat bearing the name Saint Lidia II and resembling that used in the "Boathouse Finale" is found wrecked. This is most likely a reused model.



Runway Finale
At the beginning of the "Dead Air" campaign, a military plane flies over the city of Newburg heading to the Metro International Airport. The Survivors decide to get to the airport and seek escape by air evacuation. When the Survivors reach the airport, they find it has suffered tremendous damage due to it having been bombed by the military as part of a futile effort to either halt the Infection or kill large numbers of Infected. The only person still alive is the C-130 pilot who indicates that the aircraft's fuel tanks are empty, his crew chief (or ground crewman) was killed whilst connecting up the fuel line from the tanker to the plane, and that he wants the Survivors to complete the refueling operation in return for a flight out of Newburg. Since they have no other choice, the Survivors answer the pilot using a radio found in the the hands of his crew chief and agree to refuel the plane. They start the pump and fight through waves of the Infected (the noisy pump attracts them) while waiting for the plane to refuel. Eventually, they refuel the plane successfully and escape on board. However, despite what it may seem, the plane failed their hopes as according to The Sacrifice comic by Francis, it crashed. Nothing is known of the plane afterwards.

Originally, the cut campaign Dam It would have revealed the plane's fate, which is identical to Francis' description. The crash is most likely a result of a mechanical failure or pilot error, and not a shoot-down incident given the high possibility of killing everyone on board.

The airplane is based entirely on the South Korean Air Force C-130 Hercules, a transport aircraft used commonly by the US Military and occasionally their allies. This implies the aircraft was withdrawn from overseas to reinforce existing military efforts.



"Farmhouse Finale"
In a rural area bordering a forest park, the U.S. Army had created an outpost at a farm to help Survivors escape the Infection. The military subsequently abandoned this facility but left behind a two-way radio broadcasting a rescue message on a tape loop, in hopes of locating more survivors. At the end of the "Blood Harvest" campaign, the Survivors reach the farmhouse and use the radio to call for rescue. Thereafter, they must hold off the horde while waiting for the U.S. Army to arrive. If successful they board an armored personnel carrier, with orders to proceed in Millhaven instead of the Echo Safe Zone.

The APC in question is the Finnish Patria Pasi.



The Sacrifice comic
At the end of the third chapter of The Sacrifice comic, the Survivors, a doctor and two soldiers have to run a quarter mile to get to a train and start it. "The Sacrifice" campaign starts when the tracks end. This train features concealed machine gun turrets for defense, which are briefly seen in action.

This train seems to be based on the "EMD GP38-2", bearing the appropriate markings despite never in service with the US military.



"Port Finale"
In this case, the Survivors are to take command of a fully stocked sailboat that will enable them to escape from a land largely overrun with Infected and tentatively held by a fear-ridden military intent on summarily executing suspected carriers. Bill chose it specifically to relieve fuel dependency, which can be dangerous given the state of chaos out there.

Since the boat they have selected is blocked by a lift bridge, the Survivors must raise the bridge in order to allow the boat to pass under to the seaward side. However, the bridge is out of power and three portable generators must be activated in order supply power to the bridge's operating mechanism. Unfortunately, once all Survivors are on the bridge and the button is pushed to raise it, the noise causes an unstoppable horde of Common and Special Infected to be drawn to the vicinity. At this crucial juncture, a generator fails, and Bill is obliged to sacrifice his own life, securing the survival of others.

The boat was seen in the 3rd chapter of "The Passing". The name of this boat is an Easter Egg: it is known as One 4 All.



"Atrium" and "Port"
Abandoned by CEDA, the Survivors make their way to Liberty Mall where, in a way reminiscent of the new Scavenge Mode, they must bring gas cans to Jimmy Gibbs Junior's race car and fuel it for the escape from the mall. However, in the next campaign ("The Passing"), the Survivors are unable to advance as a bridge needs to be lowered. Aided by Francis, Louis, and Zoey, the new Survivors manage to lower the bridge and continue their journey. Once again, their progress is stalled when they encounter a freeway full of empty and wrecked vehicles which forces them to abandon it and proceed on foot to Whispering Oaks Amusement Park where "Dark Carnival" takes place.

The race car is based on the 1969 Dodge Charger stock car, though the front end of the car is based on a 1969 Dodge Charger R/T.



"The Concert"
The Survivors must attract a helicopter through a combination of fireworks, light show, and a sound system, after noticing it flying through the park searching for survivors. The pilot turns mid-flight and was killed by Nick, after which the helicopter crashes.

The helicopter is identical to the News Chopper 5 in terms of structure, being based off the Bell 204 and 205.



"Plantation" & "Town Escape"
In "Plantation", the Survivors hold out Left 4 Dead-style (i.e. answering a radio, and waiting for the rescue vehicle), until the Lagniappe piloted by an old Cajun man named Virgil appears. He takes the Survivors to safety and brings them down river to refuel in the town of Ducatel, where "Hard Rain" takes place, since his boat's deposit is nearly drained of fuel. The Survivors must find diesel at the Ducatel gas station, and bring it back to the boat to continue their journey to New Orleans. The Survivors, having forgot the flare gun used to signal Virgil, must turn on a Burger Tank sign and survive another onslaught before he returns in the boat. He drops off the survivors at New Orleans before setting off, intent on rescuing more.



Bridge
The authorities' complete inability to contain and eradicate the Infection on the mainland forces the military to evacuate surviving civilians to ships positioned off the coast, as it is believed that the Infected cannot swim through deep water. As a final act, the military plan to bomb the bridge connecting the city to the evacuation area once the last civilians have been airlifted out. The four Survivors arrive at the dangerous side of the bridge just in time to alert the Army to their presence. To their relief, they are told that a special evacuation flight has been laid for them, and that it is leaving from the other side of the bridge in ten minutes. The Survivors thus need to get over the partially destroyed and infested bridge as soon as they possibly can if they want to survive. Ultimately, they reach the helicopter, and the pilot flies them to safety as fighter jets destroy the bridge.

The military helicopter is based on the CH-53E Super Stallion, used commonly by the U.S. Marine Corps, although it is somewhat unmarked and its operating branch cannot be identified. The name of the rescue vehicle is identified as  Rescue 7  by Papa Gator.



Cut-throat Creek
The Survivors call their deliverance using radio from storage building at the beginning of the last "Cold Stream" map with helicopter is hovering over tower at forest recreation facility occupied by CEDA. Exactly where the helicopter is hovering over, a tower (presumably a watch tower) the survivors have to the climb the tower to get to the helicopter. The helicopter's graphic is borrowed from "No Mercy", using same files. The only difference is that the helicopter also has a ladder that can be climbed on, since it hovers mid-air.