Nah, not really. The WIG effect only works as long as, IIRC you stay less than one-half your wingspan from the ground (or water). This poses obvious issues for the kind of terrain we often use helicopters in, not to mention trying to do tight banking turns.
The Russians were onto something, I thought, with the Utka and Orlan -- Anti-ship missile platform and assault amphib transport, respectively (google "Caspain Sea Monster"). Arguably, the WIG craft (especially the PAR-WIG variant) could have brought sealift cargo capacity to airlift speed. And an "airliner" packed full of Marines that could take off from Pearl and stage a direct amphibious assault onto any decent beach on the Pacific Rim had some definite potential. Of course, there's still weather vulnerabilities to consider, and strategic range would be compromised by the issues of flying tankers that low. Still, I'm surprised the idea never caught on, at least for some speciality applications.
The Russians were onto something, I thought, with the Utka and Orlan -- Anti-ship missile platform and assault amphib transport, respectively (google "Caspain Sea Monster"). Arguably, the WIG craft (especially the PAR-WIG variant) could have brought sealift cargo capacity to airlift speed. And an "airliner" packed full of Marines that could take off from Pearl and stage a direct amphibious assault onto any decent beach on the Pacific Rim had some definite potential. Of course, there's still weather vulnerabilities to consider, and strategic range would be compromised by the issues of flying tankers that low. Still, I'm surprised the idea never caught on, at least for some speciality applications.