In the largest transport of rescued turtles in the New England Aquarium’s 40-year history, a US Coast Guard plane loaded with 35 sea turtles recover­ing from hypothermia flew to Orlando Friday.

Volunteers arrived at the aquarium’s medical center in Quincy at 4 a.m. Friday to prep the turtles for travel, which ­included rubbing them down with petroleum jelly to retain moisture during the flight, said Tony LaCasse, spokesman for the aquarium. The animals were flown from Otis Air ­National Guard Base on Cape Cod.