Airborne lifeboats were powered lifeboats that were made to be dropped by

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air flying machine, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using wings that generate lift caused by the aircraft's forward airspeed and the shape of the wings. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinc ...

into water to aid in

air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergenc ...

operations. An airborne lifeboat was to be carried by a

heavy bomber Heavy bombers are bomber aircraft capable of delivering the largest payload of air-to-ground weaponry (usually bombs) and longest range (takeoff to landing) of their era. Archetypal heavy bombers have therefore usually been among the larges ...

specially modified to handle the external load of the lifeboat. The airborne lifeboat was intended to be dropped by

parachute A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag or, in a ram-air parachute, aerodynamic lift. A major application is to support people, for recreation or as a safety device for aviators, who ...

to land within reach of the survivors of an accident on the ocean, specifically airmen survivors of an emergency

water landing In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the water ...

. Airborne lifeboats were used during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

by the United Kingdom and on Dumbo rescue missions by the United States from 1943 until the mid-1950s.

Development

Air-sea rescue by

flying boat A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...

floatplane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...

was a method used by various nations before World War II to pick up aviators or sailors who were struggling in the water.''Time'', August 6, 1945
"World Battlefronts: Battle of the Seas: The Lovely Dumbos", page 1
an

Retrieved on September 6, 2009. Training and weather accidents could require an aircrew to be pulled from the water, and these two types of

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of takeoff, taking off and water landing, landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their tec ...

were occasionally used for that purpose. The limitation was that if the water's surface were too rough, the aircraft would not be able to land. Though closer to shore (e.g. in the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

) the RAF Air Sea Rescue Service operated High Speed Launches but until 1943, the most that could be done was to drop emergency supplies to the survivors, including an inflatable

rubber dinghy An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull is often flexible, while for boats longer than , the floor typically consists ...

carried as-standard in RAF aircraft. The airborne lifeboat was developed to provide downed airmen with a more navigable and seaworthy vessel that could be sailed greater distances than the rubber dinghy. One of the reasons necessitating this was that when

ditching In aviation, a water landing is, in the broadest sense, an Landing, aircraft landing on a body of water. Seaplanes, such as floatplanes and flying boats, land on water as a normal operation. Ditching is a controlled emergency landing on the ...

or abandoning an aircraft near enemy-held territory, often the

tides Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables can ...

and

wind Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet's surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hou ...

s would propel the rubber dinghy toward shore, despite the efforts of the occupants to paddle away, resulting in their eventual capture.

British lifeboats

Uffa Fox

The first air-dropped lifeboat was British, a wooden canoe-shaped boat designed in 1943 by

Uffa Fox Uffa Fox, CBE (15 January 1898 – 26 October 1972) was an English boat designer and sailing enthusiast, responsible for a number of innovations in boat design. Not afraid of courting controversy or causing offense, he is remembered for his ec ...

to be dropped by

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

(RAF)

Avro Lancaster The Avro Lancaster is a British Second World War heavy bomber. It was designed and manufactured by Avro as a contemporary of the Handley Page Halifax, both bombers having been developed to the same specification, as well as the Short Stirlin ...

heavy

bomber A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...

s for the rescue of aircrew downed in

the Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

.Strahan, 1998, p. 193. The lifeboat was dropped from a height of , and its descent to the water was slowed by six parachutes. It was balanced so that it would right itself if it overturned—all subsequent airborne lifeboats were given this feature. When it hit the water the parachutes were jettisoned and rockets launched lifelines.

Coaming Coaming is any vertical surface on a ship designed to deflect or prevent entry of water. It usually consists of a raised section of deck plating around an opening, such as a cargo hatch. Coamings also provide a frame onto which to fit a hatch cove ...

s were inflated on the descent to give it self-righting. Fox's airborne lifeboat weighed and included two motors—sufficient to make about 6 knots—augmented by a mast and sailsRAF Davidstow Moor
''February 1943: The Airborne Lifeboat''
Retrieved on September 11, 2009. along with an instruction book to teach aircrew the rudiments of sailing. The lifeboats were first carried by

Lockheed Hudson The Lockheed Hudson is a light bomber and coastal reconnaissance aircraft built by the American Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was initially put into service by the Royal Air Force shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War and prim ...

aircraft in February 1943. Later,

Vickers Warwick The Vickers Warwick was a multi-purpose twin-engined British aircraft developed and operated during the Second World War. In line with the naming convention followed by other RAF heavy bombers of the era, it was named after a British city or ...

bombers carried the Mark II lifeboat. The Fox boats successfully saved downed aircrew as well as

glider infantry Glider infantry (also referred to as airlanding infantry esp. in British usage) was a type of airborne infantry in which soldiers and their equipment were inserted into enemy-controlled territory via military glider. Initially developed in the l ...

men dropped in the water during

Operation Market-Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allied military operation during the Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a salient into German territory with a bridgehead over the River Rhine, c ...

. The lifeboats carried emergency equipment, a radio, waterproof suits, rations and medical supplies.

Saunders-Roe

In early 1953,

Saunders-Roe Saunders-Roe Limited, also known as Saro, was a British aero- and marine-engineering company based at Columbine Works, East Cowes, Isle of Wight. History The name was adopted in 1929 after Alliott Verdon Roe (see Avro) and John Lord took a co ...

at Anglesey completed the Mark 3 airborne lifeboat to be fitted underneath the

Avro Shackleton The Avro Shackleton is a British long-range maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the South African Air Force (SAAF). It was developed by Avro from the Avro Lincoln bomber, which itself had been a devel ...

maritime reconnaissance aircraft. The Mark 3 was made entirely of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

unlike the Fox Mark 1 which was made of wood. Dropped from a height of , the Mark 3 descended under four parachutes at a rate of per second into the rescue zone. As the lifeboat dropped, pressurized bottles of

carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide (chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is transpar ...

inflated the self-righting chambers at the bow and stern. Upon touching the water, the parachutes were released to blow away, and a

drogue A drogue (also known as a storm drogue) is a device trailed behind a boat on a long line attached to the stern. A drogue is used to slow the boat down in a storm and to prevent the hull (watercraft), hull from becoming side-on to the water waves ...

opened to slow the boat's drift and aid in the survivors reaching the lifeboat. At the same time, two rockets fired, one to each side, sending out floating lines to provide easier access to the lifeboat for ditched airmen. Doors that opened from the outside provided access to the interior, and the flat deck was made to be self-draining. The craft was powered by a

Vincent Motorcycles Vincent Motorcycles was a British manufacturer of motorcycles from 1928 to 1955. The business was established by Philip Vincent who bought an existing manufacturing name HRD, initially renaming it as ''Vincent HRD'', producing his own motorcy ...

HRD T5 engine with enough fuel to give a range of . Sails and a fishing kit were provided, as well as an awning and screen to protect against sun and sea spray. The Mark 3 measured from bow to stern and across the beam and held enough to supply 10 people with food and water for 14 days. It carried protective suits, inflatable pillows, sleeping bags, and a first-aid kit.

American lifeboats

Higgins

Boeing SB-17G of the 5th Rescue Squadron, Flight D

In the United States,

Andrew Higgins Andrew Jackson Higgins (28 August 1886 – 1 August 1952) was an American businessman and boatbuilder who founded Higgins Industries, the New Orleans-based manufacturer of "Higgins boats" (Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel, or LCVPs) during W ...

evaluated the Fox boat and felt it was too weak to survive mishap in emergency operations. In November 1943, Higgins assigned engineers from his company to make a sturdier version with two engines.

Higgins Industries Higgins Industries was the company owned by Andrew Higgins based in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Higgins Industries is most famous for the design and production of the Higgins boat, an amphibious landing craft referred to as LCVP (landi ...

, known for making landing craft ( LCVPs) and

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...

s, produced the A-1 lifeboat, a 1½-ton (1400 kg), airborne lifeboat with waterproof internal compartments so that it would not sink if swamped or overturned. Intended to be dropped by modified Boeing

B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...

es, it was ready for production in early 1944.

EDO Corporation

The A-3 lifeboat was an airborne lifeboat developed by the

EDO Corporation EDO Corporation was an American company which was acquired by ITT Corporation in 2007. EDO designed and manufactured products for defense, intelligence, and commercial markets, and provided related engineering and professional services. It emp ...

in 1947 for the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

(USAF) as a successor to the A-1 lifeboat.National Museum of the US Air Force. Fact Sheets
''Boeing SB-29''
Retrieved on September 6, 2009. It was built of

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It has ...

alloy to be carried by the SB-29 Super Dumbo. Various B-29s served

duties on a rotating basis toward the end of the

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War, was the theater of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and Oceania. It was geographically the largest theater of the war, including the vast ...

, and after the war 16 were converted to carry the A-3 lifeboat. The SB-29 served until the mid-1950s. Approximately 100 of the EDO lifeboats were built but very few rescues were attributed to them.

Douglas Aircraft Radio Controlled Life Raft

The airborne life boats used by the USAF at the start of the 1950s had two major flaws; they required specially modified aircraft to drop them, and in heavy weather and high winds when dropped they could drift away from the exhausted survivors or be swamped and over turned. The USAF, "Air Sea Rescue Unit of the Air Material Command", was tasked with studying the problem and coming up with a solution. Their solution was an air dropped life boat which before it inflated in the water, looked like a torpedo and could be carried by almost any aircraft in service that had heavy wing pylons. When the boat was dropped near the survivors, on impacting the water large inflatable tubes which were connected to the rescue torpedo inflated, resulting in a radio controlled self-propelled life raft. The pilot would then start the life raft engine by radio control and steer the life raft to the survivors. When the survivors had boarded the life raft one of the rescue aircraft circling above would continue to control and steer the life raft to a safe zone for pick up, or allow the survivors to take over control. The life raft contained its own autopilot, water, dehydrated food, a two way rescue radio and enough fuel for 300 miles of travel."Radio Pilots Self Inflating Rescue Boat"
"Popular Mechanics'', September 1951, pp. 100–101

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Hardwick, Jack; Ed Schnepf. ''The Making of the Great Aviation Films''. General Aviation Series, Volume 2. Challenge Publications, 1989. * Morison, Samuel Eliot. ''History of United States Naval Operations in World War II: The struggle for Guadalcanal, August 1942 – February 1943''. University of Illinois Press, 2001. * Morison, Samuel Eliot. ''The Two-Ocean War: A Short History of the United States Navy in the Second World War''. Naval Institute Press, 2007. * Strahan, Jerry E. ''Andrew Jackson Higgins and the Boats That Won World War II''. LSU Press, 1998.

External links

* {{cite web, url=http://www.oca.269squadron.btinternet.co.uk/history/squadron_history/chronology/1944-1946.htm, title=1944 photographic sequence of No. 269 Squadron RAF dropping the Fox lifeboat during an exercise, archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011230904/http://www.oca.269squadron.btinternet.co.uk/history/squadron_history/chronology/1944-1946.htm, archivedate=October 11, 2012
2008 photograph of Uffa Fox airborne lifeboat

– a 1945 ''

Flight Flight or flying is the process by which an object moves through a space without contacting any planetary surface, either within an atmosphere (i.e. air flight or aviation) or through the vacuum of outer space (i.e. spaceflight). This can be a ...

'' article on the airborne lifeboat.
An airborne lifeboat being dropped to the survivors of a ditched B-17

English inventions Lifeboats Rescue equipment Rescue aviation