Crash rescue boat
Encyclopedia
Crash Rescue Boat is a name used in the USA to describe military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...

 high-speed offshore rescue boats, similar in size and performance to Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat
Motor Torpedo Boat was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the Royal Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy.The capitalised term is generally used for the Royal Navy boats and abbreviated to "MTB"...

s, used to rescue pilots and aircrews of crashed aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 these rescue boats, armed with light anti-aircraft guns for self-defense, saw extensive services with the British Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 and United States Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....

.

UK

From its inception the RAF had seaplane tenders that were used for rescues, but these were really only designed for refueling and rearming the seaplanes in service with the RAF. Development of a purpose-built boat for rescue began in 1932 with the 200 Class seaplane tenders, followed by the 100 Class ASR (Air Sea Rescue) boats which entered service in 1940. Perhaps the best known 100 Class boats were the British Power Boat Company Type Two 63 ft HSL
British Power Boat Company Type Two 63 ft HSL
The 63 foot long Type 2 High Speed Launch, known as the Whaleback from the distinctive curve to its deck, was a high speed launch class ship used in air-sea rescue to save Allied aircrew from the sea after they were shot down during the Second World War....

, also known as the 'Whaleback' after their distinctive design.

Even after the introduction of rescue helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

s in 1953 the RAF continued to operate a fleet of Rescue/Target Towing Launches, the last of which were not retired until 1986.

USA

The USAAF used 140 such 85-foot vessels in WWII, designed by Dair M Long in 1944. The last of these boats has been restored by the AAF/USAF Crash Rescue Boat Association, a non-profit organization with the goal to preserve it for future generations. It is now owned by the West Coast Crash Rescue Boat Association.

These boats were also used during the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, but were superseded by other boats, PBY Catalina
PBY Catalina
The Consolidated PBY Catalina was an American flying boat of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft of World War II. PBYs served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other...

s and other aircraft such as the 1946 purpose-built Sikorsky S-51(civilian)/H-5(USAAF)/H03S(USN) helicopters.

See also

Seenotdienst
Seenotdienst
The Seenotdienst was a German military organization formed within the Luftwaffe to save downed airmen from emergency water landings...

(World War II Luftwaffe organisation that operated fast motor life boats)

External links

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