Airborne Lifeboats Mk.III and IIA – In late 1942 Uffa Fox was working on ways to rescue downed aircrew at sea (in theory this could be down by something like a Catalina or Sunderland but these were not always available and other ways were sort). After discarding several other schemes he came up with the idea… Continue reading RN-1
Category: Design
Mark III
Airborne Lifeboats Mark III – This design was not by Uffa Fox and was not built until after the war. It is included here for completeness. The Mark III was designed for build in aluminium to be fitted to the Shackleton aircraft. It was conceived for use in the Pacific and the design aimed partly… Continue reading Mark III
Mark II and Mark IIA
Airborne Lifeboats Mark II and IIA – Around 241 Mark II / Mark IIA lifeboats were built – about half the number of Mark I/IA. The Mark I design was constrained by the original aircraft chosen to carry it – the Hudson. Once the larger Warwick became available it meant a larger lifeboat could be considered,… Continue reading Mark II and Mark IIA
Mark I and Mark IA
Airborne Lifeboats Mark I and IA – The majority of lifeboats built in the war were to the Mark I or IA design (473 of the approximately 800). Uffa Fox became involved in the problem of Air Sea Rescue in 1942. After discarding several other schemes he used his skills to design a self-contained air-droppable lifeboat… Continue reading Mark I and Mark IA
RN1
Airborne Lifeboat RN-1. 24 were built but there are no records of operational use. In 1944 the Royal Fleet Auxiliary commissioned its own Airborne Lifeboat. There had been several occurrences of the crew of a sunken ship being found far out in the sea sailing the ships’ cutter back to Britain or another friendly coast.… Continue reading RN1