Up until now fighter pilots still relied on personal buoyancy aids. The ‘K’ type was packed attached to the parachute or ‘Mae West’ and soon had improvements of paddles, mast, protective capes and hoods, and rations. Not until August 1942 did all fighters have one of these. It was so successful they were also used… Continue reading Single seat ‘K’ type dinghy established for fighters
Category: Rescue Equipment
‘H’ and ‘J’ dinghies developed with increased capacity and stability
Various versions of dinghy were made and by the end of 1940 all multi-seat aircraft were fitted with dinghies. They were fitted with a variety of emergency equipment and crews were trained in how to survive the crash landing on water and how to use the equipment. Read more here.
Thornaby Bag, Bircham Barrel and Lindholme Gear adopted
Individual centres developed their own local solutions for dropping emergency gear to ditched crew. The Thornaby Bag This consisted of a strengthened fabric parachute bag using the kapok pads from a Mae West life jacket for flotation. The advantage of these bags was that all the components were readily available on the station. Individual bags… Continue reading Thornaby Bag, Bircham Barrel and Lindholme Gear adopted
Youngman’ dinghy, in three sizes in use
A circular dinghy stowed on the upper wing of aircraft and released on ditching for the crew to await rescue..Youngman dinghy
The first dinghy, Type ‘A’, introduced for flying boat crews
Type ‘A’ dinghy, with a capacity for three,introduced for use with flying boats. Over the next ten years it developed for use in emergencies..