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. Also, there was concern about the loss of valuable aircrew when downed in the sea.
Their chosen aircraft was the Barracuda. This was significantly smaller than the RAF aircraft which necessitated a much smaller lifeboat. Uffa Fox was approached to come up with an airborne lifeboat that could carry up to ten men with all the necessary emergency equipment and stores to assure their survival and radios to assist in a rapid recovery.
The lifeboat was 17’9″ long. It had its trial drop in the Solent in September 1945.
| RN-1 | |
|---|---|
| Service | RN Fleet Air Arm |
| Aeroplane | Barracuda |
| Capacity (people) | |
| Top Speed (knots) | |
| Endurance (days) | |
| Length overall | 17′ 9″ |
| Length waterline | |
| Beam | 4′ 10″ |
| Draft | |
| Displacement (tons) | |
| Max All Up Weight (lbs) | |
| Constructions | |
| Engine | BPC BritanniaMiddy (single unit) |
| Number Built | 24 |
| Operational | 1945 |
| 1st Rescue Drop | No record |
| Notes | |
Gallery
Handbook
The photograph number seven Is not an RN1. It’s actually a MK1 . The length isn’t right, but it’s also as two engine compartments , we’re as the RN1 as only one to the port side.
Hi again
I can see what you mean. I have removed the photo from the ‘RN-1’ selection.
Thanks for this and all of your contributions to the accuracy of the site.
Nick
Just to clarify, the engine type fitted to the RN1 is the BPC Britannia Middy (single unit) it is stored remotely and dropped into position once the ditched crew climb on board.
Hi Neville. Many thanks for taking the time to comment again. I have updated the page to reflect your information about the engine on the RN-1.
Cheers
Nick