Quote:
Originally Posted by Viking
Regarding the sea rescue ( I'm on holiday and have no references!) the Walrus and PT-boats springs to mind, On the other side there where “Shnelboots” and some kind of FW sea-rescue and some kind of huge buoy in which a downed airman could take shelter and call for help. Could have been British, not sure. And as I recall it was the Brits who on Churchill's order started the shooting on red cross airplanes.
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Hope you're enjoying your hols!
The Walrus was employed by the Fleet Air Arm for ship to shore comms and personnel transport at this point AFAIK.
It was quite disgraceful that a maritime nation had no Air-Sea rescue service.
Lysanders were sent out to search, and would point boats in the right direction if the pilots were lucky. Very few British pilots were recovered from the channel if they ditched.
The Germans had the Red Cross Heinkel 59 seaplanes, and it was the Germans who placed the 'Lobster Pot' buoys in the Channel, complete with beds and stores.
It wasn't exactly 'Churchill's Orders' regarding shooting the He59's down, but part of British Defence policy, and fully supported by Churchill and Air Chief Marshall Dowding.
See Stephen Bungay's excellent 'The Most Dangerous Enemy', published by Aurum - page 155.
''Dowding States:- 'We had to make it known to the Germans that we could not countenance the use of the Red Cross in this manner. They were engaged in rescuing combatants and taking them back to fight again, and they were also in a position, if granted immunity, to make valuable reconnaisance reports. In spite of this, surviving crews of these aircraft appeared to be surprised and aggrieved at being shot down.'''
I think I'd be surprised and aggrieved too.
Although when the British did set up a dedicated air-sea rescue service, they carried standard military markings and camouflage, and were therefore not asking for any special privilege, so the British policy was adhered to from our side also.