Crash boats of World War II

rdf:langString Crash boats of World War II

rdf:langString Crash boats, at the time known as "aircraft rescue boats" or "air-sea rescue boats", were wooden speedboats built to rescue the crew of downed United States and other Allies aircraft during World War II. US boats came from the observation of British experience with high-speed launches during the Battle of Britain. By the end of World War II, America had produced 300,000 planes, creating a need to have crash rescue boats stationed around the globe. These boats were fast boats used to rescue pilots, crew and passengers from downed aircraft in search and rescue and air-sea rescue missions. The boats would race out to a crash site and rescue wounded aircrew. Some speed boats built before the war were acquired and converted to be crash boats and many new boats were built. Standard crash boats were built in four lengths for World War II. The smallest standard size boat was 42 feet long, while the larger boats were 63, 85 or 104 feet long. They were built for the Army Air Forces and the US Navy, while some were transferred to the Allies. The design was similar to patrol boats built for the war, but with less or no armament and first aid equipped. The boats were designed to be light and fast to be able to get to the downed aircrew as fast as possible. Most were used in the Pacific war across the vast South Pacific, primarily in island hopping. Some were stationed on the West Coast of the United States to support the vast training centers. Many were designated Air Rescue Boats or ARB or AVR or P or C or R Hull classification symbol. After the war, most were abandoned or destroyed, though a few served in the Korean war (with United States Air Force), while some sold to private and some donated to Sea Scouts. By the Korean war the helicopter had taken the place of the crash boat in rescuing pilots and aircrews.