Shot Down and In The Drink: RAF and Commonwealth Aircrews Saved from the Sea, 1939-1945

Providing an ideal companion to Shot Down and on the Run - the author's previous book about land-based rescue - this is the first full history of RAF Air Sea Rescue during the Second World War. Using extensive research into official records held at The National Archives, Air Commodore Graham Pitchfork describes the formation and development of Air Sea Rescue as it evolved to adapt to wartime events. He examines how aircrews were trained to act in crash scenarios, the survival equipment they used, and the different methods of possible rescue - by RAF or Royal Navy launches, by airborne lifeboats, or by aircraft such as the Lysander or specialist amphibious and flying boats. The second half of the book focuses on the three main operational areas, particularly north-west Europe, but the Mediterranean area and the Far East are also covered. First-hand accounts of rescue and survival are included throughout these chapters. Many of these accounts are published for the first time - the result of new archival research or interviews with surviving members of the aptly named Goldfish Club. Useful maps, diagrams and many previously unpublished official and private photographs are reproduced throughout.