Seenotdienst and Allied equivalents.

[SaparotRob]

I've come across some interesting references about "Seenotdienst". I have always been interested in search and rescue aircraft but not familiar with it. I would appreciate it if someone could expand my knowledge of it. I'm curious about the Seenotdienst and influence on other air services.

 

[fubar57]

Lots of stories and photos

 

[windhund116]

Snafu Snatchers: Air Sea Rescue

 

[fubar57]

280 pages....

 

[GrauGeist]

Keep in mind that the Seenotdienst was a joint sea-air rescue organization, so they had boats and aircraft.

An interesting side note: Luftwaffe Lt. Col. Goltz, who was in charge of the program, was the only German Air Force officer to have command over ships and boats!

Also when war broke out, the Seenotdienst's first rescuees saved, were RAF Wellington crewmembers, about 22 in all.

 

[fubar57]

Got a feeling this one is written in Luftwaffeeze

 

[SaparotRob]

Keep in mind that the Seenotdienst was a joint sea-air rescue organization, so they had boats and aircraft.

An interesting side note: Luftwaffe Lt. Col. Goltz, who was in charge of the program, was the only German Air Force officer to have command over ships and boats!

Also when war broke out, the Seenotdienst's first rescuees saved, were RAF Wellington crewmembers, about 22 in all.

Did they use specialized rescue boats or unarmed E-boats?

 

[windhund116]

U-boats played a big role in downed pilot and stranded sailor rescues, throughout the war. So too, with the USN. Several nice chapters about rescues, in the seminal Submarine Operations, in WW2 book.

US Submarine Operations, in WW2.

 

[stona]

Did they use specialized rescue boats or unarmed E-boats?

I read somewhere that they used at least some launches captured from the Dutch ASR service.

 

[GrauGeist]

They used a variety of vessels, but all were equipped with medical gear, blankets and heating equipment for hypothermia as well as rations.
The crews had training for rendering medical aid, too.

 

[SaparotRob]

Did opposing SAR planes cross paths? With so many aircraft going down in the Channel during the BoB I wonder if they met.

 

[windhund116]

Did opposing SAR planes cross paths? With so many aircraft going down in the Channel during the BoB I wonder if they met.

Pretty sure a lot of POW pilots were saved, at sea, by the enemy's boats and planes --- looking for their downed pilots.

 

[fubar57]

"Between February and August of 1941, of the over 1200 air crews from both sides that went down in the North Sea and English Channel, 444 of them were saved by the Seenotdienst. Of those 444, 78 were RAF crews. With painful awareness that British efforts were severely lacking in air-sea rescue during the Battle of Britain, in 1941 the RAF Coastal Command set about improving its air rescue capability and would use the Seenotdienst as a model. With the expansion of the US Army Air Forces in Britain, the RAF Coastal Command in turn assisted the United States in developing its air sea rescue capabilities." Tails Through Time: The Luftwaffe Seenotdienst: The First Air Rescue Units

 

[GrauGeist]

Did opposing SAR planes cross paths? With so many aircraft going down in the Channel during the BoB I wonder if they met.

I'm sure that once the British started their ASR program, it was possible.

I did read that the RN and Kreigsmarine crossed paths on one occasion while they were checking the "lobster pots", but they held a temporary truce while the aircrew were being retrieved - one Luftwaffe pilot went to the KM and two RAF men went with the RN and they parted company.

 

[SaparotRob]

It's nice reading about decency popping up in wartime. I am reminded of a Luftwaffe ME-109 pilot "escorting" a crippled B-17 out of danger. Sometimes humanity wins out.