In The Drink (sound)

[Music] [Applause] above the sea flies a British bomber Homeward Bound it's night's work done it's Target in Germany bomb they have come through through the Flack of the fighters but you can't ever be sure that you've got through without any there is trouble on board something is wrong the skipper checks quickly with the engineer the engineer reports that last burst of flack has hit two of our gas tanks the sea that's all they can do the Navigator works out where they'll be when they're forced down landing position so that the Rescue Services will know where to look for them hello all you chaps dingy dingy prepare for ditching prepare for ditching you know what that means it means they must put their plane a land plane down on the sea it will sink and they'll be left with this this believe it or not is a boat a rubber dingy with a bottle of gas that can inflate it in 10 seconds it sounds a pretty desperate craft in which to sail the sea but these floating air cushions of the royal Air Force are wonderful little craft scientific design superb workmanship in British factories and excellent compact equipment into this little bundle a Lifeboat that has saved great numbers of lives let's have a look at this pocket Battleship ship the dingy has her rope ladders if the crew drop in the drink they can pull themselves out by these this rubber is ly armor plate and the dingy may be hold by enemy fire that's true the dingy carries its own Supply ofers shaped to fit any size bullet hole gas is always liable to escape and the dingy gradually gets deflated to pump it up again the crew use these topping up Bellows slower than High Press gas but just as effective sailor will tell the of a sea anchor that's standard equipment on the dingi too it's simply a bag that creates a drag checking the ding's drift making it easier for Rescue Planes to find a dingy Cruise in bad weather is no picnic so the crew have this waterproof shelter that's it boys button yourselves in this also keeps water from washing aboard when a bomac crew lands in the sea there's no certainty they'll all be able to step from the plane to the dingy so here are lifelines and when a bomber comes down it's sometimes a good idea to get away from it as soon as possible so the dingy has paddles not a bit like any paddles you know but quite useful there's that first necessity of a sailor a knife and this too is specially designed for the dingy the blade is punctured for lightness The Cutting Edge is curved to make it less likely to damage the dingy the cord against loss but it's long enough to let anyone aboard use the knif and if it should fall overboard the handle is cork so it floats along with the dingy go three emergency packs just three more neat little bundles from Britain but they like the dingy itself save lives the first pack contains food and drink canned tomato juice complete with opener drinking water is canned and opened in the same way drinking cups are marked so that rations can be divided fairly the emergency food is scientifically planned to give the most sustenance in the smallest space there are biscuits moled milk tablets and tablets for purifying impure water if the can Supply runs out so the second pack is full of devices to attract attention Marine distress signals with special covers to keep them dry that's just one more reason for saving rubber a shield to protect the hands goes with the flares very cartridges signals in battle and signals at Sea each thingy carries a supply with a very pistol to fire them this little bundle is a substance called furosine it is trailed on the sea and makes a vivid green stream which can be seen from the air 8 miles away and there's also a balloon with its own special Gadget to inflate it the balloon serves to attract attention but its main job is to support the aerial of the portable radio oh yes there's a radio and this little ship even has a telescopic Mas on which a flag can be hoisted everything to attract attention and save lives what's this equipment for fanc dressed blls while a drift no just a colored cap for each man to wear to help attract attention one of the things you'd miss most if you have to go without it is a match here are matches that stay Al light in a storm the third emergency pack is the ship's Medicine Chest a well planned first aid kit and just to make sure that no chance of calling for help is missed the bottom of the box is a heliograph all that and it that may save the crew of a bomber let's go back to the bomber we started with and see what happens as they come down in the drink hello W operator get back to your ditching station quick okay Skipper what is operator [Music] ditching hello second pilot can you hear me okay okay Skipper let us turn gently [Music] there it comes Captain hold everything [Music] [Music] sh [Music] get Come on B cing coming [Music] up here yeah gun here operator [Music] Navigator search PL going to the area named in the last SOS message to scan the sea in the incessant raids of the bomber command some of the crews must ditch and they may drift for hours or days their lives depend on the speed and skill of the [Music] Searcher plane drops a smoke float to guide the launch to the spot This Crew is lucky their rescue came soon but the swiftest rescue would have been too late if it hadn't been