AIRBORNE LIFE-BOATS 0 I was looking at back numbers of THE LIFEBOAT and came on your issue of January, 1971, in which an airborne life-boat in connection with the Wells, Norfolk, article was shown being dropped off the east coast on 5th May, 1943.

I took part in a similar operation some weeks later—on 26th July, 1943—which had an unusual ending. For the airborne life-boat dropped by the R.A.F. was brought into Great Yarmouth aboard the Danish trawler Betty FN 41 whose captain had been overpowered by the American crew she had picked up! However, I never met the Americans or the Danish crew of the trawler as I was shot down myself soon after the Betty tied up at Yarmouth.

Perhaps the two photographs will revive memories and perhaps lead to other aspects of the American and Danish story being related.

You may wonder why in July, 1943, my own Halifax crew knew nothing about airborne life-boats although the first drop had occurred in May. The squadron I was with, No. 138, was a clandestine operations unit. From the first quarter moon till the last quarter moon we were supplying resistance units and during the non-moon period we kept a few crews on to assist with air sea rescue work. Being such a high security unit and not professional A.S.R.

chaps no doubt the airborne life-boat gen didn't filter down to us until much later. I may say that it was a great surprise to see such a thing in the air.

Homing on a distress signal we had found an American aircrew sitting in their doughnut dinghy at 54° 39'N 05° 34'E. Base ordered us tocircle them and transmit a homing signal. In due course, and to our consternation, appeared an 'enemy aircraft' which on dropping an airborne life-boat transformed itself into a Hudson.

In 17 minutes the airborne life-boat with all the Americans aboard and both engines running was heading west at six knots and with the approaching darkness we left the life-boat on its homeward course.

But the drama was not yet over.

Back at the Halifax's base at R.A.F. Tempsford another aircraft and crew were prepared during the night to fly fuel to the life-boat at dawn if it could be found—for it was realised that the fuel range of the life-boat was insufficient for it to reach England.

And found it was at dawn still steaming westward.

The fuel supplies were dropped but the parachutes to which they were attached were unfortunately seen by trawler FN 41. Although she had DENMARK painted on her side, she was skippered by a German. He had seen the parachutes descending and, heading towards them, found the airborne life-boat and the Americans.

Taking both Americans and the airborne life-boat on board his trawler he headed south towards the Dutch Friesian Islands. The Halifax was watching and flew parallel to the trawler firing all four rear guns across her bow, signalling in English by Aldis lamp, 'Steer west or I will sink you'. The trawler turned west.

But to the westward were fogbanks and into these fogbanks the trawler disappeared.

Disconsolately, the Halifax crew returned to base. All hope was lost now. Obviously, the trawler skipper would have changed course again for Holland as soon as he was in the fog.

Came the dawn on day three, 28th July, and a telephone call from Yarmouth to R.A.F.

Tempsford to say that a Danish trawler called the Betty had steamed into Yarmouth through the fog and through the minefields and had brought in an American Fortress crew and an airborne life-boat.

It appeared that when the Halifax fired across the trawler's bow on the morning of 27th July the Danish trawler crew had locked up the German captain and taken over the ship—and so we got our airborne life-boat back and a full Fortress crew to fight again.—F. c. GRIFFITHS, Group Captain (retd.},Ty Isa, LlanfairDyffryn Cluiyd, Ruthin, Denbighshire.

When the R.A.F. on 5th May, 1943, dropped an airborne life-boat for the first time to a 'ditched' bomber crew 50 miles of the East Anglian coast, the survivors got to within 12 miles of Wells before their life-boat broke down. A motor launch, however, beat the local life-boat to the casualty. Group Captain Griffiths, incidentally, is honorary secretary of the Ruthin branch of the R.M.L.I. We have no idea what become of the fishing boat. Her port distinguishing letters showed her port of registry as Frederikshavn, Denmark.—EDITOR.

456 THE JOURNAL • I feel I must write to add to the comments made by Mr. Dennis Sale in letters in the October Journal. I feel he has made some valid points regarding coverage of the life-boat service in the reshaped Journal.

I started taking the Journal in October, 1970, and therefore got the last of the old format. In January, 1971, the Journal was of course altered and here I must say that the layout and presentation are a great improvement and obviously must attract a wider readership and this is where I feel that a slight change would benefit the Journal.

I am asking if it would be possible to include more reports of services over the quarter. I haven't done any calculations like Mr Sale did but it is obvious that over the months the reports of services by life-boats is nothing like what it was before the Journal was altered.

I have looked at the October, 1970, Journal and there you reported a lot of services in monthly and life-boat area order, and they are very interesting to read. In the October, 1972, Journal there are reports of only four services although I admit that two are very detailed and interesting.

Therefore what I am basically driving at is that as a keen life-boat enthusiast who lives away from the coast, the Journal is my only source of official descriptions of life-boat rescues and services, and I feel that to some extent this is being denied to me by the lack of reports in the Journal.—KENNETH UPTON, West Hallam, Derby.

Bearing in mind the number of services now being dealt with, by the R.N.L.I, it would be impossible to accommodate reports on the scale they were reported up to the change of format in 1971, but we hope Mr. Upton will agree that in this number more prominence is given to life-boat services.—EDITOR.

OVERWEIGHT 0 Please find enclosed a cheque to the value of £15, this being a donation to the R.N.L.I, by Corporal Smith of this unit.

It may be of interest to you to know the circumstances surrounding the collection of this donation by the above named N.C.O. Cpl.

Smith is a very much overweight person who has made various threats and promises to slim.

Various members of the unit made bets with as to how many pounds weight he could lose in a week or a month, etc.

The enclosed cheque is the result of the bets which were made. Needless to say any weight lost by this N.C.O. must have been regained for he appears to be no slimmer.—F. POULTER, Captain, 73 Field Workshop (Aircraft] R.E.M.E., Br.F.P.O 23..