By: J Boyle
- 8th June 2012 at 05:06Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Slightly on topic...since someone mentioned it...
I was a bit disappointed in the BBC coverage of the flotila.
Plenty of Annika Rice (I'm surprised she's still around...I remember her from Treasure Hunt years ago) interviewing artists, but not much details on the ships themselves.
I understand they were going to have liveshots from 9 boats but only 3 worked, but still I would have expected the announcers in the studio have been prepared to fill in and to know and say more than they did.
I think they had about 20 seconds on the Dunkirk fleet in the main broadcast...a huge disappointment.
They did a nice bit on a coal boat brought down the west coast and a couple of segments on a Dutch-style canal boat, pity they couldn't have told us something about other historic boats...especially the wartime craft.
By: Lincoln 7
- 8th June 2012 at 10:09Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
JBoyle. I too watched the coverage of the flotila, and there was a boat there that looked very much like an ASR Launch, but the wheelhouse and superstructure didn't seem to be 100% right, Could be wrong though.
I am still trying to find out if there is any book/s around about the escapades of the ASR lads and their boats.
Didn't they also pick up downed German pilots?.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: springers
- 8th June 2012 at 10:28Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
MTB 102
MTB 102 was in the flotilla and is based in Lowestoft.I believe she has been re-engined with diesels,I can remember her visiting the Dock Basin at Felixstowe before I retired about 7/8 years ago.The Dock Basin was an MTB and ASR base in the war and has now been been filled in to make way for a new container berth for the largest container ships in the world.
By: Lincoln 7
- 8th June 2012 at 10:54Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Springers. Yes, your right re the diesel engines, but was it 7 or 8 yrs ago?. I was told it was not so long ago she was dried up Southampton way for the refit.
I would imagine it would have been a sight to be seen, to see a squadron of them, tearing in and out of the docks. Another piece of History nearly gone, if 102 is the only known survivor.
I bet the Germans have several of their rescue boats preserved.
Unfortunately, it boils down to that good old word, MONEY.
Thanks for the info.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: silver fox
- 8th June 2012 at 19:40Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
I am still trying to find out if there is any book/s around about the escapades of the ASR lads and their boats.
Didn't they also pick up downed German pilots?.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
A book to try, The Sea Shall Not Have Them, a fictional story but based very much on the work of the ASR.
During WW2 the ASR service rescued 13,269 lives from the sea, of these 8,604 were downed air crew.
One of the biggest "fans"was Lieutenant-General Ira C Eaker (Commander of 8th US Air Force in Britain)
His comment was that the ASR were a major part of keeping up the morale of US aircrews who knew that those boats were out there attempting to rescue all and any downed aircrews, before the Americans had a rescue service in place the ASR had already picked up 600 US Air Force crew.
By: Lincoln 7
- 8th June 2012 at 22:06Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
silver fox. I have seen that film!! but never read the book. You can probably see what I mean, when I say, I have never read any REAL reports of the work the ASR lads carried out. What a staggering amount of rescues these men carried out, in, sometimes terrible conditions, they fought the War on two fronts, firstly the Sea, and there was always the possibility of being straffed by enemy aircraft flying to and from the British coast.
Were their any "Special medals" awarded to the crews of these vessels for their valiant services?.
I would bet my last tanner that some bod could tell you just about every detail of the downed aircraft in the sea, but can they say the same of what boat saved what crews?.
As Moggy states, we tend to remember the aircraft and save them for posterity's sake, but the "Little boats" are oft forgotten.
Many thanks for your input on this, to me, what is a very interesting subject.
Jim.
Lincoln ,7
By: silver fox
- 8th June 2012 at 22:30Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
silver fox. I have seen that film!! but never read the book. You can probably see what I mean, when I say, I have never read any REAL reports of the work the ASR lads carried out. What a staggering amount of rescues these men carried out, in, sometimes terrible conditions, they fought the War on two fronts, firstly the Sea, and there was always the possibility of being straffed by enemy aircraft flying to and from the British coast.
Were their any "Special medals" awarded to the crews of these vessels for their valiant services?.
I would bet my last tanner that some bod could tell you just about every detail of the downed aircraft in the sea, but can they say the same of what boat saved what crews?.
As Moggy states, we tend to remember the aircraft and save them for posterity's sake, but the "Little boats" are oft forgotten.
Many thanks for your input on this, to me, what is a very interesting subject.
Jim.
Lincoln ,7
The film was an over dramatised (false) version of the book, the book's reference to the ASR launches and the work they did is an amalgam of real episodes, a friend of my Dads now sadly both long gone, served on the ASR launches commanding one before the end of the war.
When he did speak of the work they did, he mainly stressed just how much their work was rescue and their main defence was the sheer speed of the launches.
As someone mentioned previously they picked up downed air crew whatever their nationality, remember the thinking was a German pilot in captivity wasn't going to fly against the UK, so picking them up rather than letting their own rescue services find them was still "good business" and leaving them to the mercy of the sea was not an option.
I have a friend who lives and works on the Solent, Plymouth.
He states there is, up the Hamble, an ASR Launch, that is in a good state of repair.
The number, he has stated is .....101...Thats all he can tell me, anyone live down there can shed any light as to whether there is indeed, this vessel moored up there, and if so, any idea as to it's history.
Not being of any interest to him, he has not delved any further into the vessel, anyone any ideas please?.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Further details of this boat can possibly be obtained from [email]John.leech146@talktalk.net[/email] who is connected with the Aicraft & ASR museum in Suffolk
they have a lot of info on these boats
By: AlanR
- 8th July 2012 at 11:48Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
An old customer of mine used to tell me some stories of when he was
on an RAF ASR launch during WWII.
He spent a lot of his time out in the North sea, waiting to pick up downed
aircrew. Very sad at times listening to aircrew who were going down with
their aircraft, asking him to pass messages to loved ones.
Further details of this boat can possibly be obtained from [email]John.leech146@talktalk.net[/email] who is connected with the Aicraft & ASR museum in Suffolk
Thanks for this information dacota2. I will certainly follow this up, and get back to you :)
By: Lincoln 7
- 8th July 2012 at 14:45Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
An old customer of mine used to tell me some stories of when he was
on an RAF ASR launch during WWII.
He spent a lot of his time out in the North sea, waiting to pick up downed
aircrew. Very sad at times listening to aircrew who were going down with
their aircraft, asking him to pass messages to loved ones.
Hi Alan. Having fished out of most Ports on the East Coast from Scotland including the centre of the shipping chanel out of the Solent, mainly in 32 ft long fishing boats. It gets cold, windy,and sometimes bl***y rough, but at least we could go into the wheelhouse to warm up, and have a cuppa. I can just imagine our lads who were shot down, floating in just a lifejacket, sometimes for hrs, waiting to be picked up by the ASR lads, who never seemed to get the recognition they deserved in playing a most significant part in the War.
Didnt the Germans have BOUYS, (Shelters) in the sea where downed pilots could wait to be rescued, that had a radio in them, to send a message to get themselves picked up?.
By: bazv
- 8th July 2012 at 19:18Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Yes the Luftwaffe did have rescue bouys.
In the old B/W movie 'For those in peril'...there is a lovely scene in which a Walrus takes off from Shoreham...does a 180 and a low flyby :D
It is a usual type of wartime film but does have some nice scenes with the rescue boats/crews and naval gunboats.
Stars David Farrar
By: bazv
- 8th July 2012 at 20:57Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Re the 'For those in peril' film...I had forgotten that it was based on a book written by Richard Hillary of Guinea Pig fame - and it was mostly filmed around Newhaven.
By: Lincoln 7
- 8th July 2012 at 21:29Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
im sure i watched a film about that not long back Jim, is that why you ask? ingenious idea if they did
Hi Scott. I have an interest in the ASR and their boats, I MAY be wrong, but myself and Forum member L Garey both went out on one, boy, could they shift:)
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: Lincoln 7
- 8th July 2012 at 21:43Permalink- Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Yes the Luftwaffe did have rescue bouys.
In the old B/W movie 'For those in peril'...there is a lovely scene in which a Walrus takes off from Shoreham
Hi Baz, Sounds like my sort of film, (The ones that they USED to make), I will try and find out if there is a DVD about somewhere, ie Ebay, or Amazon.
Thanks for the info.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Posts: 9,827
By: J Boyle - 8th June 2012 at 05:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Slightly on topic...since someone mentioned it...
I was a bit disappointed in the BBC coverage of the flotila.
Plenty of Annika Rice (I'm surprised she's still around...I remember her from Treasure Hunt years ago) interviewing artists, but not much details on the ships themselves.
I understand they were going to have liveshots from 9 boats but only 3 worked, but still I would have expected the announcers in the studio have been prepared to fill in and to know and say more than they did.
I think they had about 20 seconds on the Dunkirk fleet in the main broadcast...a huge disappointment.
They did a nice bit on a coal boat brought down the west coast and a couple of segments on a Dutch-style canal boat, pity they couldn't have told us something about other historic boats...especially the wartime craft.
Posts: 8,306
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th June 2012 at 10:09 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
JBoyle. I too watched the coverage of the flotila, and there was a boat there that looked very much like an ASR Launch, but the wheelhouse and superstructure didn't seem to be 100% right, Could be wrong though.
I am still trying to find out if there is any book/s around about the escapades of the ASR lads and their boats.
Didn't they also pick up downed German pilots?.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Posts: 82
By: springers - 8th June 2012 at 10:28 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
MTB 102
MTB 102 was in the flotilla and is based in Lowestoft.I believe she has been re-engined with diesels,I can remember her visiting the Dock Basin at Felixstowe before I retired about 7/8 years ago.The Dock Basin was an MTB and ASR base in the war and has now been been filled in to make way for a new container berth for the largest container ships in the world.
Colin.
Posts: 8,306
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th June 2012 at 10:54 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Springers. Yes, your right re the diesel engines, but was it 7 or 8 yrs ago?. I was told it was not so long ago she was dried up Southampton way for the refit.
I would imagine it would have been a sight to be seen, to see a squadron of them, tearing in and out of the docks. Another piece of History nearly gone, if 102 is the only known survivor.
I bet the Germans have several of their rescue boats preserved.
Unfortunately, it boils down to that good old word, MONEY.
Thanks for the info.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Posts: 686
By: silver fox - 8th June 2012 at 19:40 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
A book to try, The Sea Shall Not Have Them, a fictional story but based very much on the work of the ASR.
During WW2 the ASR service rescued 13,269 lives from the sea, of these 8,604 were downed air crew.
One of the biggest "fans"was Lieutenant-General Ira C Eaker (Commander of 8th US Air Force in Britain)
His comment was that the ASR were a major part of keeping up the morale of US aircrews who knew that those boats were out there attempting to rescue all and any downed aircrews, before the Americans had a rescue service in place the ASR had already picked up 600 US Air Force crew.
Posts: 8,306
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th June 2012 at 22:06 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
silver fox. I have seen that film!! but never read the book. You can probably see what I mean, when I say, I have never read any REAL reports of the work the ASR lads carried out. What a staggering amount of rescues these men carried out, in, sometimes terrible conditions, they fought the War on two fronts, firstly the Sea, and there was always the possibility of being straffed by enemy aircraft flying to and from the British coast.
Were their any "Special medals" awarded to the crews of these vessels for their valiant services?.
I would bet my last tanner that some bod could tell you just about every detail of the downed aircraft in the sea, but can they say the same of what boat saved what crews?.
As Moggy states, we tend to remember the aircraft and save them for posterity's sake, but the "Little boats" are oft forgotten.
Many thanks for your input on this, to me, what is a very interesting subject.
Jim.
Lincoln ,7
Posts: 686
By: silver fox - 8th June 2012 at 22:30 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
The film was an over dramatised (false) version of the book, the book's reference to the ASR launches and the work they did is an amalgam of real episodes, a friend of my Dads now sadly both long gone, served on the ASR launches commanding one before the end of the war.
When he did speak of the work they did, he mainly stressed just how much their work was rescue and their main defence was the sheer speed of the launches.
As someone mentioned previously they picked up downed air crew whatever their nationality, remember the thinking was a German pilot in captivity wasn't going to fly against the UK, so picking them up rather than letting their own rescue services find them was still "good business" and leaving them to the mercy of the sea was not an option.
Posts: 85
By: dakota2 - 8th July 2012 at 11:00 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
[EMAIL="John.leech146@talktalk.net"]John.leech146@talktalk.net[/EMAIL]
Further details of this boat can possibly be obtained from [email]John.leech146@talktalk.net[/email] who is connected with the Aicraft & ASR museum in Suffolk
they have a lot of info on these boats
dakota
Posts: 4,996
By: AlanR - 8th July 2012 at 11:48 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
An old customer of mine used to tell me some stories of when he was
on an RAF ASR launch during WWII.
He spent a lot of his time out in the North sea, waiting to pick up downed
aircrew. Very sad at times listening to aircrew who were going down with
their aircraft, asking him to pass messages to loved ones.
Posts: 8,306
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th July 2012 at 14:24 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Thanks for this information dacota2. I will certainly follow this up, and get back to you :)
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Posts: 8,306
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th July 2012 at 14:45 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi Alan. Having fished out of most Ports on the East Coast from Scotland including the centre of the shipping chanel out of the Solent, mainly in 32 ft long fishing boats. It gets cold, windy,and sometimes bl***y rough, but at least we could go into the wheelhouse to warm up, and have a cuppa. I can just imagine our lads who were shot down, floating in just a lifejacket, sometimes for hrs, waiting to be picked up by the ASR lads, who never seemed to get the recognition they deserved in playing a most significant part in the War.
Didnt the Germans have BOUYS, (Shelters) in the sea where downed pilots could wait to be rescued, that had a radio in them, to send a message to get themselves picked up?.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Posts: 1,873
By: Scott Marlee - 8th July 2012 at 16:41 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
im sure i watched a film about that not long back Jim, is that why you ask? ingenious idea if they did
Posts: 6,044
By: bazv - 8th July 2012 at 19:18 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Yes the Luftwaffe did have rescue bouys.
In the old B/W movie 'For those in peril'...there is a lovely scene in which a Walrus takes off from Shoreham...does a 180 and a low flyby :D
It is a usual type of wartime film but does have some nice scenes with the rescue boats/crews and naval gunboats.
Stars David Farrar
rgds baz
Posts: 6,044
By: bazv - 8th July 2012 at 20:57 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Re the 'For those in peril' film...I had forgotten that it was based on a book written by Richard Hillary of Guinea Pig fame - and it was mostly filmed around Newhaven.
rgds baz
Posts: 8,306
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th July 2012 at 21:29 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi Scott. I have an interest in the ASR and their boats, I MAY be wrong, but myself and Forum member L Garey both went out on one, boy, could they shift:)
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Posts: 8,306
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th July 2012 at 21:43 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
Hi Baz, Sounds like my sort of film, (The ones that they USED to make), I will try and find out if there is a DVD about somewhere, ie Ebay, or Amazon.
Thanks for the info.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
Posts: 2,536
By: hampden98 - 11th July 2012 at 16:05 Permalink - Edited 1st January 1970 at 01:00
In the film "We dive at dawn" a British Submarine attacks one of these bouys when the Luftwaffer survivors try to radio the subs position.