WWII Rescue Buoys - Secret 'Floating Hotels' of the English Channel

Rescue Buoy (Rettungsboje) were pioneering rescue craft designed to act as floating rescue stations for the lufftwaffe. Soon the British got in on the act, and we explore the two designs and history of these strange craft - and even visit one!

One of Our Aircraft is Missing:

Some great info on the Rettungsboje

Article on Pilot losses:

0:00 - Introduction
1:47 - The Battle of Britain Begins
3:07 - Early Rescue Bouy Developments
3:50 - The "Udet Bouy" is Born
6:07 - Deploy The Bouy!
8:33 - Rettungsboje Documents
11:00 - German Rescue Bouys on Film
13:50 - Allied Losses Rack Up
15:18 - The Air Sea Recue
15:30 - The British Rescue Bouy
16:24 - Comparing the British ASR & German Rettungsboje
19:34 - What Happened to the Rescue Bouys?
20:18 - Visiting the Last British ASR
22:50 - Waffling on a Bit?

[Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

There’s something so “cozy”, for lack of a better term, of a small zone of comfort in the middle of a harsh environment. Whether it’s these buoys, a bushcraft shelter in the middle of a forest, a hot spring on a frozen mountain, or even a starship traveling across the vast emptiness of space...there’s just something about these kinds of places and situations that make me feel warm.

[mrchicagosneakers]

Two decades of diving deep into all things ww2 it’s rare to see something new about the war that isn’t the norm. Great content !

[CalumRaasay]

EDIT: I know, I know I said the Battle of Britain was in 1941! It was an accident! Mixed it up with the date the buoys were rolled out en masse 😩 don’t sue me

I don't get seasick easily, but those German bouys must have be tough to stomach. Hope you enjoy! This has been a long project in the making, really glad to have it ready to share with you all!

[RobertCraft-resf]

The German note "please be considerate and think of comrades who may come next" is really nice. The fact Germany made these and rescued British pilots (and of course then captured, but still) is really nice. No more brother wars.

[harryfritter]

My grandpa told us a story once about how himself and one other man spent 9 days in one of those. He talked about a sea sickness that you could never imagine. It sounded horrible, going a week and a half without sleep and barely eating

[mskellyrlv]

Fascinating. Very nice job. With regard to air-dropped rescue craft, my late father-in-law had an interesting story. He flew air rescue in the Pacific during WW-II (mainly PBYs), and after the war continued that for a time with an unusual setup. He flew a B-29 modified to carry a very large lifeboats strapped underneath. The boats could be dropped in a low-level pass near the survivors of a sunken ship, and could carry a great many people. He flew routine patrols with this plane, and there arose the story. As time went on, the plane required a longer and longer takeoff roll, and no one could figure out why. Eventually it reached the point where they couldn't get off the ground with enough room for a refused takeoff. The plane was grounded, and they started taking things apart. The first thing was releasing the lifeboat. It proved to be completely full of water! The boat had no covering on top, and was just a typical open lifeboat. Whenever it rained, the water landing on the B-29 fuselage ran down the sides and into the gap between the boat and fuselage. In that condition, it would have sunk immediately upon being dropped! You have to pay attention to the little things...

[skookumjack]

My father was stationed with the Air Sea Rescue during WW2 along the Channel and picked up Air crew from these lifesavers. He pick up British and German, all were pleased to see his vessel...

[JonBullock]

I watched a German luftwaffe documentary with English subtitles and the Luftwaffe pilot actually said that he used one of these rescue devices. Very fascinating video .

[robh]

As uncomfortable as they may have been, to a downed pilot floating in the sea it was probably close to paradise, thanks for this video it was very educational as I never knew anything like this ever existed.

[BostonClipper]

The British-designed v-hull would point to weather (direction of the wind) thus taking waves along its longer water line. This would reduce the rocking horse effect.

Longer the waterline the more stable the ride.

3 buckets could be for bailing, puking, or perhaps a head (toilet).

[Dougfrilled]

Never heard about these things before. Surprising there’s not more public knowledge about them. Very fascinating.

[tangyorange]

Your channel has made me realize what exactly I love about old things—creative ways engineers got around problems. There are so many things I discover working in a museum that is lost to time, and your channel does a great job at bringing these to a large audience. Cheers from Chicago

[WarDaddyUSA]

I don’t know why but something about a little floating house in the middle of an ocean is so freaking cool. Super interesting great video. I would’ve love to use one of these

[johninnh]

I've watched many many hours of WWII documentaries and this is the first time I've seen these. Live and learn. An excellent idea. Would be good to have one of these in a movie about the air war and their value in saving pilots and bomber crewmen.

[RoteOnlineFraktion]

As a German I'm laughing my ass of about the "German" writing on the digital reconstruction of this buoy. I've never heard of "Schinnenstuke" or "Generalluftzeugmeiste". These words don't make any sense, but yeah they sound German.

[anaussiewithcancer]

76 years old and still discovering something new to me, well done Calum on an excellent production.

[sean-zldy]

I love the consistent interest of this channel and how grounded it feels. More like a friend explaining something he finds interesting than a tedious historical lecture

[LateNightCable]

Having been a student of WWII for many years now - particularly regarding aviation, I think this is the first I’ve heard of the rescue buoys. One of those things that falls into the category of historical minutae, even though they played a very important role. Especially in film, we’re always lead to believe those stranded at sea in wartime had no option but to bob around in a life raft hoping someone sees them, but we see that wasn’t always the case.

That both the Germans and English had them in the channel probably made for some interesting encounters, as illustrated in the movie ‘One Of Our Planes Is Missing’. Considering the geographic location of the UK, it’s rather surprising England had such a poor system in place at the outset for downed airmen at sea.

[jonathanryan]

Fascinating, I've read tiny mentions of them in biographies by downed pilots, and of course old war films, as you mentioned. You've, without doubt, produced the first major insight into an obscure subject, well done and thanks.

[hallstuart]

Really top notch quality content Calum! As always!

Your channel is a hidden gem on YouTube!