SpitfireIX
Posts: 264
Joined: 1/9/2003 From: Fort Wayne IN USA Status: offline
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First, a note on terminology. A plane guard was a ship, usually a destroyer, that took station directly astern of each aircraft carrier during flight operations. Whenever a plane went in the water, the ship would run up and attempt to rescue the crew. A lifeguard was a submarine that was assigned to patrol near the target of a strike, in order to rescue downed airmen. Dumbo was the code-name for American air-sea rescue, which became more sophisticated, and more successful, as the war progressed. I seem to recall reading that, in addition to the factors mentioned, Allied pilots simply have a higher probability of being rescued, as an abstraction of the Allies' far superior air-sea rescue capability.
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"I know Japanese. He is very bad. And tricky. But we Americans too smart. We catch him and give him hell." --Benny Sablan, crewman, USS Enterprise 12/7/41
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