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SpitfireIX -> RE: plane guard (11/21/2013 6:15:35 PM)
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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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