Lifeboats etc.

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Ulrich Rudofsky
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Lifeboats etc.

Post by Ulrich Rudofsky »

What were the rescue provisions in the 1940's for saving the crew of sinking battleships in the German, British and US navies? Lifejackets, a few rafts and what else? What I am asking is what was actually present on battleships and cruisers of WW1 & 2 to save many or any of the hundreds of individual crew members aboard. It does not look like a hell of a lot to me.
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Post by tommy303 »

Hi Ulrich,

That was about it. The primary equipment would have been each individual'sl life jacket. Rafts, both rigid and inflatable would have been carried in sometimes substantial numbers, but like the ship's boats might be destroyed in a gun action.

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And saved the sum of things for pay.
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RF
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Post by RF »

In the Kriegsmarine it appears little attention was given to this.

In Bismarck's last action it appears the crew had no formal training in abandoning ship, and when the Scharnhorst was sinking Richard Garrett records that petty officers had to show men how to put life jackets on.

And although Kormoran was not a major Kriegsmarine ship, Theodor Detmers records when his command sank that some of the life-rafts had been allowed to perish through exposure to strong sunlight in the Indian Ocean.
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Karl Heidenreich
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

I beleve that the navy commanders and the designers had two scenarios for sinking BBs or BCs:
1. They sail with other ships so, if something bad happens, then there are going to be plenty help to evacuate the sinking BB to other vessels.
2. They just blew so no lifeboats are needed.

:think:
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marcelo_malara
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Post by marcelo_malara »

Wooden lifeboats exposed on deck would surely be torn to pieces in any engagement. The only thing that would survive were the orange non-rigid liferafts.
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Gary
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Post by Gary »

Some commanders may well have jetisoned their lifeboats before a battle as they would just cause nasty splinters and shrapnel in the event of a hit.
God created the world in 6 days.........and on the 7th day he built the Scharnhorst
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Karl Heidenreich
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

In the early days of wooden ships and iron men the ship´s captain launched the boats and towed them with ropes before an engagement.
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marcelo_malara
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Post by marcelo_malara »

Well Karl, I thing that´s a legend.
First of all the boats were located in the centre line of the ship, between the fore and the main mast. Launching them needed a complicated procedure, lifting the boats from deck with a pair of tacks attached to the foremast and mainmast spars, then lowering them into the water.
Second, as sailboat man, I can tell that a boat can´t be towed at the max speed of the tug, because of the different hull lenghts. So in fact the manouver would handicap the ship.
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Post by tommy303 »

Actually it is true under some circumstances. In major fleet actions it was often done, primarily to prevent the wooden boats from being a source of splinters (which inflicted most wounds in the age of sail). Most ships in line of battle sailed under battle sails, rather than with full sails set to minimize the danger of masts and spars being carried away after damage to the rigging, so they were rarely going anywhere near top speed.

In a faster moving action between small ships, the launches and cutters would be hoisted overboard and cut adrift, usually with a couple of men or boys to keep them together, with the plan being to come back for them later on. As the launch at least had provision for stepping a mast and rigging a sail, the fellows left to tend the boats had a least a means of reaching safety should the battle go the wrong way.

Although launching the boats was time consuming and complicated, as pointed out, it was nevertheless done frequently provided there was ample time, and was a normal part of clearing for action. In most actions, once two fleets had manouvered within striking distance of eachother, there was usually ample time to get the boats over the side.

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And saved the sum of things for pay.
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Karl Heidenreich
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

I recall to read about it in Pérez Riverte "Cabo Trafalgar".
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Post by RF »

marcelo_malara wrote:Wooden lifeboats exposed on deck would surely be torn to pieces in any engagement. The only thing that would survive were the orange non-rigid liferafts.
Another factor here is shrapnel danger - I gather that wood shrapnel is even more dangerous to human flesh than steel.
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Post by Bgile »

Wooden splinters are not likely to penetrate steel deckhouses, unlike steel ones, which require substantial "splinter protection" thickness to stop.
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Post by marcelo_malara »

I was thinking, in the sail era ships rarely sunk. As discussed in another thread about Trafalgar, only one of all the ships present was lost, due to a magazine explosion. So the fact that the boats were towed was more to save the boats than to rescue the crew in case of sinking.
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Post by RF »

marcelo_malara wrote:I was thinking, in the sail era ships rarely sunk. As discussed in another thread about Trafalgar, only one of all the ships present was lost, due to a magazine explosion. So the fact that the boats were towed was more to save the boats than to rescue the crew in case of sinking.
At the Battle of the Nile, Nelson despatched the French flagship with a yorker - if you understand cricket, you will know what I mean!!!!
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