Heroes of World War II... the RAF High Speed Launch

[@notoriousdip5495]

My late grandfather passed in 7/9/23 coxswain 2nd class corporal Lawrence H Di Placito. Served 1940-1945 air sea rescue HSL BOAT 190. May god keep him.

[@fredfernald8016]

He was a member of the greatest generation.

[@martincrowe1681]

Mine served in air sea rescue during the war serving out of Dover and Newhaven .He then ended up in the far east on combined operations.

[@peterbarton9856]

This brought back memories for me of my father who served as a skipper in one of these rescue boats. The main thing he mentioned was that they not only saved British pilots but the German pilots too! They were buzzed several times by german planes but were never fired upon due to their job of rescuing anyone who found themselves ditched in the English channel. There was even a salute from one German fighter who flew by him. Thanks for sharing!

[@mikesteelheart]

That's great history, thanks for sharing.

[@friday3810]

At the same time the RAF was ordered to shoot Down german rescue planes doing the exact same thing.

[@sevenodonata]

@@friday3810 Correct, and maybe justified as they were observing Channel shipping. No reports of the RAF attacking German launches.

[@friday3810]

@@sevenodonata the british high command asumed that they where doing recce flights. There was no prove and they did not. The germans where using big twinengined biplanes with floats because they had no dedicated rescue boats and the shoot Down pilots would have been to far out anyways to rescue them by boat. After quite a few of the All white planes with red grosse all over them where shoot Down the germans Set up a System of rescue buoys to Help there pilots survive. As soon as the british found our about them they startet to remove all that they could find. Civalry has no place in modern war not even in the eyes of the british

[@straitjacket8689]

Great story !

[@edfrawley4356]

I worked with a Veteran of the RAF air sea rescue and he told me the crews of these boats did 2 things as soon as they got assigned to their boat.1 they would strip off everything possible that they did not need in order to lighten the boat. and 2 their mechanics would modify the engines to get as much power out of them as possible. These boats where known to flat outrun a German torpedo. RIP Herbie.

[@Backwardlooking]

Battery operated boating pool models of these we’re very popular in the late 1950’s and 60’s. I remember seeing them. 👍🏻🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@johnleigh7996]

I had one of those! It never got up on a plane though, more like a stately putter along.

[@richardwestwell4902]

There was a movie made about this RAF service.'The Sea Shall Not Have Them" Had quite a few stars in it as well. Quite well done and good entertainment. When a young new crew member calls the Flight Sergeant "sir". The classic reply was " Save that for the skipper, he's an officer and knows nothing so is entitled to be called SIR"

[@chrismccartney8668]

Watched the film on KZbin.

[@pigzilla11]

My father was shot down and landed in the channel with other members of the crew. They were rescued by one of these boats but they did not see my father in the water and ran over him accidentally. He was not hurt but swam over to the boat so they would not get a second chance to rum him over again. They boat commander apologized to him about the mistake.

[@jbradshaw4236]

What an amazing story.. Im glad he was rescued. I note your surname was he one of the brave Polish pilots? Respect

[@scopex2749]

When I signed up in the RAF as an Aircraft Fitter I remember 'RESCUE BOAT CREWMAN' was still listed on the entry form as an option you could chose for service! I nearly bought a seaplane tender 9 years ago that was a rotting wreck in a builders yard in Bristol. Sadly I could not fins anywhere to house her for the rebuild so I lost her. She was also VERY fast with twin Gardner 8LXB engines I think. Regretably she no one bought her and she crumbled away to a pile of wood which was burned. Lovely to see this boat restored THANK YOU from an old airman.

[@TheWolfsnack]

Nice.....my dad was RCAF in WW2, stationed out of Jericho RCAF base near Vancouver BC....he served during the entire war doing coastal patrols on crash boats...similar type boats.

[@davefrench3608]

Built in Hythe, about 400 yds from my house. Aircraftsman Shaw lived over the road.

[@neilfoster814]

Both that Seaplane tender and the HSL are absolutely gorgeous boats!

[@saltyroe3179]

The US had similar air sea rescue boats. Our sea explorer ship got one for $1. It had wood clinker hull and two Hudson Invader engines. I believe she was about 45 feet long. Like the RAF version the helm was foward of amid amidships. For and aft of the wheel house were cabins. Below the wheel house were the engines, each about the size of a VW Beatle. The skipper usually steered with the engines. We rarely went to full speed as she consumed gallons per mile when planning. There was a galley in the foward cabin and we would make soup and serve it mugs underway since otherwise it would spill. I drank my 1st cup of coffee on the Albatross, since it was the only way I could warm up at that moment. Our electronic gear was donated from Bendix. Our engineer (one of the dads) had been a submarine engineer in WWII. Mr. Best had a Master's License to operate the ship.

[@peregrinemccauley7819]

Arnold 'Ace' Rimmer . The Germans never stood a chance .

[@peregrinemccauley7819]

@Phil Cadey I think the Mustang , along with many other American aircraft , had the Merlin V-12 engine , made in America , under licence by Packard .

[@stonyjon.w1475]

My late father was a radio operator in the war on one of these. He used to wax lyrical about the Rolls Royce engines.

[@tectorama]

An old customer of mine used to work on these boats during WWII, mostly in the North Sea. He had some sad stories of talking to both RAF and USAAF crews on the radio, with messages to be passed on to their loved ones, knowing they weren't going to make it home.

[@jimpedlow3528]

See this boat every morning and was confused as to why an RAF ensign would be on a boat, questions answered

[@boblovell5789]

I remember two of these boats moored together in Lyme Regis harbour. I guess around 1945. They were immaculate .Thank goodness that in this day and age we value our heritage.

[@7rslender]

Now how cool is that: The host is actually wearing a RAF Pilot Chronograph on a matching G10 strap

[@typashley5394]

They had a base in Bridlington on the harbour , it's now the Rags hotel. There was also 2 of the smaller ones used as pleasure craft , Bluebird and Swift ran for many years.

[@rafman016]

When the RAF had a Navy! A lad I joined up with in 76 signed on to be a motor boat crewman - he couldn’t swim! Proper RAF 😂

[@kurtsteiner8384]

The rn don't swim either even divers don't. So you are not alone in that.

[@dartskipper3170]

My Dad served on the Merchant Navy ( Tankers and Troopships) from 1938 to 1946. He was sunk twice. He couldn't swim either.

[@craigmcdaniel5733]

When I was a U.S. Air Force officer in Florida, our base was home to the USAF water survival school. The guys there put me through one of their courses and I still have my small-boat handling certificate from 1979 thanks to the Air Force.

[@johnprice5784]

Went on similar craft whilst in the Air Training Corps back in the 1970s, they were stationed out of RAF Valley in Wales at the time and so were the Red Arrows, great times.

[@nigelheath7048]

I was also in the air cadets in the 70s in S Devon,one of our instructors had a boat charter business and he actually had one of these,he didn't charter it but used it for towing and general running around. I had the honour to actually helm it while he was towing a prototype hydrofoil boat a local designer was developing. At the time I didn't appreciate the importance of the boat but can still remember the thrill of handling it at speed

[@ronfisher4965]

John Price boats were stationed at Holyhead.

[@theflyinggauntlet]

My grandfather was a coxwain on one of these boats. He served in tbe English channel during the battle of Britain, then in North Africa. He told stories of taking commandos to Palermo in Italy to put explosive charges on the Italian navy ships. They spent quite a while in Italy after which they went to Burma via Cape Town. He was injured on the beach in Burma and he and the crew had to escape through the jungle to get to Rangoon and meet up with British forces there.

[@garymahony2844]

What a stunning piece of history and workmanship....the engine sound is like sailing a Spitfire across the water ✌️

[@danielmauro6576]

My uncle was a crewman on a USAAF crash rescue boat during WW II. There are several books written by crewmen about the RAF and USAAF crash boats. I have a few of those books.....great reading and very interesting as far as I am concerned.

[@hyfinkelstein1216]

Are you familiar with the P-520 USAAF crach rescue boat operating as a living museum in Crisfield, Maryland?

[@No.Handle31]

The making of a modern day life boat. It's amazing what humans make under pressure.

[@101boertjie]

Darn, they were beautiful boats. Those sleek lines are sure pretty.

[@marksmith8928]

It's a Sopwith Nautilus, a Hawker Hurriboat, a Supermarine Seafire..... oh.....wait. they've already used that one. I'm done with the superlatives. Liked the video very much!

[@shutthedooronyourwayout]

Ooo Throttling up sent a shiver up my spine Nice one Ace 😂

[@richardneagle3177]

Designed, inspired,completed by two British Lionhearts !!!! Worked sailed and piloted by the same !!!! How amazing !!! HIP PIP HURRAH,HIP PIP HURRAH

[@towedarray7217]

A boat the Royal Air Force ordered (and for which it delivered the requirements). Ahmmm! Very cool story and very cool boat & history.

[@belledetector]

Gorgeous restoration work. Great video

[@ronbudgell2392]

The RCAF also had both the HSL and the smaller launch shown early in the video. My father worked on both during and after the war.

[@robiewonga4655]

My Father to stationed down in Padstow Cornwall

[@roscothefirst4712]

My father-in-law Arthur Davey went out on these during the war. He was a first aid corpsman and was usually stationed at an airfield. They took turns going on the HSL's and on one trip a pair of them went out. The other boat hit a 1000 lb sea mine. He said there was an almighty bang and there was nothing but small splinters and burning fuel left.

[@michaelmartin9022]

Imagine having loads of experience as a sailor, getting call-up papers for the navy, but wangling yourself into the RAF and dreaming of Spitfires... (Not that a go on one of these would be bad)

[@AnEnemy100]

Okay this was a bit by jingo silly but the TE Lawrence link was an interesting surprise.

[@tonyjedioftheforest1364]

I remember a couple of these were stationed in Bridlington harbour during the 1960’s when we had airfields up and down the east coast area.

[@paulbriggs3072]

That round bilged model he showed at the beginning was in fact a perfectly good planing hull, in fact more efficient at lower to mid planing speeds than a hard-chined equivalent. In say the 25 knot speed range, the two become about equal and the hard-chined hull slowly surpasses the round bilge model at faster speeds.

[@SteamboatWilley]

It's a quirk of history that these launches were operated by the RAF themselves and not by the Coastguard or RNLI.

[@jefflewis9110]

The Marine Branch had been around since the RAF was first formed. The original task was tenders for servicing and supplying seaplanes. I served on them from 1972-86

[@billsmart2532]

Wonderful to hear T. E. Lawrence was not stagnant between wars. I wondered why he chose this service.

[@tobiwalker7145]

He chose the RAF because he met some flying fellows whilst he was out in the desert for the army, he felt it was a clean service for a war service and found the idea of building it from the bottom up quite exciting. He spoke of writing a book about it (yet refused a commission to do so; instead he wrote "The MInt.") When he first enlisted in the RAF and rapidly got booted, the army took him in and he hated it. He begged to be let back into the RAF and his friends, worried about him, spoke on his behalf, got him back in, eventually to work on these boats which he did until discharged in early 1935, right before he died. As to why he joined up...that's another story...

[@mrlarkin6416]

Here in Ireland there is a later rescue RAF Pinnace 1381 abandoned somewhere on the river Shannon! I'm going hunting for it next summer 😎

[@suecondon1685]

Hi there. I used to own a Pinnace 1344 renamed in the 60's and converted to a liveaboard. Very interesting to see that there is another Pinnace in existence! Sadly mine proved to be a bottomless pit in terms of money (and eventually the marina disposed of her which broke my heart). Here is a link to my old boat The George Haig. I wish you well! www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/2037/george-haig

[@mrlarkin6416]

Sue Condon wow had a look at the link of course as you say it is sad to lose such a vessel but the dream is still there I could no way afford to restore one to liveaboard!! 😎

[@suecondon1685]

Yes she was a fabulous ship. I'm currently writing a book about her (early days but I've made a start!). The only downfall was that she was moored on a very poor berth - shingle at the front, and hollow shifting mud at the rear, on a tidal creek on the Thames. Fine when the tide was in, but at low tide it was often hollow beneath the rear - too much weight being supported on her poor old mahogany hull. I wish you all the best and please keep in touch so I know if you find her!

[@mrlarkin6416]

Sue Condon Apparently the pinnace here was working on a project on the river Shannon and was abandoned if I find her this summer ill make a video and post it to take care nice chatting to you 😊

[@suecondon1685]

Oh yes please! I've literally just this minute been invited to Plymouth in May for a get together of the RAF Air Sea Rescue Facebook group which I'm in. Great stuff, God knows how I will afford to go but they just messaged me and said they will have a High Speed Launch there and please can I go! Oh yes - even more inspiration for the book I'm writing.

[@rhythmstic]

My Dad was in this lot in WW2. He said they once arrested a U-Boat stuck on a sand bank off Littlehampton. Then an RN Destroyer turned up and under extreme pressure the sub was handed over to the navy.

[@donaldallison7694]

My father’s Sunderland crashed near Plymouth during the war (No 10 Sdqn, RAAF). My mum said there was reluctance to approach the sinking plane

[@garyhewitt489]

If it had armed depthcharges on board and was sinking any reluctance was only logical.

[@stuartbrown1677]

Well done Chris , I really enjoyed this Stuart in Ireland ☘️

[@simongee8928]

What is interesting and apparently contradictory about hard chine & round bilge displacement is that whilst the British used hard chine which led to hull slamming in rough weather, the Germans used round bilge in their S boats as it was far more stable in rough seas. And the S Boats were fast - !

[@artofabandon2337]

Great photography, wouldn't it be funny if Criton was first mate,

[@Iainb1954]

Pilot down...in the middle of Saudi Arabia :-) Good luck getting a boat there! Otherwise, beautiful boat! Want one!

[@gwrider4329]

When I was a lad,there were 3 of these boats stationed in Bridlington E,Yorkshire. Believe they were withdrawn in the early seventys.

[@jackies8261]

I actually serverd at Bridlington on the air sea rescue launch. as a engine fitter. 1965

[@mikecritchlow1114]

45'3"N - 24'6"W is off the French coast in the North Atlantic, roughly where the German battleship, Bismark, was caught and sunk by the Royal Navy. This location would have been outside the range of an RAF HSL.

[@ronflynn5043]

sadly these boats were not a patch on the pt boats.......

[@charlieyerrell9146]

There is a hotel come pub on the sea front in Ramsgate that was used by the rescue crews.

[@drews6616]

Smoke me a kipper, Skipper; I’ll be back for breakfast! Lovely machine. It’s a shame she doesn’t have her original engines though.

[@nielsdebakker3283]

This names channel and then 1 second a glimpse of the replacement engines...

[@johnbovay8353]

Beautiful!

[@mikefule]

On a technical point, "hull speed" is a discredited idea. There are many displacement hulls that can exceed their theoretical hull speed. That aside, it's a pity they couldn't get permission to fly the proper ensign for an RAF boat. She is flying the red ensign for merchant/leisure shipping. Lovely boat, though.

[@dubsy1026]

It's not discredited in the sense of being wrong (it's not an absolute speed limit, rather a point at which power to wave making is getting very high). It's just not as useful anymore.

[@mikefule]

@@dubsy1026 It used to be seen as an absolute speed limit. In the days of wooden hulled square rigged ships, it was impossible to exceed it. The formula for "hull speed" was calculated from empirical data available at that time. However, there are now many cases of displacement hulls that can substantially exceed hull speed due to a combination of hull design, lightweight materials, and modern power sources. So it was regarded as an absolute rule, and is now known not to be. In that sense, it is "discredited". The video implies that it is still regarded as an absolute limit.

[@dartskipper3170]

The rule of thumb to find a displacement hull's maximum speed is 2.5 x square root of the waterline length.

[@mikefule]

@@dartskipper3170 Yes, but it is no longer considered to be an absolute maximum. It only applies to certain types of hull. It was formulated empirically in the age of sail when hulls complied to certain necessary restrictions of design.

[@bobcornford3637]

I seem to remember that the German Seenotflugkommando units rescued more RAF pilots than the British did, using HE 115 floatplanes during the BoB.

[@Jimmythefish577]

Bob Cornford oh really? You were there at the time?

[@SergeyPRKL]

Surprisingly little whining about the engine swap. I'm ok with it. Friend of mine have a civilian converted swedish torpedoboat that is familiar to yu all. Now only 3x 900hp MTU diesels.

[@fredtedstedman]

You can see the shape of the American PT Boat in this hull , especially from the bow shots . Wales UK.

[@robiewonga4655]

My Father based in Malta as well as other places in WW11 remembers steaming through the American PT boats in V formation and leaving them in there Wake lol

[@timphillips9954]

Please don't type Wales UK. Surly Wales is enough. We are not in the nineteen seventies were people would say Wales England.

[@fredtedstedman]

@@timphillips9954 People wordwide don't know where Wales is , I correspond with several people in the far east and South america and always wish people would identify where they post from. Wales is part of the UK not part of England . I am English , not Welsh nationalist but have been glad to live in Wales for 34 years . Wales , in UK , in lockdown ............

[@timphillips9954]

@@fredtedstedman I f they are that stupid or uneducated why correspond with them. Why put up with it? would they say the same about Scotland or Ireland?

[@trevorkent4749]

SCOTT Payne went to the US with the PT boat design he developed with British Power Boat Company and worked with Elco the American company.

[@bobyoung1698]

Gorgeous.👍

[@brianthehippy]

is that THE Hologram from Red Dwarf?

[@SteamboatWilley]

+brianthehippy Arnold Rimmer. Yes.

[@julsrealdeal6962]

Yes the rimmer him self

[@jamesbulldogmiller]

fastest boat in the Air Force

[@shadythereok]

Beautiful boat, who would want to fly a helicopter when you could ride one of these

[@shadythereok]

@Steve Cj Were you in the Falklands?

[@jonjames7328]

I’m sorry but I can’t get over Rimmer.

[@doncooper6801]

I knew an RAF engine mechanic on these high speed launches that were used to supply Yugoslav partisans in the Balkans. His unit was helping the opening of a landing strip. The worst part was when different groups of partisans would declare war on each other.

[@jameshaury2716]

There you are Cummings theres your tea. Oh, alright I'lll leave it there for you.

[@sailormanoyster1849]

Q02 was occasionally around rssex Suffolk area❤

[@robertnichols4833]

Love this video, especially love the gorgeous boat, and also the many interesting comments here about historical details. But I've gotta wonder since that hull is clearly big and long enough to handle three-V12 Merlins or at least three beefy inline six turbodiesels. It would purely fly with that sort of power.

[@chubbs6759]

They were petrol engined , Diesel wasn't like these days as quick, If a car was doing 40 mph over s series of humpback bridges it to would fly, as did these boats over the swell of the sea

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

robertnichols Most likely those engines were NOT Merlins But PACKARD M2500 Marine engines as Merlins were destined for the air, Besides the M2500 was 50% LARGER than a merlin and 1200 to 1500 HP. Part of the deal Payne got when he went to America for a source for MTB and MGB for Britain, ELco built boats and Packard Marine engines, and no they were NOT Packard Built Merlins, the M2500's were delivered to the US Navy in 1938 whereas Packard ran their first merlin Aug 1941 and production 1942. facts of history !!!

[@deltanine6497]

Nice!

[@rossinnz]

He's a decent bloke

[@rumplestilskin5776]

Looks very much like a Pt boat

[@Bill23799]

Wasn't there a WW II film made about these RAF Rescue Boats?

[@pierrebuffiere5923]

"The Sea Shall Not Have Them", I think it was. Might be worth a search on KZbin.

[@Bill23799]

@@pierrebuffiere5923 ahhh thanks so much I could not find it without the title. I hope you are doing well during the current health crisis.

[@Bill23799]

@@pierrebuffiere5923 I found it on KZbin. kzbin.info/www/bejne/fmK4iK2ZgpuNh9k

[@dartskipper3170]

" For Those in Peril" was filmed during the war. Filmed in Newhaven. It's on KZbin. "The Sea Shell not Have Them" mentioned above was made after the War.

[@ZEZERBING]

Wounder what number this boat was.

[@jeremyknott9402]

i wouldn't want to wait for this to crawl out ..............after parachuting from my spit........

[@simon-oy6um]

What pisses me off is you say nothing about the skilled crafstmen who restored her you just take all the joy for your selves and no respect for the men who put you there 😢😢😢

[@cormacsheedy1141]

Think there was one abandoned on the shannon in Ireland .

[@Bill23799]

Is that Rimmer narrating?

[@d.g.rohrig4063]

Bill23799 yah, Rimmah!

[@anthonyr1080]

Ever hear of a rum-running boat they were the first speed boats

[@donaldallison7694]

...but a boat was lowered from a ship nearby. She said he was pulled from the sea by his hair. Not all the crew survived, sadly.

[@abrahamdozer6273]

Those rescued dummies are all called "Oscar" in the Navy for the code flag "Oscar" that is hoisted immediately , meaning "Overboard".

[@fatman6061]

this is the second boat restoration from the english where they scraped the V12s, what the hell is wrong with these people?

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

fatman Supply, almost non existant and cost, to buy and operate, its been 80 years since they were made.

[@granskare]

Did I see Rimmer?

[@01ajmc]

How could people down vote this? Please explain.

[@jamesmather9990]

0.24. T E Shaw wasnt Lawrence of Arabia. That was TE Lawrence

[@rogernicholls2079]

Please read your history.

[@brendancarroll9376]

Same person.

[@jefflewis9110]

pages 26/27 www.rafmuseum.org.uk/documents/research/RAF-Historical-Society-Journals/Journal-40.pdf

[@TonyWhite-x3c]

Read the interesting stories. T.E.Lawrence, aircraftsman T.E.Ross and 'Broughie' Shaw are one in the same person. incredible person of high intellect and abilities. Read : "The Mint", " Seven Pillars of Wisdom", and the Jeremy Wilson biography on T.E.Lawrence.

[@nicholasbell9017]

He changed his name. He didn't want to stand out, in such a lowly rank.

[@kenadams3951]

sweet

[@pivkaaa]

Merlin power:]

[@lisab3396]

👍👍

[@Freetalkfm]

Do you think you'd survive after I found you,?

[@frequentlycynical642]

How did they get the pilots aboard? That's a hell of a lot of freeboard. That's no Boston Whaler. Back in the sixties my father was a yacht broker, we lived on a bayou in Florida. One of the many boats that came our way for awhile was one we called The Bomb. It was a 21 foot double hulled Correct Craft. But here's where it got weird: Buick worked with the local dealer (Darby) to see if their V8 would be a good marine engine. But, wait, it get's weirder! Engine and 2 speed Dynaflow automatic transmission! I presume that there was no intention to use Dynaflows in any future production, it just happened to be attached to the test engine. IIRC, we stop watched the speed using two navigation markers in the bay, then obtaining the distance on a chart. 60 MPH! These days any self respecting outboard powered boat can do that and more, but in that era, it was FAST! I remember once blasting along at top speed, my friend and I throwing cherry bombs off the stern. Ka-Boom! Felt like we were on PT 109. (That's the PT boat that JFK served on in WWII.)

[@chubbs6759]

They climbed up rope netting similar to what the marines did off a troop carrier to a LCP

[@atomicleopard8983]

Is this some kind of show if so which is it

[@mrlarkin6416]

atomicleopard89 yeah I think it was called massive engines, hope that helps 😂

[@kentrobison588]

WTF?. Some kind of show?. It is a documentary about rescue launches.

[@shnelle_Jelle]

britain's greatest machines

[@SergeyPRKL]

@@kentrobison588 Yes, and the show is called "Britain's greatest machines "

[@eblita3698]

Ha , they as well bombed in countries disturbing and killing all along. The French School in Copenhagen. Before Denmark occcupied: a few mistake bombs on Esbjerg. Not just heroes.

[@dartskipper3170]

So the Luftwaffe never dropped any bombs Fritz? Just checking.😂😂

[@douglasthompson2740]

Really need a new presenter. This guy's knowledge about hull speed and planing as well as a hard chine flat bottom characteristics in heavy weather is lacking. What could have been informative and interesting is hyperole and "entertainment" at its worst.

[@nyrbsamoht]

ya bloody wet blanket

[@jimglass5892]

He read from the script