FLYING LIFEBOATS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LX, Issue 18364, 3 April 1923, Page 5

FLYING LIFEBOATS.

AIR RESCUES AT SEA. POSSIBILITY OF FUTURE. Attention is being, given by air and sea j experts to the possibility of utilising sea-1 planes and flying boats for rescues at sea, J writes the" air correspondent of a London paper. It is urged that naval aircraft might, with advantage, be used for this, purpose, since they would possess certain distinct assets that are not possessed by present-day lifeboats. '. . ' . It has been proposed in America to carry out exhaustive tests with a view to determining what possible future there is for' seaplanes and flying boats in this direction. • ' S Such' a move would denude rescue work | around the coast of much of its present, romance and picturesqueness. Instead of the long familiar cry of " Man the : lifeboat !'* there .would be heard, when a vessel was observed to be in distress, "Launch the seaplane!" There is no doubt that there is a vast field of opportunity for.flying craft in the heroic work that is now carried on around our coasts by the lifeboats and j their ■ crews.. - • ...-,"■. ! Not only could a seaplane carry out a lifeline to a ship that had been wrecked too far. out for. a mortar to be fired to reach it, and, possibly in a sea that would render the launching of a lifeboat an utter impossibility, but craft could fly out in the teeth of the fiercest gale, and, landing on the • water to the lee side, of the- wreck, could take off load* after load of men", women, and children, and fly. with them to safety.' ; ' -' "'• j The days when aircraft were frail ma-1 chines constructed of wood and fabric are quickly passing. Instead, metal is becoming the chief material in construction. A dozen years ago an airman who went up in a.boisterous wind was taking his life in his hands. ' To-day commercial craft, ,which are not the last word in design, and construction, are safely riding out half-gales. . .' > Air machines could put in the wildest weather and speed on their errand of rescue and mercy at a speed of 70 or 80 miles an hour, even when facing an adverse wind. The crew would not be, buffeted by heavy seas and awful waves, j and would reach a doomed ship fresh to begin the work of' rescue. : . | There would be, too, a great saving of 'time, and every minute is precious in the task. ; '• ~ i| As soon as a wireless message from the ship was received, or as' soon as distress rockets were observed, 'the doors of the life-saving station hangar would swing back, and with a mighty roar of the engine the aviator coastguard would set out across the surging seas to carry a life line to the vessel or to carry back cargo after cargo of imperilled human lives. : *' . . '■■.. "i It is suggested, also, that all ocean- ■ going liners should carry naval aircraft.. Thev could be' stowed in a comparatively small space,' and it .has been : already demonstrated ,that they could easily bo j launched at sea. '.;.;. ' "". i These could'be used for carrying ashore a life line if the vessel came to grief near j the coast, or for carrying passengers to; i ships 'within a radius of 50 or 60 miles. ' S < There would» be :no risk,, as under the present rescue system,'of the rescue craft being upset. -Instead it; would be possible for the seaplanes or, flying boats to return to the rescue after the'first load of pa*- > sengers had been carried, to 6afety. j