Dumbo (air-sea rescue)

Dumbo was the code name used by the United States Navy during the 1940s and 1950s to signify search and rescue missions, conducted in conjunction with military operations, by long-range aircraft flying over the ocean.

[3] "Dumbo" was also an unofficial nickname for any variant of the PBY Catalina patrol bomber which operated in a wide variety of roles including anti-submarine warfare against German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic.

Air-sea rescue by flying boat or floatplane was a method used by various nations before World War II to pick up aviators or sailors who were struggling in the water.

[citation needed] The first air-dropped lifeboat was British, a 32-foot (10 m) wooden canoe-shaped model designed in 1943 by Uffa Fox to be dropped by Avro Lancaster heavy bombers for the rescue of aircrew downed in the Channel.

[5] Higgins Industries, known for making landing craft (LCVPs) and PT boats, produced a 1½-ton (1400 kg), 27-foot (8 m) airborne lifeboat with two engines and waterproof internal compartments so that it would not sink if swamped or overturned.

[6] After wartime experiences suggested improvements, Consolidated PBY Catalina aircraft were given extra features to augment their air-sea rescue capability.

One such invention was a small platform that could be braced against the side of the flying boat's hull to allow a team of two Catalina crewmen to lean out into the water and rescue a swimmer.

[1] From the start of hostilities in World War II, air-sea rescues by flying boats were not unknown, though they were incidental to the aircraft's stated mission.

[9] Beginning in November 1943, during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign, American submarines were tasked with the rescue of U.S. Navy and Marine airmen downed during aircraft carrier attack operations.

At the war's final B-29 bombing mission on August 14, 1945, 9 land-based Dumbos and 21 flying boats covered a surface and sub-surface force of 14 submarines and 5 rescue ships.

[10] Once Iwo Jima was taken by American forces, Dumbo missions had less distance to fly and could range closer to Japan, or remain on station for longer periods of time.