WWII Survival & Rescue Equipment

LIFE RAFTS USAAF

In October of 1942, Wright Field had moved onto a new design concept primarily amending the shape to be more oval for stability purposes. They did eliminate one accessory pocket; a canteen was no longer needed since they had adopted the drinking water cans for inclusion to be placed in the central accessory container. Up to this junction, they were still using the vertical bulkhead principle at the bow and stern. Two mattress valves can be seen at the bow near the CO2 bottle. Pictured here is that new design concept.

On pages 78 and 79 in Vol1 are two variants of the USAAF Type A-3 life raft. One is of the first-generation type and the other is that of the last, the Type A-3A. The five-man 1000-pound capacity life raft was really the staple for all large aircraft for the USAAF during WWII from 1942 through to 1945. During the second half of the war (1944-1945) the Type E-2 supplemented those Heavy and Very Heavy types but still the Type A-3 remained a standard. In that chapter we walk through the general progression of the life raft development but there are more design concepts.

At the top of p.57 is an early design concept of the Type A-3 using the pattern of the Type A-2, a canoe shape. They do have the central accessory container moved to the center for illustration purposes, it would be technically placed under the seat. This image here is the same manufacturer of that existing example pictured on P.78 but manufactured in January 1943. A first-generation type.

The last illustration was very short lived as they quickly moved on to a revised version in December 1942. The two accessory pockets were moved to the bow along with a sailing socket and support lock. The central accessory container was moved to the center and they had switched to that of horizontal bulkheads. The mattress valves were moved to the side. This new generation can be seen at the bottom of p.57. This vintage image is another look but of a February 1943 revision, the significant external change was the addition of a valve cover. Illustrated is a vintage image and a physical example of this pattern.

Both aeronautical services always continued to tweak their designs by way of accessory types, construction details such as materials and fabrication methods. The last significant change to the Type A-3 before Amendment-A occurred 10 September 1943 as Amendment-3. Of the external changes, the inflation system was moved to the stern as evidenced in this image. You can start to see some of the similarities on the way to the Type A-3A. Illustrated is a vintage image and a physical example of this pattern. Not the most perfect example since it is sun bleached and faded but illustrates the changes clear enough. Painted onto the bladder is WELCOME USS MANAGEMENT, its significance is unknown.

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Specifications for the life raft carrying case were fairly generic being only required to fit over the rolled raft with its accessories. The fasteners outline was to be that of the lift-the-dot type. This type of carrying case is pictured on p.56. The line item by specification states they were to made from a water-repellent, mildew-proof, 10-ounce duck fabric colored yellow and approximately 16”(dia) x 36”. These guidelines were more than sufficient when all the accessories were contractor furnished equipment. They would make the cases fit their finished product. With the significant increase in components outlined in December 1942, came a bulk of those being Government Furnished Equipment. A contractor would ship the raft with the appropriate accessories designated to be supplied by them to two Air Service Commands, Fairfield Air Service Command or Sacramento Air Service Command. Here, the appropriate GFE would be installed.

Contractors were obligated to provide the oars, repair kit, hand pump, bullet plugs, line, bailing bucket and sea anchor. All the other items listed on p.64 were provided by the Government and installed at the Air Service Command. Continuing the manufacturing process to those interpretive guidelines led to deficiencies of packing the raft, complete, in the carrying case after the GFE was installed. The immediate application was to store the central accessory container separately. The problem was resolved by initiating an official drawing for distribution detailed under Dwg. 43H18942, 30 March 1943, for a standard universal size of the carrying case. It assured the cases would be manufactured in an increased size to approximately 17”(dia) x 36”. They would be available from supply under Stk. No. 6600-138500 to replace those inadequate types already in service. The same case under Dwg. 43H18942 were used for both the Type A-3 and E-2 life rafts. The fasteners were detailed to be dome snaps and under Dwg. 44D1754, eyelets were added for an inspection seal.

Here are two physical examples of the 43H18942 life raft carrying case assembly. Left, is for that of a Type A-3 and the right is for that of an A-3A. The second “A” has been scuffed and not as visible as the rest of the nomenclature. Two sets of eyelets were provided on each end, sealed for spot checking. Each also utilize dome snaps.

These two vintage images show carrying cases with lift-the-dot fasteners. Top, is that of an A-2. On the bottom is an Amendment-3 Type A-3. It is a bit unusual that it is using them and illustrates some contractor variance.

For the new generation Type A-3, the accessories were stored in three locations; central accessory container and two accessory pockets secured to bladder of the raft at the bow. Each of the two accessory pockets were to be 2”x 8”x 8”. One was to contain the repair kit and the other, the bailing bucket, sea anchor, scout knife, line and a whistle. There is some contradiction as some listings include the compass in this location and others having it in the central container.

Repair kits are detailed to include 72 square inches of patching material, two ounces rubber cement, 4”x 4” piece of sand paper (roughing tool), a pair of cadmium plated five-inch pliers and a pair of blunted scissors. Accompanying the repair kit would be four bullet hole plugs. This is another example of an original repair kit found in an accessory pocket. It meets the above guidelines except the sand paper is 6”x 6”.

The bailing bucket and sea anchor were to made according to drawings in accordance with that provided by specification. The sea anchor was to be fabricated from floatation tube fabric or carrying case fabric. The bailing bucket was to be a rubberized fabric preferably a 10-ounce duck. Both very generic. Types of both are illustrated on p.75. The whistle to be included is described on p.125 in Vol2. Compasses and Scout knives will be covered in the upcoming Vol4. The USAAF adopted two primary compasses for inclusion, that of the compass match safe type AN-C-101 and the Engineer wrist type, the latter became the standard in September 1943. Here are some physical examples of those other prescribed items stored in the accessory pockets. Accompanying, are some selected shots of those items to be stored in the accessory pockets from vintage images. To note, would be the four-inch solid core bullet plugs and that of a sea anchor which is an untreated fabric with white cotton seams.

The one item not mentioned as an accessory was that of the inflation bottle, it was a contractor furnished item. At the time of acceptance of the A-3 the bottle was to be that as detailed in specification AN-C-73 just like the US Navy and really any life raft inflation system. Where the services differed was that for the valves themselves. The US Navy had three category types where the USAAF retained only one type. The early generations of life rafts used wheel type inflation but by the time of adoption of the A-2 the USAAC transitioned into automatic and manual type systems.

These two images illustrate the inflation system for the Type B-2 raft where the valve had to be turned.

Right. Air Cruisers had supplied a new type valve for those new inflation systems in aircraft. There is siphon tube 90 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the cylinder. The siphon tube had a cable ran through it used for either a manual pull of other methods. These later proved to be unsatisfactory and were removed from service. It was the primary type used in the pre war years and going into the war until they were directed to be completely removed from service.

Left. Walter Kidde introduced their own type valve, date unknown, which proved quite satisfactory and can be seen in many wartime images being used. This and the Air Cruisers type was the typical in the through 1942.

Starting to appear in 1943 was a valve introduced by Rego. The earlier production just had their part number (4396) cast into the body but apparently it outperformed those types by Air Cruisers and Walter Kidde. Sometime in the second half of 1943 the Rego valve was the adopted standard and assigned Dwg. No. 44G9643. This valve began to specifically cited in Amendment-A for both the Types A-3 and E-2 life rafts and would eventually supersede all other types as those rafts came through for inspections and upgrades. With its formal adoption the drawing number was cast into the body. For manual actuation a spherical split ball 1-1/2” in diameter was secured to the cable that extends from the siphon tube, same is true for any of the valves used. These could either be a natural color or painted green or red.

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For installation in aircraft with life raft compartments, life rafts would be removed from their carrying cases before stowage in the compartment. Prior to installation, the rafts would be unrolled, the control release mechanism connected, and the stowing rope or lanyard rope would be attached to the life line on the raft. The split ball would be removed for this application. The lanyard was to prevent the inflated raft from drifting away.

The following series of images illustrate the installation in the life raft compartment of a B-17 of a modified type. The early generations of the B-17 and other large aircraft, for that fact, did not have compartments large enough to accommodate the extended volume of accessories. The practice was to store the central accessory container in the fuselage, separately. New production such as the B-17G had larger compartments and drawings were distributed to service activities to modify those already in service. The first image shows the empty compartment. The next image shows the installation of the central accessory container, the two tubes seen are solar stills. The next image shows the divider placed back, the cable from the control cable and the stowing rope can be seen read for raft installation. With the raft unrolled, the inflation bottle would be placed in the compartment where the siphon cables would be attached as with the stowing rope. The final step would be to roll the raft right up into the compartment. A training mock-up shows the finished installation.

These two images illustrate the release mechanism from the radio compartment. Two pull cables, one for each life raft. The previous installation series would be duplicated on the port and starboard sides.

As the raft inflates, it uncoils from the compartment and theoretically rests on the wing while the crew emergency exits the aircraft. Same principal applies to all bombardment aircraft.

The image on the top shows a B-17 crew under drill. Upon exiting the aircraft, they would split into two groups of five to each of the two life rafts. The radio operator would bring up the SCR-578-A transmitter. The wings act as a dock, load up the appropriate gear and shove off releasing the stowing line. Of particular to note is that they are using the Type A-2 life raft and life raft compartment is of an earlier generation B-17, an aluminum divider can be seen. The image to the bottom is a ground crew making an inspection of life saving equipment, likely a B-17G. The method for their installation was to roll the raft up with the central accessory container.

Mentioned multiple times and highlighted on p.70 is that of the central accessory container. It would house the bulk of all the components for USAAF life rafts. Here is an example packed and how the oars were to be stowed, a complete package. We will take a look inside and illustrate more vintage images of accessories and actual examples with the release of Vol3. In this volume, it has comprehensive chapters on first aid kits and emergency rations.

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For starters and an opener, the typical staple was the inclusion of two paulins, the Size-35 and the Size-77. One image is of a mock-up showing the Size-35 on a Type A-3 life raft ready to sail. The other is a vintage image from about 1948, a nice color image showing both types in practical uses.