"Jack Linthicum" wrote in message
...
On Mar 23, 3:58 pm, Bill Kambic wrote:
On Tue, 23 Mar 2010 11:51:20 -0700 (PDT), Jim Wilkins


Further, again from memory, the Germans had a much more robust
replacement pilot program than did the Japanese.



jsw



The German air sea rescue operations were sea-planes escorted in one
instance by 12 Bf 109s, the German pilots got flotation devices and
all the requisite gear if they had to land in the sea. The RAF had
none of those. But they did have rescue boats instead of big white sea
planes covered with 8 red crosses.


Later in the war the RAF had ASR flying boats as well in the shape of
the Supermarine Walrus. It is estimated that the Walrus saved around 5,000
pilots shot down around Britain and 2,500 in the Mediterranean.

Keith