Short stirling wreck

The RNLI committee decided at the start of the war that it would pay any rescue at sea carried out by non RNLI crews at the same rate as the crews they employed.

Interesting extension to my knowledge – thanks.

Moggy

James & Moggy,

Be slow to cast scorn over the payments.

The RNLI committee decided at the start of the war that it would pay any rescue at sea carried out by non RNLI crews at the same rate as the crews they employed.

So rather than a “scrooge” attitude on the part of the RNLI it was a magnificent gesture from an organisation solely funded by public donations.

This reward situation lasted from 1939 to 1946 and all services were recorded at the time then published in 1946 as a monetary account of expenditure.

In a large number of cases the recipents of the reward returned it as a donation.

The payments were also made regardless of result and nationality of downed crew as in this service in 1939 to a Heinkel He 111 of Stab/KG26:

NOV. 29TH. – AMBLE, NORTHUMBER-LAND.
A German aeroplane was reported to have come down into the sea five miles
east of the harbour and the life-boat searched a wide area, but could find nothing. The honorary secretary of the station, the Rev. J. M. Grey, went out with the life-boat.-Rewards, £5 14s.

Regards
Ross

Ah But Moggy have allowed for inflation?

I think the dinghy inflates on its own when it hits the water. There’s no charge for that 😉

James: I knew that too. It was really criminal. The sheer bravery of those guys taking unarmed merchantmen into the u-boat infested oceans is almost without parallel. Many others in the war showed moments, or even hours of bravery, but day after day like those guys did. Astonishing.

And as you have shown. precious little in the way of thanks.

Moggy

Thanks Cees. I wondered if they ahd done anythign with her. Shame really.

Which ‘they’ are we referring to here?

Moggy, pathetic, isn’t it. Most shocking fact of W.W.II for me was that British Merchant seamen’s pay was stopped when their ship was sunk, and wasn’t reacticated until the took on a new job. So you could be (like these guys) drifting in a dinghy, if you were lucky enough to survive, but your family’s pay had been stopped, and you and them would be starving, if you were lucky enough to survive the dinghy of course.

Battle of the Atlantic…

Ah But Moggy have allowed for inflation?

Steve

Just had to post this from the link above

On the 28th of August, 1944, a Stirling aeroplane, owing to engine-trouble, crash-landed on the sea seven or eight miles from land, and at eight o’clock her six men in their rubber dinghy were seen by two fishermen, both old life-boatmen, who were out in a 13-feet out-board motor boat to re-bait their lobster pots. A fresh to strong westerly wind was blowing ; the sea was rough. The fishermen were three miles west of Thorney coastguard station when they saw the airmen. They went at once to their help. With considerable difficulty they got the six men into their boat, but had to abandon the rubber dinghy. With eight men on board the 13-feet boat was well loaded, and it took her an hour and a half to reach shore, as her petrol was exhausted and the men had to row. They also had to bale all the time. – Rewards, £2 15s., with 2s. 6d. For fuel used and £1 15s. for repairs of engine.

So by my reckoning the guys who carried out the rescue got just over £1.37 each. Or the crew members were valued at a little under 46p each.

How much did it cost to train them?

Moggy

Thanks Cees. I wondered if they ahd done anythign with her. Shame really.

Not that I know,

But according to Paul McMillan Google is your friend 😉

Cees

My friend says:

this

DS

Is that article on the web somewhere?

Ali

Not that I know,

But according to Paul McMillan Google is your friend 😉

Cees

Peter,

You mean EF311? Still down there probably being slowly being grinded to bits by the tide. In the two Aeroplane Monthly magazines a sketch was published showing the fuselage and wings substantially intact although the top of the fuselage was gone and the upper wingsections not in good condition either.

Will probably stay there forever because of the location (busy shipping), salt water and lack of funds. Pity really. Even the bits could be used as patterns for a restoration. Technically this is the only survivor (apart from the Russian one).

Cees

Is that article on the web somewhere?

Ali

DS

Don’t know for sure but I think august 1989, it hadthe Shuttleworth Hawker Hind on the frontpage IIRC and the the slogan Stirling Survivor.

A piece of wingspar and a battery were brought up and looked to be in good condition.

Cees

Hi Cees,

Could you tell me in which issues of AM this appeared?

Thanks

DS

What ever becameof the wreck of the stirling in the North sea? I recently acquired a bunch of aeroplane mags and there was an article in one of them about diving on a stirling wreck?

Peter,

You mean EF311? Still down there probably being slowly being grinded to bits by the tide. In the two Aeroplane Monthly magazines a sketch was published showing the fuselage and wings substantially intact although the top of the fuselage was gone and the upper wingsections not in good condition either.

Will probably stay there forever because of the location (busy shipping), salt water and lack of funds. Pity really. Even the bits could be used as patterns for a restoration. Technically this is the only survivor (apart from the Russian one).

Cees