When boats fall from the sky: the B-17H/ SB-17G and the A1 Higgins rescue boat

When the crew of a B-17 “Flying Fortress” prepared for the final approach and the bombardier climbed forward to the glazed nose cockpit to bend over the bomb sight in concentration, the people on the ground below had to fear death and destruction. But not with this particular B-17! Here, the sight of the approaching “Flying Fortress” meant the prospect of rescue for those on the ground: what this aircraft would drop was a remarkably equipped, ocean-going lifeboat that, in addition to immediate protection, medical care, water and food, enabled the distressed ship's crews and pilots in distress to make the rescue journey to the coast or ships.
The following article should therefore also begin with some information about the actual protagonist of the SB-17H missions, the 10-meter-long “Higgins” lifeboat mounted under the hull!

The A1 Higgins lifeboat
The idea for the spectacular rescue by jettisoned boat was born in 1943. Crews in distress had already been rescued from the sea by being picked up by seaplanes, but that year the British were the first to parachute a 10-metre lifeboat specially designed for airdropping onto the water. US boatbuilding legend Andrew Higgins, already a manufacturer of high-quality and technically refined boats in pre-war times and later an important manufacturer of a large number of amphibious landing and PT boats during the war, decided shortly afterwards to design an improved and, above all, more resistant drop-capable boat for these “Dumbo” missions. He revised the British design, which incidentally also came from a well-known sailor, Uffa Fox, with the aim of creating a much more stable and efficient lifeboat.

Performance, equipment and launching of the lifeboat
The result was the “A1 Higgins Lifeboat”, a lifeboat weighing 1,500 kilograms and 8 meters long, powered by two air-cooled engines. It was made of laminated mahogany and the hull was divided into 20 closed, air-filled compartments, which should theoretically make the boat unsinkable. Another key improvement was its ability to self-right, so that even if it capsized or was pushed completely under water, it remained buoyant and drivable.

The approaching B-17H had to release the boat at a speed of 190 km/h and at an altitude of 500 meters as soon as it flew over the people to be rescued. After a short free fall, three USAAF-standard 15-meter parachutes were pulled out of their envelopes by rice lines connected to the aircraft. Hanging from these parachutes, the bow of the boat tilted downwards by 50 degrees and then hit the water at a sinking speed of around 30 km/h. Immediately afterwards, several lifelines were automatically shot 360 degrees around the boat about 200 meters into the water using rocket propellants; this was intended to make it easier for the casualties to get on board.

The equipment of the A1 Higgins lifeboat was impressively well thought out and based on previous experience: there was space on board for up to 12 people, who were provided with emergency medical equipment, dry clothing, maps with an indication of the approximate position, as well as water and provisions for around 20 days. To propel the boat, in addition to the two engines, a simple sail was also prepared, which was designed so that it could also be handled by untrained sailors. Interestingly, the meter-long antenna of a Gibson Girl survival radio was held in the air with a kite. The effective range of the A1 boat was around 2500 kilometers. The two built-in engines propelled the Higgins boat to around 8 km/h via the propellers located under the hull, which could mean a daily distance of around 160 to 240 kilometers to the rescuing shore.

A dramatic first mission
The very first mission of the Higgins lifeboat on March 31, 1945 illustrates well how complex such a rescue could be: the day before, the pilot of a P-51 Mustang had ditched off the Dutch coast near Schiermonnikoog. After the PBY Catalina, which had been used in an initial rescue attempt, was itself damaged during the ditching, the Mustang pilot had to be abandoned - but he drifted to the coast on his dinghy and was captured there by the Germans. The damaged Catalina could no longer take off under its own power and its six crew members were now in distress themselves. A Fox lifeboat dropped from a Vickers Warwick broke up in the rough sea and damaged the flying boat, which began to sink. The crew took to their inflatable boats, which would not have helped them for long in the approaching storm. Another Fox lifeboat launch also failed, so that the dicey situation now threatened to become dramatic. It proved to be very fortunate that a B-17H with the new lifeboat was in the vicinity and was actually able to drop it with pinpoint accuracy. This time the Catalina crew managed to drop the boat and get on board. The following events show just how lucky they were to be in one of the new lifeboats: for the next three days, the six men in the A1 lifeboat weathered one of the strongest storms recorded in the area in recent years. It was not until April 4 that they were picked up by two rescue motor launches in the still rough seas. The life-saving Higgins boat was sunk by gunfire as it could no longer be towed.

However, the most common area of operation for the B-17H and its A1 boats was not to be Europe, but the Pacific in the last eight months of the war. Here, the rescue Flying Fortresses were positioned along the flight paths of the B-29 bombers, which bombed distant targets in Japan from their bases on Guam, Saipan or the Mariana Islands. The “Dumbo missions” of the B-17H with their A1 lifeboats saved the lives of countless crews in distress who would otherwise have been lost in the terrifying expanses of the Pacific until the end of the war.

The sea rescue variant of the B-17 remained in service after the war. The armament and armor were dismantled and were not to be taken back on board until 1950, when the SB-17s were again to be used to rescue downed B-29 Super Fortresses, this time attacking North Korean targets.

About the kit and the building process
I am now familiar with the Academy kit, the first edition of which dates back to 1988, from several projects - and I have come to appreciate it more and more. For me, its qualities lie on the one hand in its very reasonable accuracy of fit, and on the other in the fact that it is neither overloaded nor overcomplicated. The fact that this is reflected in a moderate price is certainly another advantage.

As a result of the above, it is necessary to add details where they seem important to you personally. In my case, this was the cockpit/nose area, the engines and the chassis area. There is a wide range of help available here, etched parts from Eduard were used. The representation of the tires also gains significantly by replacing them with resin parts.
However, I have noticed one annoying peculiarity in all projects with this kit: the V-position of the wings seems too steep to me. I reacted to this by simply mounting the wings a little flatter; I am happy to accept the two gaps this creates for a more harmonious look!

The yellow areas on the fuselage and wings were masked off and painted, as were their black markings. All other markings were realized with the kit decals, which, despite their age, were quite pleasant and easy to work with. The areas in NMF were painted with Alclad II/ Ammo MiG aluminum paints, which were applied in several coats.

Conclusion
I found the exploration of the theme of the “Dumbo” missions, the story(s) surrounding the Higgins boats and a B-17 variant that saves lives, very enriching and interesting. I therefore suspect that this will not be my last model of this iconic aircraft type, which can tell unexpectedly many different stories!

21 additional images. Click to enlarge.