[Brian Bines]

Brian,

The lack of a one man dinghy was probaly one of the biggest problems facing downed RAF fighter pilots. I believe survival times for a man down in the North Sea varied from 20 minutes to a few hours depending on the time of year. So without a dinghy even with a properly equipped ASR service the airman would have to be found pretty quick.
I have also seen a claim that the RAF shirt with its detachable collar was a problem, if worn on operartions it could constrict around a downed airmans throat in the sea.
Going back to P/O Clarke in ' Strike from the Sky' following his Roc mission on 8th. Aug. he said on ASR 'it showed up our inefficiency compared with the Germans'. Suprising as Britain is a Maritine nation, still as already said hindsight is always very accurate. Considering the short time between the Chamberlain agreement and the war the RAF had a hell of a lot to do bringing the Spitfires and Hurricanes operational, I guess there was not time for everything.