Ditched fighter pilot survivability

[PeterVerney]

My knowledge is post war, but our equipment was I think the same as used in the latter stages. We had a dinghy pack which we sat on, on top of the parachute pack. This had a one man dinghy inflated with a small bottle of ? gas, which had to be operated once in the water.

We were also told that in winter it was essential that we were in the dinghy within 15 seconds of hitting the water otherwise we would be too cold to do much. The drill with the parachute was to release it when 6 to 10 feet above the water so it fell clear. The Mae West was not to be inflated until we were actually in the water. To this end we had to do dinghy drill in local swimming pools.

There were still people who drowned after baling out into the sea, particularly at night.