RAF air-sea rescue boats and seaplanes

How did navies and air forces approach air-sea rescue during the Second World War?

The RAF used fast rescue launches as well as seaplanes that could land and collect crews; helicopters later replaced much of the seaplane role.

Air-sea rescue required both surface and aviation assets because each covered different weather, distance, and recovery problems. The RAF operated fast rescue launches derived from the same design and construction world as motor torpedo boats. Seaplanes added the ability to reach survivors quickly, land nearby, and take them directly aboard. Britain retained that mixed approach into the 1950s. Helicopters later transformed the mission because they could hover and recover people without needing a safe patch of water for landing.