Rescue buoys and flying-boat recovery

German and Allied rescue buoys provided downed aircrews with beds, battery power, lights, food, medical supplies, and signalling equipment. Survivors could warm themselves, report their position, and wait for collection. Flying boats then offered a safer recovery method than surface craft in contested water. Britain placed similar buoys mainly in the North Sea for bomber crews returning from raids over Germany, while German recovery in the Channel relied more heavily on aircraft. That pattern suggests British small craft held at least a psychological advantage in the Channel. Air-sea rescue depended on local control of the water as well as shelter and communications. A rumour that one intact rescue buoy still survives in the Channel is treated skeptically because the waterway is so heavily trafficked.