The last of the German rescue buoys that floated in the North Sea in World War II

During World War II the need arose for rescue means for airmen downed on the high seas.

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In Europe, this need was evident already at the beginning of the war, due to the high number of combats that took place over the waters of the North Sea. To solve this problem, the German Luftwaffe built dozens of rescue buoys (Rettungsboje, in German). The idea was proposed by Colonel General Ernst Udet, who had been a German aviation ace in the First World War, so this means of rescue was also known as Udet-Boje (Udet Buoy).

The buoy was 4 meters high, 2.5 meters wide and 2.5 meters long. It had a 1.8 meter high tower with a signal mast and a radio antenna. Inside there were four bunk beds, first aid kits, supplies, a signal gun, a bilge pump, an inflatable boat and also entertainment. The objective of the buoy was to keep the downed airmen safe until rescue resources arrived. The Luftwaffe placed dozens of these buoys in the waters of the North Sea. Two of them ended up in the hands of the British, who later made their own version, the ASR-10.

The Rettungsboje were painted yellow and had large red crosses, so that they were visible from a great distance above the surface of the sea, and they had lights that turned on at night. These buoys saved the lives of not only German pilots, but also Allies, who managed to survive thanks to them.

Nowadays there are no longer any afloat, but a few years ago a Rettungsboje was discovered on the beach of Terschelling, in the Frisian Islands (Netherlands). The buoy had moved there and remained buried in the sand for years, until the Bunker Museum Terschelling He decided to rescue her. You can see the video of the rescue here:

This other video shows the transfer of this buoy to the Bunker Museum Terschelling:

This buoy is being restored in that museum. On December 15, the YouTube channel Calum published a video showing this Rettungsboje already partially restored(for now only the exterior) and telling the story of these buoys: