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Crash and Rescue

Heroes Remember

Crash and Rescue

Transcript
Interviewer: Tell me Mr. Sutherland-Brown, what training did you pilots and observers receive to assist you if you were shot down behind enemy lines or had to ditch? Well um, the first part ah, my navigator was sent away for a jungle survival course. I continued on operations, and when I came back I said to him, "Alf um, what do I need to know?" He says, "Don't bother, I'll shoot you". You know, I mean surviving in the jungle. But we did have, we had our commanding officer shot down late in the war down near Moulmein, and he spent three weeks with his navigator getting back, and found an advance group of British Troops. And there, they built a little airstrip and flew in with Sentinel S-5s and flew them out of there. Um, so it was possible but very unlikely. Now as far as we, as we, our operations often to southern Burma, we flew down the coast off shore and um, for it you, a number of people had to ditch because they were short of fuel or that sort of thing. We had at least two successful recoveries of those crews in dinghies along the Burma coast by Air-Sea Rescue. Or one of them actually, just by fluky good luck, he was driven north by the winds and ended up beaching in sort of no man's land. But they were in a dinghy offshore for five days, pretty.., and during a monsoon.
Description

Mr. Sutherland-Brown talks about how some people were rescued after a crash.

Atholl Sutherland Brown

Mr. Sutherland Brown was born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1923. Mr. Sutherland was the youngest of three sons, all of whom where in the military. His father had an extensive military background, but resigned just before Hitler took power. Mr. Sutherland enlisted at the age of 16 as a private with the Piper 16th Canadian Scottish. He then finished his education at Victoria College before joining the air force at 18.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
02:15
Person Interviewed:
Atholl Sutherland Brown
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
Asia
Branch:
Air Force
Units/Ship:
Bullfighter Squadron
Occupation:
Pilot

Copyright / Permission to Reproduce

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