1:48 - WW2 Luftwaffe Rescue Buoy ("Rettungsboje")

During the Second World War, the Luftwaffe (German military aviation) quickly understood the importance of rescue devices at sea for its crews operating over the Atlantic and the North Sea. As early as 1940, in response to the numerous losses of airmen killed at sea, the Luftwaffe developed stationary lifebuoys, called Rettungsbojen.

These buoys, often painted in bright yellow to be visible from afar, were moored in strategic areas. They were equipped with summary shelter, food rations, dry clothes, distress flares and sometimes even radios. Some could accommodate several survivors pending the arrival of the rescue. These buoys saved many lives, but they remained vulnerable targets, sometimes destroyed by the Allies.