Dumbo (air-sea rescue)

USAF Air Rescue Service Boeing SB-17G, an air-sea rescue variant of the B-17 Flying Fortress

Dumbo was the code name used by the United States Navy during the 1940s and 1950s to signify search and rescue missions, conducted in conjunction with military operations, by long-range aircraft flying over the ocean. The purpose of Dumbo missions was to rescue downed American aviators as well as seamen in distress. Dumbo aircraft were originally land-based heavy bomber aircraft converted to carry an airborne lifeboat to be dropped in the water near survivors. The name "Dumbo" came from Walt Disney's flying elephant, the main character of the animated film Dumbo, appearing in October 1941.[1]

By extension, "Dumbo" became the unofficial nickname for any air-sea rescue aircraft, including flying boats[2] that had less need to drop heavy lifeboats since the aircraft could land on the water and perform rescues directly.[3] "Dumbo" was also an unofficial nickname for any variant of the PBY Catalina patrol bomber which operated in a wide variety of roles including anti-submarine warfare against German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic.[4]

After the 1950s with development and greatly increased use of helicopters for air-sea rescue operations, the Dumbo aircraft were retired and the term was no longer used.

  1. ^ Time, August 6, 1945. "World Battlefronts: Battle of the Seas: The Lovely Dumbos", page 1 Archived 2012-11-04 at the Wayback Machine and page 2. Retrieved on September 6, 2009.
  2. ^ Morison, 2007, p. xxvi.
  3. ^ Algeo, John. Fifty years among the new words: a dictionary of neologisms, 1941–1991, pp. 39, 106–107. Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-521-44971-5
  4. ^ Owen, Gregory L. The Longest Patrol: A U-Boat Gunner's War, pp. 101, 309. iUniverse, 2006. ISBN 0-595-39113-3