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ASR Middle east WW2


john1950

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I have been going to post these for some time, I can only photograph the old photos as my scanner refuses to talk to my laptop. These were taken during WW2 in the middle east I do not know which port, sorry.   My father is second from the right bottom row.

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Edited by john1950
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According to the book RAF Air Sea Rescue 1918-1986, HSL 159 was based at Haifa harbour and covered Cyprus and Haifa. Page 114 refers. 

https://books.google.com.mt/books?id=uCPOAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA114&lpg=PA114&dq=high+speed+launch+%22159%22&source=bl&ots=xT3eXcLLJi&sig=d078N0rm1hej9dwGQKDDXCmcbLk&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiwtr-n-73fAhXWTBUIHbP3DQwQ6AEwEnoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=high%20speed%20launch%20%22159%22&f=false

Hope this helps.

 

Edited by ltwtbarmy
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Thanks for the reply, I was told by him that they moved along the coast between Port Said, Alexandria, Haifa, Mersa Matru, and Tobruk. They also crewed different boats.  Here are a couple of him working on a Napier Sea Lion engine out of one of them.

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On 12/26/2018 at 5:03 PM, ltwtbarmy said:

Is there any similar publication for the Royal Navy ASR boats?

My Dad was based near Kaitak in Hong Kong in 45 - 46 and spent some time on the boats there.

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There is actually a book (I don’t have a copy, so just know what’s online about it) written by David Morris called ‘Royal Navy Search and Rescue’ published in 2015. It does seem to focus mainly on the ‘air’ part of ASR/ SAR from what I understand although it might give you a few pointers.

https://www.historyextra.com/period/first-world-war/a-brief-history-of-royal-navy-search-rescue-1915-2015/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Royal-Navy-Search-Rescue-Celebration/dp/1445634635

One snippet gleaned from wikipedia is that immediately post war, some type 2 HSLs were transferred from the RAF to the navy, so the RAF might have some information on the Hong Kong based launches at the time of the transfer. 

I also found a write up (link below) about the author’s grandfather’s experiences in Hong Kong in the immediate post war period. Quite a read really, and there are a few mentions of an ASR boat involved in the recovery of bodies following an aircraft accident. Not directly related, I know, but quite well written, absorbing and thought provoking.

https://gwulo.com/node/41256

Regards

Martin

Edited by ltwtbarmy
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  • 8 months later...

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