Quote:
Originally Posted by mkubani
Hello guys,
I would like to ask you about some information regarding flares used by doomed ships that were hit either by enemy subs or enemy planes.
Was it a common practice by warships and merchants to shoot such flares? If yes, what was the colour? Red? White?
As for the lifeboats/survivors, would they also send some visual signal to rescue float planes? What kind, please?
Thanks a lot for the information.
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Merchantmen were under standing orders to launch red flares if they suffered torpedo hits. It took a lot of nerve to follow this order when your ship was sinking fast, so this was often forgotten in the rush to leave the ship.
If the ship was not sinking the crew was supposed to hoist "not in command" lights (somewhat similar to the red port & green starboard navigation lights). I am not sure what color these were. I think this would only have been done if there was little danger of a second attack.
Regarding liferafts, US Navy rafts were equipped with signalling flares for sure (I think they were red). As for private shipping lines, it would all depend on how safety conscious a particular company was - some were notorious for their under-equipped lifeboats. Better-equipped rafts/boats would have had smoke floats (which gave off a reddish smoke) and white flares.