Survival & Rescue Equipment of World War II-Army Air Forces and U.S. Navy Vol.1

The most comprehensive study ever produced on maritime survival and rescue equipment used by the U.S. Army Air Forces and US Navy and Marine Corps during the Second World War. Volume 1 in this series focuses on flotation devices carried in aircraft and worn by pilots and aircrew members, including life preservers and life rafts (multi-place and one-man types) and their accessories, as well as airborne lifeboats. Featuring over 1000 photographs and detailed descriptions including developmental history and government contract information on all known models produced. An indispensable guide for collectors, researchers and historians. Noted collector and military historian Dustin Clingenpeel has spent over 30 years gathering, examining and documenting survival and rescue gear and researching its history and development.