- Plane guard
The plane guard is a warship (commonly a
destroyer orfrigate ) or helicopter tasked to recover the aircrew of planes or helicopters which ditch or crash in the water duringaircraft carrier flight operations. Ships performing this task are commonly referred to as the rescue destroyer or RESDES.hips
For ships, the plane guard is positioned at least 1,000 yards behind the carrier and either to port and clear of the carrier, or at a point intersecting the carrier's final approach line. Ships in the latter position provide the advantage of providing an additional point of reference to approaching aircraft. One of the ship's boats is prepared for launch and swung over the side, but not placed in the water. If an aircraft ditches or crashes, either while approaching the carrier to land or in the event of a failed landing, the ship proceeds to the approximate position of the aircraft, and the prepared boat is deployed to rescue the aircrew.
The plane guard role is dangerous for ships, as aircraft carriers must often change speed and direction to preserve optimum flying conditions for their aircraft, and a lack of awareness or any incorrect manoeuvres on the part of either ship can place a plane guard ship under the bows of a carrier travelling full speed. Both HMAS "Voyager" and USS "Frank E. Evans" were lost in collisions with Australian aircraft carrier HMAS "Melbourne" while incorrectly manoeuvering during plane guard duties. [cite web |url=http://www.navy.gov.au/w/index.php/HMAS_Melbourne_%28II%29 |title=HMAS "Melbourne" (II) |accessdaymonth=21 August |accessyear=2008 |work=HMA Ship Histories |publisher=Sea Power Centre]
Helicopters
After
World War II , amphibious aircraft were experimented with for plane guard duties and search-and-rescue roles. However, helicopters were discovered to be more efficient and effective in both roles. [cite web |url=http://www.museum-of-flight.org.au/site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=52&Itemid=78 |title=Supermarine Sea Otter, (Cockpit only - JN200) |accessdate=2008-03-02 |author=Australia's Museum of Flight |date=2008-02-11 ] As helicopters came into more common usage, they supplemented and sometimes replaced plane guard ships, as they could retrieve crashed aircrew faster and safer than the ships.References
External links
* - Lesson 07 (Formations - Microsoft PowerPoint document) contains information on the duties and manoeuvering rules for modern plane guard ships (Slides 64 to 71)
* [http://www.strategypage.com/militaryforums/8-7742.aspx StrategyPage discussion about the relative position of a plane guard ship to a carrier]
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