Survival training in the late 1940s. Here is the scenario: this crew of a “downed” PBY Catalina are no doubt “miles behind enemy lines” and their only hope of salvation is the timely arrival of a rescue aircraft. Naturally, they utilize every trick in the survival kit to attract rescuers.
Luckily for them, an eagle-eyed PBY pilot from their own squadron has them in sight.
Swooping in just when all hope was lost…
It was a close call, but help has arrived – and no doubt just in time for lunch.
So, this training was accomplished on Lake Washington, a body of water upon whose littoral there was once NAS Seattle (both the men in the raft and those in the PBY are, of course, from said air station.) A lot has changed since then: the naval base is no more, and the forested slopes along the lake are crammed with houses.
The Jive Bomber 