When my father return from the war he bought with him many packages of dye marker that the aircrew would use in the case of a ditching. Here's some Google information about them. DYE MARKER. The dye marker is a chemical that turns water brilliant green. It is used to attract the attention of rescue aircraft. The dye stays strongly visible for 20 to 30 minutes and may cease to be a good target after an hour, depending on sea state and ocean current. It is visible at an approximate distance of 11 miles at 3,000 feet altitude. If rapid dispersion of dye is desired, agitate the container in the water. To open the dye marker, grasp the material at the top of the packet between the fingers and the palm of the hand. Tear the pull tab. When I was about 10 I nicked a couple of packages, took them down to the village pond and threw them in. The result was instantaneous, due to the small volume of the pond and the large amount of dye administered to it our village pond took on almost luminous green glow. Needless to say as soon as the deed was done I fled the scene. As luck would have it the pond was by the village's only bus stop. Not only the people from my village saw our green pond but also all the travellers on the Great North Road. Word soon got around the village that something strange had happened to the pond and as you can imagine as soon as my father found it he didn't have to look far for a culprit, despite my claims of innocence. Word never got beyond our household that I was the guilty party and it became one of the family tales shared among your kin folk.
Disgraceful David I was actually reading about a Spit pilot who ditched in the Channel and was rescued after his dye was spotted by ASR. Interesingly, the dye was a German invention, and copied by the RAF and USAAF.
Wanna do it again David ?? MAE WEST LIFE VEST SEA DYE MARKER USN USMC AAF WWII - eBay (item 220305545641 end time Mar-02-09 13:37:27 PST) :mosking:
Don't tempt me! Actually the pond has long gone. It and my home town centre was "developed" in the 50's and 60's. The developers inflicted more damage to Grantham's old historical buildings than the Luftwaffe did.
