Bought a clock at auction looks very "nautical", is probably a 8 day
wind up clock made by Chelsea  Clock Co. of Boston, MA.It is marked
clearly U.S. Air Force, so my question is ..did the USAF ever operate
ships, boats from its beginnings? I need pictures of such boats if
they exist or at least a official history of such boats or ships
existing?
Respecfully
Gene Murphy

Hello freenow and thank you for your question.

Good news! After extensive research, I have been able to locate a
history and plenty of photographs regarding AAF/USAF boats.

Note: some of the sites below are a bit graphics heavy, so please be patient.

Some history and photos here?
"Background history of Crash Rescue Boat: During the Battle of
Britain, a USAAF team was sent to observe the British operations. One
of the findings of the American Observer Team was that the RAF was
using modified British Navy torpedo boats manned by RAF personnel, to
recover downed aircrew from the English Channel and North Sea. When
this report was sent back to Washington, Gen. Hap Arnold, who was
Chief of the Army Air Corps, requested the Air Corps be provided with
an immediate water rescue capability at every Air Base with an
overwater traffic pattern. (NOTE: Additional information of the WWII
period is contained in the 7 volume series entitled, "The Army Air
Forces in World War II.")
Under the organization of the Army at that time, the operation and
support of all watercraft of whatever size, (including the big troop
transport ships, cargo ships, harbor tugs, lighters, ferries, etc.),
was a responsibility of the Quartermaster Corps, except those vessels
used by the Corps of Engineers in dredging of rivers and harbors or
conducting combat assault river crossings. The mission of providing
the Air Corps with this service was assigned to the Quartermaster. In
a meeting held between the senior staff officers of the Air Corps and
the Quartermaster Corps, it was quickly recognized that to meet the
Air Corps needs, there could be no "one size fits all" solution."
http://kalaniosullivan.com/KunsanAB/OtherUnits/Howitwasa1b1_a.html

Also.........

"AAF/USAF CRASH RESCUE BOAT ASSN" "AIR FORCE SAILORS WEB SITE"
http://communitylink.gopbi.com/servlet/groups_ProcServ/dbpage=page&GID=00019000001014340494761290&PG=00019000001014340494963822

Also.........
http://www.warboats.org/crashboat.htm

Thank you for your question, and if you have any queries regarding my
answer do not hesitate to ask for clarification.

Very best regards,

THX1138

Search strategy included:
"Crash Rescue Boat Squadron"
://www.google.com/search?as_q=&num=10&hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&oe=ISO-8859-1&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=Crash+Rescue+Boat+Squadron+&as_oq=&as_eq=&lr=&as_ft=i&as_filetype=&as_qdr=all&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&as_occt=any&as_dt=i&as_sitesearch=&safe=images

Great in depth research including pictures. Thanks very much.

Hi,

USAF started as the Army Air Core. I don't suspect that the USAF ever
operated sea going vessels.


CIOU

X

xeno555, there is some mention of USAF ships\boats, I couldn`t find
many references, but.

"It had begun the day before, aboard an old but seaworthy Air Force
vessel called the Lucy, a nickname she had gotten because she was an
LCU: landing craft, utility."
http://www.linuxandmain.com/features/challenger.html

Regards

THX1138