Cold Weather Considerations
If you are in a cold climate--
- Put on an antiexposure suit. If unavailable, put on any extra clothing available. Keep clothes loose and comfortable.
- Take care not to snag the raft with shoes or sharp objects. Keep the repair kit where you can readily reach it.
- Rig a windbreak, spray shield, and canopy.
- Try to keep the floor of the raft dry. Cover it with canvas or cloth for insulation.
- Huddle with others to keep warm, moving enough to keep the blood circulating. Spread an extra tarpaulin, sail, or parachute over the group.
- Give extra rations, if available, to men suffering from exposure to cold.
The greatest problem you face when submerged in cold water is death due to hypothermia. When you are immersed in cold water, hypothermia occurs rapidly due to the decreased insulating quality of wet clothing and the result of water displacing the layer of still air that normally surrounds the body. The rate of heat exchange in water is about 25 times greater than it is in air of the same temperature.
Your best protection against the effects of cold water is to get into the life raft, stay dry, and insulate your body from the cold surface of the bottom of the raft. If these actions are not possible, wearing an antiexposure suit will extend your life expectancy considerably. Remember, keep your head and neck out of the water and well insulated from the cold water's effects when the temperature is below 19 degrees C. Wearing life preservers increases the predicted survival time as body position in the water increases the chance of survival.
Hot Weather Considerations
If you are in a hot climate--
- Rig a sunshade or canopy. Leave enough space for ventilation.
- Cover your skin, where possible, to protect it from sunburn. Use sunburn cream, if available, on all exposed skin. Your eyelids, the back of your ears, and the skin under your chin sunburn easily.
Raft Procedures
Most of the rafts in the U. S. Army and Air Force inventories can satisfy the needs for personal protection, mode of travel, and evasion and camouflage.
Note: Before boarding any raft, remove and tether (attach) your life preserver to yourself or the raft. Ensure there are no other metallic or sharp objects on your clothing or equipment that could damage the raft. After boarding the raft, don your life preserver again.
One-Man Raft
The one-man raft has a main cell inflation. If the CO2 bottle should malfunction or if the raft develops a leak, you can inflate it by mouth.
The spray shield acts as a shelter from the cold, wind, and water. In some cases, this shield serves as insulation. The raft's insulated bottom limits the conduction of cold thereby protecting you from hypothermia.
You can travel more effectively by inflating or deflating the raft to take advantage of the wind or current. You can use the spray shield as a sail white the ballast buckets serve to increase drag in the water. You may use the sea anchor to control the raft's speed and direction.
There are rafts developed for use in tactical areas that are black. These rafts blend with the sea's background. You can further modify these rafts for evasion by partially deflating them to obtain a lower profile.
A lanyard connects the one-man raft to a parachutist (survivor) landing in the water. You (the survivor) inflate it upon landing. You do not swim to the raft, but pull it to you via the lanyard. The raft may hit the water upside down, but you can right it by approaching the side to which the bottle is attached and flipping the raft over. The spray shield must be in the raft to expose the boarding handles. Follow the steps outlined in the note under raft procedures above when boarding the raft.
If you have an arm injury, the best way to board is by turning your back to the small end of the raft, pushing the raft under your buttocks, and lying back. Another way to board the raft is to push down on its small end until one knee is inside and lie forward.
In rough seas, it may be easier for you to grasp the small end of the raft and, in a prone position, to kick and pull yourself into the raft. When you are lying face down in the raft, deploy and adjust the sea anchor. To sit upright, you may have to disconnect one side of the seat kit and roll to that side. Then you adjust the spray shield. There are two variations of the one-man raft; the improved model incorporates an inflatable spray shield and floor that provide additional insulation. The spray shield helps keep you dry and warm in cold oceans and protects you from the sun in the hot climates.
Seven-Man Raft
Some multiplace aircraft carry the seven-man raft. It is a component of the survival drop kit. This raft may inflate upside down and require you to right the raft before boarding. Always work from the bottle side to prevent injury if the raft turns over. Facing into the wind, the wind provides additional help in righting the raft. Use the handles on the inside bottom of the raft for boarding.
Use the boarding ramp if someone holds down the raft's opposite side. If you don't have help, again work from the bottle side with the wind at your back to help hold down the raft. Follow the steps outlined in the note under raft procedures above. Then grasp an oarlock and boarding handle, kick your legs to get your body prone on the water, and then kick and pull yourself into the raft. If you are weak or injured, you may partially deflate the raft to make boarding easier.
Use the hand pump to keep the buoyancy chambers and cross seat firm. Never overinflate the raft.
Twenty- or Twenty-Five-Man Rafts
You may find 20- or 25-man rafts in multiplace aircraft. You will find them in accessible areas of the fuselage or in raft compartments. Some may be automatically deployed from the cock-pit, while others may need manual deployment. No matter how the raft lands in the water, it is ready for boarding. A lanyard connects the accessory kit to the raft and you retrieve the kit by hand. You must manually inflate the center chamber with the hand pump. Board the 20- or 25-man raft from the aircraft, if possible. If not, board in the following manner:
- Approach the lower boarding ramp.
- Remove your life preserver and tether it to yourself so that it trails behind you.
- Grasp the boarding handles and kick your legs to get your body into a prone position on the water's surface; then kick and pull until you are inside the raft.
An incompletely inflated raft will make boarding easier. Approach the intersection of the raft and ramp, grasp the upper boarding handle, and swing one leg onto the center of the ramp, as in mounting a horse.
Immediately tighten the equalizer clamp upon entering the raft to prevent deflating the entire raft in case of a puncture.
Use the pump to keep these rafts' chambers and center ring firm. They should be well rounded but not overly tight.
Sailing Rafts
Rafts do not have keels, therefore, you can't sail them into the wind. However, anyone can sail a raft downwind. You can successfully sail multiplace (except 20- to 25-man) rafts 10 degrees off from the direction of the wind. Do not try to sail the raft unless land is near. If you decide to sail and the wind is blowing toward a desired destination, fully inflate the raft, sit high, take in the sea anchor, rig a sail, and use an oar as a rudder.
In a multiplace (except 20- to 25-man) raft, erect a square sail in the bow using the oars and their extensions as the mast and crossbar. You may use a waterproof tarpaulin or parachute material for the sail. If the raft has no regular mast socket and step, erect the mast by tying it securely to the front cross seat using braces. Pad the bottom of the mast to prevent it from chafing or punching a hole through the floor, whether or not there is a socket. The heel of a shoe, with the toe wedged under the seat, makes a good improvised mast step. Do not secure the comers of the lower edge of the sail. Hold the lines attached to the comers with your hands so that a gust of wind will not rip the sail, break the mast, or capsize the raft.
Take every precaution to prevent the raft from turning over. In rough weather, keep the sea anchor away from the bow. Have the passengers sit low in the raft, with their weight distributed to hold the upwind side down. To prevent falling out, they should also avoid sitting on the sides of the raft or standing up. Avoid sudden movements without warning the other passengers. When the sea anchor is not in use, tie it to the raft and stow it in such a manner that it will hold immediately if the raft capsizes.
Water
Water is your most important need. With it alone, you can live for ten days or longer, depending on your will to live. When drinking water, moisten your lips, tongue, and throat before swallowing.
Short Water Rations
When you have a limited water supply and you can't replace it by chemical or mechanical means, use the water efficiently. Protect freshwater supplies from seawater contamination. Keep your body well shaded, both from overhead sun and from reflection off the sea surface. Allow ventilation of air; dampen your clothes during the hottest part of the day. Do not exert yourself. Relax and sleep when possible. Fix your daily water ration after considering the amount of water you have, the output of solar stills and desalting kit, and the number and physical condition of your party.
If you don't have water, don't eat. If your water ration is two liters or more per day, eat any part of your ration or any additional food that you may catch, such as birds, fish, shrimp. The life raft's motion and anxiety may cause nausea. If you eat when nauseated, you may lose your food immediately. If nauseated, rest and relax as much as you can, and take only water.
To reduce your loss of water through perspiration, soak your clothes in the sea and wring them out before putting them on again. Don't overdo this during hot days when no canopy or sun shield is available. This is a trade-off between cooling and saltwater boils and rashes that will result. Be careful not to get the bottom of the raft wet.
Watch the clouds and be ready for any chance of showers. Keep the tarpaulin handy for catching water. If it is encrusted with dried salt, wash it in seawater. Normally, a small amount of seawater mixed with rain will hardly be noticeable and will not cause any physical reaction. In rough seas you cannot get uncontaminated fresh water.
At night, secure the tarpaulin like a sunshade, and turn up its edges to collect dew. It is also possible to collect dew along the sides of the raft using a sponge or cloth. When it rains, drink as much as you can hold.
