ABOUT US







This organization is inspired by four distinct sources:  


 










 


First, for all those armed forces personnel and Sea Scouts who served aboard AVRs


 
Second, while sailing as a Sea Scout Ordinary Seaman with the AVR 63Captain Wruckefor a four-week Summer cruise from Palo Alto to San Diego and the SF Delta in the Summer of 1975.
 
Third, as a charter skipper on the AVR 63Gallant Knightfrom 1985-1990 out of Pier 39, San Francisco Bay
 
Fourth, to Scott Davis, author and fellow Sea Scout Alumnus of the  HOME OF THE AVRs website







AVR HISTORY IN BRIEF:

AVRs (Air Vehicle Rescue) are very special vessels.  They were designed by the US Navy during World War II.  AVRs, compared to the more well-known PT boats, were relatively lightly armed (four fifty calibur maching guns - two per station -  with two Mk6 depth charges on the aft deck).  Their role was to swoop-in fast and retrive downed airmen in the Pacific, Atlantic and Mediterranean waters - so they could fight another day. Their primary defense system was speed and manuverabilty.  In short, they were armed rescue boats.

However, some AVRs were assigned the role as a subchaser and patrol boat.  In this role, AVRs beefed up their offensive systems to include three to four depth charge racks aft with an extra sixteen charges stowed in the aft deck.  In addition, a 20mm Oelikon machine gun was mounted on the aft deck.  Moreover, many crews in the South Pacific theater mounted an additional 50 caliber on the bow.  The latter gun bow provided addtional firepower and more weight on the foredeck to assist the vessel in getting on a plane sooner and hence achieve a faster "flank speed" mode.  They were also built very strong thus the longevity of so many of these beloved "little ships" of the US Navy.   They are also referred to as Crash Boats - meaning when a plane or other object "crashes," the role of the AVRs was to retrive survivors.

AVRs would serve in World War II, Korea, during the Cold War and the near coastal waters of the United States.  They would also serve in many of our Allied nations fleets (example, the Australian Navy).  With respect to the US Navy, the last AVRs were decommissioned in the very late 1960s and early 1970s.  A massive decommissiong of these vessels took place following World War II.  AVRs ended up in private hands and were also widely used by Sea Scouts from the San Francisco Bay beginning in the late 1940s.  A few other AVRs were used by Sea Scouts on the East Coast and the Pacific Northwest.
 
This site is dedicated to preserving and celebrating these great "little ships" known as the AVR's.  We hope you will join our AVR Society and participate in our fellowship and come cruising on our own AVR for either our quarterly or Annual gathering.  Whether you were a Military, Sea Scout, or a Private Citizen AVR veteran - or - simply a fellow wooden boat ex-military boat enthusiast, this is the place where you can help support and directly participate in sharing the history and preserving the present on all things AVR!