Davejb said;
Lots of things come out of the back of an RAF C130... why would it be something the USAAF do but not the RAF?
Given that the USA has a much bigger Navy and Air Force I thought perhaps there was more chance that they would already have the necessary floatation devices in their inventory and experience of using them in mid-ocean and rough seas. Did the RAF posess these floatation devices themselves? Were they specially developed for Operation Corporate or were they already in the inventory prior to Corporate? Or did the USA supply them?
If the story I heard was true, the floatation device didn't seem to work on this occasion. The value of the equipment lost was significant in financial terms and probably more significant in operational terms. Was this delivery method used successfully on other occasions? How far from Ascension did the drop take place and did the mission involve complex in-flight refuelling (i.e. tankers re-fuelling tankers to refuel the mission aircraft as per Black Buck)?