"Animals in War 1939-1945" Carrier pigeons were supplied to aircraft of the Royal Air Force as a means of tracing those which went missing. 'Winkie' was the first pigeon to be responsible for the rescue of airmen during the Second World War when she flew 120 miles to alert rescue services that a Beaufighter had crashed in the North Sea on 23 February 1943. 'Winkie' is shown with the rescued crew.