I have lost interest in my own thread 
Too bad because the idea of a rescue boat is intriguing as it does open a myriad of ethical complexities to the game that isn't in the game. Personally, I really am in favor of it because they would be really fun to shoot down, especially like Yeager suggested. It was be a blast to wait until the rescue was in motion and then diving down and strafing as the rescue plane picks up the pilot. Better yet, would be to hide somewhere down range and wait until the rescue plane has picked up the downed player and is taking off. When the rescue plane is starting to lift off and bringing up the gear with the rescue pilot and rescued player thinking they've pulled it off and out of the woods, you POUNCE and blow them out of the sky...so close, yet so far.
The more I think of it, we should also have those floating rescue platforms that were put in the English Channel, if you get shot down over water and one is close by you can do the Jesus walk on the water to the platform and call a rescue plane. These platforms would make excellent bombing targets, a nice stationary target.
Then we'll need life boats for the fleet. When any of the ships in a task force is sunk and there is player onboard, they'd automatically be spawned in a life boat. This would give us attackers an additional target and we can pull a Bush Sr. and strafe the life boats.
The more I think about it, the more I am receptive to the idea of rescue craft in the game. The targets and kills they would provide would be great fun.
ack-ack