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Aviation History
1944
1944 - 1797.PDF
AUGUST 31 ST, 1944 FLIGHT *29 Holding the (Left). A Short Sunderland on patrol with Spitfires as air cover. (Right). Coastal Command's activities graphically shown on the Operations map at Headquarters. Flight's War Correspondent Qoes on a U-boat Patrol with Coastal Command MR. CHURCHILL has announced that 17 U-boats were sunk between D-Day and the end of July while attempting to interfere with the traffic landing the Army of Liberation. In the same manner as the other'German forces, the U-boats of the German Navy were caught out—or rather in—by the invasion. It was obvious that, as soon as the invasion started, all the sub marines based on ports in the Bay of Biscay would be employed to attack our cross-Channel shipping, and equally obvious that it would be Coastal Com mand's job to put a stopper in the Western end of the Channel between Land's End and Brest. When considering how this stopper could be applied it is convenient to think of a submarine as a whale or any other mammal living in the sea. It must tome to the surface to breathe or it will drown. The longer it is kept below the surface the poorer condition it will be in when it does come up. With a submarine the need for fresh air is also acute, but. what is more impor- AIR CHIEF MARSHAL SIR SHOLTO DOUGLAS, A.O.C.-in-C, R.A.F. Coastal Command, received this message of apprecia tion from Adml. Sir Bertram H. Ramsay, Allied Navel C.-in-C, Expeditionary Forces. " The effectiveness of the anti-U-boat operations can be judged by their initial success in the north and south-western approaches, and the subsequent failure of the U-boat to achieve anything but the most meagre results within the Channel," tant, it must run on the surface for a considerable part of its time at sea to charge the electric batteries which provide the motive power when submerged. The North Sea was covered in a similar manner—except that the biggest danger from this direction was E-boat attacks—thus the. ring was held while the land forces fought the first round of the in vasion. At my own request I went on one of the 12-hour patrols over the Brest-Land's End area to see for myself how it is all done and how such long trips affect the air crews. I imagined that boredom would be the greatest enemy, but was completely wrong. Twelve hours over the Atlantic seeing nothing must be very tedious. but the quantity of shipping and aircraft in the Channel area keeps a cxew on its toes for the whole period. First came the call at 5.40 a.m. for a quick wash and shave, and then to an aircrew breakfast. For the only time that I can remember Coastal Command let the side down, and there were no eggs to go with the bacon. Loud
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