DICTIONARY OF COASTAL COMMAND 1939-1945

An alphabetical account of the part in the Second World War played by the ‘Kipper Fleet’ as it was known in the RAF. Coastal Command often lacked resources compared with other home commands, giving it its other nickname of the ‘Cinderella Service’. Its main role was defensive – that of protecting Britain’s vital seaborne supply lines in home waters as well as in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and around the coasts of Africa. Coastal Command also acted in an offensive capacity, particularly in the so-called ‘Battle of the Barges’ in 1940 which helped deter Hitler from invading the UK, and in the Mediterranean and the Baltic, attacking German shipping. Coastal Command, however, is most usually remembered for the war against the U-boats, one that was eventually won.