Heroes of Coastal Command

Thirty was the number of minutes it took for one Coastal Command crew to sink two U-boats. This remarkable achievement was carried out by the crew of Flying Officer Kenneth ‘Kayo’ Moore in their 224 Squadron Liberator on the evening of 7/8 June 1944. Whilst patrolling the western end of the English Channel, Moore’s crew first dispatched U-629, followed, just under thirty minutes later, by U-373. The story of this remarkable engagement is just one of many recounted by the author in Heroes of Coastal Command.

Established in 1936, Coastal Command was the RAF’s only maritime arm. Throughout the war, its crews worked tirelessly alongside the Royal Navy to keep Britain’s vital sea lanes open. Together, they fought and won the Battle of the Atlantic, with RAF aircraft destroying 212 German U-Boats and sinking a significant tonnage of enemy warships and merchant vessels.

Often working alone and unsupported, undertaking long patrols out over opens seas, Coastal Command bred a special kind of airman. Alongside individuals such as Kenneth Moore, there were Allan Trigg, Kenneth Campbell and John Cruickshank, all of whom were awarded the Victoria Cross; Norman Jackson-Smith, a Blenheim pilot who flew in the Battle of Britain; Jack Davenport, who flew his Hampden to Russia; John Watson, the sole survivor of a Short Sunderland which was lost during a rescue mission; Sam McHardy, a Coastal Command ground coordinator posted aboard a Royal Navy destroyer for a raid on Norway in 1941; and Ken Gatward, who flew a unique daylight mission over Paris to drop a Tricolore on the Arc de Triomphe. Theirs are just some of the many action-packed stories revealed by the author.