page_title: RAF Coastal Command during World War II
section_title: Official requirements
hierarchical_section_title: RAF Coastal Command during World War II / Equipment / Official requirements
caption_attribution_description: English: American Aircraft in Royal Air Force Service 1939-1945- Consolidated Model 32 Liberator. Liberator Mark I, AM910, on the ground following conversion as an anti-submarine aircraft by Scottish Aviation Ltd at Prestwick, Ayrshire. ASV (Air to Surface Vessel) ocean-scanning radar, and four 20mm fixed cannon mounted in a tray under the sealed forward half of the bomb-bay, have been installed. In September 1941, AM910 joined No. 120 Squadron at Nutts Corner, County Antrim, as ‘OH-M’, serving until 13 April 1942, when it was damaged and reduced to spares.
context_page_description: RAF Coastal Command was a formation within the Royal Air Force. Founded in 1936, it was to act as the RAF maritime arm, after the Fleet Air Arm became part of the Royal Navy in 1937. Naval aviation was neglected in the inter-war period, 1919–1939, and as a consequence the service did not receive the resources it needed to develop properly or efficiently. This continued until the outbreak of the Second World War, during which it came to prominence. Owing to the Air Ministry's concentration on RAF Fighter Command and RAF Bomber Command, Coastal Command was often referred to as the "Cinderella Service", a phrase first used by the First Lord of the Admiralty at the time A V Alexander.
  Its primary task was to protect convoys from the German Kriegsmarine's U-boat force. It also protected Allied shipping from the aerial threat posed by the Luftwaffe. The main operations of Coastal Command were defensive, defending supplies lines in the various theatres of war, most notably the battle of the Atlantic. A limited number of detachments served in the Mediterranean, Middle East and African theatres under the Command from 1941, operating from a headquarters in Gibraltar.
context_section_description: Until the fall of France in 1940, the function of Coastal Command and its aircraft was to cover the English Channel, North Sea and Western Approaches. But the fall of Western Europe and Norway resulted in a vast hostile coastline from the North Cape to the Bay of Biscay. The entry of Italy into the war extended that threat to the Mediterranean. The Irish Sea covering the British western ports required a further three flying-boat squadrons. In total, a further 200 long-range aircraft were needed. The Blackburn Botha was unsuitable and the Anson and Hudson were expected to act as interim solutions. The Anson in particular had limited range and did not possess the capacity to carry heavy weaponry needed to sink a submarine.
  Towards the autumn of 1941, U-boats began operating further into the Atlantic. Coastal Command's requirement programme was 150 Catalinas and 76 Sunderlands for 26 flying-boat units; 32 Liberators and 32 Wellingtons or Whitleys to equip four long-range GR squadrons; 64 Mosquitoes and 180 GR Hudsons for 15 medium to long-range units; 128 Beauforts for eight torpedo-bomber squadrons; and 160 Beaufighters for 10 long-range fighter squadrons. However, four flying-boats and two GR short-range squadrons were to be sent to West Africa, and another three flying-boat squadrons were for Gibraltar.
  By December 1941 operational requirements necessitated aircraft with an extra-long-range of 2,000 miles as U-boats were operating 700 miles from the British Isles. If patrols were deployed 350–600 miles covering port approaches, the enemy would move to the 600–700 mile area and out of range. By then ASV (air-to-surface-vessel) radar homing had been developed, and aircraft were being developed with all-weather and short-take off capabilities. Priority went to Coastal Command Anti-submarine warfare, units by this time. (Anti-submarine warfare was then denoted "A/S" but since been denoted "ASW")
  In January 1942 it was decided that the limit of long-range aircraft endurance should be the crew's limits, (due to extreme aircrew fatigue seriously effecting efficiency) not the fuel supply of the aircraft. De la Ferté decided, on 7 January, sorties should not exceed 14 hours, which reduced flying hours by four per mission. This was despite the entry of the very long-range Liberators in June 1941. The Liberator Mk I had a stated Air Ministry range of 2,720 miles, but crew endurance methods now meant it would be airborne for just 2,240. De la Ferté wrote to the Ministry arguing the Liberator should be used for reconnaissance work, rather than bomb load for the solitary squadron being accepted at that time. The Liberator would assist in closing the 'Mid-Atlantic Gap' which U-boats could operate in without worrying about air interdiction. After replacing Bowhill in 1941, de la Ferté had issued a directive on 12 June 1941 to use Wellingtons and Whitleys as an interim solution to unrestricted submarine warfare now practised by the Germans. Their uneconomical operational cost meant immediate replacement of these medium-range machines was pressing. Some Avro Lancasters and Halifaxes, with some difficulty, were seconded from Bomber Command.
  The Lancaster was denied as a large-scale or long-term replacement. The Chief of the Air Staff, Portal, argued it was the only aircraft capable of carrying an 8,000 lb bomb to Berlin and could not be spared. As a result, the RAF official history does not include the Lancaster as a Coastal Command aircraft. With a range of 2,350 miles it could have been invaluable. The Boeing Fortress was given to the service only because the Air Ministry considered it unfit as a heavy bomber. It issued a directive on 27 January 1942 stating all Fortresses were to given over to Coastal Command for A/S operations. No. 59 Squadron RAF, No. 206 Squadron RAF and No. 220 Squadron RAF all used the Fortress as successful reconnaissance aircraft. However, the bulk of the force by early 1942 was still medium-range aircraft, which could now reach only 600 miles into the Atlantic. U-boats were now operating at 700 miles plus.
  De la
caption: Liberator Mark I, following conversion in 1941 as an anti-submarine aircraft
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