page_title: RAF Coastal Command during World War II
section_title: Versus the U-boats, 1942–43
hierarchical_section_title: RAF Coastal Command during World War II / Battle of the Atlantic / Versus the U-boats, 1942–43
caption_attribution_description: English: Anti-Submarine Weapons: Leigh Light used for spotting U-boats on the surface at night fitted to a Liberator aircraft of Royal Air Force Coastal Command.
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: In 1942 the Allies lost some 8,000,000 tons of shipping, and though they replaced 7,000,000 tons, U-boats still managed to sink 1,160 out of the 1,664 Allied ships lost. Most of these sinkings took place in the mid-Atlantic gap, well within range of long-range Sunderlands and Liberators, only the Command lacked these aircraft in quantity. Following the entry of the United States of America into the war, German U-boats had plenty of targets. Coastal Command found it difficult to maintain strength. Its units now operated from the United States, West Africa, the Mediterranean, Iceland, Russia, Gibraltar, North Africa and the Middle East. Squadrons were also sent to fight in the Pacific War.
  On the positive side, Coastal Command began increasing its AS efficiency. Rocket Projectiles, 250 lb DC with improved pistols for shallower depths and Leigh lights were introduced. ASV radar, despite the priority of Bomber Command, was also coming into use. On  6 July 1942 a U-boat was sunk with the help of the Leigh light. This triggered some 42 sinkings with the help of the device. The Germans provided some respite from ASV radar with the French Metox radar warning receiver. The Allies responded by reducing the signal, making it more difficult for the Germans to detect them. Later, 9.1 cm wavelength radar was introduced, overcoming U-boat countermeasures.
  Coastal Command sank 27 U-boats in 1942 and damaged 18 more. Some of these kills were shared with the Navy. Bomber Command, by contrast, whose priority garnered them greater resources at the expense of Coastal Command, failed to destroy a single completed U-boat on the slip until April 1944. Arthur Harris, GOC Bomber Command, deplored the use of aircraft for defensive purposes and insisted the threat would be checked by attacking production. An indication of the effectiveness of air tactics was the fact very few Allied ships were sunk within 600 miles of British waters by late 1942. Between June 1942 to June 1943, 71 enemy submarines were sunk by the command.
  In February 1943, John Slessor took over as AOC. During this time, a debate was taking place in the RAF over how best to attack U-boats and sink them in large numbers. Arthur Harris, AOC Bomber Command, and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), were in favour of knocking out their bases and attacking submarine construction yards. Partly this was a mark of the AOCs in the air forces, particularly Harris, who hated using 'his' bombers in what he considered to be "defensive" roles. Slessor agreed with the need to take the war to the U-boats. He preferred attacking the German vessels in the Bay of Biscay, in transit to the Atlantic. His operational tool was Air-Vice Marshal G.R Bromet's No. 19 Group. The offensive became collectively known as "The Second Bay Offensive". Operation Gondola, lasting from 4–16 February. This operation included two B-24 squadrons with SCR 517 (ASV III) radar. A total of 300 sorties were managed, 19 sightings and 8 attacks were made. Only one U-boat (U-519) was sunk by No. 2 Squadron. The US units were then abruptly moved to the Moroccan Sea Frontier, despite the protests of Slessor.
  While Slessor lost some units, his ASW capability was enhanced with the arrival of H2S radar, which was used in Coastal Command's operations over the Bay and was undetectable to Metox. On the night of the 2/3 February, a Stirling bomber was shot down over Rotterdam, enabling the Germans to examine the radar and develop counter measures. They were shocked by the advanced nature of its design, which had proven their own research to be wide of the mark. Harris had won the majority of the resources for Bomber Command and used H2S. The radar was, however, used for ASW. No. 172 Squadron RAF and No. 407 Squadron RCAF had the device fitted to supplement their Leigh Lights. No. 172 attacked the first U-boat, U-333 on 5 March, but was shot down. The submarine noted the lack of warning, and sent the warning to U-boat command. However, Operation Enclose, 20–28 March 1943 achieved revenge. During this period, 41 U-boats passed through
caption: Leigh light used for spotting U-boats on the surface at night, fitted to a Liberator, 26 February 1944.
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