Chapter 4; Flying Start; September 1939

COASTAL COMMAND began this war with one advantage. It had been fully mobilised a fortnight before the outbreak of hostilities.

This was due to a fortunate circumstance. The authorities had decided to carry Out an extensive exercise during the last fortnight of August 1939.

For this purpose a large number of officers on the Reserve had been recalled and they were all at their posts when war broke out.

Many patrols were in the air over the North Sea, the Channel and the Western Approaches when they received a wireless signal notifying them that Great Britain was once again at war with Germany.

The old warfare between sea and land power had broken out again; but now a third element, air power, was to be added.

It had made its debut in the war of 1914-1918. On the outbreak of war the oceans of the world were being traversed by many hundreds of ships laden with goods for this country. They were not sailing in convoys, for they had left port while there was still peace. Profiting from the experiences of the war of 1914-1918, the Admiralty decided to institute the convoy system immediately. There was, however, an inevitable time lag between the moment when the decision was taken that all vessels below a certain speed sailing to and from these shores should proceed in convoy, and the moment when they actually began to do so. They had to be collected before they could be protected.

Moreover, many of them belonged to European States at that time neutral, and very eager to remain so. Such ships were in immediate peril, for Germany lost no time in putting into practice the plan which had so nearly brought her victory in the spring of 1917, and began to sink on sight any ship, whatever its nationality, which ventured to carry a cargo to Great Britain. Vessels belonging to the United States of America were at once forbidden by their Government to enter the combat zones.

Such States, however, as Belgium, Holland, Denmark and Norway hesitated to incur the financial loss entailed by the adoption of such a policy, and continued to allow their ships to sail the North Sea. As the autumn of 1939 faded into winter they began to accept the protection of the convoy system, deeming the actions of the German Admiralty to be a greater peril than the threats of the German Foreign Office.

To meet the menace of the U-boat, Coastal Command had at its immediate disposal five Flying Boat Squadrons, seven Anson, two Vildebeest and half one Hudson Squadron. On the day on which war broke out there were, fact, 171 aircraft available for action with their crews. Its work of protection was there-fore limited in range. The flying boats went out farthest from bases in Wales, Devon, Cornwall and the Shetlands. They were capable covering great distances, and they did so. On 26th December, 1939, for example, a Sunderland made what was then a record by picking up the convoy it was sent to cover 364 miles from its base.

Beyond their range protection was provided by the aircraft carriers of the Royal Navy. In doing so, their aircraft covered 7,516,550 square miles in the first four months of war. Without them our position in the Atlantic would have been serious.

As the merchant ships drew nearer to these shores they came under the protection of the spider-web patrols of Coastal Command which were flown over the approaches to Great Britain, especially those of the South-West. They were carried out by aircraft of limited range and endurance, the principal among them being the Anson.

The patrols along the East coast of Britain were for some months carried out by Tiger and Hornet Moths with an endurance of about two hours and a half and a petrol capacity of fourteen gallons. The object of these patrols was to protect coastwise shipping and to spot submarines on their way out North about these shores to the Atlantic. The presence of an aircraft, even of a Moth, made it impossible for U-boats to travel on the surface in daylight.

The Moths ran considerable risks. The weather was often bad, and grew steadily worse as the weeks went by. Left patrol area," says the report of one pilot, on account of deteriorating weather conditions.... Contents of bottom of pigeon's basket were blown back into cockpit, affecting eyes." In one winter month 698 hours on patrol were flown by these Tiger and Hornet Moths.

In addition to the ocean convoys there were also the coastwise convoys to be protected. These passed almost daily through the Channel and up and down the East Coast. The practice was for the aircraft to meet the convoy at a chosen rendezvous and then to circle it for several hours before being relieved by another aircraft or by the approach of darkness. Stragglers had constantly to be rounded up.

The work of patrol and convoy protection was not carried on without opposition from the Luftwaffe. The Command fought many combats between 3rd September, 1939, and the end of the year. As a general rule they were indecisive. That which was fought on the 19th December, 1939, between a London flying boat and a Heinkel 111 is typical. The London, though much slower and without the advantage of position, set the starboard engine of the Heinkel on fire.

A burst from the German aircraft, however, mortally wounded the British pilot, who, falling inert over the controls, sent the London into a steep dive. The second pilot dragged his captain from the steering column and righted the flying boat just in time to make a landing on to heavy seas. The Heinkel, damaged, flew away. The London, after twenty minutes on the water, took off again and completed its patrol.

The first time a Short Sunderland flying boat was in action it gave a very good account of itself. On the 3rd April, 1940, a Sunderland covering a convoy outward-bound for Norway encountered six Ju.88s. The fight was divided into two phases. The first lasted less than three minutes. Two Ju.88s, a hundred feet above sea-level, were engaged by the Sunderland's beam and rear guns. The enemy broke off the engagement and climbed to 1,500 feet, where they remained. Five minutes later four more Ju.88s dived in succession on the Sunderland's tail.

The rear gunner held his fire until the leading Ju.88 was within a hundred yards, then he opened up. The enemy broke sharply away and fell in flames. The second to attack was also -hit, and subsequently crashed in Norway, where the crew were interned. During this combat the two Ju.88s which had been circling above the flying boat dropped bombs upon it. They missed, and all the enemy aircraft made off home. The Sunderland was but little damaged.

Aircraft versus Magnetic Mine. Wellingtons were fitted with a device for exploding the magnetic mines laid by the enemy in our waters. This mine-sweeping from the air was a hard and hazardous job.

In this early fighting the, Ansons took a large share. On 8th November, 1939, for example, an Anson fought two Do.18 flying boats, forcing one into the sea, while another Anson on patrol encountered an enemy aircraft, fired the moment the pilot saw the black crosses on its wings, and with the first burst sent it straight into the sea, where it broke up and sank before its type could be identified.

Such incidents provided a welcome but rare relief in the routine of ploughing through weather which grew worse and worse as the year drew to a close. Yet there were compensations. The pilots and crews of Ansons flying over the desolate seas to the North and North-West of Scotland soon became well known to the lighthouse keepers on the many islands off these coasts. It was a strange but firm friendship. Neither could meet nor speak to the other save by signs. The crews dropped newspapers and magazines. The lighthouse keepers expressed their gratitude by waving their arms, and one of them was wont to display a large sheet with "Thank you" written on it. There was also a dog who was given bones from the air, and soon showed great skill in marking the spot where they would fall and snatching them before they could roll into the hungry sea.

An average of 85 ships were escorted daily throughout November, and the total number of convoys up to the end of the year was 598.

To the perils provided by the U-boat another was added at the end of October 1939. This was the magnetic mine. Fortunately, one of them was recovered intact from the sea off Shoeburyness. Its secrets were laid bare by the courage and skill of a naval officer, and experiments were at once made to determine whether this type of mine, which blew up when it came into contact with the magnetic field of a passing ship, could be exploded from the air by an aircraft capable of setting up a similar field.

The Wellington was soon found to be the aircraft most suited to the purpose, and a number were equipped with a hoop-shaped casing extending all round them and secured to their nose, wings and tail. The casing held a magnetic coil, and current to it was supplied by an auxiliary engine - the ordinary Ford V.8 type-carried in the Wellington.

Experiments were made at sea, and in the early days of January 1940 a number, of Wellingtons of Coastal Command were minesweeping round our shores. It was hazardous and unpleasant work. It was difficult to take off and land the aircraft. When the mines exploded the Wellingtons were severely jolted, and their crews had no warning to brace themselves, for they could not know the moment when they would pass over the mine. The fumes of the auxiliary engine caused violent nausea. This mine-sweeping from the air went on for some four months, after which it became no longer necessary, ships having been fitted with degaussing gear. From that moment the magnetic mine became a nuisance rather than a danger.

The flying of patrols over convoys was not the only method of protecting them. The Command carried out more distant patrols, the object being to discover U-boats before they had reached the area in which they would find the shipping they had been dispatched to attack. A continuous line patrol to within sixty miles of Norway was flown daily from the first day of the war, it being impossible to go farther because of the limited range of the Anson. The gap was covered by our submarines. On only two days in October was the weather so bad as to make the flying of such a patrol impossible.

The "Scharnhorst," accompanied by a cruiser and four destroyers, was discovered by a patrol of this kind on 8th October off the South-West coast of Norway, although on this occasion weather prevented an attack by bombers. Bomber Command made numerous attacks as the result of the special reconnaissances of Coastal Command. On 23rd November an American flying boat in service with the Command searched all night in severe icing conditions for the "Deutschland," which had on that day sunk the "Rawalpindi." The search for the "Deutschland" went on for some days.

From the outset the Command joined with the Royal Navy in attacking the U-boat wherever and whenever it was found. The first was seen on the third day of the war. It was bombed from so low a level that the column of water flung skywards by the explosion split the tail of the attacking aircraft, an Anson.

Skulking in a dark corner of Josing Fjord, the prison-ship "Altmark" is discovered by Coastal Command reconnaissance.

Two examples of the encounters in those early days may be given. On 8th December, 1939, at 9.30 in the morning, far to the North West of Cape Wrath, an Anson saw a U-boat on the surface and dropped two bombs on it. The first fell a yard to starboard of the conning tower, the second into the swirl of air and water set up as the submarine dived. After a moment or two, during which the sea became covered with oil and bubbles, the U-boat came to the surface; her bows rose at an angle which grew steeper and steeper until her hull was almost vertical. Then she sank slowly, stern first. She was considered a total loss.

On 7th March a Hudson off the North-East coast of Scotland saw a U-boat near the surface. At the first attack only one bomb fell-fifty yards short. The Hudson went in again and this time succeeded in dropping two more bombs, one of which fell on the track of the U-boat, which had by then submerged. An oil streak now appeared and grew gradually to the length of a mile. The time was close on 3.0 o'clock in the afternoon. At 5.0 p.m. two destroyers arrived and were directed to the spot by an Anson which had relieved the Hudson. The destroyers dropped depth charges. " A large, bubbling patch was seen."

By 31st December, 1939, out of seventy-five U-boats seen, fifty-one had been attacked, with considerable success. There was by then a marked decrease in U-boat activity. Coastal Command had had a share in achieving this satisfactory, if temporary, result. Up to the end of the year its aircraft had made 1,558 sorties and flown 40,633 hours and 20 minutes.

By the end of April 1940 the first bout of the Battle of the Atlantic was over. It had been to our advantage. Sterner days and a time of fiercer testing were, however, approaching.

Apart from their share in the opening stages of the battle, which directly and indirectly occupied so many of their flying hours, the aircraft of Coastal Command were engaged on other activities, of which two must be mentioned: the protection of our fishing fleets and the search for individual enemy or suspicious vessels. The Luftwaffe was brought early on the scene by the enemy and given an inglorious role to play. It began its attack upon us by bombing fishing vessels not provided with any means of defence, and then machine-gunned the crews when they had taken to the boats. This practice was also extended to lightships.

By the middle of October Coastal Command was giving protection to our fishing fleets in the area of the Dogger Bank and elsewhere in the North Sea and in the Irish Sea. This they did by extending their normal patrols and by flying special sweeps carried out by aircraft in relays. These patrols and the arming of the trawlers soon began to act as a deterrent, and the number of the fishing vessels sunk or hit fell off rapidly. Our aircraft were also of great use spotting nets and gear which had gone adrift. The crews of the trawlers and drifters gave quantities of fish to the local Coastal Command Stations and not infrequently set the Air Ministry a problem by addressing these to "Monty" (their term for an aircraft) X/796 -or whatever the number was that they had seen painted on the fuselage when the aircraft passed over their heads-Air Ministry, London.

From the beginning, special searches were made for particular ships. Thus, early in November, 250 hours were spent in locating the "City of Flint," which the Germans sought to capture and which put in to a Norwegian port, discharged its cargo, and subsequently returned to the U.S.A. A search was made for the German ship "New York," and for a Greek vessel derelict in the Channel, where she was a menace to shipping.

The best known of these searches was that carried out to find the " Altmark." Slit was sighted at eight minutes to one in the afternoon of 16th February, 1940, by Hudsons of Coastal Command. They had been searching since dawn in misty weather which cleared by mid-morning, when the sun came out. It shone upon a sea which appeared to be frozen over for a considerable distance from the Norwegian coast. The "Altmark" was picked up about fifteen miles away. The Hudsons approached closely and the pilot of one of them, diving down, read her name in letters a foot high which, though obscured by paint, were clearly visible. Other aircraft took up the task of shadowing. The Royal Navy arrived at 2 p.m.

That afternoon the German vessel took refuge in Josing Fjord, whither she was pursued by H.M.S. "Cossack," who boarded her and removed the prisoners. Hudsons provided an escort for the homeward voyage of "Cossack" and the other warships engaged in this operation. On the way they spotted four floating mines, which were sunk by the destroyers. Hudsons stood by for a week in order to attack the " Altmark " should she venture out of Norwegian territorial waters but she remained aground in the fjord.