Forgotten Memoirs: The Second World War as remembered by the Aircrew of RAF Coastal Command

Abstract

This article considers the published writings of aircrew from RAF Coastal Command who served during the Second World War. While there has been extensive discussion about how the war was presented by flyers from other RAF commands, the accounts of the men who fought the maritime air war have received scant attention. This article shows how the war that these men remember was shaped by factors unique to their service. Coastal Command crews clearly perceived their war as important and there is a strong sense of both the morality and necessity of their role. They form their own sub-genre within the canon of aircrew memoirs, which allows the reader to gain an important insight into the way in which this neglected, but vital, part of the air war was experienced and remembered by the men who fought it.

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Filed under: English Channel | WW2 | North Sea
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Harbours & Dockyards | Naval Aviation | Strategy & Diplomacy