An alphabetical account of the part in the Second World War played by the ‘Kipper Fleet’ as it was known in the RAF. Coastal Command often lacked resources compared with other home commands, giving it its other nickname of the ‘Cinderella Service’. Its main role was defensive – that of protecting Britain’s vital sea borne supply lines in home waters as well as in the Mediterranean, the Middle East and around the coasts of Africa.

Coastal Command also acted in an offensive capacity, particularly in the so-called ‘Battle of the Barges’ in 1940 which helped deter Hitler from invading the UK, and in the Mediterranean and the Baltic, attacking German shipping. Coastal Command, however, is most usually remembered for the war against the U-boats, one that was eventually won.

From A to Z this well-illustrated book tells the story of the gallantry, the achievements, the losses, the VCs, the aircraft and much else about RAF Coastal Command.

"My uncle John (Walter) Kimber was a pilot in Coastal Command during the war...and that's all I know about him. There is simply no record of him in the military archives held by Ancestry, although there is obviously a record of his birth, and of his marriage, late in life, to Marion Noble. I live in hope that one day a book will be published about Brirtain's Coastal Command that refers to him by name - he's not in this one, but I'm sure it will happen one day! He was always my hero, and this superb record of Coastal Command is testament to the contribution these brave men made to the war."

Overall, the entries are well written and appropriately illustrated, and one way or another all aspects of Coastal Command appear to be covered.