Coastal Command

[cardboard_killer]

[80 years ago, yesterday] "No fewer than six attacks were made on enemy merchant vessels on the 27th December; a Hudson bombed a ship of about 4,000 tons at anchor in Egersund Harbour and secured at least three direct hits; another ship in convoy North of Ameland was possibly hit, and near misses were reported on two merchant vessels off Dieppe and another off Fecamp."

 

"A heavily armed German escort vessel photographed off the Dutch coast on 27th December 1940 during a torpedo attack by No. 22 Squadron, this attack was unsuccessful. A later attack by Squadron Leader Francis seriously damaged this ship but his Beaufort was shot down and all the crew lost."

"Bristol Beaufort Mark I, L4474, on patrol over the Atlantic Ocean. While serving with No. 217 Squadron RAF, L4474 was lost during a bombing raid on Lorient, France, on 20 December 1940."

 

 

"RAF Coastal Command was very much overshadowed by RAF Fighter Command during 1940, and later by RAF Bomber Command. Yet from an early stage in the war it had been engaged in offensive operations against Germans shipping. Many of its attacks were intended to disrupt a potential invasion force, which many people assumed would be attempted some time in 1941. Low level attacks on armed shipping were inherently dangerous and the Command was never immune from significant losses."