RAF Coastal Area was a formation within the Royal Air Force (RAF). Founded in 1919, it was to act as the RAF's premier maritime arm. It was replaced by RAF Coastal Command on 14 July 1936.
Beginnings of maritime aviation The Committee of Imperial Defence (CID) met in 1909 and decided the direction that British air power would take in the early 20th century. As far as maritime air power was concerned, First Sea Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, an advocate of the aircraft in military affairs, pushed for development. Under pressure from the services, both the Royal Navy and British Army, the Government increased spending and the aviation budget rose from £9,000 in 1909 to £500,000 by 1913.Buckley 1998, p. 35.
Before the First World War the Naval Staff had a positive attitude to aviation and their interests were to grow during the course of the 1914–1918 conflict. Before the war budgetary concerns and constraints had kept the development of aviation low. While the War Office attempted to save money by encouraging civilian aviators such as Samuel Cody to carry out research on their behalf, mostly in the field of reconnaissance and artillery co-operation, the Admiralty undertook its own trials with aircraft built to its own specifications. Between 1909 and 1911 the Navy took advantage of huge strides in military development of aircraft, having a significant tradition in research and development and a strong regard to long-range navigation and reconnaissance. Attention swiftly turned to ship-borne aircraft. Lieutenant Charles Rumney Samson achieved the feat of flying off a ship in December 1911. On 2 January 1912 Lieutenant H.A Williamson, a submarine officer, who held a Royal Aero Club Certificate submitted a paper dealing with ship-borne aircraft and their use for anti-submarine warfare (ASW). The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) factored these aspects of naval air warfare into its development of naval aviation.Goulter 1995, pp. 2–3.
The Navy was quick to begin experiments to see if surface vessels and submarines could be detected from the air, and started this research in July 1912 at Harwich and Rosyth. The use of wireless telegraphy and bomb dropping was well in advance of the War Office. The Royal Flying Corps (RFC) carried out bomb dropping experiments but refused to respond to Admiralty requests for collaboration, this was as late as August 1914.Goulter 1995, p. 3.
The Naval Air Wing was renamed the RNAS officially in July 1914 and affirmed its independence from any other air service. The Admiralty introduced new types of aircraft and was enthusiastic about continuing development and striving to improve all aspects of aircraft design. They encouraged competition among private firms within the design parameters set by the Admiralty. The RFC, on the other hand, was reliant on the Royal Aircraft Factory and a lack of competition led to its equipment being over-standardised, inflexible in design approach which generally retarded progress in development. The RNAS was better prepared to carry out effective detection operations at sea and to conduct attacks using bombs against naval and land targets than the RFC.Goulter 1995, p. 8.
First World War
The First World War was the first indication that a specialised maritime service was needed. During the War, the RNAS was primarily responsible for operations at sea. There was some confusion and debate over what type of aircraft would be suitable for multi-purpose operations. The Germans favoured airships which carried the advantages of long-range, heavy lift capacity for maritime missions while the British were debating the use of flying boats and seaplanes. Seaplanes were smaller, handier and cheaper, while flying boats were long-range but more expensive to build and operate. Operating aircraft over sea created problems. Few forces had the doctrine or capability to deployment their charges on effective sea operations despite manoeuvres involving aircraft being carried out in 1913. Still, aircraft were the mainstay of British maritime air power during the First World War. The most important contribution made by aviation in maritime operations was ASW defence. It was in this role that the Coastal Area and RNAS proved decisive during the Great War.Buckley 1998, p. 57.
The submarine, in the shape of the German U-boat, and the aircraft, threatened the status quo of maritime warfare, threatening to displace the battleship as the leading maritime weapon and the cornerstones of naval supremacy. For the British, this meant their vulnerable trade routes in the Atlantic Ocean could be threatened by submarines, and later aircraft. By 1916, after the Battle of Jutland, the Germans were forced to concede that the Imperial German Navy's surface fleet could not challenge the strength of the Royal Navy on the high seas, so great faith was placed in the U-boat to strangle British supply lines in the Atlantic. The U-boats achieved great success in the sinking of Merchant vessels. In 1916 Admiral John Jellicoe claimed that the Germans could achieve victory in the Atlantic and force Britain to terms. The situation had become so bad, and militarily embarrassing, that the RNAS was ordered to concentrate solely on ASW.de la Ferté 1960, p. 37. The turning point in the Atlantic came when escorted convoy systems came in, and merchant ships ceased sailing independently. Added to the system was aircraft, which although incapable of sinking a submarine, could render valuable psychological damage to U-boat crews and provide reconnaissance support which eliminated the U-boat threat.Buckley 1998, pp. 58–59.
Despite the preference for flying boats and seaplanes, non-rigid blimps were also developed for anti-submarine patrol, the airships being built in a number of types, such as the SS class, the SST class, the SSP class, and the SSZ class. For flying boats, having started initially with Curtiss H boats bought from the United States, a modified version with a new, more seaworthy hull, was designed by RNAS Commander John Porte at the Seaplane Experimental Station at Felixstowe, and these aircraft became known as the Felixstowe F.1, Felixstowe F.2, and Felixstowe F.3, culminating in the Felixstowe F.5 of 1918. These, along with the blimps, were to make a valuable contribution to the protection of convoys.Goulter 1995, p. 14.Bowyer 1976, p. 10.de la Ferté 1960, pp. 38, 44, 46, 75.
Unrestricted submarine warfare made aircraft more important than ever in the war against the U-boats. By 1917 some 39 seaplane and 26 aircraft stations in Britain were all assigned to ASW operations. By December 1918 Britain's land-based coastal air forces was to have consisted of 353 flying boats and seaplanes and 920 land-based aircraft. The actual figures obtained were 305 and 382 respectively, but the clear intended expansion was an indication of air power's importance in trade and maritime defence.Buckley 1995, pp. 16–17.
The figures and statistics for the coastal air force's impact on the U-boat fleet are disputed. Air Ministry figures claimed aircraft sighted 361 U-boats, attacked 236 and sank 10. It is unlikely that these figures are correct owing to the lack of capable offensive weapons.Buckley 1995, p. 17. But 'scarecrow' tactics did result in 96 sightings and 46 attacks.de la Ferté 1960, pp. 39–40. U-boat crews, ignorant of aircraft's capabilities, were often forced to dive to escape observation and the attention of escorting destroyer screens which aircraft could direct for the kill. By 1918 only six convoys under escort by aircraft were attacked. One unnamed U-boat captain stated that "aircraft are our worst enemy". By the end of the war, British maritime air power was the most advanced in the world. Totalling a maximum of 3,000 aircraft (in all services), 55,000 aircrew and 12 aircraft handling ships, such as , , and , (later called aircraft carriers), air power had indicated what it was capable of in naval warfare.Buckley 1998, p. 58.
With wireless and new aircraft such as the DH.6 now available, effective ASW missions could be carried out to the extent that aircraft became one of the core instruments in trade defence. Co-operation was also a breeding ground for tactical doctrine. But the surrender of Germany in November 1918 and mass demobilisation saw maritime aviation enter terminal decline for the next 20 years.Buckley 1995, pp. 17–18.
By 1918 the RNAS had made far more contributions to long-range maritime air operations than either the RFC or its successor the RAF. In August 1914 the primary role for the maritime services was air defence from enemy attack, maritime reconnaissance, and ASW. ASW was considered the most important.Goulter 1995, p. 9. During the course of the coming war, the RFC would be mainly responsible for over-land operations, whilst the RNAS partook in all aspects of aerial warfare; strategic air defence, strategic bombing, ASW and fleet reconnaissance.
Prior to the formation of the RAF in April 1918, maritime air operations were the responsibility of the RNAS. When the RAF was formed in April 1918, these operations became their domain. No. 10 Group RAF was given the task. In September 1919 RAF Coastal Area was formed as the Air Ministry's maritime arm.Goulter 1995, p. 46. After the formation of the Air Ministry and the RAF in April 1918, Coastal Area was subordinated to the new service but after the war received little encouragement or assistance from the Air Ministry for developing their service.de La Ferte 1960, p. 78.
Ignoring past lessons
Despite the fact that Britain had been caused severe difficulty by the U-boat campaign in the First World War, the Admiralty completely ignored the threat of the submarine until the late 1930s. The Royal Navy had founded its traditional defensive strength on the battleship, which was used to defend its waters and merchant fleets. This weapon had proved incapable of countering U-boats during the war. The Admiralty also ignored the damage caused by submarines and regarded them as ineffective defensive weapons. Given the disarmament of Germany there seemed little offensive threat. Even after the rise of Adolf Hitler and the birth of the Third Reich, there seemed little inclination or will toward rearming Britain's ASW air forces. To the contrary, the Anglo-German Naval agreement signed in June 1935, allowed the Germans to build German U-boat strength to one-third the displacement tonnage of the entire Royal Navy. In fact, the Germans had been developing submarines as early as 1922, despite the Treaty of Versailles and the banning of German military submarines.Bowyer 1979, pp. 14–15.Buckley 1995, p. 71.