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The Royal Navy's Coastal Forces engaged in some of the closest-fought sea battles of the Second World War. Silent and unseen, hunting by night in the oily black wastes of the ocean, their fast 'little ships' struck quickly and mercilessly at their Nazi prey, then escaped back into the cloak of the night. Their crews needed nerves of steel for the high-speed chases and lightning quick fire fights that followed - an action that might last mere seconds and the fate of a vessel and its crew could be decided in the blink of an eye. Their war was one of exhilaration, vulnerability and often terror.
The flotillas of Royal Navy motor torpedo boats, motor gunboats and motor launches performed a multitude of dangerous tasks in and around the English Channel and North Sea. They engaged in close combat with their German counterparts in the formidable E-boats, the R-boats and the heavily armed flak trawlers. Other less well-known duties included hazardous operations to land commandos and SOE agents on the beaches of occupied Europe, and to bring them back safely, along with airmen rescued by the Resistance.
Coastal Forces At War tells the fascinating story of not just the many and varied operations in which the little ships of Britain and her allies were involved, but also of the vessels and the men who crewed them. Their fighting zeal and professional skill, as Winston Churchill observed, was in the highest traditions of the Royal Navy. This new edition of Coastal Forces At War contains additional material not available in the original volume. It includes mini-biographies of some of the leading Coastal Forces commanders and gallantry award winners; descriptions and specifications of Coastal Forces craft; orders of battle; and a list of losses of Coastal Forces craft.
Author David Jefferson was one of the last to serve in the peacetime Royal Navy Coastal Forces and now writes regularly for the yachting press. He is also the author of a number of books on sailing and cruising. David lives in Sussex.
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