What do you think?
Rate this book
The Strike Wings: Special Anti-Shipping Squadrons 1942-45
In November 1942, the RAF formed special Strike Wings to attack the heavily defended and seemingly invulnerable convoys that brought Germany’s vital supplies of iron ore from Scandinavia down the coast of Europe to feed its war machine. The outcome was a series sea/air battles at close quarters, fought with increasing ferocity until the last days of the war. The Germans tried everything against the Beaufighters and Mosquitos of the Strike Wings – fighters, intense flak, parachute mines and even flame-throwers – and the casualties were appallingly heavy on both sides.
In this classic account of one of the neglected, yet crucial theaters of the air war Roy Nesbit, himself a survivor of strike aircraft of Coastal Command, describes these complex battles from British and German records, assisted by first-hand accounts from some of the brave airmen who took part. He also analyzes the effects of the tactics employed on the German war economy, with some startling conclusions. The result is a fascinating, clearly written and vivid history of events that were little publicized during the war for reasons of security.
His book includes detailed diagrams of some of the key attacks and features some astonishing photographs taken in action.
In this classic account of one of the neglected, yet crucial theaters of the air war Roy Nesbit, himself a survivor of strike aircraft of Coastal Command, describes these complex battles from British and German records, assisted by first-hand accounts from some of the brave airmen who took part. He also analyzes the effects of the tactics employed on the German war economy, with some startling conclusions. The result is a fascinating, clearly written and vivid history of events that were little publicized during the war for reasons of security.
His book includes detailed diagrams of some of the key attacks and features some astonishing photographs taken in action.
- GenresAviationMilitary History
240 pages, Hardcover
First published July 16, 1984
16 people are currently reading
16 people want to read
About the author
Roy Conyers Nesbit
38 booksRoy has a long-established reputation as a leading aviations historian, who served in the wartime RAF.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 10, 2021
The book was well researched and well written, however the ebook edition was riddled by errors from a poor job of proof reading following OCR. It was far more than just the occasional distraction, with an error on nearly every single page.
June 2, 2018
Very good account of coastal command.
Very clear and well written however the book was let down by hundreds of spelling mistakes. The detail was there and is well illustrated
Very clear and well written however the book was let down by hundreds of spelling mistakes. The detail was there and is well illustrated
October 10, 2025
I knew a little about the Coastal Command maritime strike Wings operating in the Second World War, mostly from the east coast of Scotland, but with various squadrons and sometimes entire Ings operating from as far west as Cornwall.
Before Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, National Socialist Germany obtained much of its imported raw material for war from communist Russia. The national socialists & communists got on fine, with a joint victory parade in Brest-Litovsk on 22nd September 1939, with Russia supplying material that Germany could employ against Britain & its Commonwealth allies. Hitler though sought territory eastwards, and so, despite misgivings from senior Wehrmacht officers, demanded the invasion of Russia. And so that route for raw materials was cut-off. Germany switched to neutral Sweden, which was more than happy to provide iron ore and other material to anyone; the national socialists, the Allies...
And hence the need for a maritime strike capability. Coastal Command, the poor step-sister of the RAF, though under the control and command of The Admiralty, hadn't been sufficiently-equipped with modern aircraft to pose a problem for the huge amount of merchant shipping hugging the Norwegian and Danish coast. That was until the arrival of Bristol Beaufighter, a heavily-armed 2-seat fighter-bomber that had sufficient fuel to make it across the North Sea, engage in combat and return.
And the combat? Attacking merchant ships and flak vessels heavily armed with all manner of calibre guns, balloon cables and even rockets. Initially the Beaufighters were armed with cannon and an air-dropped torpedo, but it was the advent of air-launched rockets that changed everything, enabling ships to be attacked in shallow waters and for an experienced pilot to be sure of a successful attack if he could hold in nerve in the face of the flak.
And the pilots and navigators? They were an extraordinary bunch. Their relentless bravery is now recognised, though the media of the time largely ignored the work that Coastal Command performed, concentrating rather on Bomber Command. In the Beaufighters (and later, the Mosquito) no-pilot could avoid anything other than full commitment, not with your peers flying in front and behind you. So 'attack! attack! attack!' meant a full-throttle dive, with some Beaufighters dedicated to attacking the flak ships and others singling-out the merchant vessels.
Losses on both sides were horrendous, but this was a battle where both sides held a grudging respect for one another, so there were no instances of aircrews being killed after capture etc. Except for U-boats; being Coastal Command the Strike Wings maintained a special hatred for U-boats, who had sunk so many Allied merchant vessels, machine-gunned survivors in the water etc. So U-boats on-the-surface were never ignored and were relentlessly attacked with some venom.
When long-range single-engined fighters became available, the Typhoon and notably, the RAF-operated Mustang III's (particularly when flown by fantastically skilled and aggressive Polish pilots) the Strike Wings were able to defend themselves against the Luftwaffe fighters that could out-turn a Beaufighter in combat. And those escort fighter pilots sometimes couldn't help join-in the attacks;
The anti-flak Beaufighters swept over the Pietro Orseolo in a single ferocious pass. There were insufficient aircraft to tackle all the minesweepers, but some of the Typhoon pilots, who failed to find any German aircraft, could not restrain themselves and joined in the attack. For the first time in his eventful career, Burton had an enemy vessel in his reflector sight. He pressed the cannon-firing button, ignoring the return fire, watching his shells dance along the superstructure of the blockade runner. A fire broke out on the bridge, as though he had hit some ammunition. He thought it was one of the greatest experiences of his life.'
(Page 110)
That enthusiasm, the sheer joy of doing a job that the pilots and navigators excel in, knowing they aren't dropping bombs on civilian towns and villages, or missing vital targets with their ordinance landing in meadows and fields is evident throughout The Strike Wings. None of crews ever refuse missions, none are withdrawn for a rest. A single Beaufighter attack on Paris in the daytime is enthusiastically volunteered-for.
Nesbit's writing manages to avoid that dry style that many military history volumes run into, where they just become a list of battles and confrontations. Instead the writing is thrilling, referencing the written accounts of airmen and often interviews with them. Add on the famous contribution of the 13 RAAF Beaufighters contribution to The Battle of the Bismarck Sea, when the Australian aircrews strafed Japanese warships with their bows facing them, destroying most of their anti-aircraft guns, and the reader is left with the impression that the Beaufighters contribution is almost criminally understated in official histories.
There are lots and lots of photos, invariably taken by navigators through stained perspex, but being taken by crew members themselves make them even more convincing. There's an Index too, always vital for such a book.
Before Operation Barbarossa in June 1941, National Socialist Germany obtained much of its imported raw material for war from communist Russia. The national socialists & communists got on fine, with a joint victory parade in Brest-Litovsk on 22nd September 1939, with Russia supplying material that Germany could employ against Britain & its Commonwealth allies. Hitler though sought territory eastwards, and so, despite misgivings from senior Wehrmacht officers, demanded the invasion of Russia. And so that route for raw materials was cut-off. Germany switched to neutral Sweden, which was more than happy to provide iron ore and other material to anyone; the national socialists, the Allies...
And hence the need for a maritime strike capability. Coastal Command, the poor step-sister of the RAF, though under the control and command of The Admiralty, hadn't been sufficiently-equipped with modern aircraft to pose a problem for the huge amount of merchant shipping hugging the Norwegian and Danish coast. That was until the arrival of Bristol Beaufighter, a heavily-armed 2-seat fighter-bomber that had sufficient fuel to make it across the North Sea, engage in combat and return.
And the combat? Attacking merchant ships and flak vessels heavily armed with all manner of calibre guns, balloon cables and even rockets. Initially the Beaufighters were armed with cannon and an air-dropped torpedo, but it was the advent of air-launched rockets that changed everything, enabling ships to be attacked in shallow waters and for an experienced pilot to be sure of a successful attack if he could hold in nerve in the face of the flak.
And the pilots and navigators? They were an extraordinary bunch. Their relentless bravery is now recognised, though the media of the time largely ignored the work that Coastal Command performed, concentrating rather on Bomber Command. In the Beaufighters (and later, the Mosquito) no-pilot could avoid anything other than full commitment, not with your peers flying in front and behind you. So 'attack! attack! attack!' meant a full-throttle dive, with some Beaufighters dedicated to attacking the flak ships and others singling-out the merchant vessels.
Losses on both sides were horrendous, but this was a battle where both sides held a grudging respect for one another, so there were no instances of aircrews being killed after capture etc. Except for U-boats; being Coastal Command the Strike Wings maintained a special hatred for U-boats, who had sunk so many Allied merchant vessels, machine-gunned survivors in the water etc. So U-boats on-the-surface were never ignored and were relentlessly attacked with some venom.
When long-range single-engined fighters became available, the Typhoon and notably, the RAF-operated Mustang III's (particularly when flown by fantastically skilled and aggressive Polish pilots) the Strike Wings were able to defend themselves against the Luftwaffe fighters that could out-turn a Beaufighter in combat. And those escort fighter pilots sometimes couldn't help join-in the attacks;
The anti-flak Beaufighters swept over the Pietro Orseolo in a single ferocious pass. There were insufficient aircraft to tackle all the minesweepers, but some of the Typhoon pilots, who failed to find any German aircraft, could not restrain themselves and joined in the attack. For the first time in his eventful career, Burton had an enemy vessel in his reflector sight. He pressed the cannon-firing button, ignoring the return fire, watching his shells dance along the superstructure of the blockade runner. A fire broke out on the bridge, as though he had hit some ammunition. He thought it was one of the greatest experiences of his life.'
(Page 110)
That enthusiasm, the sheer joy of doing a job that the pilots and navigators excel in, knowing they aren't dropping bombs on civilian towns and villages, or missing vital targets with their ordinance landing in meadows and fields is evident throughout The Strike Wings. None of crews ever refuse missions, none are withdrawn for a rest. A single Beaufighter attack on Paris in the daytime is enthusiastically volunteered-for.
Nesbit's writing manages to avoid that dry style that many military history volumes run into, where they just become a list of battles and confrontations. Instead the writing is thrilling, referencing the written accounts of airmen and often interviews with them. Add on the famous contribution of the 13 RAAF Beaufighters contribution to The Battle of the Bismarck Sea, when the Australian aircrews strafed Japanese warships with their bows facing them, destroying most of their anti-aircraft guns, and the reader is left with the impression that the Beaufighters contribution is almost criminally understated in official histories.
There are lots and lots of photos, invariably taken by navigators through stained perspex, but being taken by crew members themselves make them even more convincing. There's an Index too, always vital for such a book.
January 9, 2025
An engrossing tale of a little-known bit of aerial warfare, told pretty well, but unfortunately reissued by people who didn't care at all - the constant misspellings ("Scodand", "batde", &c.), the mislaid footnotes, the mixed-up photo titles, it all adds up to a major irritant. You had one job, people.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews