'Masterful' David Price

'McKinstry has done a fine job in rescuing Coastal Command from long neglect**' Richard Overy**

The remarkable story of the unsung RAF wing who made Allied victory possible.

In 1943 Britain was engaged in an epic struggle for survival as deadly wolf packs of German U-boats roamed the Atlantic. In desperation, Churchill turned to an overlooked, underfunded force known as "The Cinderella Service". Armed with long-range planes, depth charges, rocket projectiles and radar equipment, the Cinderella boys provided vital air defence. The German hunters became the hunted, and - in a stunning defeat - fully retreated by the summer.

The transformation of Coastal Command from a ramshackle outfit into a formidable organisation served as one of the turning points of the war. But they never received the credit they deserved. Based on a wealth of new sources, Leo McKinstry shines a light on the courageous pilots, ingenious scientists and political risktakers who defended the freezing Atlantic from Nazi rule.

'Engrossing' Brendan Simms