Littoral Operations

[Kirkhill]

Is that map from WWII? It looks like Air coverage of the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942.

Got me to thinking

Battle of the Atlantic - 1943

RAF Coastal Command operated about 850 aircraft, a mix of:

Shorts Sunderlands
Consolidated Catalinas
Consolidated Liberators
Boeing Flying Fortresses

Lockheed Hudsons
Bristol Blenheims
Bristol Beauforts
Bristol Beaufighters

And many others

The RAF also operated
350 High Speed Launches and
200 or so smaller Air Sea Rescue boats.

....

The RN Coastal Forces operated
800 MTBs/MGBs
1100 Motor Launches

While the Patrol Service operated
444 trawlers for mine warfare

The Flowers were originally intended for coastal use by the Patrol Service.

....

Meanwhile the Army ...

30 Coast Artillery Regiments (Heavy)
90 Coast Artillery Regiments
19 Defence Artillery Regiments (These seem to have been mobile gap fillers)
~8 Maritime Artillery Regiments (These were regiments of volunteers engaged to supply air defence dets for merchant ships)

In addition

73 Searchlight Regiments
169 Heavy Anti-Aircraft Regiments
146 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiments
25 Anti-Aircraft Z Rocket Regiments

And given that Britain, as an island, and a small one at that, was essentially one big harbour, and that much of this defence work was the part time occupation of the Home Guard

1,500,000 Volunteers
25,000 platoons with about 60 to the platoon
5,000 companies (5 platoons to the company)
1,250 battalions (4 companies to the battalion)

In addition half of the 438,000 Territorials were tasked to man Anti-Aircraft and Coast Regiments
And 190,000 women served in the Auxilliary Territorial Service alongside the future Queen Elizabeth II. Many of them served the anti-aircraft defences as well.

....

These people closed the Narrow Seas, protected the Approaches and Harbours, and narrowed the High Seas.

...

How much of the work they did then could be done over longer ranges with fewer people today?

 

[Kirkhill]

For reference the Royal Artillery also fielded, for the field army

11 Survey Regiments
11 Light Artillery Regiments (Light, Mountain, Pack, Airlanding and Para)
16 Royal Horse Artillery Regiments (predominantly SP to support the armoured divs)
162 Field Artillery Regiments (25 pdrs)
58 Medium Artillery Regiments
15 Heavy Artillery Regiments
5 Super Heavy Artillery Regiments

As well as 70 Anti-Tank Artillery Regiments and
11 LIght Anti-Aircraft/Anti-Tank Regiments.

359 Artillery Regiments to the Field Army

139 Artillery Regiments to the Coastal Defences

413 Artillery Regiments to the Air Defences

8 Artillery Regiments embarked on merchant ships to supply locat air defence at sea.

 

[Kirkhill]

More data points

WW2 UK Coastal Defences employed 400 to 500 guns - some army, some navy, some salvaged, some new, some old battleship guns
Air Defences in 1941-42 consisted of 1691 3.7" guns, 940 Bofors 40mm guns and 4500 searchlights.

These worked alongside the RAF's Radars and Fighter Command as well as 30,000 observers in the Royal Observer Corps.

I can see those 1691 3.7s becoming SAM sites and the 4500 searchlights becoming radars and other sensors but I am fascinated by the ability to perform a direct comparison between a 1940s Bofors 40mm Gun Det and a modern AI CUAS turret with the current generation of the same gun.