OR against the U-boat

One of the most important parts of the defence of Britain during WW2 was dealing with the threat of U-boats, especially since the disruption to supply lines they caused could have easily lead to British capitulation. Within the RAF it was up to Coastal Command to defend merchant shipping and attack surfacing U-boats but in the first two years of the war their success was woefully limited.

In 1941 the Coastal Command Operational Research Section (CC-ORS) was set-up with the task of improving tactics through data collection and scientific analysis. This website aims to present the important breakthroughs made by CC-ORS particularly in relation to the sighting and bombing of U-boats as well as providing historical context and introducing some of the important characters in the U-boat story.

For the scientifically curious, technical reports have been provided in collapsable panels. These discuss in more detail how certain results were obtained.