Hagedorn, Dan: Wartime Coastal Patrols with the Civil Air Patrol

The Civil Air Patrol was established in December 1941, precisely when the United States entered World War II. As a volunteer organization supported by the U.S. governmentwith a structure and hierarchy modeled after the United States Air Forcethis auxiliary service offered civilians the opportunity to contribute to the war effort in three operational areas: border surveillance, courier services, and coastal patrol. The latter forms the focus of this book. Units from East Coast states undertook this task; volunteers provided their own private aircraft to scan specific stretches of coastline for German U-boats and report any sightings to the U.S. military. Over time, the service evolved, leading to the modification of private aircraft to carry weaponry. The book chronicles the history of the individual units formed for wartime coastal patrol, describing their headquarters, operational capabilities, personnel strength, and significant missions. It also lists all known aircraft deployed for this purposeincluding details on owners, registration numbers, and technical specificationseffectively creating a logbook of the volunteers who served and risked their lives for the nation's war effort. Through photographs of the aircraft, unit insignia, airfields, and personnel, this work documents a vital chapter in the history of a major volunteer organization whose members achieved great things for their country.