Lowes, Jane Gulliford The Invisible Campaign. Bomber Command Gardening Operations 1940-1945

Aerial minelaying by RAF Bomber Command was an essential part of the Allied war effort - far more Axis shipping was destroyed than by direct attacks by Coastal or Bomber Command itself. Mine-laying operations began in April 1940 and expanded dramatically as the war progressed. Nevertheless, this important campaign and its far-reaching successes against Axis merchant ships, Kriegsmarine vessels and U-boats are virtually unknown today. "The Invisible Campaign" is based on archive material from the Air Ministry and the Admiralty as well as squadron records, veterans' accounts and logbooks, contemporary publications and press reports, and is the most detailed account of Bomber Command's minelaying operations and their effects ever written. Historian Jane Gulliford Lowes looks at the aims of the campaign and its execution, as well as assessing its success and comparing it to the German Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine mine-laying operations. The role of Arthur 'Bomber' Harris in overseeing the mining operations is assessed and the experiences of the men who carried out the campaign, in particular the dangers they faced, are examined.