Poolman's account of this specialised area of the air war and the Battle of the Atlantic (for it is mainly the Atlantic theatre that's relevant here with an occasional reference to the Mediterranean and Eastern fronts) is probably one rung short of "must read", but is none-the-less a useful addition to the war history cornucopia.

Poolman's obviously limited by the availability of source material, with some ships' efforts, and some aircrafts' too, being described in great detail whereas other pass with barely a mention. However, "barely a mention" is at least a mention and sometimes that's this book's weakness. Whilst it is worthy of the author not to exclude an 87-ton trawler as she'd have had her own story and casualties that are as relevant as any others, it can sometimes be a little tedious to read a list of attacks or to know which shipyard had constructed the ship in question that do not seem to add to the overall picture. What might have helped here are a few maps, given those the detailed picture might have been clearer to the average reader.

However there is a good deal of interesting information in the book, not least about the need to keep the Condor in service with the Greif not coming through as promised and the impact that the CAM and MAC ships had - plus the length of time it took to get these operational.

Overall a good addition to any military library and certainly something for those with more than a passing interest in the subject to enjoy. ( )