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They shall not pass unseen

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Ivan Southall was an Australian pilot in Coastal Command, flying Short Sunderlands. As a highlight of his operational tour of duty, his plane sank a German U-Boat that was caught on the surface at night.
At the end of World War II, Southall returned to civilian life, resuming his interrupted attempts to become a published author.
He wrote several true-life books about the war, including "They Shall Not Pass Unseen", a version of the history of his squadron (Southall's last job in the RAF was to write the official squadron history), and "Bluey Truscott", the life of one of Australia's ace fighter pilots, who had served in England and at the heroic and desperate defence of Milne Bay, in New Guinea -- the first time the Japanese were defeated on land.
"Softly Tread the Brave" is another of these true-life stories, telling the story of two Australian naval volunteers who defused massive German mines dropped on England.

"They Shall Not Pass Unseen" opens, as I recall, with an existing squadron in the RAF's Coastal Command, being ordered to split itself, like an amoeba, and create TWO new squadrons.
Southall joins the newly born squadron as a trained but inexperienced pilot, having passed through the early stages of the Empire Air Training Scheme.
He is introduced to Short Sunderlands (massive, lumbering, four-engined flying boats, a little like Martin Mariners: military versions of the pre-war Clipper flying boats that provided long-distance overseas passenger services), and his new crew, based in south-west England.
He is quickly introduced to Coastal Command duties, patrolling for hours at a time, westward across the Atlantic, and especially southwards across the Bay or Biscay, protecting convoys travelling between Britain and Gibraltor, and hunting U-boats setting out for and returning from their wolf-pack attacks on transatlantic convoys.
U-boats may be hard to spot, or attack. But the mere presence of a British plane in the distance would force U-boats to dive for safety, travelling much more slowly underwater, hiding from detection and attack.
Sometimes the Sunderland patrol would find or search for survivors from planes shot down, or ships torpedoed and sunk. As a flying boat, a Sunderland could land on the sea, pick up survivors, and take off again. But the dangers of crashing in the attempt to land are fully presented.
At other times, enemy planes would find and attack the lone patrolling Sunderland.
One of the most gripping chapters in Southall's history details the heroic, and eventually successful, defence of a Sunderland against EIGHT (as I recall) attacking Junker Ju88, the Luftwaffe's fast and dangerous twin-engined equivalent of the famous Bristol Beaufighter (a heavy, long-range, cannon-armed fighter).
One night Southall's crew spots a U-boat on the surface, and is itself unseen by the U-boat.
Southall, piloting the plane, realises that the U-boat is invisible on the dark sea, unless it is caught in the moon's "path", like a a pale beam shining in a column across the waves, between the moon and the plane.
He skillfully lines the plane up so the U-boat is revealed in the moonlight, dives, and drops the depth-charges that sink the U-boat. (I have seen a photo of the flimsy typed page of notes that officially reported Southall's successful attack, reproduced in one of the popular news-agency monthly magazines about aeroplanes and the war: remarkable to know that this really happened!)
Eventually, Southall's commanding officer takes him aside, and gently says, "You've done enough. I'm taking you off active duties". This is after Southall has described the many losses within his squadron as they battle the enemy, on the sea, beneath the sea, and in the air, and battle the elements (the cruel sea, again, and the frequently atrocious weather), and their nerves.
Southall, here, as throughout his many books, writes vividly, and sensitively, so the events and feelings are intense. His prose style has a unique immediacy that is very striking.
Very highly recommended, and long overdue for reprinting, preferably with explanatory notes. Cassell Military Books, are you listening?

Finally, it should be noted that "They Shall Not Pass Unseen" has never been (so far) reprinted. But Southall returned to his wartime experiencs in Sunderlands at least three more times.
"Simon Black in Coastal Command" is Southall's fictionalised account of his own experience, presented in a "Biggles"-like children's (boys'-own-adventure) novel. After making some allowance for the intended young person's readership, this is every bit as good as "They Shall Not Pass Unseen".
"What About Tomorrow" is a much tougher young adult novel, written at the height of Southall's career as children's author, using time-shifts to present aspects of a young man at different stages of his life: it is emotionally challenging, and experimental in narrative, but as rewarding as the best of Southall.
"Fly West" is a young adult NON-fiction version of Southall's squadron history. There is no need to make allowances for readership: its relative brevity should be off-set by the fact that Southall, decades after the war, is able to explain many details of the era and technicalities of wartime flying, that would have been familiar to adult readers shortly after the war ended.
All of these ought to be far more readily available, and affordable, than the rare copies of "They Shall Not Pass Unseen".
John Gough -- jugh@deakin.edu.au

A literary triumph. The courage and endurance of all concerned in the Battle of the Atlantic from Coastal Command's view is magnificently recounted by Ivan Southall. Truly unputdownable.