THE BATTLE of the Atlantic was one of the major turning points of the Second World War, and the very survival of Britain depended upon its outcome.

Fought largely between the German U-boats and Allied convoys, this deadly battle involved vast amounts of men, aircraft, ships and submarines fighting above, across and beneath thousands of miles of ocean. In the end, the Allies won -- but only just.

This book examines the battle from both sides. Among the Allies, ships of the Royal and Commonwealth navies and aircraft of the RAF played by far the greatest part in this battle, supported on the other side of the Atlantic by elements of the US and Canadian air forces and navies. The German U-boat force, and to a lesser extent its surface vessels, were the skilled and determined assailants who very nearly won the day.

This book presents a concise narrative of the battle, accompanied by a comprehensive selection of some 200 archive photographs in colour. The Battle of the Atlantic by Roy Conyers Nesbit is published by Sutton at £25.