Bay of Biscay

Hemmed in by the northern coast of Spain, the south western-coast of France and the Brittany peninsula, the Bay of Biscay was the scene of intensive operations by the Royal Air Force's Coastal Command against German submarines during the Second World War. The submarines, which preyed on the Allied convoys crossing the Atlantic Ocean, had to pass through the bay to reach their bases on the Brittany coast. It was, therefore, heavily patrolled by Allied aircraft that not only sought out and attacked the submarines, but also the high volumes of enemy merchant and military traffic there.