Naval-air experience at Coastal Command's helm

Did the quality of Coastal Command's leadership improve only after the shooting started?

No. Its leadership was strong from the command's creation, beginning with Arthur Longmore and Philip Joubert de la Ferté.

Longmore's career ran from the Royal Naval Air Service and HMS Tiger to RAF command and equipment posts before he became Coastal Command's first commander. Joubert de la Ferté followed with a First World War flying background and later returned to lead the much larger wartime command. Their appointments underline that maritime air power depended on officers who could connect aviation with naval operations and service administration.