Large numbers of these impressive flying boats operated from RAF Pembroke Dock, at one time the largest seaplane base in the world as Milford Haven became crucially important in the Battle of the Atlantic.
The Short Sunderland Mk.III proved the definitive version of the RAF's largest aircraft of the war. Radar detection of U-boats became evermore essential and early stickleback radar antennas on the spine of the aircraft were replaced with more capable ASV MK.III units housed in streamlined blisters underneath each wing, outboard of the floats, as modelled here. Once U-boats could detect approaching aircraft with their own radar the RAF's new radar blisters operated outside previous frequencies, ensuring Coastal Command Sunderland's continued success.