SASless,
Reference Coastal Command - what exactly is your point? Have you actually read the link you posted to?
Yes, Coastal Command was the Cinderella of the RAF prior to the outbreak of war. However, what sort of maritime war were the British expecting to fight against the Germans? One largely confined to the North Sea. The fall of France and Norway, giving German access to Atlantic and Arctic coastlines was not envisaged. Coastal Commands thinking was inevitably a reflection of that of the Royal Navy. As for Royal Navy thinking at the time, your linked article quotes:
1937 "
the Royal Navy no longer considered U-Boats were a threat to Britain's sea lanes
"
in December 1937, the Naval and Air Staffs met again, and changed the priority to North Sea reconnaissance. The Naval Staff insisted that commerce raiders presented the greatest danger, and aircraft could prove decisive only in locating enemy Warships.]"
Yes, the RAF failed to adequately assess a future U-Boat threat, but so did the RN. As for not properly developing ASW by aircraft before the war, you're correct, it didn't happen. But neither did the RAF properly develop the art of night fighting. The RAF bomber fleet was inadequate at the start of the war, the fighter force not much better - in 1937 it was still mainly biplanes - air transport was minimal, etc, etc. Pre war errors and false assumptions occurred on all sides, for example, the Germans failed to develop a long range bomber. As for armed services having Cinderella services or aircraft, it still occurs today, where many air forces seem Fast Jet centric as lead by their hierarchy.
My point is that by the time of the PQ-17 convoy, July 1942, the penny had dropped about the importance of long range maritime aviation, and the RAF was doing it's best to catch up on pre war neglect. When you're fighting a global war, with forces stretched literally across the planet, Africa, the Far East, etc, based on pre war assumptions and assets planned for a North Sea conflict, it's not surprising that there are never enough assets to go around.
Oh - by the way, food rationing didn't end in the UK until 1954- not 1948!
BBC ON THIS DAY | 4 | 1954: Housewives celebrate end of rationing
Or, since you seem to prefer wiki:
Rationing in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia