Destroyer Battles

Destroyer Battles PDF Author: Robert Stem
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1848320078
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Fast, manoeuvrable and heavily armed, destroyers were the most aggressive surface warships of the twentieth century. Although originally conceived as a defensive screen to protect the main battlefleet from torpedo attack, the gamekeeper soon turned poacher, and became primarily a weapon of offence. As such they were involved in many hard-fought battles, using both torpedoes and guns, especially with enemy vessels of the same kind. This book recounts some of the most significant, spectacular or unusual actions in the history of destroyer warfare, from the first employment of torpedo craft during the Russo-Japanese War to the recent terrorist attack on USS Cole. With individual chapters devoted to each incident, the book may be read as a series of dramatic narratives, but each reflects a development in the tactics or technology, so taken as a whole the book amounts to a complete history of the destroyer from an unusual and previously neglected angle.

Destroyer Battles

Destroyer Battles PDF Author: Robert Stem
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1848320078
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 273

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Book Description
Fast, manoeuvrable and heavily armed, destroyers were the most aggressive surface warships of the twentieth century. Although originally conceived as a defensive screen to protect the main battlefleet from torpedo attack, the gamekeeper soon turned poacher, and became primarily a weapon of offence. As such they were involved in many hard-fought battles, using both torpedoes and guns, especially with enemy vessels of the same kind. This book recounts some of the most significant, spectacular or unusual actions in the history of destroyer warfare, from the first employment of torpedo craft during the Russo-Japanese War to the recent terrorist attack on USS Cole. With individual chapters devoted to each incident, the book may be read as a series of dramatic narratives, but each reflects a development in the tactics or technology, so taken as a whole the book amounts to a complete history of the destroyer from an unusual and previously neglected angle.

Treaty Cruisers

Treaty Cruisers PDF Author: Leo Marriott
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1783409762
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 263

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Book Description
“A quite enlightening book that discusses the most important group of heavy cruisers serving during WW2 and how the type evolved.” —Malcolm Wright, author of British and Commonwealth Warship Camouflage of WWII The Washington Naval Treaty of 1921 and subsequent treaties in the 1930s effectively established the size and composition of the various navies in World War II. In particular, they laid down design parameters and tonnage limitations for each class of warship, including battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, and destroyers. With one or two exceptions, battleship construction was deferred until the mid 1930s, but virtually all navies embraced the concept of the eight-inch gun-armed, 10,000-ton heavy cruisers and constructed new vessels almost immediately. This book will trace the political processes which led to the treaties, describe the heavy cruisers designed and built to the same rules by each nation, and then consider how the various classes fared in World War II and attempt to assess which was the most successful. Ships from the navies of Britain, France, Italy, Germany, the United States, and Japan are included. Appendices cover construction tables, the history of each ship, technical specifications, armament, and aircraft carried. “The author has crafted a book that is both a technical read and popular history. The book provides an excellent overview of the reasoning each country employed in building its interwar cruiser force and how they committed these ships to battle. If development of and employment of weapon systems is of interest to you, this is a must-read book.” —Naval Historical Foundation

Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal year 1986

Department of Defense appropriations for fiscal year 1986 PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Defense
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1566

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Book Description


Department of Defense Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1986: Army modernization

Department of Defense Appropriations for Fiscal Year 1986: Army modernization PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Appropriations. Subcommittee on Defense
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : United States
Languages : en
Pages : 1084

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Book Description


The Rising Sun

The Rising Sun PDF Author: John Toland
Publisher: Modern Library
ISBN: 0804180954
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 977

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Book Description
“[The Rising Sun] is quite possibly the most readable, yet informative account of the Pacific war.”—Chicago Sun-Times This Pulitzer Prize–winning history of World War II chronicles the dramatic rise and fall of the Japanese empire, from the invasion of Manchuria and China to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Told from the Japanese perspective, The Rising Sun is, in the author’s words, “a factual saga of people caught up in the flood of the most overwhelming war of mankind, told as it happened—muddled, ennobling, disgraceful, frustrating, full of paradox.” In weaving together the historical facts and human drama leading up to and culminating in the war in the Pacific, Toland crafts a riveting and unbiased narrative history. In his Foreword, Toland says that if we are to draw any conclusion from The Rising Sun, it is “that there are no simple lessons in history, that it is human nature that repeats itself, not history.” “Unbelievably rich . . . readable and exciting . . .The best parts of [Toland’s] book are not the battle scenes but the intimate view he gives of the highest reaches of Tokyo politics.”—Newsweek

Narvik

Narvik PDF Author: Alex Buchner
Publisher: Casemate
ISBN: 1612009182
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 241

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Book Description
“An intensely detailed historical account and counterfactual analysis of the strategic dilemmas faced by German and Allied forces at Narvik.” —Naval Historical Foundation Published for the first time in English, this is a German account of the German invasion of Norway in the spring of 1940. It focuses on the efforts of Group “1” led by Eduard Dietl. This group of Gebirgstruppen—mountain troops—was landed at Narvik in early April by ten destroyers. These ships were then all sunk by the Allies. Dietl’s troops were outnumbered by Allied troops but his defense utilized ammunition, food and sailors from the sunken ships and his men retook Narvik once the Allies abandoned their efforts to push the Germans out of Norway. “The book does provide detailed accounts of the numerous battles and skirmishes around Narvik in the spring of 1940. The maps are useful to help understand the terrain and geography. The focus of the text is at the tactical level, and any historian interested in the tactics of the Norwegian campaign or of German mountain troops at this time would find this especially useful.” —Journal of Military History “The story of Dietl’s improvisation in the face of such inadequacies is quite impressive . . . the best account in English of the German side of Narvik.” —Stone & Stone Second World War Books “A fascinating look at the battle from the German side. While the book does reflect the attitudes of the time it was written, it also reveals what the German troops faced and provides a good account of the various engagements in and around Narvik.” —WWII History Magazine

Secret Letters

Secret Letters PDF Author: John Willis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1912914182
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 196

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Book Description
This is a unique book. Using for the first time the full unpublished letters of Pilot Officer Geoffrey Myers it offers a fresh and distinctive insight into World War 2. While Geoffrey Myers was a caught up in the major turning points of the early years of that war - the Battle for France, Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain - his French wife and two half-Jewish children were trapped in Nazi-occupied France, desperate to escape the enemy and be reunited with her husband in England. These secret letters were never posted and never read by Geoffrey's family until later in the war. They were designed to be read if he was killed. They begin, 'Three months now, and I have kept silent. I have been hoping to write letters that would reach you. I have been wanting to do something that would help you to escape from Occupied France and to get us all out of this living grave.' Contemporary personal accounts of the Battle of Britain of such frankness are extremely rare. Individual narratives on this scale, encompassing two of the great turning points of the war, the Battle of Britain and Dunkirk, and much else besides, just do not exist. So the letters from Geoffrey Myers to his family are unique, offering an original insight from a witness to so much history. More than that, the letters tell a powerful love story between two people caught up in war, and at real risk of never seeing each other again. As a Daily Telegraph journalist before the war, Geoffrey Myers writes with eloquence and insight and, because his notebooks were not designed to be published, the letters are an unvarnished, sometimes brutal, portrayal of war as his Battle of Britain Squadron suffers terrible losses. As an Intelligence Officer, Geoffrey was well placed to understand the chaos all around him but his letters are shot through with humanity, and sometimes humour. While Geoffrey wrote his account of the war for his children to read if he survived, his family were in mortal danger. As a Jew he understood only too well what would happen if the Nazis discovered his children hiding in Occupied France. For months he had no idea if his family were dead or alive, free or imprisoned. His letters reflect his deep love for his wife, Margot, and children and his acute anxiety for their safety, as they try to escape the tightening net of the Nazis and head south through France and Spain. Unique interviews with his wife offer insight into her remarkable story during those precarious months. This moving story of a couple whose love is caught in the crossfire of war is a powerful and rare portrait of, not only the turbulent events of those times, but also how a family survives with so much death and danger swirling around them both.

At Close Quarters

At Close Quarters PDF Author: Robert Johns Bulkley
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Government publications
Languages : en
Pages : 608

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Book Description


At Close Quarters

At Close Quarters PDF Author: Robert J. Bulkley
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612511821
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 612

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Book Description
Small though they were, PT boats played a key role in World War II, carrying out an astonishing variety of missions where fast, versatile, and strongly armed vessels were needed. Called "weapons of opportunity," they met the enemy at closer quarters and with greater frequency than any other type of surface craft. Among the most famous PT commanders was John F. Kennedy, whose courageous actions in the Pacific are now well known to the American public. The author of the book, another distinguished PT boat commander in the Pacific, compiled this history of PT-boat operations in World War II for the U.S. Navy shortly after V-J Day, when memories were fresh and records easily assessable. The book was first made available to the public in 1962 after Kennedy's inauguration as president of the United States interest in PTs was at a peak. Bulkley provides a wealth of facts about these motor torpedo boats, whose vast range of operation covered two oceans as well as the Mediterranean and the English Channel. Although their primary mission was to attack surface ships and craft close to shore, they were also used effectively to lay mines and smoke screens, to rescue downed aviators, and to carry out intelligence and raider operations. The author gives special attention to the crews, paying well-deserved tribute to their heroism, skill, and sacrifice that helped to win the war.

By Sea and Land

By Sea and Land PDF Author: Edward Hilton Young baron Kennet
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : World War, 1914-1918
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description