Author: Correlli Barnett
Publisher: Faber & Faber
ISBN: 9780571300396
Category : World War, 1939-1945
Languages : en
Pages : 1104
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Book Description
The accepted interpretation of Britain's wartime role as an island sea power is challenged by Correlli Barnett's brilliant demonstration that the dependence on seashore imports of food and raw materials, together with the obligations of Empire, were less a form of strength to Britain than a weakness. Topics discussed in this book range from strategic debates in London and Washington to gripping descriptions of the Royal Navy in action: the remorseless struggle against the U-boat in the Atlantic, the desperate convoy battles in the Mediterranean and the Arctic, and the battles in the Far East. It weaves in the rivalry between Allied and German technology and the all-important secret war of the cryptographers. 'This outstanding military historian has turned to maritime war and written an authoritative, meticulously researched and stirring account of the Royal Navy's part in World War II.' Admiral of the Fleet Lord Lewin of Greenwich, KG, GCB, LVO, DSC
Author: Duncan Redford
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857723456
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
The Royal Navy's operations in World War II started on 3 September 1939 and continued until the surrender of Japan in August 1945 - there was no 'phoney war' at sea. The navy played a central role in the evacuation of the retreating British army at Dunkirk, and later orchestrated the sinking of Germany's mighty battleship and Hitler's pride, the Bismarck. Without the Royal Navy's attention to the defence of Britain's seaborne trade - especially in the struggle against German U-boats in the Battle of the Atlantic - there would not have been food for the country, fuel for the RAF's operations or supplies to keep the army fighting in Europe, North Africa and the Far East. Yet the outstanding naval contribution to Britain's survival and eventual victory came at a heavy cost in terms of ships and to the men who had to face not just the violence of the enemy, but also the violence of the sea. This book argues that World War II was, effectively, a maritime war; it was the Royal Navy's war.
Author: J. Levy
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230511562
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 240
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Book Description
This book marks the first comprehensive history of Britain's naval bulwark, the Home Fleet. It illuminates the vital role that fleet played in preserving Britain as a base of operations against Hitler. We see portrayed the hard days of blockade, patrol, and battle that encompassed the Home Fleet's war. And we see how that war was made harder by weaknesses at the Admiralty and by the damaging interference of the Minister of Defence - Winston Churchill.
Author: Jon Sutherland
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1844687805
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225
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Book Description
The Royal Naval Patrol Service, or Harry Tates Navy as it was commonly known, was a unique service with its own rules and regulations. The officers and seamen were mainly ex-fishermen who had manned trawlers in Icelandic waters. The service was armed mostly with obsolete weaponry and suffered heavy casualties in the early stages of the war. The service was not confined to the seas around Britain and their small trawlers, drifters, paddle steamers, yachts and tugs saw service as far away as the Mediterranean and Newfoundland coast. Their main tasks included convoy escort duties, mine sweeping and anti-submarine work. Many awards for bravery were won including a VC.
Author: Ryan K. Noppen
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472841891
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 49
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Book Description
In the late 19th and early 20th century, a combination of coastal defence for the homeland and fleet defence for the East Indies became the established naval strategy for the Royal Dutch Navy and set the template for the world wars. Battleships were too expensive to build and maintain, so after World War I, there was significant investment in submarine development and construction. A handful of modern light cruisers and a new class of destroyers were also constructed during the interwar years to serve as a small Fleet-in-Being in the East Indies, as well as to support the actions of the navy's submarines. The light cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter and the Java-class light cruisers were the most powerful units of the new fleet whilst the backbone of the destroyer fleet was the Admiralen-class and the Tromp-class of destroyer leaders. Beginning in December 1941, the Dutch Navy played a very active role in the defence of the East Indies against the Japanese during World War II. The Battle of the Java Sea at the end of February 1942 crushed Dutch naval power in the East Indies, sinking the cruisers Java and De Ruyter and killing Admiral Karel Doorman. However, several Dutch surface warships and submarines continued the fight against the Axis powers alongside the Allies until the end of World War II, including a pair of British-built destroyers, Van Galen and Tjerk Hiddes. This beautifully illustrated book from a leading scholar on Dutch military history provides a comprehensive guide to the Royal Netherlands Navy of the World War II period, complete with detailed cutaways and battleplates of the fleet in action.
Author: Andrew Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472802322
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 97
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Book Description
The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy served with distinction in every theatre of war throughout World War II. From its poorly equipped beginnings it started the war with few suitable, modern, carrier-born fighters to the final campaigns over the Japanese home islands, the FAA proved an effective fighting force wherever it went. FAA Pilots had the distinction of being responsible for both the first, and last, enemy aircraft to be shot down during the war. Featuring first hand accounts, combat reports, photographs from private collections and an array of colour plates depicting the range of profiles and symbolic markings that were used, this book will detail the history and combat experiences of these forgotten pilots who served with such distinction for the Allied cause.
Author: Robert Jackson
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184
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Book Description
When Nazi Germany struck out from her borders in 1939, the untold force and efficiency of its land and air forces cut an unstoppable swath through mainland Europe. It was only at sea that their newfound might was tamed. Hitler's fear of the Royal Navy kept his most lethal ships hidden in bolt-holes, he was frightened to confront the British fleet in battle - an action the Kriegsmarine most probably would have won through superior ships and guns had they confronted their enemy. It was the dogged determination of British seafarers throughout the early part of the war that caused the final demise of the German big-ship fleet and left the U-boat and E-boat to fight Hitler's war at sea. This is the story of how, despite all odds, the RN helped Britain survive during the critical times of the Battle of the Atlantic, the Siege of Malta, the convoys to northern Russia and the D-Day landings. It also tells why their fully-stretched forces could not play the part they wished in the Eastern and Pacific war.
Author: Nathan Miller
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195110382
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 614
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Book Description
From the sinking of the British passenger liner Athenia on September 3, 1939, by a German U-boat (against orders) to the Japanese surrender on board the Missouri on September 2, 1945, War at Sea covers every major naveal battle of World War II. "A first-rate work and the best history of its kind yet written".--Vice Admiral William P. Mack, U.S.N. (Ret.). 30 photos.
Author: Leonard C Reynolds
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0752499947
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265
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Book Description
Built of plywood and measuring 115 feet long, powered by four supercharged petrol engines and armed to the teeth with heavy weapons, the 'D' Class Motor Gun Boats (MGBs) and Motor Torpedo Boats (MTBs) were better known as Dog Boats and played havoc with enemy shipping in home and foreign waters. During three years of war they engaged the enemy on more than 350 occasions, sinking and damaging many ships. Dog Boats at War is the authoritative account of operations by the Royal Navy's 'D' Class MGBs and MTBs in the Second World War in Home, Mediterranean and Norwegian waters. As well as drawing on official records - both British and German - the author has contacted several hundred Dog Boat veterans whose eye witness accounts add drama to the unfolding story.
Author: William H. Garzke
Publisher: US Naval Institute Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 434
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Book Description
Contains the only published photographs of the damage sustained by HMS Prince of Wales in her action with the Bismarck. Updated to include British and French radar systems as well as extensive information on the French Richelieu-class and a sketch of the Alsace-class.
