Author: Aidan Dodson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 139906326X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
This new book explores for the first time the full story of how two Turkish and two Chilean battleships became British capital ships after the outbreak of the First World War. Under construction by the shipbuilding giants of Armstrong and Vickers in August 1914, Sultan Osman I, Reșadiye, Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane became HM Ships Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle. The first three served with the Grand Fleet, fighting at Jutland, while the last was transformed into a pioneering aircraft carrier, which would serve with distinction until sunk while escorting a convoy to Malta in 1942. While two of the other ships had short lives – cut short by the Washington Naval Treaty – the final ship, Almirante Latorre, would be returned to Chile after the war, for a continuing active career that would last into the 1950s. When finally towed away for scrap in 1959, she was the penultimate survivor of Jutland. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book begins with an overview of the warships under construction around Europe for foreign customers in August 1914, and how the four ships featured were acquired by the Royal Navy. It then looks at them as manifestations of the international rivalries which directed much of the national budgets of impecunious South American and Balkan states towards armaments. The focus then switches to the British service of the ships actually completed as battleships, and then to the story of the carrier. Although never finished as a battleship, she would play a crucial role in the development of British carrier aviation. Finally, the author traces the stories of the battleships of the Latin-American naval race from the 1920s down to the 1950s. The stories and back-stories of Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle embrace almost the whole of the twentieth-century battleship era, and they take us down the byways of international naval power, ranging from the Pacific to the Black Sea, and from the line of battle to mutiny and revolution. A fascinating and original story.
The Windfall Battleships
Author: Aidan Dodson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 139906326X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
This new book explores for the first time the full story of how two Turkish and two Chilean battleships became British capital ships after the outbreak of the First World War. Under construction by the shipbuilding giants of Armstrong and Vickers in August 1914, Sultan Osman I, Reșadiye, Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane became HM Ships Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle. The first three served with the Grand Fleet, fighting at Jutland, while the last was transformed into a pioneering aircraft carrier, which would serve with distinction until sunk while escorting a convoy to Malta in 1942. While two of the other ships had short lives – cut short by the Washington Naval Treaty – the final ship, Almirante Latorre, would be returned to Chile after the war, for a continuing active career that would last into the 1950s. When finally towed away for scrap in 1959, she was the penultimate survivor of Jutland. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book begins with an overview of the warships under construction around Europe for foreign customers in August 1914, and how the four ships featured were acquired by the Royal Navy. It then looks at them as manifestations of the international rivalries which directed much of the national budgets of impecunious South American and Balkan states towards armaments. The focus then switches to the British service of the ships actually completed as battleships, and then to the story of the carrier. Although never finished as a battleship, she would play a crucial role in the development of British carrier aviation. Finally, the author traces the stories of the battleships of the Latin-American naval race from the 1920s down to the 1950s. The stories and back-stories of Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle embrace almost the whole of the twentieth-century battleship era, and they take us down the byways of international naval power, ranging from the Pacific to the Black Sea, and from the line of battle to mutiny and revolution. A fascinating and original story.
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 139906326X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 290
Book Description
This new book explores for the first time the full story of how two Turkish and two Chilean battleships became British capital ships after the outbreak of the First World War. Under construction by the shipbuilding giants of Armstrong and Vickers in August 1914, Sultan Osman I, Reșadiye, Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane became HM Ships Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle. The first three served with the Grand Fleet, fighting at Jutland, while the last was transformed into a pioneering aircraft carrier, which would serve with distinction until sunk while escorting a convoy to Malta in 1942. While two of the other ships had short lives – cut short by the Washington Naval Treaty – the final ship, Almirante Latorre, would be returned to Chile after the war, for a continuing active career that would last into the 1950s. When finally towed away for scrap in 1959, she was the penultimate survivor of Jutland. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book begins with an overview of the warships under construction around Europe for foreign customers in August 1914, and how the four ships featured were acquired by the Royal Navy. It then looks at them as manifestations of the international rivalries which directed much of the national budgets of impecunious South American and Balkan states towards armaments. The focus then switches to the British service of the ships actually completed as battleships, and then to the story of the carrier. Although never finished as a battleship, she would play a crucial role in the development of British carrier aviation. Finally, the author traces the stories of the battleships of the Latin-American naval race from the 1920s down to the 1950s. The stories and back-stories of Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle embrace almost the whole of the twentieth-century battleship era, and they take us down the byways of international naval power, ranging from the Pacific to the Black Sea, and from the line of battle to mutiny and revolution. A fascinating and original story.
The Windfall Battleships
Author: Aidan Dodson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1399063243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416
Book Description
This new book explores for the first time the full story of how two Turkish and two Chilean battleships became British capital ships after the outbreak of the First World War. Under construction by the shipbuilding giants of Armstrong and Vickers in August 1914, Sultan Osman I, Reșadiye, Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane became HM Ships Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle. The first three served with the Grand Fleet, fighting at Jutland, while the last was transformed into a pioneering aircraft carrier, which would serve with distinction until sunk while escorting a convoy to Malta in 1942. While two of the other ships had short lives – cut short by the Washington Naval Treaty – the final ship, Almirante Latorre, would be returned to Chile after the war, for a continuing active career that would last into the 1950s. When finally towed away for scrap in 1959, she was the penultimate survivor of Jutland. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book begins with an overview of the warships under construction around Europe for foreign customers in August 1914, and how the four ships featured were acquired by the Royal Navy. It then looks at them as manifestations of the international rivalries which directed much of the national budgets of impecunious South American and Balkan states towards armaments. The focus then switches to the British service of the ships actually completed as battleships, and then to the story of the carrier. Although never finished as a battleship, she would play a crucial role in the development of British carrier aviation. Finally, the author traces the stories of the battleships of the Latin-American naval race from the 1920s down to the 1950s. The stories and back-stories of Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle embrace almost the whole of the twentieth-century battleship era, and they take us down the byways of international naval power, ranging from the Pacific to the Black Sea, and from the line of battle to mutiny and revolution. A fascinating and original story.
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1399063243
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 416
Book Description
This new book explores for the first time the full story of how two Turkish and two Chilean battleships became British capital ships after the outbreak of the First World War. Under construction by the shipbuilding giants of Armstrong and Vickers in August 1914, Sultan Osman I, Reșadiye, Almirante Latorre and Almirante Cochrane became HM Ships Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle. The first three served with the Grand Fleet, fighting at Jutland, while the last was transformed into a pioneering aircraft carrier, which would serve with distinction until sunk while escorting a convoy to Malta in 1942. While two of the other ships had short lives – cut short by the Washington Naval Treaty – the final ship, Almirante Latorre, would be returned to Chile after the war, for a continuing active career that would last into the 1950s. When finally towed away for scrap in 1959, she was the penultimate survivor of Jutland. Drawing on extensive archival research, the book begins with an overview of the warships under construction around Europe for foreign customers in August 1914, and how the four ships featured were acquired by the Royal Navy. It then looks at them as manifestations of the international rivalries which directed much of the national budgets of impecunious South American and Balkan states towards armaments. The focus then switches to the British service of the ships actually completed as battleships, and then to the story of the carrier. Although never finished as a battleship, she would play a crucial role in the development of British carrier aviation. Finally, the author traces the stories of the battleships of the Latin-American naval race from the 1920s down to the 1950s. The stories and back-stories of Agincourt, Erin, Canada and Eagle embrace almost the whole of the twentieth-century battleship era, and they take us down the byways of international naval power, ranging from the Pacific to the Black Sea, and from the line of battle to mutiny and revolution. A fascinating and original story.
The Windfall Battleships
Author: Aidan Dodson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781399063258
Category : Battleships
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781399063258
Category : Battleships
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
British Naval Gun Mountings
Author: Ian Buxton
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1399031015
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
Heavy gun mountings dominated the design of larger warships, on account of their size, weight, protection and cost. In the 1890s, British gun mountings developed rapidly with new gun technologies (wire winding, cordite) and the rise of the two major ordnance companies, Armstrongs and Vickers, producing large numbers of weapons for the Royal Navy and for worldwide export. But by 1960, aircraft and guided missiles had made the big gun redundant, so the period from 1890s to 1950s covering the two world wars is the most historically significant. The focus of this book is on the larger mountings and those fitted in the larger ships – the massively engineered ‘non transferable’ mountings, whose complexities and associated magazines took up a huge volume of the ship, unlike the smaller calibre ‘transferable’ mountings mostly bolted to the deck. Such mountings could weigh over 1000 tons, take two years to build and make up a quarter of the cost of a battleship. Although they existed in many variants, there were only about forty basic mountings from 4.5in to 18in calibre fitted to the majority of the RN’s larger ships so these take up the bulk of the book. For each, well illustrated handbooks with colored plates were produced, but are largely inaccessible to the public, so about 50 of these highly detailed drawings are reproduced at large scale. The smaller mountings and the guns themselves each have a separate chapter. Although the impact of the book is largely visual, there is an expert account of the design, construction and installation of such mountings, and their manufacturers, supported by a range of internal and close-up photographs. The reference value of the work is enhanced by a comprehensive table of mountings and their characteristics, plus a list of all the mountings made by Vickers of Barrow between 1900 and 1950. Providing easy access to so much rarely seen material, this handsome volume will appeal to modelmakers, ship enthusiasts and technical historians.
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1399031015
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 242
Book Description
Heavy gun mountings dominated the design of larger warships, on account of their size, weight, protection and cost. In the 1890s, British gun mountings developed rapidly with new gun technologies (wire winding, cordite) and the rise of the two major ordnance companies, Armstrongs and Vickers, producing large numbers of weapons for the Royal Navy and for worldwide export. But by 1960, aircraft and guided missiles had made the big gun redundant, so the period from 1890s to 1950s covering the two world wars is the most historically significant. The focus of this book is on the larger mountings and those fitted in the larger ships – the massively engineered ‘non transferable’ mountings, whose complexities and associated magazines took up a huge volume of the ship, unlike the smaller calibre ‘transferable’ mountings mostly bolted to the deck. Such mountings could weigh over 1000 tons, take two years to build and make up a quarter of the cost of a battleship. Although they existed in many variants, there were only about forty basic mountings from 4.5in to 18in calibre fitted to the majority of the RN’s larger ships so these take up the bulk of the book. For each, well illustrated handbooks with colored plates were produced, but are largely inaccessible to the public, so about 50 of these highly detailed drawings are reproduced at large scale. The smaller mountings and the guns themselves each have a separate chapter. Although the impact of the book is largely visual, there is an expert account of the design, construction and installation of such mountings, and their manufacturers, supported by a range of internal and close-up photographs. The reference value of the work is enhanced by a comprehensive table of mountings and their characteristics, plus a list of all the mountings made by Vickers of Barrow between 1900 and 1950. Providing easy access to so much rarely seen material, this handsome volume will appeal to modelmakers, ship enthusiasts and technical historians.
Warship 2023
Author:
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472857100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
The latest edition of Warship, the celebrated annual publication featuring the latest research on the history, development, and service of the world's warships. For over 45 years, Warship has been the leading annual resource on the design, development, and deployment of the world's combat ships. Featuring a broad range of articles from a select panel of distinguished international contributors, this latest volume combines original research, new book reviews, warship notes, an image gallery, and much more, maintaining the impressive standards of scholarship and research with which Warship has become synonymous. Detailed and accurate information is the keynote of all the articles, which are fully supported by plans, data tables, and stunning photographs. This year's Warship includes features on the secret battleship design that Mussolini's Fascist Italy sold to Stalin's USSR, the little-known German flak ships of World War II, the French aircraft carriers Clemenceau and Foch, and the development of electronic warfare in the Royal Navy.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472857100
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 225
Book Description
The latest edition of Warship, the celebrated annual publication featuring the latest research on the history, development, and service of the world's warships. For over 45 years, Warship has been the leading annual resource on the design, development, and deployment of the world's combat ships. Featuring a broad range of articles from a select panel of distinguished international contributors, this latest volume combines original research, new book reviews, warship notes, an image gallery, and much more, maintaining the impressive standards of scholarship and research with which Warship has become synonymous. Detailed and accurate information is the keynote of all the articles, which are fully supported by plans, data tables, and stunning photographs. This year's Warship includes features on the secret battleship design that Mussolini's Fascist Italy sold to Stalin's USSR, the little-known German flak ships of World War II, the French aircraft carriers Clemenceau and Foch, and the development of electronic warfare in the Royal Navy.
Warship 1999-2000
Author: Antony Preston
Publisher: Conway Maritime Press
ISBN: 9780851777245
Category : Navies
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This annual publication, looking at the development and history of the world's fighting ships, includes features on Chinese cruisers, the British assault on Russia from 1854 to 1856, and attacks on hospital ships during the two world wars.
Publisher: Conway Maritime Press
ISBN: 9780851777245
Category : Navies
Languages : en
Pages : 0
Book Description
This annual publication, looking at the development and history of the world's fighting ships, includes features on Chinese cruisers, the British assault on Russia from 1854 to 1856, and attacks on hospital ships during the two world wars.
French Warships in the Age of Steam 1859–1914
Author: Stephen S. Roberts
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1526745348
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1400
Book Description
“This outstanding book will be essential for future studies of naval policy in the period between la Gloire and the Great War.” —The Naval Review This book is the first comprehensive listing in English of more than 1400 warships that were added to the official French navy fleet list between 1 January 1859 and World War I. It includes everything from the largest battleships to a small armoured gunboat that looked like a floating egg. Reflecting the main phases of naval policy, the ships are listed in three separate parts to keep contemporary designs together and then by ship type and class. For each class the book provides a design history explaining why the ships were built, substantial technical characteristics for the ships as completed and after major reconstructions, and selected career milestones including the ultimate fate of each ship. Following the earlier volumes written jointly with Rif Winfield, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786 and French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861, this trilogy now provides a complete picture of the development of French warships over a period of almost three centuries. “As a technical reference on the French ships of 1859 to 1914, this book is a must for the serious naval architecture student, modeler, or enthusiast. So much solid information is packed in this book, arranged logically, clearly and with so many illustrations, I cannot see where another volume on this subject can compete. Highly recommended!” —Nautical Research Journal “Superlatives abound in describing this book, arguably the finest naval ‘shiplist’ ever created.” —Warship International
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1526745348
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 1400
Book Description
“This outstanding book will be essential for future studies of naval policy in the period between la Gloire and the Great War.” —The Naval Review This book is the first comprehensive listing in English of more than 1400 warships that were added to the official French navy fleet list between 1 January 1859 and World War I. It includes everything from the largest battleships to a small armoured gunboat that looked like a floating egg. Reflecting the main phases of naval policy, the ships are listed in three separate parts to keep contemporary designs together and then by ship type and class. For each class the book provides a design history explaining why the ships were built, substantial technical characteristics for the ships as completed and after major reconstructions, and selected career milestones including the ultimate fate of each ship. Following the earlier volumes written jointly with Rif Winfield, French Warships in the Age of Sail 1626–1786 and French Warships in the Age of Sail 1786–1861, this trilogy now provides a complete picture of the development of French warships over a period of almost three centuries. “As a technical reference on the French ships of 1859 to 1914, this book is a must for the serious naval architecture student, modeler, or enthusiast. So much solid information is packed in this book, arranged logically, clearly and with so many illustrations, I cannot see where another volume on this subject can compete. Highly recommended!” —Nautical Research Journal “Superlatives abound in describing this book, arguably the finest naval ‘shiplist’ ever created.” —Warship International
The Ocean Class of the Second World War
Author: Malcolm Cooper
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781399015554
Category : Cargo ships
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
"This new book tells the story of the Ocean class of standard cargo ships, their design, building, and careers, and the author places them firmly in the context of the battle of the Atlantic which was raging at the time of the first launchings.They entered the vanguard of the Allied shipping effort at a time when the German U-boat threat was at its most dangerous, and British shipping resources were stretched to the limit. They were deployed in the North Atlantic, on the long supply routes around Africa to the Middle East, in the Russian convoys, in operations in support of the invasions of North Africa and Italy and the land campaigns which followed, in the D-Day landings, and later amphibious operations on the south coast of France. Finally, some of the class joined an invasion force making its way towards Malaya when Japan surrendered in August 1945. The Oceans paid a heavy price for these accomplishments, one third of the class being lost to torpedoes, bombs, or mines in places as far apart as the Florida coast, the Norwegian Sea, the Bay of Algiers, and the Gulf of Oman. While these achievements alone would merit an important place in histories of the war at sea, the impact of the Oceans stretched far beyond the direct contribution of the ships themselves. The yards where they were built also served as models for a series of new American shipyards, designed to mass produce cargo vessels with such speed and in such volume as to completely reverse the mathematics of attrition, which had run so badly against the Allies into 1942. Even more important, the Oceans' blueprints were used as the basis for the American Liberty ship, the 2,700-strong fleet which finally tilted the balance of the war at sea decisively in the Allies' favor and went on to underpin the post-war renewal of the world merchant fleet.This comprehensive new history, based on extensive archival research and lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs, restores the Oceans to their rightful place in history. The ships' design antecedents are explained, and their ordering, financing, and construction analyzed in full. Wartime operations are covered in depth, by theater, and with full details of war losses and other casualties. The book concludes with an assessment of their subsequent peacetime careers and a comparison to other war-built designs. This is a model history of a highly significant class of ship."--
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781399015554
Category : Cargo ships
Languages : en
Pages :
Book Description
"This new book tells the story of the Ocean class of standard cargo ships, their design, building, and careers, and the author places them firmly in the context of the battle of the Atlantic which was raging at the time of the first launchings.They entered the vanguard of the Allied shipping effort at a time when the German U-boat threat was at its most dangerous, and British shipping resources were stretched to the limit. They were deployed in the North Atlantic, on the long supply routes around Africa to the Middle East, in the Russian convoys, in operations in support of the invasions of North Africa and Italy and the land campaigns which followed, in the D-Day landings, and later amphibious operations on the south coast of France. Finally, some of the class joined an invasion force making its way towards Malaya when Japan surrendered in August 1945. The Oceans paid a heavy price for these accomplishments, one third of the class being lost to torpedoes, bombs, or mines in places as far apart as the Florida coast, the Norwegian Sea, the Bay of Algiers, and the Gulf of Oman. While these achievements alone would merit an important place in histories of the war at sea, the impact of the Oceans stretched far beyond the direct contribution of the ships themselves. The yards where they were built also served as models for a series of new American shipyards, designed to mass produce cargo vessels with such speed and in such volume as to completely reverse the mathematics of attrition, which had run so badly against the Allies into 1942. Even more important, the Oceans' blueprints were used as the basis for the American Liberty ship, the 2,700-strong fleet which finally tilted the balance of the war at sea decisively in the Allies' favor and went on to underpin the post-war renewal of the world merchant fleet.This comprehensive new history, based on extensive archival research and lavishly illustrated with contemporary photographs, restores the Oceans to their rightful place in history. The ships' design antecedents are explained, and their ordering, financing, and construction analyzed in full. Wartime operations are covered in depth, by theater, and with full details of war losses and other casualties. The book concludes with an assessment of their subsequent peacetime careers and a comparison to other war-built designs. This is a model history of a highly significant class of ship."--
Japanese Carriers and Victory in the Pacific
Author: Martin Stansfeld
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781399010115
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Japanese Carriers and Victory in the Pacific focuses on the pre-war debate between building a new generation of super-battleships or adopting aircraft carriers as the capital ships of the future. An Asian power in particular sees carriers as a way of challenging the USA and the colonial empires initially losing the contest yet coming out all right in the Cold War aftermath. Martin Stansfeld examines the much-overlooked genesis of Japan's so-called shadow fleet that was a secret attempt to bring about parity with the US in carriers--albeit only with slower speed conversions of liners and auxiliaries but along with the super battleships cluttered launch facilities when these could have been devoted to keel-up fast fleet carrier Production. This first analytical look at what major launch facilities were available in Japan shows that the Imperial Japanese Navy could have doubled its fast carrier fleet thereby able to give sufficient air cover for an invasion of Hawaii rather than just the raid on Pearl Harbor, but only providing nobody noticed they were building all these carriers. This is shown to have been entirely possible given the IJN's extraordinary success at covering up their super battleship and shadow fleet production. This secret fast carrier fleet program is given the name "phantom fleet" by Stansfeld who proceeds to demonstrate how the strategy of the Pacific War would have been transformed. Weaving through the chapters is an exotic cast of characters led most notably by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the conceiver of Pearl Harbor and a figure of mythic status to Japanese today and famous around the world thanks to the movies. Stansfeld dwells on the ironies of war, notably how, without the "day that will live in infamy", America might never have become the worldwide super-power it is today.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781399010115
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 272
Book Description
Japanese Carriers and Victory in the Pacific focuses on the pre-war debate between building a new generation of super-battleships or adopting aircraft carriers as the capital ships of the future. An Asian power in particular sees carriers as a way of challenging the USA and the colonial empires initially losing the contest yet coming out all right in the Cold War aftermath. Martin Stansfeld examines the much-overlooked genesis of Japan's so-called shadow fleet that was a secret attempt to bring about parity with the US in carriers--albeit only with slower speed conversions of liners and auxiliaries but along with the super battleships cluttered launch facilities when these could have been devoted to keel-up fast fleet carrier Production. This first analytical look at what major launch facilities were available in Japan shows that the Imperial Japanese Navy could have doubled its fast carrier fleet thereby able to give sufficient air cover for an invasion of Hawaii rather than just the raid on Pearl Harbor, but only providing nobody noticed they were building all these carriers. This is shown to have been entirely possible given the IJN's extraordinary success at covering up their super battleship and shadow fleet production. This secret fast carrier fleet program is given the name "phantom fleet" by Stansfeld who proceeds to demonstrate how the strategy of the Pacific War would have been transformed. Weaving through the chapters is an exotic cast of characters led most notably by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, the conceiver of Pearl Harbor and a figure of mythic status to Japanese today and famous around the world thanks to the movies. Stansfeld dwells on the ironies of war, notably how, without the "day that will live in infamy", America might never have become the worldwide super-power it is today.
The Battlecruiser New Zealand
Author: Matthew Wright
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1526784041
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
This book tells the story of HMS New Zealand, a battlecruiser paid for by the government of New Zealand at the height of its pro-Imperial ‘jingo’ era in 1909, when Britain’s ally Japan was perceived as a threat in Australasia and the Pacific. Born of the collision between New Zealand’s patriotic dreams and European politics, the tale of HMS New Zealand is further wrapped in the turbulent power-plays at the Admiralty in the years leading up to the First World War. The ship went on to have a distinguished First World War career, when she was present in all three major naval battles – Heligoland, Dogger Bank and Jutland – in the North Sea. The book ‘busts’ many of the myths associated with the ship and her construction, including the intent of the gift, New Zealand’s ability to pay, deployment, and the story behind the piupiu (skirt) and tiki (pendant) that, the crew believed, bestowed special protection upon the vessel. All is inter-woven with the human and social context to create a ‘biography’ of the ship as an expression of human endeavour, in significantly more detail than any of the summaries available in prior accounts. Extensively illustrated, this is a book with appeal to a wide audience, from naval enthusiasts and historians to the general reader with a wider interest in the story of Empire. The use of archival material available only in New Zealand, including the Ship’s Book, adds a dimension and novelty not previously included in histories of this great battlecruiser.
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1526784041
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 352
Book Description
This book tells the story of HMS New Zealand, a battlecruiser paid for by the government of New Zealand at the height of its pro-Imperial ‘jingo’ era in 1909, when Britain’s ally Japan was perceived as a threat in Australasia and the Pacific. Born of the collision between New Zealand’s patriotic dreams and European politics, the tale of HMS New Zealand is further wrapped in the turbulent power-plays at the Admiralty in the years leading up to the First World War. The ship went on to have a distinguished First World War career, when she was present in all three major naval battles – Heligoland, Dogger Bank and Jutland – in the North Sea. The book ‘busts’ many of the myths associated with the ship and her construction, including the intent of the gift, New Zealand’s ability to pay, deployment, and the story behind the piupiu (skirt) and tiki (pendant) that, the crew believed, bestowed special protection upon the vessel. All is inter-woven with the human and social context to create a ‘biography’ of the ship as an expression of human endeavour, in significantly more detail than any of the summaries available in prior accounts. Extensively illustrated, this is a book with appeal to a wide audience, from naval enthusiasts and historians to the general reader with a wider interest in the story of Empire. The use of archival material available only in New Zealand, including the Ship’s Book, adds a dimension and novelty not previously included in histories of this great battlecruiser.