Sunk by Stukas, Survived at Salerno

Sunk by Stukas, Survived at Salerno PDF Author: Tony McCrum
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1844687988
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Tony McCrum was born in Portsmouth in 1919, the second son of a naval lieutenant and a mother who came from a line of naval officers that stretched back to and beyond Trafalgar. He entered the Naval College at Dartmouth in September 1932 and went on to complete his midshipmans time aboard HMS Royal Oak from 1936 to 1939.In January 1939 he shipped his first stripe to become an Acting Sub Lieutenant and joined HMS Skipjack, a fast fleet minesweeper, as navigator. The ship was initially based at Harwich as part of the 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla. Having worked-up to operational readiness the flotilla moved to their wartime station at Dover. In May 1940 Skipjack arrived off the Dunkirk beaches, one of the first ships to help the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. Having made several successful Channel crossings ferrying home troops, the French coast suddenly became even more dangerous as the Luftwaffe presence increased in support of their advancing army which had now reached the area. With a full load of troops aboard, Skipjack was suddenly attacked by ten Stukas and was mortally hit and sunk. Eventually rescue was at hand and McCrum was landed at Ramsgate. 19 of the crew and 294 troops went down with the ship. In June 1940 he was appointed First Lieutenant of HMS Bridlington, a new minesweeper of the same class as Skipjack. In June 1941 he joined HMS Mendip, a Hunt Class destroyer with the task of defending the east coast against e-boat attack. Then came a complete change when he was ordered to HMS Largs to become the Signals Officer in Charge. This was an ex West Indies banana boat that had been converted into a Landing Craft Headquarters Ship. Her task was to carry an admiral and general who would control all the forces in the early days of an assault. In April 1943, Largs arrived in North Africa and began preparations for the Sicily landings. Operation Husky started on 8 July and proved a complete success with a bridgehead being established within hours. The next step was Italy, the Salerno landing. McCrum was again heavily involved with the HQ planning staff and the US Navy and was in charge of the ULTRA operations within the area. Salerno proved to be a much harder battle and was well defended. Having spent eighteen months working in the Mediterranean theatre, and various landings in France, McCrum was ordered home and joined the destroyer HMS Tartar on 15 January 1945 as Staff Signals Officer, 8th Destroyer Flotilla. They were bound for the Far East and the war with Japan and it was there, in Trincomlee harbor that the end of WWII was celebrated.

Sunk by Stukas, Survived at Salerno

Sunk by Stukas, Survived at Salerno PDF Author: Tony McCrum
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
ISBN: 1844687988
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 308

Get Book Here

Book Description
Tony McCrum was born in Portsmouth in 1919, the second son of a naval lieutenant and a mother who came from a line of naval officers that stretched back to and beyond Trafalgar. He entered the Naval College at Dartmouth in September 1932 and went on to complete his midshipmans time aboard HMS Royal Oak from 1936 to 1939.In January 1939 he shipped his first stripe to become an Acting Sub Lieutenant and joined HMS Skipjack, a fast fleet minesweeper, as navigator. The ship was initially based at Harwich as part of the 2nd Minesweeping Flotilla. Having worked-up to operational readiness the flotilla moved to their wartime station at Dover. In May 1940 Skipjack arrived off the Dunkirk beaches, one of the first ships to help the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force. Having made several successful Channel crossings ferrying home troops, the French coast suddenly became even more dangerous as the Luftwaffe presence increased in support of their advancing army which had now reached the area. With a full load of troops aboard, Skipjack was suddenly attacked by ten Stukas and was mortally hit and sunk. Eventually rescue was at hand and McCrum was landed at Ramsgate. 19 of the crew and 294 troops went down with the ship. In June 1940 he was appointed First Lieutenant of HMS Bridlington, a new minesweeper of the same class as Skipjack. In June 1941 he joined HMS Mendip, a Hunt Class destroyer with the task of defending the east coast against e-boat attack. Then came a complete change when he was ordered to HMS Largs to become the Signals Officer in Charge. This was an ex West Indies banana boat that had been converted into a Landing Craft Headquarters Ship. Her task was to carry an admiral and general who would control all the forces in the early days of an assault. In April 1943, Largs arrived in North Africa and began preparations for the Sicily landings. Operation Husky started on 8 July and proved a complete success with a bridgehead being established within hours. The next step was Italy, the Salerno landing. McCrum was again heavily involved with the HQ planning staff and the US Navy and was in charge of the ULTRA operations within the area. Salerno proved to be a much harder battle and was well defended. Having spent eighteen months working in the Mediterranean theatre, and various landings in France, McCrum was ordered home and joined the destroyer HMS Tartar on 15 January 1945 as Staff Signals Officer, 8th Destroyer Flotilla. They were bound for the Far East and the war with Japan and it was there, in Trincomlee harbor that the end of WWII was celebrated.

Sailors Behind the Medals

Sailors Behind the Medals PDF Author: Chris Bilham
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1473896517
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 356

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Book Description
Twenty-three riveting true stories of the heroic acts that earned WWII Royal Navy sailors their awards for gallantry.Includes photos. The story of the Royal Navy in the Second World War is an epic, consisting of both dramatic battles such as the River Plate and Matapan, and drawn-out campaigns such as the escort of convoys to Malta and northern Russia. Sailors Behind the Medals examines the careers of twenty-three sailors whose part in these actions resulted in the award of their medals. The author illustrates a cross-section of the wartime navy: long-service regulars, volunteers, recalled veterans of the Great War, Hostilities Only ratings. They served on nearly every kind of warship and in all the main theaters of the war, and their individual acts of gallantry under extreme conditions make for inspiring reading. Also included is an examination of the medals that were awarded for gallantry.

The War for England's Shores

The War for England's Shores PDF Author: G H Bennett
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1399077929
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 342

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Book Description
The War for England's Shores examines the Kriegsmarine's S-Boat offensive along the English Channel and the North Sea from 1940 to 1945, together with British and, later, Allied responses to nullify that threat. Very fast, and armed with torpedoes and mines, S-Boats posed a serious threat to the convoys that were forced to run close along the British coast on a daily basis. Despite the significance of this campaign and the real threat to the whole British war economy, it has been, until now, strangely overlooked by historians. Indeed, the book highlights issues around the maritime identity of those states and navies that see themselves in oceanic terms, at the expense of engagement with, and operations in, coastal waters. Using an array of archival materials from Britain, Germany and the USA, The War for England’s Shores examines why the Germans failed to make the most of this opportunity to disrupt British trade. G H Bennett analyzes how the British slowly countered the threat by embracing new technologies and developing a system of sea control that gradually forced the German S-Boat arm from the offensive against Britain's coastal convoys, and on to the defensive in the months leading up to the invasion of France. The author also looks at the S-Boat campaign along these convoy routes in the context of present-day interest in littoral warfare, so that the work has a vital and current appeal and offers significant and surprising insights. The book offers an unparalleled exploration of a key moment in the development of coastal warfare, and will appeal to historians and enthusiasts as well as defense analysts and naval personnel.

The Savage Storm

The Savage Storm PDF Author: James Holland
Publisher: Grove Press
ISBN: 0802161057
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 584

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Book Description
Acclaimed WWII historian James Holland both narrates and reframes the controversial first months of the Italian Campaign and sets a new standard in the chronicling of war Following victory in Sicily, while the central command planned the spring 1944 invasion of France, Allied troops crossed into southern Italy in September 1943, expecting to drive Axis forces north and liberate Rome by Christmas. Italy quickly surrendered but German divisions fiercely resisted, and the hoped-for quick victory descended into one of the most challenging and protracted battles of the entire war. James Holland’s The Savage Storm, chronicling the dramatic opening months of the Italian Campaign in unflinching and insightful detail, is unlike any campaign history yet written. Holland has always narrated war at ground level, but here goes further by chronicling events almost entirely through the contemporary eyes of those who were there on all sides and at all levels—Allied, Axis, civilians alike. Weaving together a wealth of letters, diaries, and other documents—from the likes of American General Mark Clark, German battalion commander Georg Zellner, New Zealand lance-corporal Roger Smith, legendary war reporter Ernie Pyle, and Italian politician Filippo Caracciolo—Holland traces the battles as they were experienced across plains, over mountains, through shattered villages and cities, in intense heat and, towards the end of December 1943, frigid cold and relentless rain. Such close-up views persuade Holland to recast important aspects of the campaign, reappraising the reputation of Mark Clark himself and other senior commanders of the U.S. Fifth and British Eighth armies. Given the shortage of Allied shipping and materiel allocated to Italy because of the build-up for D-Day, more was expected of Allied troops in Italy than anywhere else, and, as accounts at the time attest, a huge price was paid by everyone for each bloodily contested mile. Putting readers vividly in the moment as events unfolded, with characters made unforgettable by their own words, The Savage Storm is a defining account of the pivotal months leading to Monte Cassino, and a landmark in the writing about war.

Watson's Really Big Wwii Almanac

Watson's Really Big Wwii Almanac PDF Author: Patrick Watson
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1469101904
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 1097

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Book Description


The Times Index

The Times Index PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Times (London, England)
Languages : en
Pages : 1552

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Book Description
Indexes the Times, Sunday times and magazine, Times literary supplement, Times educational supplement, Times educational supplement Scotland, and the Times higher education supplement.

Water in My Veins

Water in My Veins PDF Author: Ted Robinson
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780557025190
Category : Landing craft
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Robinson's memoir of his wartime service as a Naval officer on PT boats and LSTs, including his part in rescuing John F. Kennedy after PT 109 was sunk, which is the first true account told by an eyewitness, as Robinson was on one of the boats patrolling the same area as JFK's. Kennedy was Robinson's tent mate and as a result his work provides details never published before. See the contents pages in the preview for more details. Photos, maps.

Warriors and Wizards

Warriors and Wizards PDF Author: Martin J Bollinger
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
ISBN: 1612510027
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 318

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Book Description
In August 1943, the Luftwaffe began using radio-controlled anti-ship glide bombs and within weeks they had sunk one battleship, crippled another, wrecked two cruisers, and destroyed numerous merchant ships. Yet, a year later the Germans abandoned their use, defeated by scientists who developed electronic systems to jam the radio links that guided the bombs. Drawing on a wealth of new sources, Martin Bollinger examines what happened from both a historical and technological perspective and lays out a mission-by-mission analysis of effectiveness. Based on interviews with participants, intelligence documents, and archival records in four countries, his book chronicles the yearlong battle between the Allied seamen (the warriors) and the scientists (the wizards) for a story of courage, technical achievement, and sacrifice.

The Sonarman's War

The Sonarman's War PDF Author: H.G. Jones
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 0786460032
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
This memoir is an intimate and sometimes irreverent account of one man's coming of age during World War II. Born a North Carolina farmboy, Jones served as a U.S. Navy sonarman aboard a wooden submarine chaser operating from Africa and Sicily during the Allied invasions at Anzio and Southern France. He also served as sonarman and yeoman on two fleet mine sweepers in the Okinawa, Formosa and China operations. This memoir is drawn not only from memory, but from the author's surviving diaries from the conflicts, daily logs of the three ships upon which he served, and the secret reports of military commanders and other official records.

Working & Living Around the World

Working & Living Around the World PDF Author: Jim Stephenson
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 153202391X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 335

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Book Description
Jim writes about his childhood during World War II, his time in the British Navy, his work on oil refineries and pipelines around the world, and facing the results of political upheaval in Africa and the Middle East. Judy concentrates on her memories of building and maintaining a home in diverse places, such as the American Virgin Islands, Brazil, Iran, Clinton, Iowa, Saudi Arabia, and Newburgh, Scotland. Together, they dealt with everything, from an attack of sea urchins in Aruba to being caught in one of the worlds most unexpected revolutions in Iran.