Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

British battleships 1889-1904 / R. A. Burt. "This volume completes the reissue of R. A. Burt's magnificent three-volume history of British battleships, and it covers the pre-dreadnought era which has, in recent years, acquired a new and fervent following. In this new volume, the author presents full details of design and construction, armament, protection, machinery and performance, all backed up with accurate data tables listing design figures, trials results, and full particulars at different stages in the ships' careers. The history of each battleship is recounted, especially their major contribution in WWI, where they bore the brunt of the action at the Dardenelles, bombarded the Belgium coast, patrolled the North Sea and the Channel, reinforced the Italian Fleet, and served in East Africa, the East Indies and the White Sea. Most were extensively modified during the war and this variety has made them of special interest to the historian, enthusiast and ship modeler. With the addition of many new photographs from the author's massive collection, this new edition is a great addition to every naval library."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 359.8/352/0941

The Portsmouth Dockyard story : from 1212 to the present day /Paul Brown. "From muddy creek to naval-industrial powerhouse; from constructing wooden walls to building Dreadnoughts; from maintaining King John's galleys to servicing the enormous new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers: this is the story of Portsmouth Dockyard. Respected maritime historian Paul Brown's unique 800-year history of what was once the largest industrial organisation in the world is a combination of extensive original research and stunning images. The most comprehensive history of the dockyard to date, it is sure to become the definitive work on this important heritage site and modern naval base."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.81(422.7)

French battleships 1914-45 / Ryan K. Noppen ; illustrated by Paul Wright. "On September 1, 1910, France became the last great naval power to lay down a dreadnought battleship, the Courbet. The ensuing Courbet and Bretagne-class dreadnoughts had a relatively quiet World War I, spending most of it at anchor off the entrance to the Adriatic, keeping watch over the Austro-Hungarian fleet. The constraints of the Washington Naval Treaty prevented new battleships being built until the 1930s, with the innovative Dunkerque-class and excellent Richelieu-class of battleships designed to counter new German designs. After the fall of France in 1940, the dreadnoughts and fast battleships of the Marine Nationale had the unique experience of firing against German, Italian, British, and American targets during the war. This authoritative study examines these fascinating ships, using detailed colour plates and historical photographs, taking them from their inception before World War I, through their service in World War II including the scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon in 1943, and the service of Richelieu in the war against Japan."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.821.2(44)"1914/1945"

German high seas fleet 1914-18 : the Kaiser's challenge to the Royal Navy /Angus Konstam ; illustrated by Edouard A. Groult. "Drawing on extensive research, Angus Konstam offers the reader a concisely detailed account of how the entire High Seas Fleet was designed and built, how it operated, and how it fought. The fleet was a modern, balanced force of dreadnought battleships, battlecruisers, cruisers and torpedo boats, using Zeppelins and U-boats for reconnaissance. It's ultimate test came in May 1916 when it clashed with the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet at Jutland. From fighting doctrine and crew training to intelligence, logistics and gunnery, and packed with spectacular original artwork, maps, 3D diagrams and archive photos, this book is an essential guide to the Kaiser's audacious bid for naval glory." 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.45943

The world encyclopedia of battleships / Peter Hore. "This meticulously researched and illustrated book begins with a history of the battleship, from the first ironclad wooden-hulled ships of the 19th century to the revolutionary Dreadnoughts of World War I and the mightly battleships and battle cruisers of World War II. In fascinating detail, here are the accounts of the main battles and operations in which these warships took part. There are also anecdotes about the personalities involved in the design and command of what has been described as one of the most technologically advanced and complex engineering achievements of human civilization. There follows three chronological sections, each of which is a comprehensive country-by-country directory of the major battleships of that era, with an informative text describing their history, construction, appearance and function. Accompanied by archive and museum photographs, illustrations and paintings, the famous ships of the last 150 years, including Dreadnought, Hood, New Jersey, Bismarck and Nagato, are brought to life. Special information panels detail each ship's main specificiations, including its country of origin, launch date, size, weight, firepower and performance. Featuring more than 150 ships and illustrated with over 550 photographs, this is a must-have reference book for everyone interested in the battleships that have helped to make history."--Provided by the publisher. [2005]. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.821.2(100)"18/20"

Skagerrak : the Battle of Jutland through German eyes /Gary Staff. "In January 1916 Vizeadmiral Scheer took command of the High Sea Fleet. This aggressive and pugnacious leader embarked upon a vigorous offensive program which culminated in the greatest clash between dreadnought capital ships the world had seen. Although outnumbered almost two to one, Vizeadmiral Scheer conducted a provocative operation on 31 May 1916. Who would prevail: the massive preponderance of British heavy calibre cannon, or the aggressive tactics of the street fighter Scheer? Manning the ships of both sides were the technically skilled and talented seamen who were prepared to carry out their duties loyally and courageously until the very end. Over 8,500 men perished in less than 10 hours of fighting, a horrendous loss, even by World War One standards. This book gives voice to many of the German Navy participants, from a German perspective, on this tumultuous battle fought over 100 years ago. These men gave their all and are gone now, but not forgotten."--Provided by the publisher. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.456(489)

Battleships of the world : Struggle for naval supremacy /John Fidler "The battleships of the world's navies in the 1820s were descended directly in line from the Revenge of 1577: they were wooden-built, sail-powered and mounted guns on the broadside, firing solid shot. In the next half century, steel, steam and shells had wrought a transformation and by 1906, Dreadnought had ushered in a revolution in naval architecture. The naval race between Britain and Germany that followed, led to the clash of the navies at Jutland in 1916. Though this was indecisive, the German navy never again challenged the Grand Fleet of Britain during the war, and eventually the crews refused to put to sea again. Disarmament on a massive scale followed, but the battleship was still regarded as the arbiter of sea-power in the years between the wars. However, the advocates of air power were looking to the future, and when in 1940 biplane Swordfish torpedo bombers of the Fleet Air Arm sank three Italian battleships at their moorings in Taranto, the Japanese sensed their opportunity. Their attack on the American Pacific fleet base at Pearl Harbor sank eight battleships - but the American carriers were at sea, and escaped destruction. Given the distances involved, the Pacific war was necessarily a carrier war, and in the major actions of the Coral Sea, Midway, Leyte Gulf and the Philippine Sea, all the fighting was done by aircraft, with battleships reduced to a supporting role. Soon after the war ended, most were sent for scrap, and a naval tradition had come to an end. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.821.2"1820/1945"

The Grand Fleet 1914-19 : the Royal Navy in the First World War /by Daniel George Ridley-Kitts. "During the First World War the reputation of the British Royal Navy was put on the line in its defence of the country, and, crucially, it was in those years, 1914-19, that the Grand Fleet became the single most potent weapon of war of any nation. In this comprehensive, illustrated history, Ridley-Kitts tells of the creation and development of the Grand Fleet under the drive of the energetic and charismatic Admiral of the Fleet 'Jacky' Fisher, who modernised the navy with the introduction of the revolutionary Dreadnought battleship. This type of vessel in particular made other nations' battleships obsolete, created a powerful weapon for the defence of the British Empire and its trade, and finally defeated the machinations of Kaiser William II. Using uniqueillustrations rendered by the author, the story of the Grand Fleet is told in accessible narrative style, with outstanding technical detail that will satisfy naval enthusiasts."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1914/1919"(42)

The British battleship, 1906-1946 / Norman Friedman. "The British battleship is one of the most intensely studied of all naval topics, but it is also among the most popular. Norman Friedman is one of the most highly regarded of all naval writers, with an avid following for his work. Therefore, a new book on British battleships by Friedman is a major event, and has been eagerly awaited ever since knowledge of the project began to circulate among enthusiasts. Friedman has the ability to bring new ideas to even the most over-worked subjects, based on extensive original research and a talent for explaining technology in the wider context of politics, economics and strategy. His latest book covers the development of Royal Navy capital ships, including battlecruisers, from the pre-history of the revolutionary Dreadnought of 1906 to the last of the line, HMS Vanguard in 1946. Replete with original insights, the story that emerges will enlighten and surprise even the most knowledgeable. The attraction of the book is enhanced by sets of specially commissioned plans of the important classes by John Roberts and A D Baker III, both renowned experts in their own right, plus a colour section featuring the original Admiralty draughts, including a spectacular double gatefold. For many with an interest in warships, this will be the book of the year."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.821.2(42)"1906/1946"

Tsushima : Japan's Trafalgar : the voyage of the condemned fleet to the straits of Korea /Phil Thorne "The Battle of Tsushima, the epic battle between the Japanese and Russian navies on May 27-28 1905, is examined in far greater detail than ever before. Making extensive use of official records, personal accounts and a wealth of untouched information on the Russian Navy's activities, this battle, little known about by a general readership, is brought vividly to life. Also the immense coaling operation, with the names of all the colliers, is described in very informative and sometimes amusing detail. The later stages of the battle, its details often described as lost in the 'fog of battle', are clearly portrayed, as is the chaotic, high-speed night action when numerous Japanese destroyer and torpedo-boat flotillas terrorised the Russian seamen. Exhaustive examination of Japanese flotilla records has made it possible to reproduce an exciting and very informative account, placing the reader on board the attacking vessels, suffering collisions and gunfire as they career in and around the Russian battle line, while the human side of both participants brings into sharp focus the horrors of war. Tsushima was not only the culmination and climax of the pre-Dreadnought era; it was the most decisive naval battle ever fought. Other battles are more well known, but they did not achieve such a result, neither in their decisiveness nor in bringing the war in which they were fought to a conclusion."--Provided by the publisher [2022] • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 952.031

British Battlecruisers : 1905-1920 /John Roberts. "The brainchild of Admiral Sir John Fisher, battlecruisers combined heavy guns and high speed in the largest hulls of their era. Conceived as 'super-cruisers' whose job it was to hunt down and destroy commerce raiders, their size and gun-power led to their inclusion in the battlefleet as a fast squadron of capital ships. This book traces in detail the development of Fisher's original idea into the first battlecruiser Invincible of 1908, through to the 'Splendid Cats' of the Lion class, and culminating in HMS Hood in 1920, the largest warship in the world for the next twenty years. The origins of the unusual 'light battlecruisers' of the Courageous type are also covered. The well-publicized problems of British battlecruisers are examined, including the latest research throwing light on the catastrophic loss of three of the ships at the Battle of Jutland. The developmental history is backed by chapters covering machinery, armament, and armor, with a full listing of important technical data. The comprehensive collection of illustrations includes the author's superb drawings and original Admiralty plans reproduced in full color. This revised and updated edition of the classic work first published in 1997 will be welcomed by anyone with an interest in the most charismatic and controversial warships of the dreadnought era."--Provided by the publisher. 2016. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.821.3(42)

The battleship builders : constructing and arming British capital ships /by Ian Johnston & Ian Buxton. "The launch in 1906 of HMS Dreadnought, the world's first all-big-gun battleship, rendered all existing battle fleets obsolete, but at the same time it wiped out the Royal Navy's numerical advantage, so expensively maintained for decades. Already locked in an arms race with Germany, Britain urgently needed to build an entirely new battle fleet of these larger, more complex and more costly vessels. In this she succeeded spectacularly: in little over a decade fifty such ships were completed, almost exactly double what Germany achieved. It was only made possible by the country's vast industrial nexus of shipbuilders, engine manufacturers, armament firms and specialist armour producers, whose contribution to the creation of the Grand Fleet is too often ignored. This heroic achievement, and how it was done, is the subject of this book."--Back cover. 2013. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 629.12(42):623.82

1914 : the First World War at sea in photographs /Phil Carradice. "The arms race that led to the First World War started in 1897 at the Spithead Naval Review, when Kaiser Wilhelm saw the might of Britain's Navy. He wanted to equal or better the fleet of Britain, and set about a huge building programme of warships. By 1914, tensions in Europe were at a breaking point and, in August, erupted into what would become the first truly global conflict. From almost the first day of the war, as merchant ships scuttled to safe havens, the war at sea saw ship against ship and submarine against ship. Hastily converted merchantmen became auxiliary cruisers, fitted with guns and ready for action. August saw the loss of the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse, one of Germany's crack ocean liners, off the coast of Africa; October, the loss of Britain's dreadnought battleship HMS Audacious to a mine; and December saw the Battle of the Falklands and a German attack on the coastal towns of Scarborough, Whitby and Hartlepool. Submarines quickly became a menace in the Mediterranean, English Channel and North Sea, slowly beginning to starve Britain into submission. In August, it was thought the war would be over by Christmas; by December everyone knew they were in for a long, hard slog. The naval war would be one of attrition and one that would ultimately lead to the surrender of Germany's navy in 1918."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.459(42)"1914"

Ottoman Navy Warships 1914-18 / Ryan K. Noppen ; Illusrated by Paul Wright "At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of its former might, a reflection of the empire as a whole - the "Sick Man of Europe". Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had left the Ottoman Navy with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the list of prospective enemies was ever-growing. An increasing Russian naval presence in the Black Sea and the alarming emergence of Italy and Greece as regional Naval powers proved beyond all doubt that intensive modernization was essential, indeed, the fate of the Empire as a naval power depended on it. So the Ottoman Navy looked to the ultimate naval weapon of the age, the dreadnought, two of which were ordered from the British. But politics intervened, and a succession of events culminated in the Ottoman Navy fielding a modern German battlecruiser and state-of-the-art light cruiser instead - with dramatic consequences. In this meticulous study, Ryan Noppen presents a fresh appraisal of the technical aspects and operations of the warships of the Ottoman Navy in World War I. It is the first work of its kind in the English language - produced with a wealth of rare material with the co-operation of the Turkish Consulate and Navy. Packed with precise technical specifications, revealing illustrations and exhaustive research, this is an essential guide to a crucial chapter in the Aegean arms race."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • PAMPHLET • 1 copy available. 623.82(496.02)"1914/1918"

Battleship Duke of York : an anatomy from building to breaking /Ian Buxton and Ian Johnston. "Unlike the United States, which has preserved a number of battleships as museums or memorials, not a single British dreadnought survives in the country that invented them. This book is an ambitious attempt to achieve the next best thing - a level of documentation in plans, photographs and words that portrays every aspect of the ship, albeit in two dimensions. Although the ship was chosen primarily because of the wealth of source material, Duke of York enjoyed a distinguished wartime career that included sinking the German battleship Scharnhorst in 1943 and serving as the flagship of the British Pacific Fleet in 1945, so is a fitting subject for such in-depth treatment. The core of the book is the reproduction in full colour of a complete set of as-fitted plans of the ship, including many details and close-ups. These are complemented by an unusually thorough set drawn after the ship's major refit in March 1945, showing all the modifications undertaken to prepare the ship for service alongside the US Navy in the Pacific. Photographic coverage begins with the stunning views taken by the builder's professional cameraman during every stage of construction, and concludes with an illustrated chronology of the breaking up. This last is included not just for completeness but because photos of the ship at various stages of demolition demonstrate many aspects of the interior structure, compartments and their fittings that are otherwise invisible. While the emphasis may be primarily visual, the accompanying narrative and captions display the expertise and in-depth knowledge of the authors, making the text as enlightening as the illustration. The result is a uniquely comprehensive portrait of a great ship in all its complexity, and a book that no warship enthusiast will want to miss."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • FOLIO • 1 copy available.

HMS Hood : pride of the Royal Navy /Daniel Knowles. "For over twenty years the battlecruiser HMS Hood toured the world as the most iconic warship in the Royal Navy. Unmatched in her beauty and charisma, Hood is one of history's greatest warships. During the twilight years of the British Empire the Hood toured the world showing the flag as a symbol of British power. As the Royal Navy's show-ship, Hood came to command a special place in the hearts and minds of the British public. Such was the regard for HMS Hood that her destruction in the Denmark Strait on the morning of 24 May 1941 by the German battleship Bismarck created dismay across the world. Within minutes of entering battle 'the Mighty Hood' as she was affectionately known, was destroyed by a catastrophic explosion which had echoes of Jutland a quarter of a century earlier. Out of a crew of a crew [sic] of 1,418, only 3 survived. The sinking of HMS Hood was the single largest disaster ever sustained by the Royal Navy. This book charts the life and death of this legendary battlecruiser in both peace and war from her early origins, through the interwar years, to her destruction."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.32530941

Air and sea power in World War I : combat and experience in the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Navy /Maryam Philpott. "The Great War tore the fabric of Europe apart, killing over 35 million men and challenging the notion of heroism in war, Air and Sea Power in World War I focuses on the experience of World War I from the perspective of British pilots and sailors themselves, to demonstrate that the army-centric view of war studies has been too limited. The Royal Flying Corps, created in 1912, adapted quickly to the needs of modern warfare, driven by the enthusiasm of its men. In contrast, the lack of modernisation in the Royal Navy, despite the unveiling of HMS Dreadnought in 1906, undermined Britain's dominance of the seas. By considering five key aspects of the war experience, this book analyses how motivation was created and sustained. What training did men receive and how effectively did this prepare them for roles that were predominantly non-combative? How was motivation affected by their individual relationship with weaponry development, and how different was defensive service on the Home Front, when in close proximity to ordinary civilian life? Finally, Air and Sea Power in World War I looks at the changing reputation of the services during and after the conflict, and the extent to which these notions were created by the memoirs of pilots and sailors. Featuring new primary source material, including the journals of service men themselves, this book will be essential reading for students and scholars of World War I and of Naval, Aviation and Military History."--Provided by the publisher. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.544

British battleships of the Victorian era "This is a companion volume to Friedman's highly successful British Battleship 1906-1946 and completes his study of the Royal Navy's capital ships. Beginning with the earliest installation of steam machinery in ships of the line, the book traces the technological revolution that saw the introduction of iron hulls, armour plate, shell-firing guns and the eventual abandonment of sail as auxiliary propulsion. This hectic development finally settled down to a widely approved form of pre-dreadnought battleship, built in large numbers and culminating in the King Edward VII class. As with all of his work, Friedman is concerned to explain why as well as how and when these advances were made, and locates British ship design firmly within the larger context of international rivalries, domestic politics and economic constraints. The result is a sophisticated and enlightening overview of the Royal Navy's battle fleet in the latter half of the nineteenth century. It is also well illustrated - a comprehensive gallery of photographs with in-depth captions is accompanied by specially commissioned plans of the important classes by A D Baker III, and a colour section featuring the original Admiralty draughts, including a spectacular double gatefold."--Provided by the publisher. 2018 [2017] • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 623.821.2(42)

The last British battleship / R.A. Burt. "The ninth HMS Vanguard, bearing one of the most illustrious names in the Royal Navy with honours from the Armada to Jutland, was the last and largest of Britain's battleships and was commissioned in 1946. Her design evolved from of the King George V class and incorporated much of the fully developed design for the two battleships, Lion and Temeraire, that were laid down in 1939 but never completed. At 813ft length overall and 42,300 tons, she was the last battleship to be built in the world and the only ship of her class. She was built during the Second World War and incorporated existing twin 15in mountings, and was part of the Royal Navy's response to the combined and increasing number of German and Japanese battleships in the early 1940s. She was immediately recognisable by her transom stern and high flared bow and had fine sea keeping ability. Her appearance after the end of hostilities, however, and her huge crew requirements proved a conundrum for the Royal Navy, her most significant role being that of Royal Yacht during the royal family's tour of South Africa in 1947. She was broken up at Faslane in 1960. In this new book by R A Burt her design, construction and career are all covered. Armour, machinery, power plants and weaponry are examined in detail and the author has produced some 35 superb plans, profiles and other line drawings for which he is renowned. The text is further enhanced by the addition of some 80 colour and black and white photographs from his collection. His earlier three volumes are regarded as definitive works on the subject of British battleships before 1945; with this new book he finally completes the story of the Dreadnought era, bringing to life the last of a magnificent type of vessel of which the world will not see again."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82VANGUARD

The French fleet : ships, strategy and operations, 1870-1918 /Ruggero Stanglini and Michele Cosentino. "At the end of the 1870-1 Franco-Prussian war, the French Navy began to reconstruct its fleet, but the process was slow and erratic principally because priority was initially given to the army. Nevertheless, French naval yards and private shipyards were tasked with building a fleet of ironclads, cruisers and minor vessels which led France to become the second European naval power, at least quantitatively. The rise of the 'Jeune áEcole' (Young School) strategic naval concept in the early 1880s then changed shipbuilding priorities, and emphasis was given to coastal torpedo boats and cruisers. As a consequence, the French Navy implemented the dreadnought concept later than Great Britain and Germany. The 1904 Entente Cordiale contributed to yet further radical changes to foreign, naval and shipbuilding policies, so that at the outbreak of World War One the French fleet comprised a limited number of dreadnoughts, many obsolete armoured cruisers, an impressive array of torpedo boats and a fleet of submarines whose efficiency was questionable. The book provides a complete overview of the French Navy during this long era, and the complex French foreign and naval policy, shipyards and industrial organisation, technology and operations are all described in the first part of the volume, while the second and larger part is focused on the different categories of warships, including their qualitative and quantitative evolution during the period of 1871?1918 and their employment during the Great War. A chapter is also dedicated to naval aviation. Superbly illustrated with rare and carefully selected photographs, this major new volume paints a clear and detailed overview of the French navy during this era and is destined to become a classic reference work for this period."--Provided by the publisher. 2022. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 359.00944

Jutland : World War I's greatest naval battle /edited by Michael Epkenhans, Jèorg Hillmann, and Frank Nèagler. "During the first two years of World War I, Germany struggled to overcome a crippling British blockade of its mercantile shipping lanes. With only sixteen dreadnought-class battleships compared to the renowned British Royal Navy's twenty-eight, the German High Seas Fleet stood little chance of winning a direct fight. The Germans staged raids in the North Sea and bombarded English coasts in an attempt to lure small British squadrons into open water where they could be destroyed by submarines and surface boats. After months of skirmishes, conflict erupted on May 31, 1916, in the North Sea near Jutland, Denmark, in what would become the most formidable battle in the history of the Royal Navy. In Jutland, international scholars reassess the strategies and tactics employed by the combatants as well as the political and military consequences of their actions. Most previous English-language military analysis has focused on British admiral Sir John Jellicoe, who was widely criticized for excessive caution and for allowing German vice admiral Reinhard Scheer to escape; but the contributors to this volume engage the German perspective, evaluating Scheer's decisions and his skill in preserving his fleet and escaping Britain's superior force. Together, the contributors lucidly demonstrate how both sides suffered from leadership that failed to move beyond outdated strategies of limited war between navies and to embrace the total war approach that came to dominate the twentieth century. The contributors also examine the role of memory, comparing the way the battle has been portrayed in England and Germany. An authoritative collection of scholarship, Jutland serves as an essential reappraisal of this seminal event in twentieth-century naval history."--Provided by the publisher. [2015]. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.456(489)

The Kaiser's battlefleet : German capital ships 1870-1918 /Aidan Dodson. "The battleships of the Third Reich have been written about exhaustively, but there is little in English devoted to their predecessors of the Second Reich. This new book fills an important gap in the literature of the period by covering these German capital ships in detail and studying the full span of battleship development during this period. The book is arranged as a chronological narrative, with technical details, construction schedules and ultimate fates tabulated throughout, thus avoiding the sometimes disjointed structure that can result from a class-by-class approach. Heavily illustrated with line work and photographs, many from German sources, the book offers readers a fresh visual look at these ships, beyond the limited range of images available from UK sources. A key objective of the book is to make available a full synthesis of the published fruits of archival research by German writers found in the pre-WW2 books of Koop & Schmolke, Grossmer's on the construction programme of the dreadnaught era, Forstmeier & Breyer on WW1 projects, and Schenk & Nottelmann's papers in Warship International. As well as providing data not available in English-language books, these sources correct significant errors in the 'standard' English sources. This entirely fresh study will appeal to historians of WWI German naval developments as well as to enthusiasts and model makers." --Provided by the publisher. 2016. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.821(43)"1871/1918"

Churchill and Fisher : titans at the Admiralty /Barry Gough. "A vivid study in the politics and stress of high command, this book describes the decisive roles of young Winston Churchill as political head of the Admiralty and the ageing Admiral 'Jacky'Fisher as professional master and creator of Dreadnought, locked together in perilous destiny. Upon these Titans at the Admiralty rested Allied command of the sea at the moment of its supreme test, the challenge presented by the Kaiser's navy under the dangerous Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz. Churchill and Fisher exhibited vision, genius, and energy, but the war unfolded in unexpected ways. German cruisers escaped to Constantinople bringing Turkey into the war, and though Coronel's disaster was redeemed at the Falklands, Jellicoe's Grand Fleet was forced to seek refuge from U-boats; the torpedo and mine became prominent, to German advantage. There were no Trafalgars, no Nelsons. Press and Parliament became battlegrounds for a public expecting decisive victory at sea. Then the ill-fated Dardanelles adventure, 'by ships alone' as Churchill determined, on top of the Zeppelin raids brought about Fisher's departure from the Admiralty, in turn bringing down Churchill. Wilderness years followed, with Churchill commanding a battalion on the Western Front and Fisher chairing an inventions board seeking an electronic countermeasure to the lethal U-boat. This dual biography, based on fresh and thorough appraisal of the Churchill and Fisher papers, is a story for the ages. It is about Churchill's and Fisher's war & how each fought it, how they waged it together, and how they fought against each other, face to face or behind the scenes. It reveals a strange and unique pairing of sea lords who found themselves facing Armageddon and seeking to maintain the primacy of the Royal Navy, the guardian of trade, the succour of the British peoples, and the shield of Empire."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92CHURCHILL

Naval aviation in the Second World War : rare photographs from wartime archives /Philip Kaplan. "The first aircraft carriers made their appearance in the early years of World War I. These first flattops were improvised affairs built on hulls that had been laid down with other purposes in mind, and it was not until the 1920s that the first purpose-built carriers were launched, but no-one was as yet clear about the role of the carriers and they were largely unloved by the 'battleship admirals' who still believed that their great dreadnoughts were the ultimate capital ships. World War II changed all that, At Taranto, Pearl Harbour, and in the North Atlantic, the carrier, the ugly duckling of the world's navies, proved itself to be the dreadnought nemesis. As the tide of war turned, the fast attack carriers of the U.S. Navy spearheaded the counter-attack in the Pacific while the makeshift escort carriers helped to seal the fate of the German U-boats in the Atlantic. The carrier, and naval aviation, thus emerged into the post-war world as the primary symbol and instrument of seapower; it would play a crucial role in the strategic encirclement of the Soviet Union and enabled western airpower to be rapidly and effectively deployed in areas of conflict as remote as Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands and the Gulf. Kaplan describes the adventure of the young American, British, and Japanese naval aviators in the Second World War. It is an account of their experiences based on archives, diaries, published and unpublished memoirs, and personal interviews with veteran naval airmen of WWII, providing a vivid and often hair-raising picture of the dangers they encountered in combat and of everyday life aboard an aircraft carrier. It considers some of the key aspects of the WWII naval aviator's combat career, such as why it was that only a tiny minority of these pilots - those in whom the desire for aerial combat overrode everything - accounted for such a large proportion of the victories. In the major carrier actions of that conflict, from the Royal Navy's attack on Taranto which crippled the Italian fleet in 1940, to the Japanese carrier-launched surprise attack on U.S. Navy battleships and facilities at Pearl Harbour in 1941, to the carrier battle of Midway in 1942, and the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot of 1944, through the Japanese Kamikaze campaign against the U.S. Carriers in the final stages of the Pacific war, this book takes the reader back to one of the most exciting and significant times in modern history."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.7"1939/1945"

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