Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

British battleship vs German battleship : 1941-43 /Angus Konstam ; illustrated by Ian Palmer. "At the outbreak of World War II, the four key Capital German ships comprised the Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Their primary threats where the Royal Navy's King George Vclass battleships, the most modern British battleships in commission during World War II and some of the Navy's most powerful vessels. Five ships of this class were built: HMS King George V, Prince of Wales, Duke of York, Howe (late 1942) and Anson (late 1942). The powerful vessels in this class would clash with the pride of the Kriegsmarine in two major engagements: first, during the Battle of the Denmark Strait and subsequent pursuit of the Bismarck between 24 and 27 May 1941, and again at the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943. This addition to the Duel series compares and contrasts the design and development of these opposing capital ships, and describes the epic clashes on the high seas that ended with the destruction of the Kriegsmarine's major naval assets."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545941

Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine : including the Brief relation, the Brief narration, his defence, the charter granted to him, his will, and his letters ... with a memoir and historical illustrations Baxter, James Phinney 1967 • BOOK • 3 copies available. 325.3(42-5:741)

Battleship Bismarck : a design and operational history /William H Garzke Jr, Robery O Dulin Jr, and William Jurens with James Cameron "This new book on Bismarck offers a forensic analysis of the design, operation and loss of Germany's greatest battleship and draws on survivors' accounts and the authors' combined decades of experience in naval architecture and command at sea. Their investigation into every aspect of this battleship has taken fifty-six years of painstaking research, during which time they conducted extensive interviews and corresponded with the ship's designers and the survivors of the battle of the Denmark Strait and Bismarck's final battle. Albert Schnarke, for instance, the former gunnery officer of Tirpitz, Bismarck's sister ship, aided the authors greatly by translating and supplying manuscript materials from those who had participated in the design and operations. Survivors of Bismarck's engagements contributed to this comprehensive study including D B H Wildish, RN, damage control officer aboard HMS Prince of Wales, who located photographs of battle damage to his ship. After the wreck of Bismarck was discovered in June 1989, the authors served as technical consultants to Dr Robert Ballard, who led three trips to the site. Film maker and explorer James Cameron has contributed a chapter, which gives the reader a comprehensive overview of his deep-sea explorations on Bismarck and it is illustrated with his team's remarkable photographs of the wreck. The result of nearly six decades of research and collaboration, this new work is an engrossing and encyclopaedic account of the events surrounding one of the most epic naval battles of World War Two. And Battleship Bismarck finally resolves some of the major questions around her career, not least the most profound one of all: 'Who sank the Bismarck, the British or the Germans?'"--Provided by the publisher 2019. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82BISMARCK

Churchill and sea power / Christopher M. Bell. This book is the first major study of Winston Churchill's record as a naval strategist and his impact as the most prominent guardian of Britain's sea power in the modern era. The book debunks many popular and well-entrenched myths surrounding controversial episodes in both World Wars, including the Dardanelles disaster, the Norwegian Campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic, and the devastating loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse in 1941. It shows that many common criticisms of Churchill have been exaggerated, but also that some of his mistakes have been largely overlooked. The book also examines Churchill's evolution as a maritime strategist over the course of his career, and documents his critical part in managing Britain's naval decline during the first half of the twentieth century. Churchill's genuine affection for the Royal Navy has often distracted attention from the fact that his views on sea power were pragmatic and unsentimental. For, as Christopher M. Bell shows, in a period dominated by declining resources, global threats, and rapid technologicalchange, it was increasingly air rather than sea power that Churchill looked to as the foundation of Britain's security. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92CHURCHILL

The ships that came to Manchester : from the Mersey and Weaver sailing flat to the mighty container ship /Nick Robins. "The merchants of Manchester were concerned about the high tariffs charged at Liverpool Docks and the excessive rates for transhipment of goods to Manchester. They decided that the best thing for their trade was to bring seagoing ships up to Manchester. And this they did - via numerous enabling Bills and by grand-scale Victorian engineering. The Port of Manchester and its ship canal opened for business on 1 January 1894 with existing clients such as James Knott's Prince Line running to the Mediterranean, and Fisher Renwick to London. But it could not readily entice the Liverpool shipowners to use Manchester, and it faced a long struggle to break the indifference of Conference Lines to the new port. The First World War finally allayed any lingering worries over the inadequacies of Manchester and the Liverpool companies then arrived in abundance. Manchester had its own shipping companies, including Manchester Liners, H. Watson & Company, Sivewright Bacon, Manchester Steamship Company, Manchester Spanish Line and others. Business peaked at Manchester in the 1950s but rapidly declined through the 1970s as ships became too big to transit the canal. Between 1894 and 1982 ships of all kinds docked at Manchester from all over the world; this is the story of the ships that came to Manchester."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61(427.2)

St Helena : A maritime history /Trevor Boult "In 1977, the remote British island of St Helena in the South Atlantic, host to Napoleon and Captain Bligh, and Boer War prisoner-of-war camp, was first served by a lifeline ship dedicated to the purpose. The Royal Mail Ship St Helena became affectionately known simply as the RMS. In 1990 she was replaced by the first purpose-built vessel for the service. This, the final St Helena, embodied romanticism from the era of passenger cargo-liners. At a time when fresh consideration was being given to provide the island with an airport - and the irrevocable changes it would bring - the author sailed on the RMS as part of the ship's company, to document the working life of this highly individual 'family' ship, and aspects of the island community which she served. Using his wonderful collection of colour photographs, Trevor Boult tells this fascinating story."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 969.92

Shaw Savill's magnificent seven : Corinthic, Athenic, Ceramic, Gothic, Persic, Runic, Suevic /Andrew Bell and Murray Robinson. A history of Shaw Savill's Corinthic, Athenic, Ceramic, Gothic, Persic, Runic, Suevic - seven ships designed as large cargo vessels to service the trade routes between New Zealand and London. The Corinthic, Athenic, Ceramic and Gothic also carried passengers - the Gothic famous as the vessel carrying Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their world coronation tour. Chapters on each vessel provide details of their design, construction, service history and cargoes, and also include personal accounts of events and anecdotes about life on board. Each chapter is richly illustrated including plans and photographs of the ship's launch, interior and exterior, and crew. An appendix covers the demise of Furness Withy, owner of Shaw Savill since 1935, and a concluding section contains illustrations of memorabilia including extracts from the 'Information for passengers' booklet, publicity brochures and documents relating to the coronation tour. 2011. • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 347.792SHAW SAVILL

Aquatint : from its origins to Goya /Rena M. Hoisington. "Driven by a growing interest in collecting and multiplying drawings, artists and amateurs in the eighteenth century sought a new technique capable of replicating the subtlety of ink, wash, and watercolor. They devised an innovative and versatile new medium--aquatint--which would spread in use across Europe within a few decades, its distinctive dark tones making possible a remarkable variety of ingenious imagery. In this illuminating book, Rena M. Hoisington traces how the aquatint technique flourished as a cross-cultural and cosmopolitan phenomenon that contributed to the rise of art publishing, connoisseurship, leisure travel, drawing instruction, and the popularity of neoclassicism. She offers new insights into sophisticated experiments by artists such as Francisco Goya, Maria Catharina Prestel, Paul Sandby, and Jean-Baptiste Le Prince. Marvelously illustrated with rare works from the National Gallery of Art's collection of early aquatints, this engaging book provides a fresh look at how printmaking contributed to a vibrant exchange of information and ideas in Europe during the Enlightenment."--Provided by the publisher. [2021] • BOOK • 1 copy available. 760

State barges / Peter Norton. Norton, Peter. 1972. • PAMPHLET • 10 copies available. 629.122.3:394.4

Science, utility and maritime power : Samuel Bentham in Russia, 1779-91 /Roger Morriss. "During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Samuel Bentham influenced both the technology and the administrative ideas employed in the management of the British navy. His influence stemmed from his passion for science, from his desire to achieve improvements based on a belief in the principle of Utility, and from experience gained over eleven years in Russia, a large part in the service of Catherine the Great and Prince Potemkin. Having travelled extensively throughout the north and south of Russia, Poland and Siberia, he managed Potemkina (TM)s industries at Krichev, built fast river galleys, armed the Russian flotilla of small craft at Kherson and served with the flotilla that defeated the Turks in the Black Sea. His main ambition was to open river communication in Siberia and develop trade into the Pacific. However he returned to England and in 1796 became Inspector General of Naval Works, a post in which he fought for innovations in the technology and management of the British royal dockyards. Regarded then by the Navy Board as a dangerous maverick, this book reveals the experiences, creativity and thinking that made him a major figure in British naval development."--Provided by the publisher. [2015]. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92BENTHAM

Discourses of slavery and abolition : Britain and its colonies, 1760-1838 /edited by Brycchan Carey, Markman Ellis, and Sara Salih. 2004. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 326(41-44)"17/18"

Timekeepers : how the world became obsessed with time /Simon Garfield. "Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. The Beatles learn to be brilliant in an hour and a half. An Englishman arrives back from Calcutta but refuses to adjust his watch. Beethoven has his symphonic wishes ignored. A US Senator begins a speech that will last for 25 hours. The horrors of war are frozen at the click of a camera. A woman designs a ten-hour clock and reinvents the calendar. Roger Bannister lives out the same four minutes over a lifetime. And a prince attempts to stop time in its tracks. Timekeepers is a book about our obsession with time and our desire to measure it, control it, sell it, film it, perform it, immortalise it and make it meaningful. It has two simple intentions: to tell some illuminating stories, and to ask whether we have all gone completely nuts."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 681.111/.118

The Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942-1944 : the fleet that had to hide /Charles Stephenson. "The story of the British Eastern Fleet, which operated in the Indian Ocean against Japan, has rarely been told. Although it was the largest fleet deployed by the Royal Navy prior to 1945 and played a vital part in the theatre it was sent to protect, it has no place in the popular consciousness of the naval history of the Second World War. So Charles Stephenson's deeply researched and absorbing narrative gives this forgotten fleet the recognition it deserves. British pre-war naval planning for the Far East is part of the story, as is the disastrous loss of the battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse in 1941, but the body of the book focuses on the new fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir James Somerville, and its operations against the Japanese navy and aircraft as well as Japanese and German submarines. Later in the war, once the fleet had been reinforced with an American aircraft carrier, it was strong enough to take more aggressive actions against the Japanese, and these are described in vivid detail. Charles Stephenson's authoritative study should appeal to readers who have a special interest in the war with Japan, in naval history more generally and Royal Navy in particular."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.5429

Empire Windrush : reflections on 75 years & more of the Black British experience /edited and with an introduction by Onyekachi Wambu ; preface by Margaret Busby. "In June 1948, the SS Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, carrying with it the hopes and dreams of hundreds of young men and women from the Caribbean. Their arrival was to have far-reaching effects on Britain, signalling not only the beginning of mass migration to the UK, but also the unravelling of the Empire which they and their ancestors had lived under for almost 400 turbulent years. It was a landmark moment which influenced generations of writers, artists and thinkers. In this ground-breaking anthology, journalist and writer Onyekachi Wambu collates some of the best and most significant writing to mark 75 years since the arrival of Empire Windrush. Through poetry, fiction, journalism, essays and memoir, writers from the Caribbean, Africa and Asia - including Bernardine Evaristo, Zadie Smith, Andrea Levy, V.S. Naipaul, C.L.R. James, Salman Rushdie, John Agard, Stuart Hall, Ben Okri, Phyllis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano and Mary Prince, amongst others - explore the Black British experience."--Provided by the publisher. 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 820.8/0896041

The silent deep : the Royal Navy Submarine Service since 1945 /Peter Hennessy and James Jinks. "'The Ministry of Defence does not comment upon submarine operations' is the standard response of officialdom to enquiries about the most secretive and mysterious of Britain's armed forces, the Royal Navy Submarine Service. Written with unprecedented co-operation from the Service itself and privileged access to documents and personnel, The Silent Deep is the first authoritative history of the Submarine Service from the end of the Second World War to the present. It gives the most complete account yet published of the development of Britain's submarine fleet, its capabilities, its weapons, its infrastructure, its operations and above all - from the testimony of many submariners and the first-hand witness of the authors - what life is like on board for the denizens of the silent deep. Dramatic episodes are revealed for the first time: how HMS Warspite gathered intelligence against the Soviet Navy's latest ballistic-missile-carrying submarine in the late 1960s; how HMS Sovereign made what is probably the longest-ever trail of a Soviet (or Russian) submarine in 1978; how HMS Trafalgar followed an exceptionally quiet Soviet 'Victor III', probably commanded by a Captain known as 'the Prince of Darkness', in 1986. It also includes the first full account of submarine activities during the Falklands War. But it was not all victories: confrontations with Soviet submarines led to collisions, and the extent of losses to UK and NATO submarine technology from Cold War spy scandals are also made more plain here than ever before. In 1990 the Cold War ended - but not for the Submarine Service. Since June 1969, it has been the last line of national defence, with the awesome responsibility of carrying Britain's nuclear deterrent. The story from Polaris to Trident - and now 'Successor' - is a central theme of the book. In the year that it is published, Russian submarines have once again been detected off the UK's shores. As Britain comes to decide whether to renew its submarine-carried nuclear deterrent, The Silent Deep provides an essential historical perspective."--Proided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.827(42)"1945/2015"

Man of War : The Fighting Life of Admiral James Saumarez: From The American Revolution to the Defeat of Napoleon /Anthony Sullivan "The career of Guernsey-born Admiral James Saumarez reads like an early history of the Royal Navy. His first battle was against the American revolutionaries in 1775, but thereafter his main opponents were the French and the Spanish, and the first fighting ship he commanded, the eight-gun galley Spitfire, was involved in forty-seven engagements before being run aground. Rising through the ranks, Saumarez fought on land and at sea, and was involved in actions in the English Channel, being given command of a squadron of ships based at Guernsey. He served on HMS Victory, took part in the Battle of Cape St Vincent, the Blockade of Cadiz, and was with Nelson at the Battle of the Nile. Promoted to Rear Admiral, he led his ships at the battles of Algeciras and the Gut of Gibraltar. Saumarez was then despatched into the Baltic, where he helped thwart Napoleon's attempt at conquering Russia. So prominent was Saumarez during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, he was featured in the Hornblower novels and other fictional books, including Master and Commander. Tony Sullivan, however, tells the true story of one of the most remarkable individuals of the great days of sail, in the first biography of Saumarez for more than 170 years."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92SAUMAREZ

New interpretations in naval history : selected papers from the eighteenth McMullen Naval History Symposium held at the United States Naval Academy 19-20 September 2013 /edited by Lori Lyn Bogle and James C. Rentfrow. McMullen Naval History Symposium 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"17/19"

Walter Ralegh : architect of empire /Alan Gallay. "Sir Walter Ralegh was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. She showered him with estates and political appointments. He envisioned her becoming empress of a universal empire. She gave him the opportunity to lead the way. In Walter Ralegh, Alan Gallay shows that, while Ralegh may be best known for founding the failed Roanoke colony, his historical importance vastly exceeds that enterprise. Inspired by the mystical religious philosophy of hermeticism, Ralegh led English attempts to colonize in North America, South America, and Ireland. He believed that the answer to English fears of national decline resided overseas -- and that colonialism could be achieved without conquest. Gallay reveals how Ralegh launched the English Empire and an era of colonization that shaped Western history for centuries after his death".--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92RALEGH

The Napoleonic Wars in cartoons / Mark Bryant. "Napoleon Bonaparte, the junior artillery officer of the French Revolution who became emperor and dictator of nearly all of western Europe, was the most caricatured figure of his time, with almost 1000 satirical drawings being produced about his exploits by British artists alone. Long before the advent of illustrated daily or weekly newspapers these hand-coloured prints were a major source of news and opinion and had considerable impact on the public at large. From the battles of the Nile, Copenhagen, Trafalgar, Austerlitz, Jena and Leipzig to the Peninsular War, the invasion of Russia, exile on Elba and his final defeat at Waterloo in 1815, the actions of Napoleon and his opponents were the main focus of graphic satire worldwide for nearly twenty years. The Napoleonic Wars were also the main topic of interest for some of the greatest cartoonists of all time, making this period part of the 'The Golden Age of Caricature' which spanned the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The diminutive emperor was a gift to cartoonists and James Gillray's transformation of him into the Lilliputian character 'Little Boney' was immensely popular. He also appeared as various kinds of grotesque creature - from ape, serpent and dragon to earwig, toadstool and crocodile - forever battling the mighty John Bull, Britannia and the British Bulldog as well as the Russian bear and the Austrian and Prussian eagles. The Allied monarchs and military commanders themselves were also custom-made for caricature. The Duke of Wellington's nose, General Blucher's flamboyant moustache, the one-armed Lord Nelson, the pug-faced (and mad) Tsar Paul of Russia, the portly Prince of Wales and the wiry Prime Minister, William 'Bottomless' Pitt all feature prominently. "Napoleonic Wars in Cartoons" is divided into chapters each prefaced with a concise introduction that provides an historical framework for the work of that period. Altogether more than 300 drawings from both sides of the conflicts, in colour and black-and-white, have been skilfully blended to produce a unique visual history."--Dust jacket. 2009. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 741.5:355.49"1793/1812"(42:44)

The Mariners' Marvellous Magazine : or wonders of the ocean : containing the most remarkable adventures and relations of mariners in various parts of the globe Tegg, Thomas (comp) 1809 • RARE-BOOK • 2 copies available. 094:656.61.085.3

Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin : A narrative of the circumstances and causes which led to the failure of the searching expeditions sent by government and others for the rescue of Sir John Franklin /John Ross "Sir John Ross (1777-1856), the distinguished British naval officer and Arctic explorer, undertook three great voyages to the Arctic regions; accounts of his first and his second voyages are also reissued in this series. (During the latter, his ship was stranded in the unexplored area of Prince Regent Inlet, where Ross and his crew survived by living and eating as the local Inuit did.) In this volume, first published in 1855, the explorer describes his experiences during his third (privately funded) Arctic voyage, undertaken in 1850 as part of the effort to locate the missing expedition led by Sir John Franklin, his close friend. Ross also summarises in partisan style the previous efforts by the Royal Navy to find out what happened to the Erebus and Terror, and is scathing in his account of what he regards as the mismanagement and incompetence of the Admiralty."--Provided by the publisher. John Ross • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(987)

Bismarck : the epic chase : the sinking of the German menace /by James Crossley. "When the German Battleship Bismarck was commissioned in 1940 she was one of the fastest and most powerful ships afloat. To the Royal Navy and the security of Allied shipping in the Atlantic she posed an enormous threat - she must be destroyed. When she broke out into the Atlantic in 1941, some of Britain's most powerful ships were sent to pursue and sink her. The first encounter proved disastrous for the British Battleship HMS Hood, which was sunk at 0800 on 24 May. Bismarck had sustained several hits from HMS Prince of Wales but the Royal Navy were unsure of the extent of the damage and whether she would attempt to return to Germany for major repairs or sail for France to lick her wounds. Previous written accounts suggest that the whereabouts and course of Bismarck were unknown to the Allies until discovered by an RAF Catalina at 1030 on 26 May. This was followed an hour later by the arrival of a Fairey Swordfish flying off HMS Ark Royal. This aircraft hit the Bismarck with her torpedo and severely damaged her steering gear. It was now only a matter of time before the full firepower of the British capital ships would close in and destroy Germany's greatest ship. This new book revises previous theory of the events, in which earlier publications have failed to reveal the full extent of the capabilities of both British and German Radar or the significance of British ULTRA signal intercepts."--Provided by the publisher 2010. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.9(42:43)"1941"

The anarchy : the relentless rise of the East India Company /William Dalrymple ; [maps and illustrations, Olivia Fraser]. In August 1756 the East India Company defeated the young Mughal emperor and forced him to establish in his richest provinces a new administration run by English merchants who collected taxes through means of a ruthless private army--what we would now call an act of involuntary privatization. The East India Company's founding charter authorized it to "wage war" and it had always used violence to gain its ends. But the creation of this new government marked the moment that the East India Company ceased to be a conventional international trading corporation dealing in silks and spices and became something much more unusual: an aggressive colonial power in the guise of a multinational business. In less than four decades it had trained up a security force of around 200,000 men--twice the size of the British army--and had subdued an entire subcontinent, conquering first Bengal and finally, in 1803, the Mughal capital of Delhi itself. The Company's reach stretched until almost all of India south of the Himalayas was effectively ruled from a boardroom in London. The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world's most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders. In his most ambitious and riveting book to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 954.03/1

Fleet Air Arm boys : volume two: strike, anti-submarine, early warning and support aircraft since 1945 ; true tales from Royal Navy men and women air and ground crew /Steve Bond. "Since the end of World War 2 the primary role of the Royal Navys Fleet Air Arm has been airborne power projection; the ability rapidly to respond to any trouble spot across the globe and to protect the interests of the United Kingdom and its partner nations. The principal tools in that response were the strike aircraft which took the offensive to the aggressor. Although from 2010 to 2020 fixed-wing carrier aviation was not part of the Fleet Air Arm, with the advent of the navys two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, that capability has been restored. This renewed focus has not only seen the return of flying high performance aircraft from a carrier, but also the regeneration of the necessary skills, and courage, needed to cope with the extremes of weather and the nature of air operations in a very high-risk environment. However the lessons of the past have not been forgotten, and so many of those previous experiences are related within these pages true stories of the last 76 years from aircrew, maintainers, aircraft handlers and many other supporting staff both men and women. Following on from the success of volume one, this second volume covers every fixed-wing aircraft type flown from carriers in the strike, anti-submarine warfare and the vital airborne early warning roles; from Scimitars to Hunters, Buccaneers to Skyraiders and many more, plus an extensive fleet of land-based aircraft. As with the first volume, involvement in operations such as Suez, the Beira Patrol, the Falklands, Belize, Bosnia and elsewhere is included. Despite the intensity and all-to-frequent tragedy of operations, the esprit de corps, and the ability to find the necessary release through laughter, shine through. Here are the words of the men and women themselves, profusely illustrated in black and white and colour."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 358.4383

Explore our Collection