Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

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 It is an account of their experiences based on archives, diaries, published and unpublished memoirs, and personal interviews with veteran naval airmen of WWII, providing a vivid and often hair-raising picture of the dangers they encountered in combat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"

That curious fellow : Captain Basil Hall, R.N. /James McCarthy. "Son of a scientifically-minded Scottish aristocrat, Basil Hall joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13 in 1802. His first naval engagements in America and Spain during the Peninsular War are described, as are his travels in India and the Far East. His renowned interview with Napoleon, while still a prisoner on St. Helena, is featured. He was a confidante of Sir Walter Scott, Dickens and many other distinguished authors of his day. He was renowned for his curiosity and energy and became a popular writer himself based on his world-wide travels and adventures. As an amateur scientist, Hall made important contributions to nautical astronomy, geology and naval technology, being a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and numbered Sir John Herschel, Mary Somerville, and Sir Humphrey Davy among his scientific friends."--Back cover. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92HALL

British battleships, 1939-45. Angus Konstam. "With the outbreak of World War II, Britain's Royal Navy and her fleet of battleships would be at the forefront of her defence. Yet ten of the twelve battleships were already over twenty years old, having served in World War I, and required extensive modifications to allow them to perform a vital service throughout the six long years of conflict. This title offers a comprehensive review of the seven battleships of the Nelson and King George V classes from their initial commissioning to their peacetime modifications and wartime service. Moreover, with specially commissioned artwork and a dramatic re-telling of key battles, such as the duel between the Bismark and HMS Rodney, this book will highlight what it was like on board for the sailors who risked their lives on the high seas."--Back cover. 2009. • PAMPHLET • 1 copy available. 623.82(42)"1939/1945"

Damned un-English sailors : British submariners, 1901-1945 /by Richard MacKay. "During both world wars the British submariner faced a one-in-three chance of death, a casualty ratio second only to the horrific loss rate endured by the aircrews Bomber Command. Neither was he spared the perils of his inherently dangerous trade during peacetime: until the 1940s submarine losses through misadventure averaged one boat per year. Damned Un-English Sailors is a social history charting the first half-century of the development of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. With much information taken from previously unpublished sources, it portrays their lives ashore and afloat in war and in peace. From the selection and training of its officers and men - for decades a largely extemporized affair - to daily life aboard His Majesties Submarines between 1901 and 1945, Damned Un-English Sailors sheds light on this oft-overlooked aspect of British naval history."--Provided by the publisher. 2009. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.827(42)"1901/1945"

The Saumarez papers : selections from the Baltic correspondence of Vice-Admiral Sir James Saumarez 1808-1812 Saumarez, James, Sir 1968 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92Saumarez

Five naval journals 1789-1817 1951 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 92Abbot

A short history of Devonport Royal Dockyard / George Dicker Dicker, George 1980 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.81(423.5)

Naval administration 1715-1750 1977 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 354.71"17"

Britain's war against the slave trade : the operations of the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron, 1807-1867 /Anthony Sullivan. "Long before recorded history, men, women and children had been seized by conquering tribes and nations to be employed or traded as slaves. Greeks, Romans, Vikings and Arabs were among the earliest of many peoples involved in the slave trade, and across Africa the buying and selling of slaves was widespread. There was, at the time, nothing unusual in Britain's somewhat belated entry into the slave trade, transporting natives from Africa's west coast to the plantations of the New World. What was unusual was Britain's decision, in 1807, to ban the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Britain later persuaded other countries to follow suit, but this did not stop this lucrative business. So the Royal Navy went to war against the slavers, in due course establishing the West Africa Squadron which was based at Freetown in Sierra Leone. This force grew throughout the nineteenth century until a sixth of the Royal Navy's ships and marines was employed in the battle against the slave trade. Between 1808 and 1860, the West Africa Squadron captured 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans. The slavers tried every tactic to evade the Royal Navy enforcers. Over the years that followed more than 1,500 naval personnel died of disease or were killed in action, in what was difficult and dangerous, and at times saddening, work. In Britain's War Against the Slave Trade, naval historian Anthony Sullivan reveals the story behind this little-known campaign by Britain to end the slave trade. Whereas Britain is usually, and justifiably, condemned for its earlier involvement in the slave trade, the truth is that in time the Royal Navy undertook a major and expensive operation to end what was, and is, an evil business."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 306.362

British warships & auxiliaries / [Steve Bush]. Bush, Steve. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82(42)"2011/2012"

HMS/HQS Wellington / A. D. Munro. Munro, A. D. 2006. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82WELLINGTON

List of workmen & apprentices in His Majesty's dockyards 1748 : an alphabetical index transcribed from ADM106/2976 at the Public Record Office /by M T McGovern. McGovern, M T • FOLIO • 1 copy available.

Captain-general of the ocean sea : the naval career 1955-1971 of Lieutenant Commander RJH Griffiths Griffiths, R. J. H.-(Robert Jeremy Houghton), 2018 • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 92GRIFFITHS, RJH

Message : a project in association with the National Maritime Museum /edited by Louise Hayward. Message, a semaphore message of remembrance, was transmitted along the River Thames on Remembrance Sunday, 2005: War turns us to stone. In remembrance we shine and rise to new days. This profusely illustrated book tells the story of Beth Derbyshires performance artwork, as well as providing reflections on war and remembrance. 2006. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 627.724

The captain who burned his ships : Captain Thomas Tingey, USN, 1750-1829 /Gordon S. Brown. Brown, Gordon S., 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92Tingey

Spy sub : a top secret mission to the bottom of the Pacific /Roger C. Dunham. Dunham, Roger C., 1996. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.404.5(47)

Our fleet to-day : and its development during the last half-century /by Captain S. Eardley-Wilmot. Eardley-Wilmot, S.,-Sir, 1900. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82"18"

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