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showing 4,203 library results for 'navy'

Dardanelles : a midshipman's diary, 1915-16 /H.M. Denham. "This diary, richly illustrated by unpublished photographs and plans, is an important addition to the Gallipoli archive. Henry Denham's account reveals the courage, waste, muddle and triumph that are associated with the names of Gallipoli and Dardanelles. Denham, well known to cruising people and travelers for his Mediterranean Sea-Guides, began his colourful career in the Royal Navy at the naval colleges of Osborne and Dartmouth. It was as a cadet the he first went to sea on the outbreak of the war in 1914: he found himself aboard HMS Agamemnon and within weeks was steaming down the English Channel for an unknown destination. On reaching the Dardanelles midshipmen were prohibited - for security reasons - from keeping official journals. Denham kept a private diary in which he recorded day-to-day combat as well as outspoken comments on his seniors and on the actions in which he was involved. His powers as an observer and recorder are seen clearly: his keen pen-portraits of personalities, British and foreign, and his noting of the minutiae of naval warfare put you aboard an old broadside battleship during one of the last set piece actions, played out according to the old tactics. He saw much of the action aloft in the precarious and often violently lively crow's-nest and sometimes had fine views of Turkish gunners and occasional infantry charges. On the sea he commanded a steam picket-boat in the Suvla Bay landings -- a splendid observation post for the foibles and failings of the commanders."--dust jacket. 1981. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92DENHAM
British and Commonwealth warship camouflage of WWII : volume II :battleships and aircraft carriers /Malcolm George Wright. "During the Second World War navies developed low visibility camouflage for their ships, on both the vertical and horizontal surfaces, in order reduce visibility by blending in with the sea, or confuse the identity of a ship by applying more obtrusive patters. In this the second volume by maritime artist Mal Wright, both the official and unofficial paint schemes that adorned the capital ships of the Royal Navy and Commonwealth are depicted in detail, along with discussions on changes of armament and electronics that effected the outward appearance of each ship. Beginning with the Royal Sovereign class, the book goes on to cover all the other battleship classes as well as the battlecruisers, monitors, the first and second generation carriers as well as light and escort carriers. Where possible both sides of the ship are depicted, and there are multiple images of the ships where armament or equipment changes had a fundamental impact on a ship's appearance. Overhead views are also included. With 525 full colour illustrations, arranged by ship type rather than camouflage scheme, this book concentrates the clearest possible information into a single volume to provide a one-stop reference source. Many schemes would be difficult for the reader to have found other than with the most intensive research so that historians, collectors, modelmakers and wargamers will find this unique reference source absolutely invaluable."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.773(941-44)"1939/1945"
Hornblower's historical shipmates : the young gentlemen of Pellew's Indefatigable /Heather Noel-Smith. "This book sets out the lives of seventeen 'young gentlemen' who were midshipmen under the famous Captain Sir Edward Pellew. Together, aboard the frigate HMS Indefatigable, they fought a celebrated action in 1797 against the French ship of the line Les Droits de l'Homme. C. S. Forester, the historical novelist, placed his famous hero, Horatio Hornblower, aboard Pellew's ship as a midshipman, so this book tells, as it were, the actual stories of Hornblower's real-life shipmates. And what stories they were! From diverse backgrounds, aristocratic and humble, they bonded closely with Pellew, learned their naval leadership skills from him, and benefited from his patronage and his friendship in their subsequent, very varied careers. The group provides a fascinating snapshot of the later eighteenth-century sailing navy in microcosm. Besides tracing the men's naval lives, the book shows how they adapted to peace after 1815, presenting details of their civilian careers. The colourful lives recounted include those of the Honourable George Cadogan, son of an earl, who survived three courts martial and a duel to retire with honour as an admiral in 1813; Thomas Groube, of a Falmouth merchant family, who commanded a fleet of boats which destroyed the Dutch shipping at Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies, in 1806; and James Bray, of Irish Catholic descent, who was killed commanding a sloop during the American war of 1812."--Provided by the publisher. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.335.34
Naval eyewitnesses : the experience of war 1939-1945 /James Goulty. "Although many books have been written about naval actions during the Second World War - histories and memoirs in particular - few books have attempted to encompass the extraordinary variety of the experience of the war at sea. That is why James Goulty's vivid survey is of such value. Sailors in the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy experienced a war fought on a massive scale, on every ocean of the world, in a diverse range of vessels, from battleships, aircraft carriers and submarines to merchant ships and fishing boats. Their recollections are as varied as the ships they served in, and they take the reader through the entire maritime war, as it was perceived at the time by those who had direct, personal knowledge of it. Throughout the book the emphasis is on the experience of individuals - their recruitment and training, their expectations and the reality they encountered on active service in many different offensive and defensive roles including convoy duty and coastal defence, amphibious operations, hunting U-boats and surface raiders, mine sweeping and manning landing and rescue craft. A particularly graphic section describes, in the words of the sailors themselves, what action against the enemy felt like and the impact of casualties - seamen who were wounded or killed on board or were lost when their ships sank. A fascinating inside view of the maritime warfare emerges which may be less heroic than the image created by some post-war accounts, but it gives readers today a much more realistic impression of the whole gamut of wartime life at sea."--Provided by the publisher. 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545941
HMS Terrible & her Naval Brigades : a cruiser & her campaigns during the Boer War and Boxer Rebellion :The commission of HMS Terrible, 1898-1902 :The White Era /George Crowe ; Fred T. Jane. "The battles of the Nile and Trafalgar in the opening years of the 19th century demonstrated that the Royal Navy was an unbeatable international force. The lessons of that period were so well understood by the world that the British Navy did not fight another major battle on the high seas until Jutland during the First World War. Britain ruled the waves for a century as the nation's imperial and colonial aspirations were fulfilled and the Royal Navy became a de facto international police force. The larger wars of the century were fought on land and demanded little of British naval resources. Naval guns and their expert gunners, however, were a valuable asset that could be deployed to significant effect almost anywhere the British Army was engaged. Naval Brigades were created and went on to see action in the Crimea, the Indian Mutiny, the Zulu War, the Boer War and towards the close of the 19th century as part of the force dispatched to China to suppress the Boxer uprising and relieve the beleaguered legations in Peking. This unique Leonaur two-in-one volume contains exciting narratives of the brigade of H.M.S. Terrible, a cruiser of the 'Powerful' class, during the Second Boer War, where it played a significant role in the relief of Ladysmith, and in China during the Boxer Rebellion. Also included is an interesting description of the initiatives which led to the building of the 'Powerful' class."--Provided by the publisher. [2013]. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82TERRIBLE