Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Arctic convoys 1941-1945 / Woodman, Richard. 1994 "For the last four gruelling years of the war, the Western Allies supplied arms and ammunition to Soviet Russia. These supplies were essential to the Russian war effort, and so the Germans were determined to cut them off. Allied merchant ships ran the gauntlet of the icy Barents Sea, outflanked by German bases in Norway, from where bombers, surface warships and U-boats could attack without warning. Each delivery of arms was an epic achievement. In fact an eminent British historian described it as 'undertaking the impossible'. Under pressure from both Stalin and Roosevelt, Churchill compelled the British navy to fight convoy after convoy through to Murmansk and Archangel. This was war áa outrance, where the sinking of a single 10,000-ton freighter was the equivalent, in terms of material destroyed, of a land battle. It was the Arctic that saw the last concentration of the U-boats, driven from their former French bases; the Arctic that saw the last Royal Navy ship sunk in European waters, and the Arctic that saw the greatest defeat of a convoy in modern history. [...] The debacle of PQ17, the surface actions, the U-boat attacks and running air battles culminating in the final destruction of the Scharnhorst, are all fully covered, but so too are the personal angle and the perspective of the long-suffering merchant ships and their crews, together with the political implications, whose rumblings linger yet. At last the part played by the merchant crews in this theatre of war is fully explored. The author, himself a professional seaman, has carried out a major and comprehensive review of naval operations in the Arctic which, ironically for Britain and the United States, left Stalin's Russia the dominating power in post-war Europe."--Provided by the publisher. 1994 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 940.542.1(47)

Flags at sea : a guide to the flags flown at sea by British and some foreign ships, from the 16th century to the present day /Timothy Wilson. Wilson, Timothy, 1999. • BOOK • 3 copies available. 929.9.024/.025

The Kaiser's pirates : hunting Germany's raiding cruisers in World War I /Nick Hewitt. "The Kaiser's Pirates is a dramatic and little-known story of World War I, when the actions of a few men shaped the fate of nations. By 1914 Germany had ships and sailors scattered across the globe, protecting its overseas colonies and 'showing the flag' of its new Imperial Navy. After war broke out on August 4 there was no hope that they could reach home. Instead, they were ordered to attack Britain's vital trade routes for as long as possible. Under the leadership of a few brilliant, audacious men, they unleashed a series of raids that threatened Britain's war effort and challenged the power and prestige of the Royal Navy. The next year saw a battle of wits which stretched across the globe, drawing in ships and men from six empires. By the end, the 'Kaiser's Pirates' were no more, and Britain once again ruled the waves. Including vivid descriptions of the battles of Coronel and the Falklands and the actions of the Emden, the Goeben and the Breslau, the Karsrèuhe and the Kèonigsberg, The Kaiser's Pirates tells a fascinating narrative that ranges across the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, and the Caribbean."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.459(43)

War Beneath the Waves : Uboat Flotilla in Flanders 1915-1918 /Tomas Termote "For four years the German U-boats of U-Flottille Flandern would become a serious threat to the omnipotence of the Royal Navy and its fleet. By the end of the war they had managed to sink a total of 2,554 Allied ships, totalling 2.5 million tons of shipping. The Royal Navy put everything it had at its disposal to defeat the U-boats. Mines, steel nets, patrol craft, Q-ships, aircraft, airships, convoys, espionage and specially equipped salvage units had to eliminate the activities of the U-boat. As a consequence, these countermeasures caused the loss of 80% of the U-boats which were stationed in the Flemish ports.Underwater archaeologist and naval historian Tomas Termote visited the wrecks of many U-boats and has unraveled many of their secrets. He also writes about life on board the U-boats, their importance in the war and the heavy losses on both sides. For the first time a detailed insight in this unique part of history is given with an account of the fate of every U-boat of the fleet.Illustrated with underwater colour photographs of the wrecks, drawings of the sites and artefacts which helped identify unidentified sites,including that of UB-88, which ended up after the war in US waters where she was paraded in every big port on the US East coast, and sailed right up north along the West coast where it ended its life after being sunk off San Diego."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.827.3

My inestimable friend / Alastair R. Brown. "In 1779 when William Brown was a fourteen-year-old midshipman on the Frigate Apollo, a French sharp-shooter's musket ball passed through the brim of his hat but injured only his left hand. Many years later, on the deck of HMS Victory, Admiral Lord Nelson would not be so fortunate when a French sharp shooter identified him. One day Alastair Brown was shown a copy of Sherwin's etching, The Death of Lord Robert Manners after the Battle of the Saints by his cousin, who was able to identify William Brown as the midshipman kneeling at the foot of the bed. This chance encounter greatly increased the author's interest in his ancestor's naval career. William remained a midshipman for the five years of peace following the battle until his pursuit of a commission led him to join William Bligh on the Bounty. Perhaps fortunately, he was transferred to another ship by the First Lord of the Admiralty, shortly before the Bounty sailed. In 1805, now commanding the 74-gun Ajax, William received a request from Nelson that Ajax accompany Victory to join the blockade of Cadiz. However, when Nelson later asked him to accompany Admiral Calder back to England for Calder's court martial, William unfortunately missed the Battle of Trafalgar by a few days. William Brown then attended Nelson's funeral before being sent to Malta as the first commissioner for the Royal Navy there. He was Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica when he died there of yellow fever in 1814. Not just a detailed account of the life of an admiral who served at the time of Nelson, the book contains many fascinating insights into life in the Georgian navy and Georgian society at large."--From inside front cover. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92BROWN

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"

Admiralty despatches : the story of the war from the battlefront 1939-45 /G. H. Bennett. "From at least as early as the eighteenth century it became a tradition that, following operations involving the Royal Navy, the commanding admiral would report to the Admiralty in the form of an official despatch. Following the French wars of 1792-1815 the despatches were published and that set a precedent. After the Second World War the relevant despatches for 1939-45 were published (from 1947 onwards) as supplements to the London Gazette. The despatches reproduced here, introduced and annotated by Professor Bennett, cover events with a huge bearing on the outcome of the war, such as the convoys in the Mediterranean and to Russia, major amphibious operations and raids such as Dieppe, alongside some of the minor operations involving the Royal Navy and, of course, D-Day. These important documents are published here in an accessible form. We are fortunate that they were written in a way designed to be understood by the public at the time. What they reveal, not only about naval operations but about their authors, is fascinating.--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 354.71

The Baltimore Sabotage Cell : German agents, American traitors, and the U-boat Deutschland during World War I /Dwight R. Messimer. "By the summer of 1915 Germany was faced with two major problems in fighting World War I: how to break the British blockade and how to stop or seriously disrupt the British supply line across the Atlantic. The solution to the former was to find a way over, through, or under it. Aircraft in those days were too primitive, too short range, and too underpowered to accomplish this, and Germany lacked the naval strength to force a passage through the blockade. But if Germany could build a fleet of cargo U-boats that were large enough to carry meaningful loads and had the range to make a round trip between Germany and the United States without refueling, the blockade might be successfully broken. Since the German navy could not cut Britain's supply line to America, another answer lay in sabotaging munitions factories, depots, and ships, as well as infecting horses and mules at the western end of the supply line. German agents, with American sympathizers, successfully carried out more than fifty attacks involving fires and explosions and spread anthrax and glanders on the East Coast before America's entry into the war on 6 April 1917. Breaking the blockade with a fleet of cargo U-boats provided the lowest risk of drawing America into the war; at the same time, sabotage was incompatible with Germany's diplomatic goal of keeping the United States out of the war. The two solutions were very different, but the fact that both campaigns were run by intelligence agencies - the Etappendienst (navy) and the Geheimdienst (army), through the agency of one man, Paul Hilken, in one American city, Baltimore, make them inseparable. Those solutions created the dichotomy that produced the U-boat Deutschland and the Baltimore Sabotage Cell. Here, Messimer provides the first study of the degree to which U.S. citizens were enlisted in Germany's sabotage operations and debunks many myths that surround the Deutschland."--Provided by the publisher. 2015 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.4/8743

Seaforth world naval review 2016 / editor, Conrad Waters. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.353"2016"

Warship 1994 / edited by John Roberts. Roberts, John, 1994. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82"1994"

The Thames on fire : the battle of London River 1939-1945 /by L M Bates Bates, L. M. 1985 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 942.1.085

The battle and the breeze : the naval reminiscences of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Edward Ashmore The autobiography of Sir Edward Ashmore, originally written for his family, based on his personal recollections and edited to concentrate on the naval side of his story. Joining the Royal Navy in 1933, Ashmore's wartime experiences included service in the Arctic and Pacific, and he was awarded the DSC. He went on to become the first Commander in Chief Fleet at Northwood, First Sea Lord and then Chief of Defence. Since Ashmore played a key role in naval policy-making during the 1960s and 1970s, the book also provides an insight on post-1945 naval policy. 1997 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.02(42)"194/197"

My time at sea / Eden S. Mathews (aka Tony). Autobiography by Eden S. Matthews detailing his career as a merchant sailor. Beginning with Matthews's training in HMS Cornwall in the 1950s, the book proceeds with detailed accounts of his apprenticeship with the Blue Funnel line in Asia and Australasia, travels to Africa and America with Elder Dempster Lines, his return to merchant navy service with Ocean Fleets in the 1970s, and brief stint on board the 'banana boats' travelling back and forth between the West Indies and UK, as well as a brief section on his childhood in Kenya, Tanzania, and the UK. 2010. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92MATHEWS

Boteler's dialogues Boteler, Nathaniel 1929 • BOOK • 4 copies available. 355.124(42)"15/16"

Liffey ships & shipbuilding / Pat Sweeney. "This book provides a comprehensive history of the four shipbuilding yards that have operated along Dublin's River Liffey since shipbuilding began there. It begins with the Walpole and Webb shipyard from the early 1830's and documents the progression of the shipbuilding industry in Dublin throughout the First World War, the Great Depression, the Second World War and the vital part the shipyards played in keeping the neutral Irish merchant fleet operating in order to feed the country during the war - resulting in secret talks with the British navy about building ships in Dublin for the British during the Second World War. The narrative goes up to 1969 and the author then details the efforts that have been made to revive Dublin's shipbuilding industry in more recent years. Includes a 16-page photo section."--from publisher. 2010. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 629.12(418.3)

We shall fight on the beaches : defying Napoleon & Hitler, 1805 and 1940 /Brian Lavery. Lavery, Brian. 2009. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.48"1805+1940"

Seapower : theory and practice /edited by Geoffrey Till. 1994. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.02(100)"17/19"

A naval chronology of the war of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, 1793-1815 Prisk, Barbara (comp) 1996 • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 355.49"1793/1815"(42:44)

Royal Fleet Auxiliary in focus / Jon Wise "A fine pictorial history of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary - the Merchant ships that supply the essential fuel and foods to ships of the Royal Navy on the high seas."--Provided by the publisher. 2002 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.828(42)

Regulations and rules relative to the passages of civil and military officers in His Majesty's ships of war Great Britain.-Admiralty 1816 • RARE-FOLIO • 1 copy available. 094:355.51

Swift and effective retribution : the US sixth Fleet and the confrontation with Quaddafi • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 623.746.3(73)

A brush with shipping : a collection of sketches and paintings Jack Rigg (b.1927) is a marine artist. He joined the Royal Navy in 1946 and started painting in the 1960s. This book is a collection of paintings and sketches of ships, harbours and other marine subjects. There is a list of paintings, all of which are reproduced in colour. The text acompanying each one is taken from interviews with the artist. 1995 • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 75.047(26:42)"19"

Clydebank battlecruisers : forgotten photographs from John Brown's shipyard /Ian Johnston. Containing the work of professional photographers hired by the Clydebank shipyard of John Brown & Sons to preserve a visual record of the construction of five Royal Navy battlecruisers built between 1906 and 1920. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.821.3(084.12)(42)

The maritime blockade of Germany in the Great War : the northern patrol, 1914-1918 Grainger, John D. (ed.) 2003 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.463.3:940.452

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