Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Navies of the Napoleonic era / Otto von Pivka. Pivka, Otto von, 1980. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1792/1815"

The search for the Japanese fleet : USS Nautilus and the Battle of Midway /David W. Jourdan ; foreword by Philip G. Renaud. "In the extensive literature about the Battle of Midway, the role of American submarines has not received adequate attention. In The Search for the Japanese Fleet: USS Nautilus and the Battle of Midway, David W. Jourdan, one of the world's experts in undersea exploration, has reconstructed the critical part subs played in the action that many chroniclers of World War II consider to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific. In the direct line of fire was one of the oldest submarines in the navy, USS Nautilus. On their first war patrol, Lieutenant Commander William Brockman and his ninety-three-man crew wondered what would war be like, and as events unfolded, their actions during an eight-hour period early in that voyage would rank among the most important contributions of a submarine to the most decisive engagement in U.S. Navy history. Fifty-seven years later, Jourdan's team of deep sea explorers set out to discover the history of the famous Battle of Midway and find the ships the allied fleet sank. Key to the mystery was the Nautilus and her underwater exploits. Relying on logs, diaries, chronologies, manuals, sound recordings, and interviews with veterans of the battle, including men who spent most of the day of June 4th in the submarine conning tower, the story breathes new life into the history of the epic engagement. Woven into the tale of World War II is the modern drama of deep sea discovery as explorers deploy technological marvels to the seafloor, over three miles down, to reveal the relics of history and commemorate fallen heroes."--Publisher description. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.6"1942"

Hitler's forgotten flotillas : Kriegsmarine security forces /Lawrence Paterson. "This study of the Kriegsmarine's Sicherungsstreitkrèafte, their security forces, fills a glaring gap in the study of the German navy in World War Two. This wide array of vessels included patrol boats, minesweepers, submarine hunters, barrage breakers, landing craft, minelayers and even the riverine flotilla that patrolled the Danube as it snaked towards the Black Sea. These vessels may not have provided the glamour associated with capital ships and U-boats, but they were crucial to the survival of the Kriegsmarine at every stage of hostilities. As naval construction was unable to keep pace with the likely demand for security vessels, Grossadmiral Erich Raeder turned to the conversion of merchant vessels. For example, trawlers were requisitioned as patrol boats (Vorpostenboote) and minesweepers (Minensucher), while freighters, designated Sperrbrecher, were filled with buoyant materials and sent to clear minefields. Submarine hunters (U-Boot Jèager) were requisitioned fishing vessels. More than 120 flotillas operated in wildly different conditions, from the Arctic to the Mediterranean, and 81 men were to be awarded the Knights Cross; some were still operating after the cessation of hostilities clearing German minefields. The author deals with whole subject at every level, documenting organisational changes, describing the vessels, and recounting individual actions of ships at sea, while extensive appendices round off this major new work."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545.9(43)

The British Civil Wars at sea, 1638-1653 / Richard J. Blakemore and Elaine Murphy. "The civil wars in England, Scotland and Ireland in the period 1638-1653 are usually viewed from the perspective of land warfare. This book, on the other hand, presents a comprehensive overview of the wars from a maritime perspective. It considers the structure, organisation and manning of the parliamentarian, royalist, and Irish confederate navies, discussing how these changed over the course of the wars. It also traces the development of the wars at sea, showing that the initial opting for parliament by seamen and officers in 1642 was a crucial development, as was the mutiny and defection of part of the parliamentarian navy in 1648. Moving beyond this it examines the nature of maritime warfare, including coastal sieges, the securing of major ports for parliament, the attempts by royalists to ship arms and other supplies from continental Europe, commerce raiding, and the transportation of armies and their supporters in the invasions of Scotland and Ireland. Overall the book demonstrates that the war at sea was an integral and important part of these dramatic conflicts."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1638/1653"(42)

Operation Pedestal : the fleet that battled to Malta 1942 /Max Hastings. "In August 1942, beleaguered Malta was within weeks of surrender to the Axis, because its 300,000 people could no longer be fed. Churchill made a personal decision that at all costs, the 'island fortress' must be saved. This was not merely a matter of strategy, but of national prestige, when Britain's fortunes and morale had fallen to their lowest ebb. The largest fleet the Royal Navy committed to any operation of the western war was assembled to escort fourteen fast merchantmen across a thousand of miles of sea defended by six hundred German and Italian aircraft, together with packs of U-boats and torpedo craft. The Mediterranean battles that ensued between 11 and 15 August were the most brutal of Britain's war at sea, embracing four aircraft-carriers, two battleships, seven cruisers, scores of destroyers and smaller craft. The losses were appalling: defeat seemed to beckon. This is the saga Max Hastings unfolds in his first full length narrative of the Royal Navy, which he believes was the most successful of Britain's wartime services. As always, he blends the 'big picture' of statesmen and admirals with human stories of German U-boat men, Italian torpedo-plane crews, Hurricane pilots, destroyer and merchant-ship captains, ordinary but extraordinary seamen. Operation Pedestal describes catastrophic ship sinkings, including that of the aircraft-carrier Eagle, together with struggles to rescue survivors and salvage stricken ships. Most moving of all is the story of the tanker Ohio, indispensable to Malta's survival, victim of countless Axis attacks. In the last days of the battle, the ravaged hulk was kept under way only by two destroyers, lashed to her sides. Max Hastings describes this as one of the most extraordinary tales he has ever recounted. Until the very last hours, no participant on either side could tell what would be the outcome of an epic of wartime suspense and courage"--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.54/5941

The horrible peace : British veterans and the end of the Napoleonic Wars /Evan Wilson. "Few battles in world history provide a cleaner dividing line than Waterloo: before, there was Napoleon; after, there was the Pax Britannica. While Waterloo marked France's defeat and Britain's ascendance as an imperial power, the war was far from over for many soldiers and sailors, who were forced to contend with the lasting effects of battlefield trauma, the realities of an impossibly tight labor market, and growing social unrest. The Horrible Peace details a story of distress and discontent, of victory complicated by volcanism, and of the challenges facing Britain at the beginning of its victorious century. Examining the process of demobilization and its consequences for British society, Evan Wilson draws on archival research and veterans' memoirs to tell the story of this period through the experiences of veterans who struggled to reintegrate and soldiers and sailors who remained in service as Britain attempted to defend and expand the empire. Veterans were indeed central to Britain's experience of peace, as they took to the streets to protest the government's indifference to widespread unemployment and misery. The fighting did not stop at Waterloo"-- [2023] • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.00941

The naval tracts of Sir William Monson Monson, William, Sir 1902-1914 • BOOK • 11 copies available. 355.49"15/16"

Private papers of George, second Earl Spencer, First Lord of the Admiralty 1794-1801 Spencer, George John 1913-1924 • BOOK • 10 copies available. 92Spencer

Maritime Wexford : the life of an Irish port town /Jack O'Leary & Nicky Rossiter. "Wexford has always had a long and close relationship with the sea. One of the county's most famous sons, John Barry, is known as the Father of the US Navy and, in Maritime Wexford, journalist Jack O'Leary and local historian Nicky Rossiter take the reader on a voyage that touches on this and many other stories of Wexford's maritime developmen."--Provided by the publisher 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 627.2(417.733)

Capturing Enigma : how HMS Petard seized the German naval codes Tells the story of HMS Petard and the capture by her crew of the Enigma coding material from U-559 in October 1942. Lieutenant Anthony Fasson RN and Able Seaman Colin Grazier, were both awarded the George Cross, while NAAFI (Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes) assistant Tom Brown received the George Medal. 2002 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82Petard

Seamanship : both in theory and practice Steel, David, 1795 • RARE-BOOK • 2 copies available. 094:656.61.052

Augustus Hervey : a naval casanova "Augustus Hervey (1724-1779), sailor, philanderer and politician, was a fascinating and idiosyncratic character whose intensely varied life has not previously been the subject of a full biography. This book provides a captivating account of his life and times, painting a wonderfully beguiling picture of the Navy of two hundred years ago. Holmes has succeeded in revealing this multi-faceted character, warts and all - his naval achievements in command and at the Admiralty, his family relationships and marriage to the notorious Elizabeth Chudleigh, his parliamentary career and his inheritance of the Earldom of Bristol. Brave, intelligent, impetuous and loyal, never shying away from personal danger, he relished the thrill of battle and was intoxicated by the attendant rush of adrenaline. Admirals Byng and Osborn sought his youthful advice, while his speeches in Parliament are testament to his facility with words and his sound grip on many of the burning questions of the day."--Provided by the publisher. 1996 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.124

The battle of the Atlantic and signals intelligence : U-boat situations and trends, 1941-1945 1998 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 627.724

The battle of the atlantic and signals : U-Boat tracking papers 1941-1947 2002 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 627.724

The first Pacific War : Britain and Russia, 1854-1856 /John D. Grainger. Grainger, John D., 2008. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1854/1856"

Britannia's realm : in support of the state 1763-1816 /Richard Woodman. Woodman, Richard, 2009. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61(42)

Jacks of all trades : operational records of TON Class minesweepers and minehunters /editor Peter Down. A summary of the operational records of each TON Class ship which served in the Royal Navy. 2012. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.829.3(42)"1953/1993"

Oceans apart : the journal of a seaman /by Michael John Kenn. An autobiography detailing the author's two-decade career in the Merchant Navy. The book provides candid and detailed descriptions of work and daily life as an able seaman in the 1950s and 1960s, including training, apprenticeships, and extensive voyages around the world. Includes black and white photographs throughout. 2008. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92KENN

A letter to the Right Honourable the Lords of the Admiralty, setting forth the inconveniences and hardships, the Marine officers are subject to, who serve on board the fleet Officer, An (pseud) 1757 • RARE-BOOK • 1 copy available. 094:355.353(42)"17"

Ambrosia : a scrapbook of the sixth submarine squadron division at work and play (and in love). 1955-1966 /from material gathered, edited and arranged between 2002 - 2004 by Stephen Jenner and Peter Haydon. Scrapbook of material, largely personal reminiscences and photographs, relating to the Royal Navy's Sixth Submarine Squadron Division in Halifax, Nova Scotia from 1955 to 1966; also contains a background paper which deals with Canada and the Royal Navy Submarine Service: 1915-2000, written by Commander Peter T. Haydon, Centre for Foreign Policy Studies, Dalhousie University, Halifax. [2004?] • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82AMBROSE:623.827

An account of the motor vessel Eilian and her master Jack Newcombe / by Peter R. Newcombe. The Eilian was built of steel in 1908. She was a three-pole-masted schooner of 140 tons. The shipyard of William Thomas in Anglesey used the name in three other vessels they had built previously. Chapters 1-3 of this book give a detailed and extensively illustrated account of the history of the vessel. Appendices A-H contain further detail, for example: Lloyd's Register entries for the Eilian; the official log book; cargo books and an interpretation of cargo data; and Merchant Navy service records for Jack Newcombe and Raymond John Newcombe. 2008. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 629.123.135 Eilian

Camouflage / Tim Newark ; introduction by Jonathan Miller. "Camouflage has become a global cult in today's fashion and design world. Its fascinating story tells of the interplay between military developments on the one hand, and the worlds of art, design and popular culture on the other."--Dust jacket. 2007. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.77

The Imperial War Museum book of the war at sea, 1914-1918 / Julian Thompson. "Based on gripping first-hand testimony from the archives of the Imperial War Museum, this book reveals what it was really like to serve in the Royal Navy during the First World War"--Dust jacket. 2005. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.45

Dr Savage's Bermuda / edited by Edward Cecil Harris. "The forgotten landscape of Bermuda in the 1830s is recovered in this remarkable collection of paintings by the prolific and talented Royal Artillery surgeon Dr. Johnson Savage. The paintings were the start of an extraordinary relationship between Bermuda and several generations of the Savage family. Included are exquisite images from Savage's later posting in Corfu; his work as a medical illustrator; paintings by his Royal Navy Midshipman son Arthur; and an account of the doctor's grandson, Arthur Johnson Savage, RE, who completed the great Ordnance Survey of Bermuda in 1900."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available.

Explore our Collection