Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

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

Far distant ships : the blockade of Brest 1793-1815 /Quintin Barry "Throughout the long drawn out war at sea during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, it was a cardinal principle of British naval strategy to blockade the port of Brest, the largest and most important of the French naval bases that threatened the security of the British Isles. It was a strategy that had been perfected by Sir Edward Hawke during the Seven Years War of 1756 - 1763, when it culminated in the stunning victory of Quiberon Bay. The American naval historian A.T. Mahan memorably summed up the contribution of the Royal Navy to the ultimate defeat of Napoleon when he wrote: 'Those far distant, storm-beaten ships, upon which the Grand Army never looked, stood between it and the domination of the world.' There were many aspects to the blockade of Brest, but always at its centre was the need to frustrate French attempts at the invasion of Britain or Ireland. Most famous of these, of course, was Napoleon's intricate combination that led to the campaign of Trafalgar, in the course of which his invasion plans disintegrated. But there were many other offensive moves which it was the blockading fleet's duty to prevent. Inevitably, there were great sea battles when the French ventured out, though fewer than might have been expected. For many months at a time the British fleet was at sea off Brest facing the considerable dangers of wind and weather without encountering its adversary. There were many remarkable leaders who came to the fore during the long years of war; Howe, Bridport, St Vincent, Cornwallis and Keith were among those who led the Channel Fleet. Nelson described his captains as a 'band of brothers', but this was by no means a description that could be applied to the quarrelsome, self willed and argumentative group of men who held the destiny of the Royal Navy in their hands, whether at sea or around the boardroom table at the Admiralty. Drawing on the official and personal correspondence of those involved, this book traces the development of British naval strategy, as well as describing the crucial encounters between the rival fleets and the single ship actions which provided the press with a constant flow of news stories for its readers."--Provided by the publisher. 2017 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.463.3(42:44)"1793/1815"

1941 : the Second World War at sea in photographs /Phil Carradice. "At the beginning of 1941, Britain stood alone against Germany and Italy. The Battle of the Atlantic was in full swing. Hitler's U-boats were operating in packs, descending on convoys and sinking many millions of tons of shipping. In May, the formidable German battleship Bismarck left port, heading out into the North Atlantic. After sinking the battlecruiser HMS Hood off Iceland, she was eventually cornered by the Royal Navy in the Bay of Biscay and sunk herself. A major breakthrough came when a naval Enigma code machine was captured from the U-boat U-110. With the attack by Hitler on Russia in June, convoys began to be sent up the coast of Norway to the northern ports of Murmansk and Archangel, carrying war material to support the struggling Soviets. December 1941 saw the war become a truly global conflict, with the Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia bringing the United States into the war."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545.9(42)"1941"

Captain John Skinner and the age of the steam yacht : a biography, his life and times 1861-1928 : from miller's boy to master mariner. Tells the story of John Skinner, son of Charles Skinner and Susanna Burden, and grandson of William Skinner. From Lytchett Minster near Poole in Dorset, the Skinners were originally agricultural labourers who later worked in the clay industry. John Skinner worked initially as a miller but by 1881 he was describing himself as a mariner. Skinner's career is traced through merchant navy records as he progressed to Mate and then Master Mariner, making the move from commercial and cargo vessels to luxury steam yachts for pleasure cruising. The owners were often titled and wealthy and included Richard Clifford Smith during the Edwardian Era and latterly Montague Grahame-White. A personal family history set against the wider context of social history and maritime industry developments. 2009. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92SKINNER

Augustus Hervey's journal : the adventures afloat and ashore of a naval casanova The journal of Augustus Hervey (1724-1779), the 3rd Earl of Bristol covering the life of a naval captain in war and peace during the period from 1746 to 1759. While it offers a valuable insight into the Navy of the time, it also describes Hervey's peacetime activities among the ladies of the Mediterranean cities. The journal was never intended for publication and the candid detail of Hervey's exploits meant that the memoirs were not published for more than 200 years after the events described. 2002 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 92HERVEY, AUGUSTUS

Barbary pirate : the life and crimes of John Ward : the most infamous privateer of his time /Greg Bak. This book is the story of the life of John Ward, who was born in about 1553. He came from a humble background but rose to become the most infamous, brutal and successful privateer of his time. He was a sailor in James I's of England (James VI of Scoland's) navy when, in 1603, he stole a civilian vessel and went to Tunis, an outpost of the Ottoman empire, where he set himelf up as a privateer under the Pasha's protection. Ward's use of seafaring tactics enabled the Barbary Corsairs of Ottoman North Africa to regroup and rejuvenate. His activities made him extremely wealthy, allowing him to purchase a mansion in Tunis where he maintained a mock court and behaved like a king. Ward came to be regarded as a threat to Christendom and was pursued by pirate hunters across the Mediterranean. By 1622 he was reported dead from the plague. This book has a series of black and white illustrations comprising contemporary maps and prints. 2006. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92WARD

Russian battleships and cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War / Mark Lardas. "This book examines the major warships of the Imperial Russian Navy which participated in the Russo-Japanese War. The focus is on the battleships, coastal defence warships, and cruisers of the Pacific Squadron and Baltic Squadron that fought during the war. It discusses in detail their design and development between the years of 1885 and 1905, concentrating particularly on battleships and cruisers. The book explores, in depth, the mutually influential relationship between Russian and foreign warship design, as Russia progressed from a reliance on foreign designs and shipyards towards an ability to produce its own influential ships, such as the Novik. The title also outlines the gripping operational history of the Russian warships which participated in the Russo-Japanese war, tracing their activity before and during the combat, as well as the post-war fate of those ships which were bombarded, scuttled, captured, or salvaged. Packed with contemporary photography and full-colour illustrations, this title offers a detailed and definitive guide to the design, development, and destiny of the Russian warships which battled the Japanese in the Eastern seas."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.821.2(47)"1904/1905"

The air war at sea in the Second World War / Martin W. Bowman. "Martin Bowman's considerable experience as a military historian has spanned over forty years, during which time he has spent hundreds of hours interviewing and corresponding with numerous men and women and their relatives, in Britain, America and beyond, resulting in a wealth of material on the war at sea from World War One to the Falklands and the wars on terror. All these narratives have been woven into a highly readable and emotional outpouring of life and death in action in all his titles, as here, in World War Two, where the men of the Fleet Air Arm and the US Navy fighter, bomber and torpedo carrying aircraft describe the compelling, gripping and thought-provoking narrative of the air war in the freezing Atlantic wastes to the waters of the mighty Pacific." 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545

Under a yellow sky : a tale of the sea and coming of age /Simon J. Hall. Autobiography by Simon Hall recounting his experiences as a junior officer in the British Merchant Navy in the early 1970s. The book provides candid descriptions of life and work as a Deck Cadet in the early 1970s, from the earliest days of training, to naval college, to serving on board numerous voyages across the Pacific and South China Sea. Includes black and white photos throughout. [2013]. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92HALL S

Gazettes of naval and military exploits, from 1794 to 1807. [1807?]. • RARE-FOLIO • 1 copy available. 355.48/49"1794/1807"(42:44):094

An abstract of some years observations concerning such general and unperceived occasions of sickliness in fleets and ships of war ... Christie, J 1709 • RARE-BOOK • 2 copies available. 094:629.12(42)"1694"

Leaves from memory's log-book and jottings from old journals Recollections of Rear Admiral Frederick Byng Montresor (1811-1887) covering his naval career, firstly as a midshipman on board the Cambridge, Ramilies, Gloucester, Ocean, Isis, Southampton and HMS Zebra and then as a lieutenant, his duties in the West Indies on the President, Wasp, Magnificent, Forte, Melville, Champion and Winchester. Later chapters cover his command of HMS Pickle, Wanderer, Cygnet, Calypso and Severn. His voyages included passages to the West Indies, South America, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand, India, Japan, China and Hong Kong. His encounters with the people he met and his observations on trading patterns are also described. Reflecting on visits in 1832 to New Zealand, Tahiti and Tonga, the author, for example, recollects meeting missionaries such as Henry Williams, Maori, the Tahitian Queen and Royal Family, and the King of Tonga. His many anecdotes include the story of Jack Rio, a former slave turned sailor from Brazil, who after a career of seven years with the Navy was revealed as a woman. Also included is a description of the author's visit to the Pitcairn Islands in the 1860s where he met descendants of the Bounty mutineers. 1887 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.124(42)"18"

Battleships Yamato and Musashi : Anatomy of the ship "Equipped with the largest guns and heaviest armour and with the greatest displacement of any ship ever built, the Yamato proved to be a formidable opponent to the US Pacific Fleet in the Second World War. The book contains a full description of the design and construction of the battleship including wartime modifications, and a career history followed by a substantial pictorial section with rare onboard views of Yamato and her sister ship Musashi, a comprehensive portfolio of more than 1,020 perspective line artworks, 350 colour 3D views, and 30 photographs. The wreck of Musashi has been recently discovered to great excitement in Japan, renewing interest in these iconic warships. Janusz Skulski's anatomies of three renowned ships of the 20th century Japanese navy are among the most comprehensive of the Anatomy series with hundreds of meticulously researched drawings of the ships. Since their first publication he has continued to research the ships and has now produce a more definitive anatomy than was possible then. He has teamed up with 3D artist Stefan Draminksi who produces superb realistic renditions of the ships that bring a whole new level of detail to the portraits of the ships. This new editions is a genuine 'Super Anatomy' containing the most detailed renditions of these ships ever seen."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82YAMATO

Re-inventing the ship : science, technology and the maritime world, 1800-1918 /edited by Don Leggett and Richard Dunn. "Ships have histories that are interwoven with the human fabric of the maritime world. In the long nineteenth century these histories revolved around the re-invention of these once familiar objects in a period in which Britain became a major maritime power. This multi-disciplinary volume deploys different historical, geographical, cultural and literary perspectives to examine this transformation and to offer a series of interconnected considerations of maritime technology and culture in a period of significant and lasting change. Its ten authors reveal the processes involved through the eyes and hands of a range of actors, including naval architects, dockyard workers, commercial shipowners and Navy officers. By locating the ship's re-invention within the contexts of builders, owners and users, they illustrate the ways in which material elements, as well as scientific, artisan and seafaring ideas and practices, were bound together in the construction of ships' complex identities."--from Amazon. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 629.12"18/19"

New interpretations in naval history : selected papers from the sixteenth Naval History Symposium held at the United States Naval Academy, 10-11 September 2009 /edited by Craig C. Felker and Marcus O. Jones. "New Interpretations in Naval History: Selected Papers from the Sixteenth Naval History Symposium is a new look into a dozen different maritime subjects including Colonial American Resistance to British Naval Impressment; The Early Years of Navy and Marine Corps Aviation, Publicity and the Marine Corps between 1911-1917; and the story of Support Activity Saigon, 1964-1966."--from the website of NWC?s Maritime History Department. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"18/19"

Admiral Collingwood: Nelson's own hero "Admiral Lord Collingwood, the eldest son of a Newcastle merchant, went to sea in 1761, at the age of thirteen. In his nearly fifty years in the navy, keeping a diary throughout, he rose to become a fine seaman, a master of gunnery, a battle commander the equal of his friend - and rival in love - Nelson. He was also an accomplished writer and wit, a doting father, inveterate gossip, and consummate diplomat and strategist. Collingwood's service took him to Boston, where he lived and fought during the American Revolution; to Antigua, where he and Nelson both fell in love with Mary Moutray, and drew each other's portraits; to Corsica; Sicily; and Menorca, where he began as a young midshipman and ended his career as the effective viceroy of the Mediterranean, dealing with beys and pashas, kings and queens and an eighty-strong fleet. He was 'England's prime and sole minister acting upon the sea'. Max Adams, archaeologist, writer and broadcaster, fascinated by the story of the unjustly little known Newcastle hero, the admiral who defeated Napoleon Bonaparte in battle, paints a vivid, engrossing and often moving portrait in this debut biography. Based on Collingwood's letters and recently discovered log books, here is an intimate view not just of the man himself, but of his life and times, of shipboard ways and all too brief periods on shore with his family."--Provided by the publisher. 2005 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92COLLINGWOOD

List of the commissioned officers and passed clerks of Her Majesty's Royal Navy : • JOURNAL • 1 copy available.

British guided missile destroyers : county-class, type 82, type 42 and type 45 /Edward Hampshire. "In the years after World War II, new guided missile technology offered surface ships the chance to destroy airborne threats from afar, thereby preserving their role in naval warfare. This book examines the technology and combat performance of Britain's guided missile destroyers over half a century. Uniquely among modern destroyers, three of these classes have been tested in battle against the aircraft and missiles of another modern navy - in the Falklands War - as well as being deployed during the Gulf War. Written by an expert on British naval technology, this book assess the changing technology of the Royal Navy's destroyers over half a century, including an examination of the Royal Navy's newest and most capable warship, the Type 45."--Provided by the publisher. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.823.1(42)"19/20"

After the map : cartography, navigation, and the transformation of territory in the twentieth century /William Rankin. Rankin, William, 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 528.9"1891/2010"

Alone on a wide, wide sea : the story of 835 naval air squadron in the Second World War "This is the history of 835 Naval Air Squadron told by one of its surviving commanding officers. [...] Many people now feel that the work of the Merchant Navy in the Second World War has seldom been given the recognition it deserves; for without the merchant vessels which continually battled their way through the stormy waters of the Atlantic, Britain would soon have been starved of essential supplies. 835 Squadron, flying mainly from the aircraft-carrier Nairana, spent much of the war defending our Atlantic and Russian convoys from the attacks of German U-boats and aircraft. Barringer has gathered together a wealth of first-hand accounts by the crew of the Nairana and other members of the squadron and these give his story a compelling sense of immediacy."--Provided by the publisher. 1995 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.544.9(261.1)

Warship building on the Clyde : naval orders and the prosperity of the Clyde shipbuilding industry, 1889-1939 /Hugh B. Peebles Peebles, Hugh B 1987 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 623.82(414.1)

Joseph Conrad : master mariner /Peter Villiers. Joseph Conrad published his first novel (Almayer's Folly) in 1895 at the age of 36. Before that he spent twenty years in the merchant navy, eventually gaining his master's certificate. This book traces Conrad's career at sea. It is based on a previously unpublished study by the author's late father, Alan Villiers. It describes Conrad's life as a mariner and shows his development as a novelist. There is an appendix containing a detailed account of the merchant service in the late 19th century, especially the reality and danger of life at sea. The book is illustrated with paintings of the ships in which Conrad sailed; the artist is Mark Myers, who served at sea under Alan Villiers and regarded him as his mentor. There is a glossary of terms at the back, and a short index. 2006. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92CONRAD

Shetland and the Greenland Whaling. "For almost 150 years from the mid-18th century the "Greenland time" was a major event in Shetland. This was when the whale ships arrived to recruit their crews in Lerwick and Baltasound and old hands and "green" young hopefuls signed up for arduous voyages into Arctic waters after the elusive "right" whale. Some seasons saw good returns for whale ship owners and crews. Others were disastrous with loss of earnings, ships and lives. Whales, ice and disease all took their toll, as did the notorious navy press gangs. Lairds and local merchants also had a hand in an economic system seemingly designed to ensure that poverty was never far away and which crushed lives as surely as the Arctic ice crushed whale ship hulls. For the first time the full story of Shetland's vital contribution to the Greenland - Spitsbergen and Davis Strait - "fishery" is told. The author discusses in detail the economic and social implications of the bloody trade in their local, national and international contexts."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 639.245.1(411.1:988)

Nails, rails and props : the stone's story /Valerie Preston-Dunlop "Dr Valerie Preston-Dunlop is a scholar, author and lecturer in the performing arts, and was a Consultant and is an Honorary Fellow at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London. She has written many books in a professional capacity, but is now focusing on her family history. This is the third book in that series: the first two are 'Nancy's Story' and ' The Dunlops of Church Farm'. Her family has strong links with south-east London, and she lives in Blackheath. In this book, she writes about an important local company, J. Stone & Co, in which members of her father's family played leading roles. From humble beginnings making nails and rivets for local shipbuilders, it expanded to cater for the needs of the growing railway industry, used its expertise in metal casting to make a wide range of products - both low-tech and high-tech - that sold around the world, and became a specialist in ships' propellors, as the foremost provider of propellors to the British Navy as well as a supplier to every major steamship line."--Provided by the publisher. 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available.

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