Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Langsdorff and the Battle of the River Plate / by David Miller. "This compelling new study of the Battle of the River Plate concentrates on Kapitèan zur See Hans Langsdorff, the commander of the German pocket battleship Graf Spee - it is written from his point of view. The story of his mission at the start of the Second World War to prey on merchant shipping is graphically retold, and Langsdorff's command decisions are the primary focus of David Miller's gripping narrative. He considers in vivid detail the factors Langsdorff had to consider as he assessed the situation of his ship and choose his course of action. He describes the intelligence Langsdorff received and his knowledge of the position and strength of the forces of the Royal Navy that were arrayed against him. Langsdorff's interpretation of his mission and the tense calculations he had to make in order to carry it out are the essential elements of this dramatic story. Langsdorff, operating alone and thousands of miles away from home and with no prospect of support, had to grapple with the enormous burden of a lone command. He made grave mistakes, and these are ruthlessly exposed. But this fascinating re-examination of his actions and his leadership does nothing to diminish his reputation as a brave and honourable officer."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1939"(43)

Admiral Togo : Nelson of the East /Jonathan Clements. Togo Heihachiro (1848-1934) was born into a feudal Japan that had shut out foreign contact for 250 years. As a teenage samurai, he witnessed the destruction wrought upon his native land by British warships. As the legendary "Silent Admiral," he was at the forefront of innovations in warfare, pioneering the Japanese use of modern gunnery and wireless communication. Togo is best known as the "Nelson of the East" for his resounding victory over the tsar's navy in the Russo-Japanese War, but he also lived a remarkable life, studying at a British maritime college and witnessing the Sino-French War, the Hawaiian Revolution, and the Boxer Uprising. After his retirement, he was appointed to oversee the education of Emperor Hirohito. This new biography spans Japan's sudden, violent leap out of its self-imposed isolation and into the twentieth century. Delving beyond Togo's finest hour at the Battle of Tsushima, it portrays the life of a shy Japanese sailor in Victorian England; his reluctant celebrity in America; his role in forgotten wars over the short-lived Republics of Ezo and Formosa; and the accumulation of peacetime experience that forged a wartime hero. -- from Back Cover. 2010. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92TOGO

The watery grave : the life and death of HMS Manchester /Richard Osborne. "In 2002 the wreck of a British cruiser was located by divers off the coast of Tunisia. The stunning photographs of the wreck inspired Dr Richard Osborne to delve into the controversy surrounding the loss of one of the Royal Navy's proudest ships - HMS Manchester. After taking part in the Norway campaign of 1940, Manchester was sent to the Mediterranean, where she was involved in the dangerous Malta convoys. On her first convoy she was struck by a torpedo and badly damaged. In danger of sinking at any minute, her skipper, Captain Harold Drew, managed to save his ship. Her next operation was to prove her last. In Operation Pedestal, the vital Malta relief convoy, Manchester was again hit by a torpedo. This time, rather than risk the lives of his crew Drew decided to scuttle his ship. For this Drew was court-martialled in what would become the longest such case in the history of the Royal Navy. Using the testimony of those involved, the highly respected naval historian Dr Osborne pieces together one of the most intriguing stories to emerge from the Second World War. Coupled with photographs of the wreck and a detailed account of its discovery, The Watery Grave: The Life and Death of HMS Manchester, will shed new light on this remarkable tale."-- 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82MANCHESTER

Orkney in wartime : Commemorating the battle of Jutland, the sinking of HMS Hampshire, the Churchill barriers and much more /Colin Nutt "Orkney was a major base for the Royal Navy in both World Wars. Published to tie in with the centenaries of the Battle of Jutland and the sinking of HMS Hampshire in 1916, the book provides an account of the principal naval events, locations and legacy of the two World Wars in and around Scapa Flow. Unusually for books in the Picturing Scotland series, but necessarily for this title, the book contains a mixture of black and white archive images alongside present-day colour pictures. It also has more text than usual in order to describe the crucial events and developments that are the subject of the book. Although published to coincide with the commemorations of the centenaries of the events mentioned above, the book is not a dated product and will continue to feed into the growing interest in Orkney's military past. The idea was suggested by Orkney people who understand this market."--Provided by the publisher. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.459:940.545.9(410.521)

Aircraft carriers : the illustrated history of the world's most important warships /Michael E. Haskew. "Soon after the Wright Brothers' historic flight in 1903, officials explored the airplane's military applications. The seaplane and the flying boat were conceived to combine air and naval operations, but their potential proved limited. Aircraft that could operate from the deck of a ship, however, offered tremendous possibilities. A few visionaries seized the opportunity, and by mid-century the aircraft carrier eclipsed the battleship as the preeminent weapon of naval warfare. Since the first successful launch of an airplane from the deck of a naval ship in 1910, "fighting flattops" have evolved into immense, nuclear-powered vessels--floating cities capable of launching dozens of aircraft performing a variety of missions, including attack, escort, antisubmarine patrol, and deterrence. This illustrated history covers that evolution, from the first tentative steps taken by naval aviators before World War I to the roles these massive ships have played in the War on Terror. While author Michael Haskew focuses on US Navy carriers, he also provides coverage of parallel and competing carrier developments overseas. In addition to explaining the technologies behind past and present carriers and their aircraft, Haskew reexamines major engagements involving carriers, especially the epic Pacific battles of World War II, as well as personalities who were central to carrier development and deployment and naval doctrine relating to carriers. Filled with carefully curated period photography and modern images showing aircraft carriers throughout the decades, Aircraft Carriers is a celebration of naval warfare's most important innovation."-- 2016. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.822.74

Operation Tadpole / John Bevan "The exploits of the Italian frogmen in the Mediterranean during World War 2 are well documented; the Royal Navy's counter-sabotage operations are not. What is known of the wartime diving operations of the Royal Navy in Gibraltar is often based on the 1958 film, 'Silent Enemy' which dramatised the events putting Commander Lionel 'Buster' Crabb at the heart of the operations. Buster Crabb had disappeared in mysterious circumstances under a Russian cruiser just 2 years before the film was released and the subsequent media furore was a marketing opportunity the film producers could not afford to miss. Crabb was indeed part of the diving team in Gibraltar at the time and did take part in the heroic underwater operations of the RN diving team. But he was not in charge. The real 'silent hero' of the operations was Lieutenant William 'Bill' Bailey. Operation Tadpole chronicles the actual events of the Royal Navy's underwater operations in Gibraltar and reinstates Lieutenant Bailey's true place in history."--Provided by the publisher. 2017 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545.9(42:468.2)

Ship models from the age of sail : building and enhancing commercial kits /Kerry Jang. "The vast majority of period ship models are built from kits, usually primarily of wood with some ready-made fittings. Although these commercial offerings have improved significantly in recent years, all of them can be enhanced in accuracy or detail by an experienced modelmaker. This book, by an expert ship modeller, distils lessons gleaned from a lifetime practising the hobby to the highest standards, setting out methods of improving basic kits and gradually developing the skills and confidence to tackle the construction of a model from scratch. Using a variety of kits as the starting point, each chapter demonstrates a technique that can be readily improved or a feature that can be replaced to the advantage of the finished model. Topics include hull planking, representing copper sheathing, many aspects of more accurate masting and rigging, and how to replace kit parts and fittings from scratch. Ultimately, the impact of a period model depends on its accuracy, and the book also provides guidance on plans and references, where to find them and how they are best used. The plank-on-frame model, sometimes with exposed frames in the Navy Board style, has always been considered the crowning achievement of period ship modelling, and this book concludes with coverage of the very latest kits that put fully framed models within the reach of ordinary mortals. Offering advice, expertise and inspiration, Ship Models from the Age of Sail has something for anyone interested in building a period ship model, whatever their level of skill."--Provided by the publisher. 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.8203

Naval battles of the Second World War : the Atlantic and the Mediterranean /Leo Marriott. "The Second World War was a truly global conflict and maritime power played a major role in every theatre of operations. Land campaigns depended on supplies transported by sea, and victory or defeat depended on the outcome of naval battles. So Leo Marriott's highly illustrated two-volume account of the struggle sets naval actions in the wider strategic context as well as giving graphic accounts of what happened in each engagement. This first volume concentrates on the Royal Navy's confrontation with the ships and submarines of the German Kriegsmarine during the Battle of the Atlantic, the Arctic convoys and the struggle across the Mediterranean against the Italian navy to supply the opposing armies in North Africa. The Battle of the River Plate, the pursuit of the Bismarck, the PQ17 convoy to the Soviet Union and Operation Pedestal, the most famous convoy sent to relieve Malta, are among the episodes described in vivid detail and illustrated with a selection of striking photographs. This concise but wide-ranging introduction to the naval war emphasizes the sheer scale of the conflict in every sea and shows the direct impact of each naval battle on the course of the war ."--Provided by the publisher. 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available.

Bomb Alley, Falkland Islands 1982 : Aboard HMS Antrim at War /David Yates. "This is the untold story of the Falklands War as experienced by a below-decks seaman on one of the most important ships to be despatched to the South Atlantic. It is a no-holds-barred account as seen through the eyes of a Royal Navy matelot who shared the terror of the first encounter with Argentinean forces when South Georgia was retaken from the invaders in Operation Paraquat. Then, HMS Antrim led the first attack into the North Falklands Sound where she destroyed enemy defences and later became part of the main force anti-aircraft defences in the infamous 'Bomb Alley' or San Carlos Water. During one of the many air attacks, the ship was struck by a bomb that destroyed her defensive missile system, but through pure chance, the bomb did not explode and remained aboard wedged in the aft 'heads'. All around the stricken ship other RN vessels were taking extreme punishment from the almost continuous onslaught from low-flying Argentinean jets. HMS Antelope, HMS Coventry and the Atlantic Conveyer were all lost within a short period whilst the army was trying to establish a bridgehead."--Provided by the publisher. 2007. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 997.11024092

Captain James Cook / Rob Mundle. A biography of Captain James Cook (1728-1779). As a sailor, the author highlights the sailing and navigational challenges faced by Cook on his voyages. Born in Yorkshire, Cook joined the Royal Navy in 1755, participating in the Seven Years War and mapping the Newfoundland coast before undertaking the three voyages of discovery in the Pacific which made him famous. Commanding the Endeavour, Cook's first voyage in 1768 was to observe the transit of Venus. He went on to circumnavigate and map the coastline of New Zealand before sailing west to make the first recorded European contact with the eastern coast of Australia. Cook returned to the Pacific in 1772 in command of the Resolution to search for the hypothetical Terra Australis, circumnavigating the globe at an extreme southern latitude, one of the earliest to cross the Antarctic circle. Commanding the Resolution again on his third voyage of discovery and in search of the North West Passage, Cook stopped in Hawaii in 1779 where he was killed. Includes a bibliography and glossary of sailing terms. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92COOK

One firm anchor : the Church and the merchant seafarer /R.W.H. Miller. "One Firm Anchor uncovers nineteen centuries of contact between the churches and the seafarer. This extensive introductory history goes beyond anything previously written on the subject in scope and detail. Until now, much has been written of the sea, but little about the relationship of the seafarer to Christianity. R.W.H Miller adeptly sets out the origins of seafaring mission in the Early Church and the medieval era. The early modern period is also considered, leading to a detailed exploration of the developments in the nineteenth century that saw the foundation of The Missions to Seamen, the British Sailors' Society, the Apostleship of the Sea and the Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen. Particular attention is given to the work of the Catholic Church during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. These developments are set against the backdrop of the economic, technical, and cultural developments of each period and society. Miller reveals the role of key figures, such as G.C. Smith, John Ashley, Francis Goldie SJ and Peter Anson, whose determination and vision instigated real change. One Firm Anchor is both a triumph of scholarship and a lively narrative of heroic ministry and (occasionally) erring clergy, and will appeal to historian, academic, and student alike."--Provided by the publisher. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 2:656.61.071.22

Rising sun, falling skies : the disastrous Java Sea campaign of World War II /Jeffrey R. Cox. In the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese juggernaut quickly racked up victory after victory. Desperate to secure resource-rich regions in the Pacific and ensure their continued dominance of South East Asia, Japanese forces were determined in their efforts to conquer Malaya, Singapore and the oil-rich islands around Java Sea - Borneo, Sumatra and Java itself. In the face of this seemingly unstoppable tide stood a small Allied force - American, Australian, British and Dutch. Thrown together by circumstance; cut off from reinforcements or in many cases retreat; operating with old, obsolete equipment and dwindling supplies, there was little hope of victory. Indeed, the month-long Java Sea Campaign, as it subsequently became known, quickly evolved from a traditional test of arms into a test of character. In the face of a relentless enemy and outnumbered, outgunned and alone, they defiantly held on, attempting to buy weeks, days, even hours until a better line of defense - and offense - could be established. These were the men of the US Asiatic Feet, the British Far Eastern Fleet, the Royal Netherlands Navy's East Indies Squadron and the Royal Australian Navy. And their supporting units like Patrol Wing Ten, the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service, the US Army Air Force's 17th Pursuit Squadron and submarines of all these fine nations. A campaign that has been too often either ignored by historians or criticised for poor command decisions, this is the story of the sailors and the airmen at the sharp end, and how they fought and endured the first months of the War in the Pacific. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.5"1942"

Passage to destiny : the sinking of the troopship Khedive Ismail in the sea war against Japan /Brian James Crabb. "This is the full story of the loss of the troopship SS Khedive Ismail in convoy KR8 in February 1944. 1,296 people lost their lives in the space of the 100 seconds it took to sink the ship, including seventy-seven women (the single worst loss of female personnel in the history of the British Commonwealth). Carrying 1,511 personnel from the Army and the Royal and Merchant Navies, the Khedive Ismail sank on Saturday 12 February 1944 when torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-27 in the Indian Ocean. Only 209 men and 6 women survived the ordeal. The submarine was then depth-charged to the surface by the destroyers Paladin and Petard and the book includes an account of their difficult but successful attempt to sink her, a campaign which forced the Navy to attack the submarine through some of the survivors (this incident inspired a similar detail in the novel The Cruel Sea). This compelling read draws on many eyewitness accounts and previously unpublished Admiralty papers, many of which were not released for forty years because of their sensitivity, for the sinking of the Khedive Ismail was the third worst Allied maritime shipping disaster of the Second World War. The book includes many appendices, including the names of the entire ship's complement and includes over 140 illustrations. The painting on the front cover is by maritime artist Robert Blackwell. This is the revised second edition of the book. The first appeared in 1997, but has long been out of print. This new edition includes a great many more photographs and many more eye-witness accounts, and more appendices, and there is a comprehensive index. The ship was built at Greenock in Scotland and launched in 1922 as the SS Aconcagua (owned by a South American company). She was sold in 1935 to an Egyptian line and renamed in honour of the famous nineteenth-century ruler of Egypt. In 1940 she was requisitioned to serve as a troop carrier and took part in many convoys in the Indian Ocean before being sunk in 1944." 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545:656.61.086.2

The impact of the Russo-Japanese War / edited by Rotem Kowner. "The Russo-Japanese War was the major conflict of the earliest decade of the twentieth century. The struggle for mastery in northeast Asia, specifically for control of Korea, was watched at the time very closely by observers from many other countries keen to draw lessons about the conduct of war in the modern industrial age. The defeat of a traditional European power by a non-white, non-western nation became a model for imitation and admiration among people under, or threatened with, colonial rule. Examining the wide impact of the war and exploring the effect on the political balance in northeast Asia, this book focuses on the reactions in Europe, the United States, East Asia and the wider colonial world, considering the impact on different sections of society, on political and cultural ideas and ideologies, and on various national independence movements."--Provided by the publisher. 2007 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1904/1905"(47:52)

Operation Dynamo : the evacuation from Dunkirk, 26th May - 4th June 1940 /edited by Tim Benbow. "In May 1940, as France collapsed in the face of the German blitzkrieg, the British army and some French forces fell back on the Channel coast. The advancing Germans pushed them back and then briefly paused, confident that this cornered remnant of the allied forces was trapped. Yet the German command had failed to appreciate just what sea power could do to deny them the full fruits of their apparent victory; at short notice an evacuation was improvised which, it was initially thought, might if all went well last two days and rescue 45,000 men. The heroic rear guard action of the troops ashore against the renewed German advance, the ability of the RAF to provide just enough air cover, the tireless efforts of naval crews and those manning the priceless 'little ships', and the organisational genius of Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay saw Operation Dynamo succeed beyond all realistic expectation: two days became nine, and over 338,000 men were saved. Operational disaster in the Battle of France did not become strategic defeat in the war, and albeit at great cost to the Navy, the British army survived to be rebuilt. Above all, Britain could continue to fight. This volume reproduces the complete text of the Battle Summary written shortly after the war by the Admiralty historical staff, comprising a detailed and authoritative account of these dramatic events. This is accompanied by a comprehensive introduction, newly written for this volume, that explains the context for the operation as well as an overview of further reading on the subject."--Publisher website. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.1"1940"

Heligoland : Britain, Germany, and the struggle for the North Sea /Jan Rèuger. "On 18 April 1947, British forces set off the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. The target was a small island in the North Sea, thirty miles off the German coast, which for generations had stood as a symbol of Anglo-German conflict: Heligoland. A long tradition of rivalry was to come to an end here, in the ruins of Hitler's island fortress. Pressed as to why it was not prepared to give Heligoland back, the British government declared that the island represented everything that was wrong with the Germans: 'If any tradition was worth breaking, and if any sentiment was worth changing, then the German sentiment about Heligoland was such a one'. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, Jan Rèuger explores how Britain and Germany have collided and collaborated in this North Sea enclave. For much of the nineteenth century, this was Britain's smallest colony, an inconvenient and notoriously discontented outpost at the edge of Europe. Situated at the fault line between imperial and national histories, the island became a metaphor for Anglo-German rivalry once Germany acquired it in 1890. Turned into a naval stronghold under the Kaiser and again under Hitler, it was fought over in both world wars. Heavy bombardment by the Allies reduced it to ruins, until the Royal Navy re-took it in May 1945. Returned to West Germany in 1952, it became a showpiece of reconciliation, but one that continues to bear the scars of the twentieth century. Tracing this rich history of contact and conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the Cold War, Heligoland brings to life a fascinating microcosm of the Anglo-German relationship. For generations this cliff-bound island expressed a German will to bully and battle Britain; and it mirrored a British determination to prevent Germany from establishing hegemony on the Continent. Caught in between were the Heligolanders and those involved with them: spies and smugglers, poets and painters, sailors and soldiers. Heligoland is the compelling story of a relationship which has defined modern Europe."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 943/.512

Hidden warships : finding World War II's abandoned, sunk, and preserved warships /Nicholas A. Veronico. "Hidden Warships profiles the search for and discovery of sunken World War II-era ships as well as the history behind the vessels, including over 150 historic and modern photos. This book follows the author's Hidden Warbirds series"-- 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82(100):656.61.085.3

The last days of the High Seas Fleet : from mutiny to Scapa Flow /Nicholas C. Jellicoe. "On 21 June 1919 the ships of the German High Seas Fleet - interned at Scapa Flow since the Armistice - began to founder, taking their British custodians completely by surprise. In breach of agreed terms, the fleet dramatically scuttled itself, in a well-planned operation that consigned nearly half a million tons, and 54 of 72 ships, to the bottom of the sheltered anchorage in a gesture of Wagnerian proportions. This much is well-known, but even a century after the 'Grand Scuttle' many questions remain. Was von Reuter, the fleet's commander, acting under orders or was it his own initiative? Why was 21 June chosen? Did the British connive in, or even encourage the action? Could more have been done to save the ships? Was it legally justified? And what were the international ramifications? This new book analyses all these issues, beginning with the fleet mutiny in the last months of the War that precipitated a social revolution in Germany and the eventual collapse of the will to fight. The Armistice terms imposed the humiliation of virtual surrender on the High Seas Fleet, and the conditions under which it was interned are described in detail. Meanwhile the victorious Allies wrangled over the fate of the ships, an issue that threatened the whole peace process. Using much new material from German sources and a host of eye-witness testimonies, the circumstances of the scuttling itself are meticulously reconstructed, while the aftermath for all parties is clearly laid out. The story concludes with 'the biggest salvage operation in history' and a chapter on the significance of the scuttling to the post-war balance of naval power. Published to coincide with the centenary, this book is an important reassessment of the last great action of the First World War."--Provided by the publisher 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.353(43)

British blockade runners in the American Civil War / Joseph McKenna. "Focusing on British involvement in the war, this history names the overseas bankers and manufacturers who, in need of cotton and other exports, financed and equipped the ships that ran the blockade. The author attempts to disentangle the names of the captains--many were Royal Navy officers on temporary leave--and tells their stories in their own words"-- [2019] • BOOK • 1 copy available. 973.7/5

The hospital on the Island del Rey : the King's Island, Port of Mahon /Amics de l'Illa de l'Hospital Fundacion Hospital de la Isla del Rey. "This book is a selection of 21 short, extremely readable and interesting published texts, their authors all being connoisseurs of Menorca's 18C history. Each author tells his story about the most important naval hospital in the Mediterranean from a different perspective. Together with the history of the Isla del Rey, fascinating anecdotes are found throughout the book and readers will be entertained and suprised to learn how the island was bought and eventually paid for, of advanced medical expertise and of how the island was use by other nations. Lastly a photographic tribute to the Friends of Hospital Island whos the trials and triumphs of the restoration programme over the last six years."--Provided by the publisher. • BOOK • 1 copy available.

Maritime education and training : a practical guide /Robert L Tallack. 1997. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.88/071

Fuehrer conferences on naval affairs 1939-1945 Germany. Navy 1947-1948 • FOLIO • 21 copies available. 940.540.13

The official u-boat commander's handbook : the illustrated edition /edited by Bob Carruthers 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.827(43)

Preparing for blockade, 1885-1914 : naval contingency for economic warfare /by Stephen Cobb. "Today, the First World War is remembered chiefly for the carnage of the Western Front, but at the time the Royal Navy's blockade of Germany was a more frequent source of debate. For, even at a time of war, there were influential voices in Britain who baulked at a concept of economic warfare that hindered the free passage of goods on the high seas, and brought German society to the brink of famine. To further our understanding of these issues, this book looks at the background to the blockade, and the effects of its implementation in 1914. It argues that there was a widely shared, but largely unwritten, strategic culture within British naval circles which accepted that in a war with a major maritime power the British response would be to attack enemy trade. This is demonstrated by the fact that from at least the late 1880s the Royal Navy planned for the use of armed merchantmen to enforce an economic blockade of an enemy. This it did by entering into detailed arrangements with major British shipping companies for the design and subsidy of liners with the potential for use as merchant cruisers, and stockpiling their prospective armament."--Back cover. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1885/1914"(42:43)

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