Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Identifying cap badges : a family historian's guide /Graham Bandy. "Identifying Cap Badges is the book that has been missing from the bookshelves of family historians, military enthusiasts, and badge collectors alike. It is quite easy to find an erudite book on military cap badges, but you could spend hours, if not days, plodding through hundreds of pictures to find a match for the one you hold. Sometimes you may not find it at all! These learned badge collector's books have one major flaw; they are pictured and discussed in 'order of precedence', that is to say, from the earliest formed regiments to the latest, with separate sections on medical, engineers, cavalry, infantry, etc. This can be most confusing to those uninitiated into the 'dark arts' of military badges. Thus, if you do not know the name or 'original number' of your regiment in this order of precedence, you can be flummoxed! This, combined with all the different crowns, laurels, animals, mythological beasts and castles, can prove more than a little daunting, even to ex soldiers themselves! In this book you will find badges ordered by what is on the badge itself; be it a dragon, sphinx or castle, horse, lion or tiger. This is badge identification in minutes, rather than hours, with added information on dating badges and many comparison photographs alongside all the pictures of the badges. Added to these pictures are short histories of the regiments and 'family trees' plotting the antecedents of today's units."--Provided by the publisher. 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.13420941

The development of crude oil tankers : a historical miscellany /Dr Ray Solly. "In this engaging book, Dr. Solly examines the history of crude oil tankers from early days when this vital commodity was carried aboard ordinary sailing vessels, through the innovative designs that resulted in significant breakthroughs leading to early single-hulled VLCCs, and the later stronger hence safer double-hulled vessel. The professional reader will identify with much of the author's thinking, especially his handling of the enormous advances in shipboard techniques, and examination of excellent contributions made by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) from its conception in 1948, to its penetratingly effective work of today. Special attention is paid to their profound influence on the industry through MARPOL and SOLAS innovations, including arguably the greatest contribution made to tanker safety and environmental protection by Inert Gas Systems (IGS) and Crude Oil Washing (COW). Non-seagoing readers in allied shipping professions, and that huge army of ship enthusiasts, will learn a great deal about the ins-and-outs of an industry which, for the immediate future, underpins virtually every aspect of practical 21st Century living. Ray Solly's authoritative story is lavishly supported by 211 images (many of which have never previously been published), plus accounts of two recent voyages aboard a Norwegian North sea shuttle tanker, and a product carrier. Both passenger trips not only updated his professional knowledge but provided penetrating insight into current maritime practices. Each confirmed his convincing observation that today's crude oil carriers present the safest and most regulated form of transportation in the world."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.8245

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.

How maritime trade and the Indian subcontinent shaped the world : ice age to mid-eighth century /Nick Collins. "World-wide maritime trade has been the essential driver of wealth-creation, economic progress and global human contact. Trade and exchange of ideas have been at the heart of economic, social, political, cultural and religious life and maritime international law. These claims are borne out by the history of maritime trade beginning in the Indian Ocean and connecting to Southeast Asia, Japan, the Americas, East Africa, the Middle East especially the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean and Europe. This development pre-dates the end of the Ice Age with world-wide flooding and stimulated the establishment of land-based civilisations in the above regions with particular effect on the Greek and Roman empires and even China's 'Celestial' empire. The Indian subcontinent was the original major player in maritime trade, linking oceans and regions. Global maritime trade declined with the fall of Mediterranean empires and the 'dark age' in Europe but revived with Indian Ocean and Asian maritime networks. Shipping and trade studies are hugely practical but can be technical, legalistic and even dull for non-specialists. But this history is a broadly-based and exciting account of human interaction at multiple levels, for general readers, specialists and practitioners. It is based on huge reading and rare sources and with an attractive writing style, and full of fascinating sidelights illuminating the historical narrative - and from an author with life-long experience in international shipping. "--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 387.52

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

Frigate commander / by Tom Wareham. Based on the previously unpublished private journal of Admiral Sir Graham Moore (1764-1843), this work primarily focuses on Moore's career as a frigate commander beginning with his service in the Perseus, Dido and Adamant. Commanding first the Orestes and the sloop Bonetta in 1790, Moore was promoted to post captain in 1794 with command of the Syren, his first frigate command. His later commands included the larger frigates Melampus and Indefatigable which he commanded until 1805 when ill-health forced him to relinquish the command and ended Moore's career as a frigate commander. However, his naval career continued with commands of the Marlborough and Chatham. Moore was promoted first to the rank of rear admiral and commander-in-chief in the Baltic in 1812, and then in 1819 to vice admiral when he was given command of the Mediterranean station. Moore was promoted in 1837 to full admiral and commander-in-chief Plymouth, but his health continued to deteriorate and he died in 1843. 2004. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92MOORE, GRAHAM

A reluctant hero : the life of Captain Robert Ryder, VC /Richard Hopton. A biography of Captain Robert Ryder (1908-1986), VC. Born in India, Ryder joined the Royal Navy in 1926. His naval service included the captaincy of the ketch Tai-Mo-Shan (1933-34), and the schooner Penola during the British Graham Land Expedition in Antarctica (1934-37). During the Second World War, and having been promoted to commander of the Q-ship HMS Edgehill which was sunk on the 29th June 1940, Ryder was adrift in the Atlantic for four days before rescue. Ryder later went on to lead the St Nazaire Raid, codenamed Operation Chariot, on 28 March 1942. This was a successful operation to destroy the 'Normandie Dock' in the German naval base in the town and with the stated aim of denying large German ships, particularly the German battleship Tirpitz, a base on the Atlantic coast. For his actions during this operation Ryder was awarded the Victoria Cross. Following retirement from the Royal Navy, Ryder entered politics as a Conservative Member of Parliament (1950-55) for Merton and Morden, was Managing Director of the John Lewis Partnership (1955-59) and was appointed to the management committee of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), serving until 1974 when he became a Life Vice-President. Illustrated with photographs. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92RYDER

Formidable : Arthur Flint's war against Tirpitz and the kamikazes /Terry Crowdy. "HMS Formidable was a British aircraft carrier during the Second World War. One of four Illustrious-class carriers, Formidable was an armoured carrier, able to withstand air attacks, guarding its precious aircraft hangar with an armour-plated flight-deck. As well as its squadrons of fighters and torpedo bombers, Formidable was armed with sixteen 4.5-inch dual-purpose guns, mounted in eight turrets. When action stations sounded, in one of these turrets, sweating in the tropical heat due to heavy asbestos anti-flash gear, lifting shells from the hoist to the gunner, while frantically turning the air into a 'plum pudding' of smoke and flame to smash the enemy kamikaze from the sky, was the author's grandfather, Arthur Flint. Illustrated with almost 200 contemporary photographs throughout, Formidable is a memorial to the voyages and service of Arthur Flint and his shipmates during the war, from the Battle of Matapan, the landings in North Africa, Sicily and Salerno, to the arctic hunt for Tirpitz, before Formidable steamed east to Sydney in 1945 and joined the British Pacific Fleet, fighting alongside the Americans at Okinawa and the final assault against Japan." 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545941

Tracing your British Indian ancestors : a guide for family historians /Emma Jolly. "Tracing Your British Indian Ancestors gives a fascinating insight into the history of the subcontinent under British rule and into the lives the British led there. It also introduces the reader to the range of historical records that can be consulted in order to throw light on the experience of individuals who were connected to India over the centuries of British involvement in the country. Emma Jolly looks at every aspect of British Indian history and at all the relevant resources. She explains the information held in the British Library India Office Records and The National Archives. She also covers the records of the armed forces, the civil service and the railways, as well as religious and probate records, and other sources available for researchers. At the same time, she provides a concise and vivid social history of the British in India: from the early days of the East India Company, through the Mutiny and the imposition of direct British rule in the mid-nineteenth century, to the independence movement and the last days of the Raj."--Provided by the publisher. 2012. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 929.1072054

Sailor in the desert : the adventures of Phillip Gunn, DSM, RN in the Mesopotamia Campaign, 1915 /David Gunn. "Sailor in the Desert is the personal account of a Royal Navy sailor's experiences during the Mesopotamian campaign of 1915. As an able seaman on an armed sloop supporting the British expedition up the River Tigris, Philip Gunn's recollections give a rare perspective of this ill-fated campaign. At the outbreak of war, Phillip Gunn was serving on HMS Clio, a naval sloop fitted with sails and guns stationed in China and immediately tasked with hunting the soon-to-be-famous German cruiser Emden, but failed to prevent her escape. Gunn and Clio were next in action defending the Suez Canal against an attempted Turkish invasion before joining the expedition to invade Turkish-held Mesopotamia (Iraq). When the River Tigris became too shallow for Clio, Gunn took over a Calcutta River Police launch. He towed improvised gunboats to bombard the enemy in close support of the advancing land forces, whose assaults on enemy positions he witnessed. Though he repeatedly came under fire, it was malaria which finally struck him down during the pivotal Battle of Ctesiphon. He was fortunate to survive the journey back downriver. Sailor in the Desert is an authentic account drawn from Phillip Gunn's unpublished memoirs as well as conversations with the author, his son David. It is illustrated with archive photographs and colour paintings by Philip Gunn himself."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92GUNN

T.E. Lawrence and the Red Sea patrol : the Royal Navy's role in creating the legend /John Johnson-Allen. "Although many books have been written about T E Lawrence and the Arab Revolt, none before has fully explored the pivotal role of the Royal Navy in the Red Sea at the time. This is the first book to be written about the Navy's role in the success of the Arab Revolt in the creation of the legendary figure of Lawrence of Arabia. Following extensive and detailed research into the activities of the ships of the Red Sea Patrol by the author, a maritime historian and former Merchant Navy officer, it has become evident that, without the work of those ships, the Arab revolt would have failed and T E Lawrence would have remained an obscure officer in the military bureaucracy of Cairo. Lawrence was very aware of the importance and relevance of the Royal Navy in their operations in the Red Sea and commented on it on many occasions, notably in 1918, saying 'The naval side of the operations, when the time comes to tell of it, will provide a most interesting case of the value of command of the sea..'. Until now, nobody has investigated this angle in any detail. By doing this so comprehensively, this book gives a fresh dimension to the Lawrence of Arabia legend."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.459(42:56)

The naval flank of the Western front : the development and operations of the German MarineKorps Flandern 1914-1918 /Mark D Karau "Belgium was once described as the 'dagger held at the throat of England', a collection of provinces that had long been a critical factor in British foreign policy, and the traditional concern was that Belgium, and especially the Flanders coast, would fall into the hands of the strongest continental power. In 1914, Germany's occupation of Belgium brought about the spectre of enemy ships only seventy miles from the British coast, and the coast of Flanders became, effectively, the naval flank of the Western Front. Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz was one of the few within the German navy who recognised the strategic potential of the three ports of Ostend, Zeebrugge and Brugges; that they were closer to England than the Heligoland Bight for access by small craft, and brought Germany to within a few hours sailing of the Thames estuary. This new book tells the story of the creation, purpose, operations and career of the MarineKorps Flandern. The Flanders harbours should have allowed the German navy to strike dangerous blows at vital British traffic in the Channel and southern North Sea but the MarineKorps was unable to fulfill the great expectations of von Tirpitz. The author not only explains how the German conducted operations, but also explains how the opportunites presented by the Flemish occupation were wasted away. A significant and insightful book on an important theatre of the War."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.459(43)

Deep sea hunters : RAF coastal command and the war against the U-Boats and the German Navy /Martin Bowman. "This enthralling new release from Martin Bowman details all the varied and dynamic operations at sea carried out by RAF Coastal Command against the U-boats and the German Navy during the Second World War. Beginning with the disastrous Norwegian Campaign, it takes in the numerous attacks on the bustling German submarine base at Lorient, the attack on Brest, as well as many other pivotal and memorable events to enliven the history of the sea-lanes during the Second World War. Battles with the U-boats are brought to the fore, with details and experiences not only of the RAF pilots of Catalinas, Whitleys, Hudsons and Sunderlands, but also those of the targeted U-boat crews. In scenes reminiscent of 'Das Boot' German (and Italian) U-boat crews tell of their fears and experiences while under depth-charge attack and fire from above by Liberators, Fortresses, Halifaxes, Sunderlands and Mosquitoes. The 'big-game sport' of 'hunting U-boats', as it was termed, is relayed in full and gripping detail, with first-hand accounts from U-boat attackers punctuating Bowman's dramatic prose and resting alongside those of the German submariners. This two-sided history is sure to appeal to all enthusiasts interested in gaining a balanced insight into Second World War naval history."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.544.9(42)"1939/1945"

Critical conflict : the Royal Navy's Mediterranean campaign in 1940 /Peter C. Smith. "Critical Conflict is a fascinating and comprehensive account of the British fight to secure the most pivotal waterway of the Second World War - the Mediterranean. During 1940 Churchill and the War Cabinet regarded safe passage for British ships in the Mediterranean Sea to be of paramount importance. Despite the catastrophic evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force from Dunkirk and the threat of imminent invasion from across the English Channel, it was considered that the vital trade routes to North Africa and the Middle East must be kept open. The German Kreigsmarine were at that time committed to North Sea and Atlantic naval forays. The French surrender left their fleet in disarray, some wishing to fight against their invaders and others supporting the Vichy government. The Royal Navy finally put matters to rest with the destruction of the French fleet in Toulon, an unsavoury but entirely necessary act of war. However, there remained the powerful and modern Italian fleet which, if allowed to run amok within the Mediterranean, could cause mayhem for the Allies. Their fleet had to be destroyed at all costs. This is the story of how this was achieved during 1940."--Provided by the publisher. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545.9(42)

U-boat Prey : Merchant Sailors at War, 1939-1942 /Philip Kaplan, with Jack Currie. "During the first stages of the Second World War, all forces were rallied in an attempt to support the Allied effort. With trade and supply routes to Britain suddenly being placed at great risk, a stalwart team of merchant sailors were required to protect vital supplies for the British people, as well as shipping vital army necessities back and forth. The efforts of the sailors involved really can't be overstated. Despite the fact that they didn't wear uniforms, and few were rewarded with medals or memorials, they were certainly as worthy of the title 'front-line warrior' as the guardsmen and fighter pilots to whom they transported necessary combat supplies. Indeed, many are in agreement that their efforts stood between the might of German forces and the domination of the world. Over 30,000 men fell victim to the German U-boats between 1939 and 1945. This publication serves as a tribute to their efforts, and will be followed by a second volume covering the final stages of the war, from 1943-45. Images of some of the most imposing merchant ships feature, accompanied by a lucid narrative describing the various roles enacted by the sailors on board and the wartime context in which they worked."--Provided by the publisher 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545:656.61(084.1)

The Two Battles of Copenhagen 1801 and 1807 : Britain and Denmark in the Napoleonic Wars /Gareth Glover. "The Danish capital of Copenhagen was the site of two major battles during the Napoleonic Wars, but the significance of the fighting there, and the key role the country played in the conflict in northern Europe, has rarely been examined in detail. In this absorbing and original study Gareth Glover focuses on these two principal events, using original source material to describe them from the British and Danish perspectives, and he shows how they fitted into the little-understood politics of this region during this turbulent phase of European history. The first Battle of Copenhagen in 1801 - the naval battle celebrated in Britain as one of Nelson's great victories - and the second - the British army-s assault on the city in 1807 in which Wellington played a prominent part - were episodes in the continental struggle to resist the power of the French. Gareth Glover describes these events in vivid detail, quoting extensively from the recollections of eyewitnesses on both sides. His account is fascinating reading and an important contribution to the history of the period."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1801"(42:489)

The Royal Navy Wasp : an operational and retirement history /Larry Jeram-Croft and Terry Martin. "This book tells the story of the first helicopter in the world designed from the outset to be deployed at sea, in Destroyers and Frigates. It is primarily based on the words of those who operated it. Designed from the outset to cope with the restricted space of a warship both for stowage and flight operations it proved an immediate success. Its original role was to act as a weapon carrier to launch torpedoes and depth charges on submarine contacts out of range of the parent ship's weapons range. Soon, it also took on a second primary role of air to surface attack using wire guided missiles. The flexibility of the machine was such that it was able to conduct a plethora of secondary roles from visual search to collecting the all-important ship's mail. Wherever the Royal Navy was deployed on operations a Wasp was there. The book has accounts of operations around the world particularly during the Cold War of the Seventies and the Falklands War where amongst other things it had the honour of being the first RN platform ever, to fire a guided missile at a surface target. However the story doesn't end there. Although the aircraft went out of service in the Royal Navy in 1988, it continued to operate with other navies around the world. To this day there are still several airworthy examples flying. The second part of the book gives accounts of these machines and brings the story of the Wasp completely up to date"--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.746.174(42)

Coastal defences of the British Empire in the Revolutionary & Napoleonic eras / Daniel MacCannell. "Far more than an architecture book, Coastal Defences of the British Empire in the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras is a sweeping reinterpretation of the Martello towers, Grand Redoubts, Royal Military Canal and other new defence infrastructure. Lavishly illustrated with period maps, views, portraits, cartoons and newly commissioned colour photographs, it includes not only these structures' forerunners, and plans that were never executed, but also the grand strategy that informed them. At its best, this saw Britain's position as a vast land battle, with the deadly threat of the French-held Antwerp navy yards on its own 'left wing', and Lisbon as the enemy's 'weak left' to be 'turned'. The book also takes in the astonishingly inventive, bold and bloody small-boat wars that raged from the Baltic and Channel coast to Chesapeake Bay and Lake Ontario, and provides vivid pen-sketches of the now-obscure and sometimes deeply flawed strategic visionaries, engineers, inventors, and fighting men who held the line as - even after Trafalgar - the forces of an ever more powerful French empire circled like sharks. Along the way, it traces a fundamental change in the nature of war and society: from a ponderous game of fortresses and colonies played by rulers, to murderous 'foot by foot' defence of the whole territory of the nation by 'both sexes and every social type'."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.4509171241

Britain's coast at war : invasion threat, coastal forces, bombardment and training for D-Day/Neil R. Storey. "The whole of Britain's coastline was involved in the struggle against the Nazis. In the early days invasion was the main threat.Dover and the South East suffered grievously from aerial attacks and were also shelled by German artillery from across the Channel, the area was dubbed 'Hell Fire Corner.' Cities and towns all around the coast such as Plymouth, Portsmouth, Hull and Great Yarmouth were the targets of devastating air raids. The coast and lochs of Scotland became a key training area for commandos and assault troops for D-Day and its ports saw the return of crews of sunk vessels of both sides. The East Coast was pivotal to North Sea operations against enemy mining and E-boat operations. The Western ports, particularly Liverpool, were crucial to the vital Atlantic convoys and the defeat of the U-boat threat. The final months of training and preparation for D-Day centred on the South Coast when disaster struck during Exercise Tiger off Slapton Sands. Britain's coastal ports continued to attract 'Tip and Run' raids and the attention of V rockets that changed the character of many these towns and cities forever. Neil Storey's superbly researched work brilliantly describes all this and more in words and images."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 941.084

Black Americans in Victorian Britain / Jeffrey Green. "Black Americans informed the Victorian British and Irish about slavery and repression in the United States. Villages, towns and cities from Dorchester to Cambridge, Belfast to Hull, Dumfries to Brighton, also learned of their ambitions and achievements. Numerous publications were sold everywhere, and lectures were crowded. The refugees settled in Britain. Some worked as domestic servants, others qualified as doctors, wrote books, taught in schools, laboured in factories and on ships. The youngsters went to school. This book documents refugees, settlers, and their families as well as pioneering entertainers in both minstrel shows and stage adaptions of the 1850s best-selling novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'. It offers new perspectives on both Victorian and Afro-America history."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.2

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

Churchill's Atlantic convoys : tenacity and sacrifice /William Smith. "Within hours of the outbreak of the Second World War, Winston Churchill took up office as First Lord of the Admiralty. The same day the liner Athenia was torpedoed in the Atlantic in the first U-boat attack of the war. Churchill quickly recognised Britain's survival depended on countering the U-boat threat and the strategic importance of protecting Allied merchant shipping with measures such as the convoy system. As this superbly researched book reveals, the Nazi U-boat fleet was relatively small and unprepared for war in 1939. But by early 1941 its numbers and effectiveness had increasing [sic] to the point that Hitler was able to declare 'our warfare at sea is just beginning'. Prime Minister Churchill's response was to issue his famous 'Battle of the Atlantic' Directive. Churchill's Atlantic Convoys describes the political, strategic and tactical ebb and flow of events, particularly between 1942 and 1943. Thanks to increased numbers and scientific innovations the Allies slowly gained the upper hand despite a determined German fight back in late 1943 and early 1944. While the U-boat threat was never wholly defeated, the tenacity and sacrifices of the Allied naval forces won the day. Churchill later recognised the persistence of Germany's effort and the fortitude of the U-boat service. It would not be until 7 June 1945 that Churchill and President Truman felt able to assert 'the Allies have finished the job'."--Provided by the publisher. 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545941

Churchill's Arctic convoys : strength triumphs over adversity/William Smith. "Within hours of the outbreak of the Second World War, Winston Churchill took up office as First Lord of the Admiralty. The same day the liner Athenia was torpedoed in the Atlantic in the first U-boat attack of the war. Churchill quickly recognised Britain's survival depended on countering the U-boat threat and the strategic importance of protecting Allied merchant shipping with measures such as the convoy system. As this superbly researched book reveals, the Nazi U-boat fleet was relatively small and unprepared for war in 1939. But by early 1941 its numbers and effectiveness had increased to the point that Hitler was able to declare 'our warfare at sea is just beginning'. Churchill's response was to issue his famous 'Battle of the Atlantic' Directive. Churchill's Atlantic Convoys describes the political, strategic and tactical ebb and flow of events, particularly between 1942 and 1943. Thanks to increased numbers and scientific innovations the Allies slowly gained the upper hand despite a determined German fight back in late 1943 and early 1944. While the U-boat threat was never wholly defeated, the tenacity and sacrifices of the Allied naval forces won the day. Churchill later recognised the persistence of Germany's effort and the fortitude of the U-boat service. It would not be until 7 June 1945 that Churchill and President Truman felt able to assert 'the Allies have finished the job'."--Provided by the publisher. 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.5421

K boat catastrophe : eight ships and five collisions : the full story of the 'Battle of the Isle of May' /N.S. Nash. "On 31 January 1918 nine K Class steam-powered submarines sailed with the Grand Fleet to Exercise in the North Sea. The ships left the Firth of Forth at a speed of 21 knots on a cold winter night with the flagship HMS Courageous leading the way. Following in her wake was HMS Ithuriel and the K Class submarines of the 13th Submarine Flotilla and then 5 nautical miles astern of them, four more capital warships. As they approached The Isle of May navigational confusion broke out, caused by the misinterpretation of ship's steaming lights and mayhem followed. During the next couple of hours five collisions occurred involving eight ships and resulting in the death of 105 officers and ratings. This fiasco and the resulting naval investigation and court marshal [sic] were shielded from the general public and kept in secret files until the full details were released in 1994. From this official report, the author now tells the full story of that dreadful night and the proceedings that followed. Background information on the evolution of the ill-fated and much hated K Class submarines is also included together with the investigation and court marshal [sic] proceedings of the events surrounding that tragic night."--Provided by the publisher. 2009. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.54/5941

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