Modern Era Naval Non-Fiction Section
ME Naval Non-Fiction - General
Able Seamen: The Lower Deck of the Royal Navy, 1850-1939
- Details
- By Brian Lavery
Brian Lavery returns with the second volume of his engaging social history of the Royal Navy's 'lower deck', exploring the world of the seamen (as opposed to the officers of the quarterdeck). In Rule Britannia the author addresses a range of issues central to the evolution of the seaman through 89 years of change, including 'Jacky' Fisher's sweeping reforms and the concept of the 'new seaman'; the rise of stokers, artificers and engineers and the traditional seaman's 'crisis of identity' as the navy moved from sail to steam, and from broadside batteries to sophisticated turrets and fire-control systems; the modernization and standardization of signals and telegraphy; the rise of 'small ships' as a destroyer fleet was created to fulfil new strategic requirements; the creation of the submarine service; the repercussions of the First World War and the grand fleet engagement at Jutland; expressions of discontent such as the infamous Invergordon mutiny; and the lead-up to the Second World War. Readable, engaging and authoritative, it chronicles an important stage in the history of the Royal Navy and illuminates the inherent adaptability of the lower deck, as new technologies demanded increased professionalism, specialization and training. The book also examines the changing social structure of the Navy, and the great demands made on the Service throughout the British Empire.
All Hands: The Lower Deck of the Royal Navy Since 1939
- Details
- By Brian Lavery
Brian Lavery, the pre-eminent historian of the Royal Navy, returns with the third volume of his engaging social history of the Royal Navy's 'lower deck' - the world of the seamen as distinct from the officers of the 'quarterdeck'. He examines the world of the sailor from the outbreak of war in 1939 through 70 years of change up to his place in the modern Royal Navy. The author illuminates the inherent adaptability of the professional sailor, as new technologies demanded increased professionalism, specialization and training. He also focuses on the changing social structure of the Navy, and the periods of expansion as the service coped with great demands made through two World Wars and innumerable other conflicts across the globe.
Atlantic Escorts: Ships, Weapons and Tactics in World War II
- Details
- By David K. Brown
Winston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the Second World War that really frightened him. If the lifeline to north America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of US and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe
Flag 4: The Battle of Coastal Forces in the Mediterranean 1939-1945
- Details
- By Dudley Pope
Flag 4, the signal for Attack with torpedoes , is a thrilling account of the actions of British motor torpedo boats and US PT-boats in the Mediterranean during the Second World War. British Coastal Forces were the smallest fighting ships of the Royal Navy, able to fight in the shallowest waters, penetrate minefields and hide in the inlets of enemy-held islands - they were, in fact, from 1940 to 1943, the only surface craft continually able to seek out and attack the enemy.
Strike from the Sea: The Royal Navy & United States Navy at War in the Middle East 1949-2003
- Details
- By Iain Ballantyne
'Strike from the Sea' is the first book to tell the story of the Iraq War, and several other conflicts in the Middle East between 1949 and 2003, specifically from the point of view of the Royal Navy and US Navy.
It features front line combat stories, many of them from people speaking for the first time about their experiences, as well as analysis of the events and the background to them.
Killing the Bismarck: Destroying the Pride of Hitler's Fleet
- Details
- By Iain Ballantyne
In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, broke out into the Atlantic to attack Allied shipping. The Royal Navy 's pursuit and subsequent destruction of Bismarck was an epic of naval warfare. Astonishingly, nearly seventy years on, this new book by Iain Ballantyne, Killing the Bismarck, alters our perception of a legendary episode, by focusing on the eyewitness accounts of British sailors, marines and carrier aviators, some of them published for the first time in a compelling narrative. During this action-packed story we go aboard cruisers playing a lethal cat and mouse game as they shadow Bismarck and experience the horror of the British battlecruiser Hood's destruction, a disaster that filled the men of pursuing Royal Navy units with a thirst for revenge.