During the Battle of Midway in June 1942, US Navy dive bomber pilot Wade McClusky proved himself to be one of the greatest pilots and combat leaders in American history, but his story has never been told - until now. It was Wade McClusky who remained calm when the Japanese fleet was not where it was expected to be. It was he who made the counterintuitive choice to then search to the north instead of to the south. It was also McClusky who took the calculated risk of continuing to search even though his bombers were low on fuel and may not have enough to make it back to the Enterprise. His ability to remain calm under enormous pressure played a huge role in the US Navy winning this decisive victory that turned the tide of war in the Pacific. This book is the story of exactly the right man being in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. Wade McClusky was that man and this is his story.

Despite the limitations of the Washington Naval Treaty, USS Indianapolis was an imposing warship. She was widely used by US dignitaries in the 1930s, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who sailed aboard the ship many times. After the outbreak of World War II, she saw service near Alaska before moving into waters nearer the Japanese home islands. There, she was struck by a kamikaze and forced to return to the US for repairs. Upon completion of the repairs, Indianapolis was selected to transport components of the "Little Boy" atomic bomb from mainland US to Tinian in the Marianas Islands. On the return journey, she was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine, becoming the last large warship lost by the US during World War II. Delay in the mission to recover surviving crew resulted in the largest loss of life aboard a single ship at sea in US Navy history. The sinking of Indianapolis remains surrounded in controversy, and the wreck was not located until 2017.

The part played by code-cracking in World War II has been revealed in popular film and has also inspired several accounts by code-crackers. Much less well-known is how code-cracking was used in operational situations. In this account the "Silent Service" speaks through the voice of a young and inexperienced naval officer whose rites of passage to manhood required him to act as a seagoing eavesdropper, a role calling not only for quick intelligence but also for facing up to excitement and danger. Sir Alan Peacock's story is interlaced with graphic accounts of life on the lower deck, being torpedoed in a Channel action, and how to contribute to intelligence information that was required to foil enemy attacks on Russian convoys whilst facing atrocious weather conditions. The influence this intense experience exerted on Peacock's subsequent career in economics is also discussed.

In contrast to the voluminous literature on trench warfare, few scholarly works have been written on how the First World War was experienced at sea. The conditions of war challenged the Royal Navy's position within British national identity and its own service ethos. This challenge took the form of a dialogue, fuelled by fear of civil unrest, between the discourses of paternalism from above and democratism from below. Laura Rowe explores issues of morale and discipline, using the contemporary language of discipline to shed light on key questions of how the service was able to absorb indiscipline with marked success through a subtle web of loyalties, history, ethos, traditions and customs, which were rooted in older notions of service but moulded by the new conditions of total war. In so doing, she provides not only a new methodological framework for understanding morale, but also military discipline and leadership.

First published in 1946, this atmospheric memoir of the battle of the Atlantic offers one of the most original accounts of war at sea aboard a corvette, escorting convoys in both the North and South Atlantic. The author, an RNVR lieutenant, experienced the terrors of U-boat attacks and the hardships of autumn gales as well as the relief of shore runs in ports as far apart as Halifax and Freetown. The narrative begins with Harling's voyage from the Clyde to New York on the Queen Mary (or QM, as she was known during her martial career), on route to join a newly-built corvette in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He was to be her First Lieutenant, and his service at sea started in the spring of 1941, just as the battle of the Atlantic was entering its most crucial stage. During the first east-bound convoy he was to experience attacks by U-boats, the loss of merchant vessels and a steep learning curve as the ship's crew struggled to live in the harsh wartime conditions. Later that summer they made return voyages to Iceland where runs ashore offered some solace from dangerous days at sea. Time was also spent in the South Atlantic with voyages to Freetown and Lagos, before a short interlude when he experienced the excitement of fighting with Coastal Forces. The corvette subsequently returned to escorting convoys from Halifax to Europe. His narrative is both serious and humorous, and his picture of wartime Britain, his descriptions of being buffeted by great storm-tossed seas in the cockleshell corvettes', and the recounting of grim losses are all too real and authentic. His story ends as he leaves his ship after a violent cold developed into pneumonia, and soon afterwards he hears the heart-breaking news of her loss, along with the captain and half the crew, after being torpedoed. He is left to ponder on the many tombless dead consigned by the war to the Steep Atlantick Stream.

Using revelatory new material on an event which changed the tide of World War II, Robert Kershaw's ground-breaking history explores the Battle of Dunkirk from the German perspective. 'Kershaw's book is a welcome rebalancing; a thoughtful, well-researched and well-written contribution to a narrative that has long been too one-sided and too mired in national mythology.' - Roger Moorhouse, The Times The British evacuation from the beaches of the small French port town of Dunkirk is one of the iconic moments of military history. The battle has captured the popular imagination through LIFE magazine photo spreads, the fiction of Ian McEwan and, of course, Christopher Nolan's hugely successful Hollywood blockbuster. But what is the German view of this stunning Allied escape? Drawing on German interviews, diaries and unit post-action reports, Robert Kershaw creates a page-turning history of a battle that we thought we knew. Dunkirchen 1940 is the first major history on what went wrong for the Germans at Dunkirk. As supreme military commander, Hitler had seemingly achieved a miracle after the swift capitulation of Holland and Belgium, but with just seven kilometres before the panzers captured Dunkirk - the only port through which the trapped British Expeditionary force might escape - they came to a shuddering stop. Hitler had lost control of his stunning advance. Only a detailed interpretation of the German perspective - historically lacking to date - can provide answers as to why. Drawing on his own military experience, his German language skills and his historian's eye for detail, Robert Kershaw creates a new history of this familiar battle. With a fresh angle on this famous conflict, Dunkirchen 1940 delves into the under-evaluated major German miscalculation both strategically and tactically that arguably cost Hitler the war.

Dedicated to the ship's company of "La Moqueuse", this book is not so much an account of naval operations as a kind of social history. With the help of recollections, diaries and letters home, the author recreates the reactions of an undergraduate to his various incarnations as an ordinary seaman in a corvette, the most junior officer on board a destroyer and the British naval liaison officer in a Free French sloop. Roughly half of the book deals with the very special atmosphere in the Free French forces and the complex situation in southern France immediately after its liberation in August 1944. The volume as a whole provides a vivid impression of what it actually felt like to be involved in the day-to-day experience of helping to make a warship work.

Early in World War II, fifty obsolete US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy in return for a 99-year lease British bases in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Newfoundland. Though they were obsolete and far from ideal, they played a vital role in the Royal Navy's campaign. This is their complete story. Topics covered include the background to the acquisition of the ships - the Battle of the Atlantic; their specification and design, and modifications in RN service; operations and achievements, such as the St Nazaire Raid and finally, losses and accidents. This authoritative text is supported by many contemporary photographs and twenty eight detailed plans prepared specially for this book.

The Bismarck is perhaps the most famous - and notorious - warship ever built. Completed in 1941, the 45,000-ton German battleship sunk HMS Hood, the pride of the British Navy, during one of the most sensational encounters in naval history. Following the sinking, Bismarck was chased around the North Atlantic by many units of the Royal Navy. She was finally dispatched with gunfire and torpedoes on 27 May, less than five months after her completion. Her wreck still lies where she sank, 4,800m down and 960km off the west coast of France.

Drawing on new research and technology, this edition is the most comprehensive examination of Bismarck ever published. It includes a complete set of detailed line drawings with fully descriptive keys and full-colour 3D artwork, supported by technical details, photographs and text on the building of the ship and a record of the ship's service history.

The text provides a study of the longest continuous war in ancient history and the greatest naval conflict ever fought. It is intended for Roman history courses, academic and research libraries, and military history buffs.

Overturns established thinking about the Anglo-American War of 1812-15. Named one of the 20 Notable Naval Books of 2011 in the US Naval Institute Proceedings Magazine, May 2012 The War of 1812 between Britain and the United States was fought on many fronts: single ship actions in the Atlantic; aUS invasion of Canada, which the Canadians heroically resisted; the burning of the new US capital, Washington, by the British, the President's house subsequently painted white to hide the fire damage; and an unsuccessful attack bythe British on New Orleans. The war is usually seen as a draw. However, as this book demonstrates, it was in fact a British victory. The United States achieved none of its war aims, and the peace, concluded in December 1814, metBritain's long-term maritime needs. This book reassesses the war, showing how the British achieved success through an effective commercial maritime blockade which had devastating consequences on the vulnerable, undeveloped USeconomy. Neutral vessels were included - one of the causes of the war had been the United States' objection to British interference with US ships in Britain's war with Napoleonic France - and Britain's refusal to concede this point enabled the strategy of commercial maritime blockades to be reused by Britain to good effect in subsequent wars, including those of 1914-18 and 1939-45. BRIAN ARTHUR gained a PhD at the University of Greenwich in Britain, following research in the United States which was completed with the aid of a Caird North America Fellowship from the National Maritime Museum in London.

When the British Prime Minister announced a new warship was to be christened HMS London in 2018 it revived a name that is covered not only in glory but also tinged with controversy. In this vividly told narrative we voyage in the company of those whose fates have been intertwined with Londons in peace, war and even during mutiny. For the ship's companies of fighting vessels named HMS London have witnessed the highs and lows of British naval history spanning centuries. The epic story includes: an ill-fated encounter between wooden wall battleships off Chesapeake in 1781 - whose result arguably lost Britain its American colonies; the hell of the Gallipoli landings in the First World War; the disastrous PQ17 convoy of the Second World War; a valiant foray into the teeth of communist Chinese fire during the 1940s Yangtze Incident; leading the British naval task group in Operation Desert Storm; sailing into the Arctic on a mission to end the Cold War at sea as the 1991 hard-liners' coup in Moscow collapsed. This new edition offers enhanced and new imagery in addition to other fresh material, including a young officer's part in the climactic events of the Second World War in East Asia. We also learn how the London of Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II is offering up treasures from the murky waters of the Thames. A new final chapter looks at the next HMS London, which will be a futuristic City Class (Type 26) submarine hunter. It also considers the missions the new London will face amid great power rivalry on the oceans that sees an increasingly volatile face-off between the West and Russia with China.

This meticulously researched and illustrated book focuses on the evolution of aircraft carriers and naval aircraft. It features chronological histories and comprehensive directories of the world's most important aviation ships and aircraft, including the first ships to launch primitive aircraft; biplanes that were catapulted from converted destroyers; modern warships capable of carrying jets and helicopters; and state-of-the-art jets that are unique for their vertical take-off ability. With more than 1100 magnificent photographs, this book provides historians and enthusiasts with key information about the world's greatest aircraft carriers and naval aircraft.

The General Motors Corporation DUKW was without a doubt the most successful amphibious military vehicle ever constructed. This is due in large part to the enormous amount of scientific and engineering talent that was devoted to the project. Included in the design team were America's Cup winner Rod Stephens, adventurer and environmentalist Dennis Puleston, and scientist and engineer Palmer C. Putnam. The DUKW was so successful and so widely used that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower described it as "one of the most valuable pieces of equipment produced by the United States during the war." This book chronicles the development and use of these vehicles from concept to combat in WWII and Korea. Through dozens of archival photos, many never before published, as well as detailed photographs of some of the finest existent examples of surviving vehicles, these iconic armored fighting vehicles are explored, and their history is explained.

The battleships of the Kongo-class were the oldest, smallest, and fastest battleships in the Imperial Japanese Navy during WWII. Initially classified as battle cruisers, the lead ship in the class, Kongo, was built in England just prior to WWI. The remaining three ships in the class -- Haruna, Kirishima, and Hiei -- were all built and completed in Japan by 1915. All four ships were highly reconfigured in the 1920s, and they were reclassified as battleships in the 1930s. The four Kongo-class ships were the most active among the 12 WWII-era Japanese battleships and saw heavy combat throughout the war in such major campaigns as Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, and Leyte. All four ships were sunk by Allied forces by wars end. This book features rare Japanese primary source material, including numerous photos, line schemes, and detailed charts.

A gripping history of the Mediterranean campaigns from the first rumblings of conflict through the Second World War and into the uneasy peace of the late 1940s. The Mediterranean Sea lies at the very heart of recent world history. To the British during the Second World War, the Mediterranean was the world's great thoroughfare. To the Americans, it represented the answer to anti-imperialism. And to Mussolini, it encapsulated his violent vision of conquest. These three great powers attempted to overthrow the existing order in the Mediterranean, resulting in a collision of allies as well as enemies that hadn't been seen before: the Germans fought against the Italians, the Americans against the Arabs, the Jews against the British, the French against nearly everyone. The Mediterranean was indeed 'the bitter sea'. In this masterly history, Simon Ball takes us through the tumultuous events set in motion by Mussolini's lust for conquest that ended with the creation of Israel. Long drawn-out battles on land, sea and air - dominated by WWII's most illustrious leaders, Churchill, Eisenhower and Rommel amongst them - resulted in Allied victory in the battle of El Alamein, the terrifying desert campaigns of Africa and the eventual defeat of Italy and then Germany. The wars in the Mediterranean had huge consequences for all those who fought in them, but none more profound than those experienced by the lands, nations and peoples that lived around the sea itself. Based on entirely original research, 'The Bitter Sea' is expertly written, utterly compelling and unquestionably important.

The Shetland Bus was not a bus, but the nickname of a special operations group that set up a route across the North Sea between Norway and the Shetland Islands, north-east of mainland Scotland. The first voyage was made by Norwegian sailors to help their compatriots in occupied Norway, but soon the Secret Intelligence Service and the Special Operations Executive asked if they would be prepared to carry cargoes of British agents and equipment, as well. Fourteen boats of different sizes were originally used, and Flemington House in Shetland was commandeered as the operation's HQ. The first official journey was carried out by the Norwegian fishing vessel the Aksel, which left Luna Ness on 30 August 1941 on route to Bremen in Norway. This book examines that first journey, as well later ones, and discusses the agents and operations which members of the Shetland Bus were involved in throughout the war. It also looks at the donation of 3 submarine chasers to the operation, made in October 1943, by the United States Navy. These torpedo-type boats were 110 ft long and very fast, allowing journey times between Shetland and Norway to be greatly reduced and carried out in greater safety. The story of the Shetland Bus would be nothing without the individuals involved, both the sailors of the boats and the agents who were carried between the two countries. These were very brave individuals who helped maintain an important lifeline to the beleaguered Norwegians. It also allowed British and Norwegian agents a way in to Norway so that they could liaise with the Norwegian Underground movement and carry out important missions against the German occupiers.

Dominating the seas during World War II, the US aircraft carrier played a crucial role in every major naval combat of the war.
Development of the "Essex" class began in 1941, and was the largest class of carrier ever built. During the Pacific War it formed the backbone of any fighting force and became renowned for its mighty 'Sunday Punch' - the impressive offensive power of 36 fighter planes, 36 dive bombers, and 18 torpedo planes.
The "Independence" class was a lighter and faster carrier, built after Pearl Harbor, to bring more ships into action as quickly as possible. Alongside the Essex class their crews saw a dramatic change in tactical deployment as they began to form the fast carrier task forces that were so effective in Pacific operations.
Featuring an annotated cutaway and artwork detailing both the interior and exterior features of the ships, this book explores the design, development, and deployment of both the "Essex" and "Independence" class of light carriers. This sequel to "US Navy Aircraft Carriers 1922-45: Prewar classes" (New Vanguard 114), provides a detailed exploration of the carriers that were at the forefront of many actions in World War II, including the climatic battles of Phillipine Sea and Leyte Gulf in 1944.

Admiral of the Fleet Lord 'Jacky' Fisher (1841-1920) was one of the greatest naval reformers in history. He was also a colossal figure to contemporaries, both loved and loathed, a man of exceptional charm, presence and charisma. Since the late 1940s, Jan Morris has been haunted by his face - with its startling combination of 'the suave, the sneering and the self-amused.' This evocation is both biography and a love letter, a perfect expression of her passionate interest in mavericks and outsiders, in travel, ships and the glorious pageantry of the British Empire in its prime.

In the hundreds of books written about battleships, the authors tend to draw down the curtain on the careers of these great vessels in September 1945, with the surrender of Japan. Yet, on that day some ninety-eight battleships or ex-battleships might be spotted around the world, and eleven of them were in or around Tokyo Bay for the surrender itself. What happened to all those ships? This new book takes a fresh look at the slow demise of the battleship. It examines the decisions made by the major world powers after 1945, and their aspirations to retain battleships in their navies, despite financial stringency. It places the history and role of battleships after 1945 in their geo-political context, centred around the Cold War and the need for the West to face down an aggressive Soviet Union. It also examines the impact on battleships of operational analysis of the Second World War and new technological developments, notably the atom bomb and the guided missile. The book uses the wealth of information from ship's books, ship's logs and gun logs to document in considerable detail what the ships actually did after the Second World War, with a particular focus on those of the Royal Navy. It covers United States battleship operations in Korea, Vietnam and the Gulf War, as well as the deterrent role played by battleships for NATO from the 1950s to the 1990s. Finally, it brings the story up to date by documenting the preservation as museum ships of the eight dreadnoughts which still exist today in the United States. Extensively illustrated with photographs of the huge range of activities of battleships after 1945, from their use as Fleet flagships to Royal or Presidential yachts and more poignantly as target ships, this new book will appeal equally to the historic ship enthusiast and naval specialist, and provide a novel perspective through a battleship-shaped lens on late twentieth-century history for the more general reader.

An examination of the mid-seventeenth century maritime battles between Ireland, England, and Scotland, showing them to have had a dramatic impact on the overall conflict. The conflict on the Irish seaboard between the years 1641 and 1653 was not some peripheral theatre in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. As this first full-length study of the war at sea on the Irish coast from the outbreak of the Ulster rising in 1641 to the surrender of Inishbofin Island, the last major royalist maritime outpost, in April 1653, shows, it was instead the epicentre of naval conflict with important consequences for the nature and outcome of the land conflicts in Ireland and elsewhere. The book provides a clear and comprehensive narrative account of the war at sea, accompanied by careful contextualisation and a full analysis of its Irish, British and European dimensions. This includes the strategic importance of Irish ports, conflict between organised navies and formidable bands of privateers and pirates, the adoption of new naval technologies and tactics and the relationship between conflict onland and sea. Moving beyond traditional accounts of naval campaigns, it integrates warfare at sea into the wider dimension of political and economic developments in Ireland, England and Scotland. Extensive use is made of a wide range of archival material, in particular the High Court of Admiralty papers held in the National Archives at Kew. Dr Elaine Murphy is Lecturer in Maritime/Naval History, Plymouth University.

In 1922 the US Navy commissioned its first small experimental aircraft carrier. This was followed into service by two much larger and capable carriers in 1927 with five more being built prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor including three large Yorktown class. To take the offensive against the Japanese Navy, the American Congress funded by far the largest carrier building programme in history based on the Essex class, a larger version of the pre-war Yorktown vessels. Of the twenty-six ordered, fourteen were commissioned in time to see Second World War service. These were joined by many smaller classes of carriers, including light carriers and escort carriers. Post-war ever larger and more capable carriers were commissioned. Since 1975, when the first of a fleet of ten nuclear-powered Nimitz class carriers was commissioned, they have epitomized United States superpower status and worldwide power projection. These are due to be replaced in the decades to come with the even more sophisticated nuclear-powered Gerald R. Ford class. Compiled and written by Michael Green, Aircraft Carriers of the United States Navy contains superb images of all the different types of classes of carriers employed by the US Navy since 1922. These and its highly informative text and captions give the reader a broad overview of this fascinating subject.

This Companion is part of the Oxford Reference Collection: using sustainable print-on-demand technology to make the acclaimed backlist of the Oxford Reference programme perennially available in hardback format. The most comprehensive and authoritative reference book of its kind, The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea was first published in 1976 to huge acclaim, hailed as 'a beguiling book' (Daily Telegraph), 'marvellous' (The Times), and 'totally absorbing' (Financial Times). This second edition was published in 2006 and brought together more than 2,600 entries on every imaginable aspect of the seas and the vessels that sail on them, from shipbuilding, yachting, diving, and marine mammals, to tidal power, piracy, and the literature and language of the sea. This edition provides significant material on topics that have come to prominence in recent times, such as oceanography and marine archaeology: key contributions on these subjects from marine expert Dr Martin Angel at Southampton Oceanography Centre include climate change, environmental issues, marine pollution, and marine wildlife. Entries added to this edition are underwater vehicles, tsunamis, warfare at sea, marine pollution, the Economic Exclustion Zone, and ship preservation. This Companion also includes authoritative and fascinating entries on maritime history: its naval battles, its great ships, from Noah's Ark and the Bounty to the Titanic and the Mary Rose; and its most famous individuals, both real and fictional, including Christopher Columbus, Horatio Nelson, and Robinson Crusoe. Entries are fully cross-referenced, and the text is illustrated with over 260 detailed drawings.

The modern age of naval warfare began with the combination of steam power, iron warships, and modern artillery, which launched an intense period of international competition. Tracing naval warfare from the 1860s into the future, noted historian Jeremy Black provides a dynamic account of strategy and warfare worldwide. He focuses on the interplay of technological development, geopolitics, and resource issues to assess not only the role of leading powers but all those involved in naval conflict. Emphasizing conflict and changes since 1945 and, notably, since the end of the Cold War, the author considers possible future developments of navies, their challengers, and the geopolitics of maritime power.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor changed the lives of almost every American, and began the process of putting 17 million of them in uniform to fight in World War II. Yet in the long and fascinating body of literature about this terrible event, most historians have neglected the compelling and moving accounts of the surviving military personnel and civilians who were on Oahu at the time of the attack, at dawn on December 7, 1941. Eyewitness to Infamy is their story-the astonishing oral history of the brutal attack that pushed the United States into WWII on the side of the Allies: the British, French, and Russians. With the help of the Pearl Harbor Survivors' Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the American Legion, Paul Travers collected more than 200 eyewitness accounts from which he painstakingly selected those critical to this behind-the-scenes narrative account. With breathtaking clarity, the narratives cover the full range of military activity on the island, along battleship row, and around the harbor, while portraying the human side of the event-the heroic, the tragic, and the terrible reality of the assault.