Battleship Bismarck is a marine forensics analysis and engineering study of the design, operation, and loss of Germany's greatest battleship, drawing on survivors' accounts and the authors' combined decades of experience in naval architecture and command at sea. The investigation has covered fifty-six years of painstaking research, during which the authors conducted extensive interviews and correspondence with the ship's designers and survivors of the Battle of Denmark Strait and Bismarck's final battle. Albert Schnarke, former gunnery officer of DKM Tirpitz, sister ship of Bismarck, aided greatly by translating and circulating early manuscript materials to those who participated in the design and operation. Survivors of Bismarck's engagements actively contributed to this comprehensive study, including Vice Admiral (then Lieutenant) D.B.H Wildish (RN), damage control officer aboard HMS Prince of Wales, who located photographs of battle damage to his ship.After the wreck of the Bismarck was discovered in June 1989, the authors served as technical consultants to Dr. Robert Ballard, who led three trips to the site. Filmmaker and explorer James Cameron contributed a chapter of his comprehensive overview of his deep-sea explorations of Bismarck, illustrated with his team's remarkable photographs of the shipwreck. The result of these nearly six decades of research and collaboration is an engrossing and encyclopedic account of the events surrounding one of the most epic naval battles of World War II. Battleship Bismarck has finally resolved some of the major questions such as, Who sank the Bismarck, the British or the Germans?

Destroyers of Project 30bis, also referred to as the Smelyi-class (NATO: Skoryi-class), is a series of 70 Soviet destroyer ships built after the Second World War in the years 1950-1953. It was the most extended postwar series of destroyers in the world. The ships of Project 30bis were created as a continuation of large destroyers from World War II, which were part of Projects 30 and 30K. However, in comparison to the 30 and 30K project destroyers, the new ships were slightly larger, and their hull was welded entirely. Moreover, the appearance of the superstructures changed, the armament was slightly modified, and more sophisticated electronic equipment was installed. The propulsion system was also modernized, increasing the power of the boilers. The project was developed in 1946 and approved in January 1947. The construction of ships commenced in 1948. Although the first completed and commissioned on February 5, 1950, destroyer was Bditielnyi (Watchful), the entire series was named after the eighth destroyer Smelyi (Courageous), which was commissioned on March 19, 1950. This ship was used in the Gdansk Bay in the region of Baltijsk, Russia, for both state tests, and project qualifications. On the other hand, in the West, this type of ship began to be referred to as Skoryi-class, after the first identified ship. The battleships were built in four shipyards: Leningrad, Komsomolsk, Nikolayev, and Severodvinsk. The construction of 85 vessels commenced, of which 70 vessels were completed, and the remaining ones were resigned.

In late 1917, the Russians, despite the revolution, were still willing to continue the war against Germany. This is an account of Operation Albion, the highly-successful seaborne operation launched by the Germans to change their minds. The Baltic Islands were pivotal for the defence of the Finnish Gulf and St. Petersburg, so their capture was essential for any campaign towards the Russian capital. Only after the fall of the islands did Russia begin peace negotiations (freeing nearly half a million German soldiers for the Kaiser's last gamble on the Western Front). This then was a campaign of great significance for the war on both Eastern and Western fronts. A large part of the High Sea Fleet took part in the invasion of the Baltic islands, including the most modern dreadnought battleships. The Russians mounted a resolute defence despite being heavily outgunned and over a ten day period there were many naval clashes around the islands as well as the campaign ashore, all of which are described in detail with the use of both Russian and German first hand accounts. This book shatters the myth that the Imperial German Navy spent the last two years of the war cowering in port.

A compelling history of the greatest ships ever launched.The importance of the fighting ship is as considerable today as ever before. Battleships are built, counted, assessed and exercised with the same determination now as at the beginning of the twentieth century, and during the Napoleonic Wars. In this riveting book, leading historian Richard Hough examines fifteen of history's most significant and interesting battleships, from Lord Howard Effingham's Ark Royal, which held the Spanish Armada at bay, to the American New Jersey, which took part in three wars, and whose guns still remain ready for action. From the mighty German Bismarck of 1941, destroyed on its first operation voyage, Battleship ranges to Admiral Nelson's legendary HMS Victory, still a flagship after more than 200 years Hough weaves these examples into a pattern of progress ranging from the galleon to the immense super-dreadnought. In addition, he focuses in depth upon armaments, structural developments, and the tactics of war - all these play a crucial part in the epic history of the battleship. But above all Richard Hough's story is a human one, a record of men and ships, of courage and endurance - a true taste of the sea.

For the first time, this book tells the story of how naval air operations evolved into a vital element of the Royal Navy's ability to fight a three-dimensional war against both the Kriegsmarine and Luftwaffe. An integral part of RN, the Fleet Air Arm was not a large organisation, with only 406 pilots and 232 front-line aircraft available for operations in September 1939\. Nevertheless, its impact far outweighed its numbers -it was an RN fighter that shot down the first enemy aircraft of the war, and an RN pilot was the first British fighter 'ace' with 5 or more kills. The Fleet Air Arm's rollcall of achievements in northern waters went on to include the Norwegian Campaign, the crippling of _Bismarck_, the gallant sortie against _Scharnhorst_ and _Gneisenau_ as they passed through the Channel, air attacks on enemy E-boats in the narrow seas, air cover for the Russian convoys, air attacks that disabled _Tirpitz_, and strikes and minelaying operations against German shipping in the Norwegian littoral that continued until May 1945\. By the end of the war in Europe the FAA had grown to 3243 pilots and 1336 aircraft. This book sets all these varied actions within their proper naval context and both technical and tactical aspects are explained with 'thumb-nail' descriptions of aircraft, their weapons and avionics. Cross reference with the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour has been made for the first time to put names to those aircrew killed in action wherever possible as a mark of respect for their determination against enemy forces on, above and below the sea surface which more often than not outnumbered them. The Fleet Air Arm and the War in Europe completes David Hobbs' much-praised six-volume series chronicling the operational history of British naval aviation from the earliest days to the present.

Admiral Lord Nelson's diamond Chelengk is one of the most famous and iconic jewels in British history. Presented to Nelson by the Sultan Selim III of Turkey after the Battle of the Nile in 1798, the jewel had thirteen diamond rays to represent the French ships captured or destroyed at the action. A central diamond star on the jewel was powered by clockwork to rotate in wear. Nelson wore the Chelengk on his hat like a turban jewel, sparking a fashion craze for similar jewels in England. The jewel became his trademark to be endlessly copied in portraits and busts to this day. After Trafalgar, the Chelengk was inherited by Nelson's family and worn at the Court of Queen Victoria. Sold at auction in 1895 it eventually found its way to the newly opened National Maritime Museum in Greenwich where it was a star exhibit. In 1951 the jewel was stolen in a daring raid by an infamous cat-burglar and lost forever. For the first time, Martyn Downer tells the extraordinary true story of the Chelengk: from its gift to Nelson by the Sultan of Turkey to its tragic post-war theft, charting the jewel's journey through history and forging sparkling new and intimate portraits of Nelson, of his friends and rivals, and of the woman he loved.

During World War II's battle for control of the Mediterranean, both the British and Italian navies planned to bring their battle fleets into play. At the centre of both of these fleets was a core of battleships which both sides expected to play a decisive role in the conflict. On 9 July 1940, the two navies met in the central Mediterranean, as two Italian battleships faced off against three of their British counterparts. Christened the Battle of Calabria, the action allowed the ships to play to their strengths, engaging in a long-range gunnery duel, the very thing they had been designed for. Though both sides shot well, the only hit was scored by Warspite on the Italian battleship Giulio Cesare. The Italians were forced to withdraw, and the action ended up being indecisive, but it was the largest fleet action fought in the Mediterranean during the war. As well as this battle, there were other occasions during the war when both British and Italian battleships were present and influential, but during which they never engaged each other directly - the Battle of Spartivento on 27 November 1940, and the Battle of Cape Matapan on 28-29 March 1941. Packed with full-colour artwork, carefully selected archive photographs and expert analysis, this title explores in detail the role played by British and Italian battleships in these encounters, and their influence in the Mediterranean theatre of World War II.

The Battle of the Atlantic - a name coined by Churchill - was the unremitting assault that went on throughout the war on Allied merchant ships that were the lifeline of Great Britain and, from 1941, Russia by aircraft, surface ships but, above all, by the U-boat. Captain Macintyre, who was a distinguished participant in the battle, tells the story with precision and clarity. He describes the measures employed to defeat the amazingly successful 'wolf-pack' tactics of the U-boats, the convoy system and individual convoys, the contribution of the Royal Canadian Navy, the technological advances in radar and asdic, depth charges and aerial support, and does not shirk from describing how desperately close at times was the outcome. Not only does he analyze the strategic issues, above all the importance of the convoy system and of continuous air-cover, he also describes the battle from the viewpoint of the participants themselves. The long drawn-out duel between escort and U-boat is made vivid by quotation from the log-books of some of the ablest escort-commanders and from the combat-reports of the German U-boat ' aces '. Complementing these eye-witness accounts, nearly 50 unfamiliar photographs, drawn from German as well as British sources, make the courage and endurance of all those who fought in the Atlantic the more immediate.

806 Squadron was formed in early 1940 and was equipped with Skuas and Rocs, both outdated as fighters and dive-bombers, the latter hampered by a gunner's turret and most unsuited for modern warfare; however, 806 was fortunate to have at its head the volatile but skillful and aggressive Lt-Cdr Charles Evans, a 30-year-old born-leader with ten years' experience flying with both the RAF and Royal Navy. With the aid of his equally experienced senior observer, Lt Desmond Vincent-Jones, the young fledgling pilots, mainly straight from training school, were soon receiving expert instruction. Having survived early ops over Norway and Dunkirk, 806 was selected to fly the new fleet-fighter, the underrated Fulmar, with which it went to war in the Mediterranean aboard the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious and won its spurs. The young pilots, led by the CO, wreaked havoc amongst the Italian navy's spotter seaplanes and bombers. This is their story.

An outcast on the high seas. A woman who defies convention.Gabriel Hawkins was born to command the sea, until he left the Royal Navy in disgrace and was disowned by his family. Now captaining his own ship, earning his living through dubious means, he is the best choice to ransom an aristocratic beauty captured by Barbary pirates. Facing the prospect of a life as a harem slave, Lady Aurora Lawrence is beyond horrified. Her only hope of escape lies in a quiet, steely captain who ignites an attraction in her that burns hot within the close confines of his ship. But even if they endure the perils of the waves, can their love survive a return to England, where the distance between a disgraced captain and an earl's daughter is wider than the ocean? A stunning historical romance for fans of Bridgerton and Johanna Lindsey.

Since 1900, the Royal Navy has seen vast changes to the way it operates. This book tells the story, not just of defeats and victories, but also of how the navy has adjusted to over 100 years of rapid technological and social change. The navy has changed almost beyond recognition since the far-reaching reforms made by Admiral Fisher at the turn of the century. Fisher radically overhauled the fleet, replacing the nineteenth-century wooden crafts with the latest in modern naval technology, including battleships (such as the iconic dreadnoughts), aircraft carriers and submarines. In World War I and World War II, the navy played a central role, especially as unrestricted submarine warfare and supply blockades became an integral part of twentieth-century combat. However it was the development of nuclear and missile technology during the Cold War era which drastically changed the face of naval warfare - today the navy can launch sea-based strikes across thousands of miles to reach targets deep inland. This book navigates the cross currents of over 100 years of British naval history. As well as operational issues, the authors also consider the symbolism attached to the navy in popular culture and the way naval personnel have been treated, looking at the changes in on-board life and service during the period, as well as the role of women in the navy. In addition to providing full coverage of the Royal Navy's wartime operations, the authors also consider the functions of the navy in periods of nominal peace - including disaster relief, diplomacy and exercises. Even in peacetime the Royal Navy had a substantial role to play. Covering the whole span of naval history from 1900 to the present, this book places the wars and battles fought by the navy within a wider context, looking at domestic politics, economic issues and international affairs. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in naval history and operations, as well as military history more generally.

The NROTC Guide is the authoritative, first-to-market comprehensive guide to all aspects of the NROTC program. Written specifically for the audience most important to the health and vibrancy of the program-talented young people potentially interested in a career as an officer in the naval service. On an average year, the NROTC program commissions almost a quarter of the Navy's active-duty officer accessions, approximately equal to the number commissioned by the U.S. Naval Academy. While myriad works exist describing the Annapolis experience, there is currently no book-format guide to the NROTC program, the application process, college life as an NROTC midshipman, commissioning options, or other concerns. Thus, this guide fills an information gap in an increasingly competitive market for America's talented youth.