The ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject, highlighting differences between ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the subjects, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites. This volume is something of a departure for the series in covering a wide variety of the types, at first improvised and then purpose-built for the Brown Water conflict. Besides the well-known American involvement, the book also covers some of the craft used by the French in their earlier struggle with Vietnamese guerrillas. With its unparalleled level of visual information - paint schemes, models, line drawings and photographs - this book is simply the best reference for any modelmaker setting out to build one of these unusual craft.

"The place where the German U-boat sank the British battleship Royal Oak was none other than the middle of Scapa Flow, Britain's greatest naval base! It sounds incredible..." - William L Shirer, journalist, 18 October 1939 Sinking the battleship HMS Royal Oak in the Royal Navy's home anchorage, with the loss of more than 800 of her crew, was Germany's first shattering blow against Britain in the 1939-45 war. Within six weeks the long-standing German dream of breaching the defences of Scapa Flow had been achieved. After years of misinformation, propaganda and conspiracy theories, this meticulously researched book reveals what really happened.

It is the night of 28 March 1942. Royal Navy and British commandos are poised to assault the German-held port of Saint-Nazaire in what will be one of the most audacious and daring raids of the Second World War. The plan is simple: to drive an old destroyer, packed with three tons of explosive, at full speed into the outer gate of the Normandie dock. The aim is to destroy the base from which the formidable battleship Tirpitz would be able to devastate the convoys supplying Britain from the United States. 'Operation Chariot' was to be dramatically successful, but at a great cost. Fewer than half the men who went on the mission returned. In recognition of their valour, eighty-nine decorations were awarded, including five Victoria Crosses. Into the Jaws of Death is the true story of how the decisive courage of a small group of men changed the course of the war.

This book argues that the UK, as a post-modern globalised state, will require means to have influence over events and opponents that threaten the UK's interests in the 21st century, and that its means is the Royal Navy. However, unlike other studies, this research emphasizes the role of logistics, especially afloat support logistics and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. In doing so, the author rejects the current theory underpinning military operations at distance, that distance degrades capability, and posits an alternative theory, that time is the key factor, for maritime-based forces. The UK must reengage with its maritime status and maintain a maritime-based capability to protect its interests in the new maritime century as a leader within the international community. The book will be of use to scholars and researchers interested in naval history and defence policy.

In November 1921 the first purpose-built carrier was launched by the Japanese, followed a year later by the British launch of the Hermes. After WWI, battlecruisers were readily converted into aircraft carriers, with questions on how to handle the aircraft on the flight deck beginning to be raised and techniques of how to attack enemy ships beginning to develop. How Carriers Fought focuses on the HOW, not the what, when, or the by whom. It begins by examining the tools and the building blocks of carrier operations, looking at what life was really like in the cockpit for the pilots alongside the technicalities of navigation and communication. A world of tactical dehydration, amphetamine pills, and illegal smoking is explored, as well as the measures they put in place to reduce their risk of death on being hit. This book goes on to examine the major carrier battles of WWII, from the Battle of the Coral Sea to the Battle of Leyte Gulf, with a focus on how the tools of carrier operations were employed during these battles. At the Battle of the Midway the debate of concentration vs. dispersion became relevant, as the Japanese decided to divide their forces while the Americans concentrated theirs. How Carriers Fought questions these tactics, exploring which worked best in theory and in practice. How were searches made, how many planes were used, what was the range and coverage of the search, and how many hits were scored and losses suffered? The final section of the book looks at how carrier operations changed in major ways during the course of the war, as better technology and a better understanding of this new type of warfare allowed for quick advances in how operations were carried out. For example, the balance between fighter and bomber planes changed dramatically, with the US beginning the war with 20% fighters and ending it with 80% fighters. This book gives a comprehensive insight into carrier operations in WWII, with a focus on the Pacific War between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy. A series of appendices expands on topics such as radar, landing on a carrier, radios and even carrier pigeons.

Canada was the first Commonwealth ally to come to Britain's aid in 1940, and until final victory Canadian troops fought alongside the British and later the US armies. The Canadian divisions earned a high reputation on the battlefields of Italy, Normandy and North-West Europe, and others fought in the Far East. This is an illustrated study of their uniforms, weapons and equipment, with many battlefield photographs, and eight colour plates by famous Canadian military illustrator Ron Volstad. Navy, Airforce, tank crews and paratroopers are all discussed in detail.

The tiny new state of the United Provinces of the Netherlands won its independence from the mighty Spanish empire by fighting and winning the Eighty Years' War, from 1568 and 1648. In this long conflict, warfare on water played a much bigger role in determining the ultimate victor.

On the high seas the fleet carved out a new empire, growing national income to such levels that it could continue the costly war for independence. Yet it was in coastal and inland waters that the most decisive battles were fought. Arguably the most decisive Spanish siege (Leiden, 1574) was broken by a fleet sailing to the rescue across flooded polders, and the battle of Nieuwpoort in 1600, the largest successful invasion fleet before World War II, was one of the most decisive battle in western history. Using detailed full colour artwork, this book shows how the Dutch navies fought worldwide in their war of independence, from Brazil to Indonesia, and from the Low Countries to Angola.

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. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the war until the final German surrender, making it the longest and arguably hardest-fought campaign of the whole war. The ships, technology and tactics employed by the Allies form the subject of this book. Beginning with the lessons apparently learned from the First World War, the author outlines inter-war developments in technology and training, and describes the later preparations for the second global conflict. When the war came the balance of advantage was to see-saw between U-boats and escorts, with new weapons and sensors introduced at a raid rate. For the defending navies, the prime requirement was numbers, and the most pressing problem was to improve capability without sacrificing simplicity and speed of construction. The author analyses the resulting designs of sloops, frigates, corvettes and destroyer escorts and attempts to determine their relative effectiveness. While the basic characteristics of these ships are well known, this was the first book to look at their cost-effectiveness in terms of anti-submarine warfare. Based on a lifetime's experience of designing warships, the author's fascinating insights, presented in this new softcover edition, will be of interest to enthusiasts and valuable to naval historians alike.

On 7th September 1822, Dom Pedro, Prince Regent of Brazil, declared his country independent and began the war of liberation against Portugal. Based on research from original documents and journals, the book details how independence was secured against all odds by seizing command of the sea, under the leadership of Lord Cochrane, to ensure the integrity of the new Brazilian empire. Set against the background of Brazilian politics and British foreign policy interests, this is a detailed account of the operations of the Brazilian navy during the transition to independence.

At Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, there occurred an event unique in naval history. The German High Seas Fleet, one of the most formidable ever built was deliberately sent to the bottom of the sea at the British Grand Fleet's principal anchorage at Orkney by its own officers and men.The Grand Scuttle became a folk legend in both Germany and Britain. However, few people are aware that Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter became the only man in history to sink his own navy because of a misleading report in a British newspaper; that the Royal Navy guessed his intention but could do nothing to thwart it; that the sinking produced the last casualties and the last prisoners of the war; and that fragments of the Kaiser's fleet are probably on the moon.This is the remarkable story of the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow. It contains previously unused German archive material, eye-witness accounts and the recollections of survivors, as well as many contemporary photos which capture the awesome spectacle of the finest ships of the time being deliberately sunk by their own crew.

As World War II recedes further into the past, still each year hundreds of new books are published about some aspect of this global conflict. Many offer new insights from recently declassified documents. Other's look to re-interpret what was thought to be well understood events. This book is no exception. The history of U-402, a Type VIIC German U-boat, is another tile in the mosaic of the war, and more specifically the Battle of the Atlantic. U-402's conning tower was emblazoned with the shield of its sponsoring German city of Karlsruhe. Upon that shield was the Latin word Fidelitas' -Fidelity -and Baron Siegfried Freiherr von Forstner, the U-boat's captain, embodied that word through his deep sense of loyalty to his profession, country, and crew. Born of an aristocratic military family, with a tradition of U-boat service, von Forstner served without the pretentiousness of title, even after winning the Ritterkreuz (Knight's Cross). He fought the war like a knight of old, with a defined code of chivalry, as he duelled with escorts, went to the aid of fellow U-boats, and rescued his enemy from the sea. As the North Atlantic battlefield grew deadlier with each successive patrol, von Forstner remained focused on his duty to sink Allied tonnage while keeping his crew alive. His daring and conduct at sea captured the respect of Captain, US Coast Guard (Ret) John M Waters, who was a Watch Officer onboard the escort USCGC _Ingham_ that fought U-402 in several convoy battles. After the war, he became the unexpected chronicler of his former enemy, and established an enduring friendship with von Forstner's family. The story of von Forstner and U-402 parallels the rise and fall of the Wolfpack, and reflects the ebb and flow of the Battle of the Atlantic from the early operations in European waters, to Operation _Paukenschlag_ (Drumbeat) off the US East Coast, to the climatic convoy battles of the North Atlantic in 1943\. This is a truly gripping account of the Atlantic conflict, and the large selection of photographs adds a realism and authenticity found in very few accounts of the U-boat war.

This is the first biography of Captain Robert Ryder V.C., Royal Navy (1908-1986), one of the greatest naval heroes of the Second World War. Ryder led the audacious raid on St Nazaire in March 1942 which completely destroyed the ports dry dock, depriving the Germans mighty pocket battleships of its use for the remainder of the war. The raid was one of the most brilliantly-executed combined operations of the war, much of the credit for which must go to Ryders outstanding planning and courageous leadership. He received one of five Victoria Crosses awarded for the operation. Although Ryders name will be forever linked with the raid on St Nazaire, the rest of his war service was no less distinguished. Torpedoed in a Q ship in 1940 he was rescued after clinging to a piece of wreckage for four days. After St Nazaire, he was heavily involved in the planning of combined operations and took part in the ill-fated raid on Dieppe. On D Day he lead a naval assault party in the first wave of the invasion. For the rest of the war Ryder commanded a destroyer on the Arctic convoys. Ryders naval career before the war was, as The Times put it on his death, unorthodox. In 1933-34 he, as captain, and four other young naval officers sailed the Tal-Mo-Shan, a 54 food ketch, from Hong Kong to England via the Panama Canal in a voyage lasting exactly a year, an outstanding achievement. Recently there has been press speculation that the voyage was a cover for naval espionage in Japanese waters. The Tal-Mo-Shan herself has now acquired international celebrity as a result of her sail-on part in the Abba film Mamma Mia. Between 1934 and 1937 Ryder served in the Antarctic as captain of the Penola, the base ship of the British Graham Lane Expedition. His formidable navigation and seamanship was largely responsible for the Penola, which was ill-adapted to polar conditions, surviving her ordeal intact. Ryder also took part in some of the earliest ocean yacht races, including the second Fastnet race in 1926.

Recounted with his usual level of meticulous historical research, Rod weaves an easily readable account of the build-up to and implementation of Operation Desecrate 1 - the raid undertaken to destroy Japanese ships and aircraft in the lagoons of Palau. He uses his intimate knowledge of shipwrecks to reveal in glorious detail each of the 20 major Japanese WWII shipwrecks lying at the bottom of the Palauan lagoons today. On 30th March, 1944 Grumman F6F Hellcat fighters made an Initial fighter sweep of the lagoon to destroy Japanese air cover. Simultaneously Grumman Avenger torpedo-bombers dropped mines and successive group strikes of torpedo bombers and dive-bombers sank the shipping and destroyed the airfields. Palau was neutralised as a Japanese naval and air base in a repeat of the same Task Force 58 raid, Operation Hailstone, on Truk Lagoon 1,000 miles to the east just six weeks earlier. A number of long-lost wrecks have recently been relocated including a Japanese freighter filled with depth charges and Army helmets. This was found in 1989 but remained unidentified until now - after painstaking research Rod reveals her identify for the first time in the book. Each wreck is covered in detail and is supported by underwater photography and by fabulous illustrations by renowned artist Rob Ward. The shipwrecks of Palau are now revealed.

On a map the Azores appear as nine tiny specks in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, but their location was to prove strategically vital in two world wars The Atlantic became a crucial battleground twice within the space of 25 years, as the US arsenal of democracy' sent firstly stores, arms and equipment, followed by many thousands of troops to fight in Europe. In both desperate and closely fought struggles at sea, Germany sought to stem the flow and thereby win the war, by cutting this vital lifeline, using a new weapon -the ocean-going submarine. In the First World War the Azores became a mid-Atlantic refuelling location, a base for US and Portuguese naval vessels and -in a hugely innovative contribution to the anti-submarine war -for the patrol seaplanes and flying boats of the US Marine Corps. Portugal was neutral during the Second World War but when Winston Churchill invoked a treaty dating from 1373, permission was given in 1943 for an RAF Coastal Command base to be very rapidly established at Lagens. From there convoys could be protected and U-boats could be harried and sunk, so closing the notorious mid-Atlantic gap. Later, it also became an important staging post for US aircraft, as it had been in the previous conflict. The significance of the Azores has been overlooked in most military histories, but this extensively researched and copiously illustrated book from historian Guy Warner provides a detailed but balanced appraisal. The author has had access to archives and photographic collections in the UK, USA, Portugal and the Azores, consulting with local historians to produce a book that sheds much new light on a hitherto under-appreciated facet of twentieth-century history.

The aircraft carriers of the Sh�kaku class are generally regarded as being the most-successful carriers designed by the Imperial Japanese Navy. They became operational just prior to the Pearl Harbor attack in December 1941, and their combat records are impressive. Compared with the preceding aircraft carrier designs, they represented a great design leap, combining excellent striking power with good protection. Even by the US Navy these ships were rated highly. During the Pacific War the two ships of the class participated in all carrier battles with the exception of Midway, Sh�kaku being lost in the Battle of the Philippine Sea and Zuikaku off Cape Engaño (Battle of Leyte Gulf) in 1944. This is the history of their design and construction, and it relies heavily on Japanese source material and includes numerous photos and drawings.

The Royal Marines were originally formed under the auspices of the Royal Navy to guard its sailing ships from harm. They are proud of their history and origins but the Navy heritage is fading. John Parker's new book charts how the units have moved away from their nautical beginnings to develop, over time, into the most versatile force in the British military, containing one of their most elite brigades. The Royal Marines Commandos have over the past few years developed into the premier fighting organisation on land, sea and air. They are trained to the highest degree in a diverse range of skills and officer quality is generally recognised as of the highest order. This history deals with events associated with the Royal Marines and subsequently in their commando role, starring in major conflicts in which the UK became embroiled, including Italy, Malaysia, the Borneo confrontation with Indonesia, and more recently Afghanistan.

'War is the most important thing in the world', writes Martin van Creveld, one of the world's best-known experts on military history and strategy. The survival of every country, government, and individual is ultimately dependent on war - or the ability to wage it in self-defence. That is why, though it may come but once in a hundred years, it must be prepared for every day. When it is too late-when the bodies lie stiff and people weep over them-those in charge have failed in their duty. Nevertheless, in spite of the centrality of war to human history and culture, there has for long been no modern attempt to provide a replacement for the classics on war and strategy, Sun Tzu's The Art of War, dating from the 5th or 6th century BC, and Carl von Clausewitz's On War, written in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. What is needed is a modern, comprehensive, easy to read and understand theory of war for the 21st century that could serve as a replacement for these classic texts. The purpose of the present book is to provide just such a theory.

WITHOUT HENRY V'S NAVY, the Battle of Agincourt would never have happened. Henry's fleet played a major - if often unrecognised - part in enabling the king to come within reach of final victory in the Hundred Years War against France. Henry's navy was one of the most successful fleets deployed by England before the time of Elizabeth I. The royal fleet was transformed in Henry's short reign from a few dilapidated craft into a powerful weapon of war, with over thirty fighting vessels, up-to-date technology and four of the biggest ships in Europe. Drawing from extensive research into documentary, pictorial and archaeological sources, Henry V's Navy is about the men, ships and operations of Henry's sea war. Maritime historian Ian Friel explores everything from shipboard food to how crews and their ships sailed and fought, and takes an in-depth look at the royal ships. He also tells the dramatic and bloody story of the naval conflict, which at times came close to humiliating defeat for the English.

A detailed and comprehensive study of the carrier formations of the Pacific War, including their origins, development and key battles from the Coral Sea, through Midway and Guadalcanal to the battle of the Philippine Sea. The defining feature of the Pacific Theatre of World War II was the clash of carriers that ultimately decided the fate of nations. The names of these battles have become legendary as some of the most epic encounters in the history of naval warfare. Pre-war assumptions about the impact and effectiveness of carriers were comprehensively tested in early war battles such as Coral Sea, while US victories at Midway and in the waters around Guadalcanal established the supremacy of its carriers. The US Navy's ability to adapt and evolve to the changing conditions of war maintained and furthered their advantage, culminating in their comprehensive victory at the battle of the Philippine Sea, history's largest carrier battle, which destroyed almost the entire Japanese carrier force. Examining the ships, aircraft and doctrines of both the Japanese and US navies and how they changed during the war, Mark E. Stille shows how the domination of American carriers paved the way towards the Allied victory in the Pacific.

The surprise attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 remains one of the most traumatic events in American history, destroying a naval fleet, killing over a thousand crew members, and launching the United States into World War II. While Pearl Harbor catapulted a nation into battle, it also shattered military families. In the week leading up to and including Pearl Harbor, 79 blood relatives served aboard the USS Arizona. Not only were sons sent to serve on the ship, but fathers and sons together, brothers and brothers. Some families sent as many as three. On that fateful day, 63 brothers were killed. In BROTHERS DOWN, acclaimed historian Walter R. Borneman returns to the critical week of December 7 through the eyes of these families. A deeply heroic story of sacrifice and leadership, Borneman traces the lives of these men, their relationships, and their fateful experience on the USS Arizona. More than just an account of familial bonds, everlasting patriotism, and national heartbreak, BROTHERS DOWN captures the turning point in American military history.

In November 1859, the French warship La Gloire was launched. She was the world's first seagoing ironclad - a warship built from wood, but whose hull was clad in a protective layer of iron plate. Britain, not to be outdone, launched her own ironclad the following year - HMS Warrior - which, when she entered service, became the most powerful warship in the world.

Just like the Dreadnought half a century later, this ship changed the nature of naval warfare forever, and sparked a frantic arms race. The elegant but powerful Warrior embodied the technological advances of the early Victorian era, and the spirit of this new age of steam, iron and firepower.

Fully illustrated with detailed cutaway artwork, this book covers the British ironclad from its inception and emergence in 1860, to 1875, a watershed year, which saw the building of a new generation of recognisably modern turreted battleships.

Maritime Security and the Law of the Sea examines the rights and duties of states across a broad spectrum of maritime security threats. It provides comprehensive coverage of the different dimensions of maritime security in order to assess how responses to maritime security concerns are, and should be, shaping the law of the sea. The discussion canvasses passage of military vessels and military activities at sea, law enforcement activities across the different maritime zones, information sharing and intelligence gathering, as well as armed conflict and naval warfare. In doing so, this book not only addresses traditional security concerns for naval power but also examines responses to contemporary maritime security threats, such as terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, piracy, drug-trafficking, environmental damage and illegal fishing. While the protection of sovereignty and national interests remain fundamental to maritime security and the law of the sea, there is increasing acceptance of a common interest that exists among states when seeking to respond to a variety of modern maritime security threats. It is argued that security interests should be given greater scope in our understanding of the law of the sea in light of the changing dynamics of exclusive and inclusive claims to ocean use. More flexibility may be required in the interpretation and application of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea if appropriate responses to ensure maritime security are to be allowed.

Nagel and Newman accomplish the wondrous task of clarifying the argumentative outline of Kurt Godel's celebrated logic bomb.' – The Guardian

In 1931 the mathematical logician Kurt Godel published a revolutionary paper that challenged certain basic assumptions underpinning mathematics and logic. A colleague of physicist Albert Einstein, his theorem proved that mathematics was partly based on propositions not provable within the mathematical system. The importance of Godel's Proof rests upon its radical implications and has echoed throughout many fields, from maths to science to philosophy, computer design, artificial intelligence, even religion and psychology. While others such as Douglas Hofstadter and Roger Penrose have published bestsellers based on Godel’s theorem, this is the first book to present a readable explanation to both scholars and non-specialists alike. A gripping combination of science and accessibility, Godel’s Proof by Nagel and Newman is for both mathematicians and the idly curious, offering those with a taste for logic and philosophy the chance to satisfy their intellectual curiosity.

Kurt Godel (1906 – 1978) Born in Brunn, he was a colleague of physicist Albert Einstein and professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction; Chapter 2 The Problem of Consistency; Chapter 3 Absolute Proofs of Consistency; Chapter 4 The Systematic Codification of Formal Logic; Chapter 5 An Example of a Successful Absolute Proof of Consistency; Chapter 6 The Idea of Mapping and Its Use in Mathematics; Chapter 7 Gödel's Proofs; Chapter 8 Concluding Reflections;

Of Islands, Ports, and Sea Lanes explains the operational and strategic importance of the ports and sea lanes of Africa and the Indian Ocean during the Second World War. In addition, it offers a novel account of the war in the Indian Ocean, a busy and vital theatre of military operations throughout the conflict, though one that is overlooked in most historical studies. An understanding of the significance of the Indian Ocean region, from imperial and strategic perspectives, helps bring unity to the Allied war effort in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and demonstrates how the highest levels of strategy depended on places, people, and infrastructure in faraway places of seemingly little consequence. The movement of goods and people by sea was central to the prosecution of the imperial and Allied war effort, and this was dependent upon ports and their facilities, together with troopships and merchantmen and the air and naval assets that protected them. The book offers a `how it worked' guide to the Empire's logistical system, and explains the interconnectivity of actions and events on land, sea, and air, detailing the indispensable role played by the ports and sea lanes of the African continent and the Indian Ocean, the British Empire's great connector. Table of contents: Introduction The British Indian Ocean world; Chapter 1 - Ports, islands, and sea lanes in Africa and the Indian Ocean; Chapter 2 - The role of Africa's ports and sea lanes; Chapter 3 - The role of Indian Ocean islands; Chapter 4 - German and Italian raiders and sea lane protection; Chapter 5 - The consequences of Japanese aggression; Chapter 6- Admiral Somerville and the reinforcement of the Indian Ocean; Chapter 7 - Holding the ring; Chapter 8 - The turn towards the offensive; Chapter 9 - Victory Japan