Author Mochitsura Hashimoto was one of the few Japanese submarine captains to survive. Shortly before the end of WW2 he inflicted the greatest single loss on the U.S. Navy in its history, when he torpedoed and sank the USS Indianapolis -- soon after it had delivered parts for the first A-bomb on Hiroshima to the US base on Tinian, ironically enough. The title, however, refers to the fate of the Japanese submarine fleet. It's a tale of the bravery of doomed men in a lost cause, against impossible odds. The kaitens or human torpedoes were not the only submarine kamikazes: the whole war in the Pacific was suicide from the start. So why did Japan go into the war? Hashimoto is sharply critical of the recklessness and unpreparedness of Japan's top brass. With an introduction by Cmdr. Edward L. Beach, author of the best-seller "Submarine!"

Nicholas Everard is ready to run the gauntlet in his most dangerous mission yet...The menacing bulk of the German battlecruiser Goeben lurks in the Golden Horn of Constantinople. It is vital that she is destroyed, and the plan is to send an E-class submarine in through the Dardanelles to sink her unawares. But it has been two years since an Allied submarine passed through the narrow straits successfully, littered as they are with minefields, nets and depth charges dropped by the gunboats endlessly patrolling above. To send a crew in now would be a death sentence, but sparing the Goeben is unthinkable. Enter Nick Everard. An unputdownable story of the final days of WWI, perfect for fans of Douglas Reeman and Patrick O'Brian. Praise for Alexander Fullerton'The most meticulously researched war novels that I have ever read' Len Deighton

This important new reference work details all those ships and vessels of the Royal Navy, large and small, which were lost by accident or enemy action, during the twentieth century, from the end of the First World War, to the last years of the century. In all, the fates of over 2,000 ships and small craft are covered, from aircraft carriers and battleships to motor launches, harbour tenders and tugs. Those vessels hired or purchased for wartime service, such as trawlers, paddle steamers and yachts are also listed. During wartime ships are lost; it is their purpose to go in harm's way. Hostile gunfire, torpedoes and mines were established threats throughout the period, while the increasing threat of air attack and the introduction of weapons employing new technology, such as influence-triggered mines, homing torpedoes or air-launched guided weapons added to the risks of operating in a hostile environment. Ships operating in extremely hazardous conditions, such as at Dunkirk in 1940 or Singapore in 1942, suffered heavy losses in brief, concentrated conflicts; but the long continuous campaigns, such as the Atlantic convoys or the constant need to sweep for mines also took their toll. Peacetime losses are dominated by submarine casualties, demonstrating the dangerous character of that service. To this may be added the hazardous nature of the sea itself, when ships are lost in heavy weather; sometimes, human error or plain foolishness may play a part. The core of the book is taken up by those losses experienced during the Second World War, but peacetime losses and more recent conflicts such as the Falklands War of 1982 are included. Arranged chronologically, every entry notes the outline details of the vessel, identifies the Commanding Officer, where known, and gives a full and often harrowing account of the circumstances of the loss and the number of casualties. The details come from extensive original research using primary source material wherever possible, particularly the relevant War Diaries and the collected loss and damage reports, casualty reports and reports of proceedings, now in the National Archives. Wartime losses of the Dominions are included, to ensure completeness. This comprehensive record of warship losses, from all causes, suffered by the Royal Navy over the past one hundred years, is the first single-volume work on the subject and represents a major milestone in naval research and publishing.

USS Intrepid, the "Fighting I," was one of America's longest-serving aircraft carriers. Launched during WWII, Intrepid and her crews weathered kamikazes, torpedoes, and typhoons throughout three years of heavy combat. Decommissioned after WWII, Intrepid was recommissioned in 1955 and designated as an attack carrier (CVA), and in 1961 as an antisubmarine warfare carrier (CVS). In the early 1960s, Intrepid served to retrieve some of the nation's first astronauts during the pioneering Mercury and Gemini spaceflights. In 1966, Intrepid made the first of three deployments to the Tonkin Gulf for combat operations with Carrier Air Wing 10 during the Vietnam War. Intrepid cruised throughout the North Atlantic and Mediterranean in the early 1970s while patrolling for Soviet submarines in antisubmarine operations during the Cold War. With her days at sea over, Intrepid first hosted the Navy exhibits during the US bicentennial celebrations in 1976, before finding a new home as the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on the Hudson River waterfront in New York City.

'Beguiling' The Times 'Compelling' Wall Street Journal 'A vivid portrait' Daily Mail Buried in the history of our most famous jail, a unique story of captivity, violence and race. British redcoats torch the White House and six thousand American sailors languish in the world's largest prisoner-of-war camp, Dartmoor. A myriad of races and backgrounds, with some prisoners as young as thirteen. Known as the 'hated cage', Dartmoor wasn't a place you'd expect to be full of life and invention. Yet prisoners taught each other foreign languages and science, put on plays and staged boxing matches. In daring efforts to escape they lived every prison-break cliche - how to hide the tunnel entrances, what to do with the earth... Drawing on meticulous research, The Hated Cage documents the extraordinary communities these men built within the prison - and the terrible massacre that destroyed these worlds. 'This is history as it ought to be - gripping, dynamic, vividly written' Marcus Rediker

Admiral Andrew Cunningham, best remembered for his courageous leadership in the Mediterranean in the Second World War, is often rated as our finest naval commander after Nelson, and indeed a bust of the Admiral was unveiled in Trafalgar Square close by his predecessor in 1967 by the Duke of Edinburgh. It was during the dark days of 1940 41, after the surrender of France and Italy's entry into the War and when Britain was fighting single-handed, that Cunningham held the Eastern Mediterranean with a fleet greatly inferior to the Italian; his lack of ships and aircraft was more than made up for by his bold and vigorous command. Taranto, Matapan, Crete, North Africa -these are the critical battles and regions with which he is so closely associated. _A Sailor's Odyssey_ is the stirring autobiography of this great fighting seaman from his boyhood in Dublin and his early career in the Navy and his service in the First World War, through his commands in the inter-war years, to the great sea battles in the Mediterranean, and then his elevation to First Sea Lord in 1943 and his subsequent responsibility for the operational policy of the Royal Navy during the later stages of the War. He attended the conferences at Casablanca, Teheran, Quebec and Yalta, and gives revealing glimpses of Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin. His was, truly, a remarkable career. This is a beautifully written and absorbing naval memoir, and it made a significant contribution to the history of the Royal Navy in the Second World War when it was first published in 1951; this new paperback edition, with an introduction by his great nephew Admiral Jock Slater, will fascinate and delight a new generation of readers and bring into focus again a great British fighting admiral.

Formerly known as the 'Switzerland of the Middle East', an island of economic stability and social progress, Lebanon was shattered by a civil war that raged from 1975 until 1990. While Volume 1 of this mini-series concentrated on the conflict pitting the central government against different factions and alliances of Christians, Sunni and Shi'a Moslems, leftists, and Israeli and Syrian armed forces from its beginning in 1975 until the Israeli Operation Stone of Wisdom (or Operation Litani) in 1978, Volume 2 continues with the period from 1978 until 1982. Already equipped with nuclear weapons and with its armed forces beefed up to a size comparable to that of the strength of the active components of the contemporary US Army, and led by politicians pursuing aggressive intentions towards its northern neighbour, Israel gradually established itself in control over much of southern Lebanon and all of Lebanese airspace. In turn, the defiant Syria found itself facing not only a growing insurgency and unrest at home, but also strong opposition inside Lebanon. Moreover, a seemingly endless series of air battles with the Israeli air force exposed a growing technological gap with its primary opponent, forcing it to deploy ever larger contingents of its air defences into the country. After almost culminating in a major war in 1981, the situation was defused through international pressure: nominally at least, a relatively quiet period was to follow before the next storm. Focusing on military-related developments, and rich in exclusive details and illustrations, Volume 2 of Lebanese Civil War dissects the military forces, their equipment, intention and capabilities, and provides a detailed, blow-by-blow account of their combat operations.

_Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare_ unlocks the history and theory behind the shadowy art of how aircraft hunt for submarines. Written by a veteran US Navy submarine hunting pilot, this book will take aviators, naval enthusiasts, and military scholars behind the scenes to understand how technical breakthroughs, the evolution of weapons, and advances in sensors have shaped this high-risk game of cat and mouse. On 15 September 1916, the French submarine _Foucault_ was spotted and attacked by a pair of Austro-Hungarian flying boats in the Adriatic. During the bombing that followed, _Foucault_ was so badly damaged that she was eventually abandoned by her crew -all of whom survived. This was the first time in history that a submarine had been sunk by an aircraft. It was an engagement which set in motion a constantly evolving aspect of underwater warfare. In this book, Michael Glynn explores a journey through the history of more than 100 years of aerial sub hunting. From the Great War, through the Battle of the Atlantic in the Second World War and on to the secret confrontations of the Cold War, the reader will witness the parallel evolution of both aircraft and submarine as each side tries to gain supremacy over the other. In so doing, he distils complicated oceanography, operations analysis, and technical theory into easily digested concepts, helping the reader understand how complex weapons and sensors function. By reviewing the steps of a submarine hunting flight, the reader can quickly understand how theory and practice fit together and how aviators set out to achieve their goal of detecting their submarine targets. _Airborne Anti-Submarine Warfare_ is a thrilling read for those seeking a glimpse into an arcane and high-stakes world.

The World War II-era destroyers of the Japanese Fubuki class were the first of a type sometimes referred to as "super destroyers." These destroyers were extremely large and heavily armed with guns and torpedoes. Ironically, the IJN was pushed to create heavier destroyers by the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty, which discouraged the construction of new capital ships. Particular emphasis was placed on ships that were important for the night battle preceding the "decisive battle." Thereby the stage was prepared for the Fubuki class, and it introduced a new standard for Japanese destroyers, a standard followed by almost all Japanese destroyers designed afterward. Presented here is the history of their design, construction, and combat history, relying primarily on original Japanese war-era source material, including numerous diagrams and photos.

The authoritative story of the Royal Navy's first submarine campaign, told using new research. The Harwich Submarine Flotilla played a key role establishing British dominance in the North Sea at the beginning of the First World War. Letters, diaries, memoirs and combat reports of the participants are used to give a complete account. Much of this is in print for the first time. Foreword by Rear Admiral Jonathan Westbrook CBE, former Royal Navy Submariner. Written in collaboration with the Friends of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, with profits from royalties contributing towards the work of the Museum. Both official and personal archive material is used to tell the story, sourced from British, German and French archives. The text is illustrated by charts and plans prepared using the patrol reports, war diaries and logs of the submarines and warships that took part.##The war experience of the participants is brought to life, giving a real insight into what it was like to fight in these early submarines, whilst also relating what really happened and the true significance of the events. The Flotilla had to battle not just the enemy, but also the hazards of mines, human frailties, mechanical failure and the weather. The story of every patrol in the 1914 campaign is told.##This campaign saw the first torpedo fired in action by a Royal Navy submarine, the first ship to be sunk and the first submarine to be lost in action. The commanders of the submarines were true pioneers, working out for the first time how to wage war with the latest technology of their age. Their patrols took submarine crews and commanders constantly onto the front line of the naval war to face a multitude of hazards. Many paid the ultimate price, with the Flotilla losing three submarines and almost all of their crews in this first campaign. Success brought the names of figures like Roger Keyes and Max Horton to prominence. The early story of the Flotilla is also the story of a pivotal point in their journey to become key figures of the Royal Navy in the twentieth century. For others, even those who would go on to great fame as submariners, such as Martin Nasmith, it would be a challenging start to their wartime careers.

This was the signal that Admiral Donitz sent to the commanders of the 21 U-boats of the Markgraf wolf-pack on 9 September 1941 just before the US entered the war. Sixty-three merchant ships; a number old and dilapidated and all slow and heavy-laden with vital supplies from the United States for the United Kingdom, were strung out in 12 columns abreast, covering 25 miles of inhospitable ocean. They set sail from Nova Scotia at a time when the German U-boats were sinking more than one hundred ships a month and the US Navy could do nothing but stand-by and watch (at least officially). The convoy's escort of one destroyer and three corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy, all untried in combat, was hopelessly outclassed when the battle for SC42 commenced. The battle lasted for seven days and covered 1,200 miles of ocean. First hand accounts by participants on both sides add interest and drama. The true story of U-571.

When war broke out in 1812, neither the United States Navy nor the Royal Navy had more than a token force on the Great Lakes. However, once the shooting started, it sparked a ship-building arms race that continued throughout the war. This book examines the design and development of the warships built upon the lakes during the war, emphasizing their differences from their salt-water contemporaries. It then goes onto cover their operational use as they were pitted against each other in a number of clashes on the lakes that often saws ships captured, re-crewed, and thrown back against their pervious owners. Released in 2012 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the outbreak of the war, this is a timely look at a small, freshwater naval war.