300 million cubic miles of ocean. Stealthy, and deadly, the nuclear submarines of the Royal Navy lie in wait in the depths of the world's oceans, ready to listen, intercept, and attack wherever they may be needed - from the coastline of Libya to the ice caps of the Arctic. If the UK is hit by a devastating nuclear strike, they'll be the last military force standing. 200 million pounds of hardware. Award-winning journalist Danny Danziger has been allowed unprecedented access to the elite crew of one of the UK's attack class submarines, joining them on operations and hearing their stories. Unrestricted, and uncompromising, Sub paints a vivid picture of this fascinating, little-known branch of our armed forces. One incredible hunter-killer. In an increasingly unstable world, these are the people who keep us safe. It is time for the silent service to be heard.

This series of books provides details of all USN warships from 1893 to the present day. Every class and individual ship has an entry providing details of the procurement, dimensions and characteristics, and a summary of each ship's history and development. Profusely illustrated with photos. An essential manual for all US Navy enthusiasts and historians. This is volume four, part three - Destroyers (1937-1943).

As the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812 approaches, a new chapter in the history of the war is being opened for the first time. Although naval battles raged on the Great Lakes, combat between privateers and small government vessels boiled in the Bay of Fundy and the Gulf of Maine. Three small warships -- the Provincial sloop Brunswicker, His Majesty's schooner Bream, and His Majesty's brig of war Boxer -- played a vital role in defending the eastern waters of British North America in this crucial war. The crews of these hardy ships fought both the Americans and the elements -- winter winds, summer fog, and the fierce tidal currents of the Bay of Fundy -- enduring the all-too-real threats of shipwreck and possible capture and imprisonment. In peacetime, these patrol craft enforced maritime law. In wartime, they engaged in a guerre de course, attacking the enemy's commercial shipping while protecting their own. Now, for the first time, Joshua Smith tells the full story of the battle for the bay.Battle for the Bay is volume 17 in the New Brunswick Military Heritage Series.

The naval warfare of the last few decades appears dominated by operations of fast missile craft and a wide diversity of other minor vessels in so-called 'littoral warfare'. On the contrary, skills and knowledge about anti-submarine warfare on the high seas - a discipline that dominated much of the World War II, and once used to be the reason for existence of large fleets of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and of the Warsaw Pact - appear nearly extinct. Indeed, it seems that no armed conflicts involving this form of naval warfare have been fought for a significant time. As so often, the reality is entirely different. Submarine and anti-submarine warfare remain one of most sophisticated forms of armed conflicts to this day. Unsurprisingly, considering the amount of high-technology equipment necessary for their conduct, they are shrouded behind a thick veil of secrecy. This is why the operations of the sole Argentinean aircraft carrier - ARA 25 de Mayo - during the much-publicised war in the South Atlantic of 1982 remain largely unknown until this very day. It is well-known that the United Kingdom deployed the largest task force its Royal Navy had assembled since the Korean War over 12,000 kilometres away from home. It is well-known that the operations of this task force proved decisive for the outcome of the war: it not only brought the air power that established itself in control of the air space over the battlefield, but also hauled all the troops and supplies necessary to recover the islands that were the core of the dispute. However, the impression created very early during this conflict - and largely maintained until today - is that ARA 25 de Mayo and other elements of the accompanying Task Force 79 of the Argentinean Navy were forced into a hurried withdrawal by the sheer presence of multiple nuclear attack submarines of the Royal Navy. Based on years of research, including extensive investigation into naval operations of both sides of the conflict, 'A Carrier at Risk' is a vibrant and lucid account of a week-long cat-and-mouse game between anti-submarine warfare specialists on board ARA 25 de Mayo, and multiple nuclear attack submarines of the Royal Navy: an entirely unknown, yet crucial aspect of the South Atlantic War. Illustrated by over 100 photographs, maps, and colour profiles, this volume closes one of the major gaps - though also a crucially important affair - in the coverage of this conflict.

Economic Warfare and the Sea examines the relationship between trade, maritime warfare, and strategic thought between the early modern period and the late-twentieth century. Featuring contributions from renown historians and rising scholars, this volume forwards an international perspective upon the intersection of maritime history, strategy, and diplomacy. Core themes include the role of 'economic warfare' in maritime strategic thought, prevalence of economic competition below the threshold of open conflict, and the role non-state actors have played in the prosecution of economic warfare. Using unique material from 18 different archives across six countries, this volume explores critical moments in the development of economic warfare, naval technology, and international law, including the Anglo-Dutch Wars, the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the First World War, and the Second World War. Distinct chapters also analyse the role of economic warfare in theories of maritime strategy, and what the future holds for the changing role of navies in the floating global economy of the twenty-first century.

The 'little ships' of the Second World War - the fast and highly manoeuvrable motor torpedo boats and gunboats which fought in coastal waters all over the world - developed a special kind of naval warfare. With their daring nightly raids against an enemy's coastal shipping - and sometimes much larger warships - they acquired the buccaneering spirit of an earlier age. And never more so than in the close hand-to-hand battles which raged between opposing craft when they met in open waters. Large numbers of these small fighting boats were built by the major naval powers. The Germans called them Schnellboote (Fast Boats), referred to by the British as E-boats (E for Enemy). In the Royal Navy they were MTBs and MGBs. The American equivalent were PT boats (for Patrol Torpedo). They fought in the narrow waters of the English Channel and the stormy North Sea, in the Mediterranean off the coasts of North Africa and Italy and among the islands of the Aegean, across the Pacific from Pearl Harbour to Leyte Gulf, in Hong Kong and Singapore, and off Burma's Arakan coast. Bryan Cooper's book traces the history and development of these craft from their first limited use in the First World War and the fast motor boats designed in the 1930s for wealthy private clients and water speed record attempts. With account of the battles which took place during the Second World War, when the vital importance of coastal waters came to be recognised, he captures the drama of this highly individual form of combat. And not least the sea itself which was the common enemy of all who crewed these frail craft.

This title examines the evolution of the aircraft carrier, from the first flights from ships in World War-I through to modern carriers used in the Falklands. It is a comprehensive country-by-country visual directory of the major aircraft carriers, with text describing the construction, appearance, function and history. The specification boxes provide at-a-glance information about each aircraft carrier's country of origin, the company that built the carrier, construction and completion dates, displacement, dimensions, types of aircraft carried, armament, power and performance. It includes quotes from military leaders, plus a glossary explaining military terms and abbreviations. This unique and impressive encyclopedia is both a fascinating history of the aircraft carrier's development and a comprehensive country-by-country visual directory of more than 170 of the world's aviation ships over nearly a century. Each directory entry is accompanied by a specification panel detailing country of origin, the company that built the carrier, construction and completion dates, displacement, dimensions, types of aircraft carried, armament, power and performance. All the carriers are accompanied by identification photographs, many of which are full-color and have never previously been published together in one volume.

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

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.

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.

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.

'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

The thunderous roar of exploding depth charges was a familiar and comforting sound to the crew members of the USS Barb, who frequently found themselves somewhere between enemy fire and Davy Jones's locker. Under the leadership of her fearless skipper, Captain Gene Fluckey, the Barb sank the greatest tonnage of any American sub in World War II. At the same time, the Barb did far more than merely sink ships - she changed forever the way submarines stalk and kill their prey. This is a gripping adventure chock-full of "you-are-there" moments. Fluckey has drawn on logs, reports, letters, interviews, and a recently discovered illegal diary kept by one of his torpedomen. And in a fascinating twist, he uses archival documents from the Japanese Navy to give its version of events. The unique story of the Barb begins with its men, who had the confidence to become unbeatable. Each team helped develop innovative ideas, new tactics, and new strategies. All strove for personal excellence, and success became contagious. Instead of lying in wait under the waves, the USS Barb pursued enemy ships on the surface, attacking in the swift and precise style of torpedo boats. She was the first sub to use rocket missiles and to creep up on enemy convoys at night, joining the flank escort line from astern, darting in and out as she sank ships up the column. Surface-cruising, diving only to escape, "Luckey Fluckey" relentlessly patrolled the Pacific, driving his boat and crew to their limits. There can be no greater contrast to modern warfare's long-distance, video-game style of battle than the exploits of the captain and crew of the USS Barb, where the sub, out of ammunition, actually rammed an enemy ship untilit sank. Thunder Below! is a first-rate, true-life, inspirational story of the courage and heroism of ordinary men under fire.

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.