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Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > Naval forces & warfare
At the start of the 20th century the Ottoman Navy was a shadow of
its former might, a reflection of the empire as a whole - the "Sick
Man of Europe". Years of defeat, nepotism, and neglect had left the
Ottoman Navy with a mix of obsolete vessels, whilst the list of
prospective enemies was ever-growing. An increasing Russian naval
presence in the Black Sea and the alarming emergence of Italy and
Greece as regional Naval powers proved beyond all doubt that
intensive modernization was essential, indeed, the fate of the
Empire as a naval power depended on it. So the Ottoman Navy looked
to the ultimate naval weapon of the age, the dreadnought, two of
which were ordered from the British. But politics intervened, and a
succession of events culminated in the Ottoman Navy fielding a
modern German battlecruiser and state-of-the-art light cruiser
instead - with dramatic consequences. In this meticulous study,
Ryan Noppen presents a fresh appraisal of the technical aspects and
operations of the warships of the Ottoman Navy in World War I. It
is the first work of its kind in the English language - produced
with a wealth of rare material with the co-operation of the Turkish
Consulate and Navy. Packed with precise technical specifications,
revealing illustrations and exhaustive research, this is an
essential guide to a crucial chapter in the Aegean arms race.
Winner of the Longman's History Today Book of the Year Award and
the inaugural Westminster Medal for Military Literature More than a
century had gone by since the Battle of Trafalgar. Generation after
generation of British naval captains had been dreaming ever since
of a 'new' Trafalgar - a cataclysmic encounter which would
decisively change a war's outcome. At last, in the summer of 1916,
they thought their moment had come... Andrew Gordon's
extraordinary, gripping book brilliantly recreates the atmosphere
of the British navy in the years leading up to Jutland and gives a
superb account of the battle itself and its bitterly acrimonious
aftermath.
National Service, Britain's name for conscription, existed between
1945 and 1963. In that time, two and a half million men were
required to serve for two years with the armed forces. For some, it
was a miserable penance. For the majority, it was just something
that had to be done but for a lucky few, of whom the author was
one, it was a time of travel and adventure. Following a six-year
medical degree, with a further year of houseman posts, he chose to
serve his conscription in the Royal Navy. However, the Navy
required only a small number of doctors and selection was by
interview in London. Being young, single and tired of the
stultifying life of a student, the author opted for a posting in
small ships abroad and was delighted to be accepted. The result was
a mixture of travel and excitement with cheerful and lively
companions in far-flung places including Borneo, Japan, Korea and
Hong Kong. As the time for his National Service drew nearer he was
unsure of which of the many paths within medicine he was to take.
As will be seen, the forthcoming months were to be useful in
reaching a decision. This exuberant story is recounted from notes
and letters and commences with the author's time at the Edinburgh
Royal Infirmary. 'Put him up in modified Russell Traction,' said
the senior surgical registrar, 'and I will pin him in the morning.'
Modified Russell Traction? My fellow house surgeon and I had no
idea what he meant...Thus began a medical adventure.
These essays from the journal "International Security" cover
aspects of past and present naval technologies and explore current
disputes over American naval doctrine. Four of the
contributions--those by Linton Brooks, John Mearsheimer, Barry
Posen, and Joshua Epstein--describe the case for and against the
Reagan administration's controversial Maritime Strategy, which has
formed the basis for the administration's buildup to a
six-hundred-ship navy. Other articles describe Soviet naval
doctrine, assess the risk of nuclear war at sea, and outline the
evolution of major naval technologies and doctrines.
Part I: Naval Strategy Planning a Navy: The Risks of
Conventional Wisdom R. James Woolsey Naval Power and National
Security: The Case for the Maritime Strategy Linton F. Brooks A
Strategic Misstep: The Maritime Strategy and Deterrence in Europe
John J. Mearsheimer Horizontal Escalation: Sour Notes of a
Recurrent Theme Joshua M. Epstein Naval Power and Soviet Global
Strategy Michael MccGwire Part II: Naval Technology Technology and
the Evolution of Naval Warfare Karl Lautenschlager Will Strategic
Submarines Be Vulnerable? Richard L. Garwin The Submarine in Naval
Warfare, 1901=2001 Karl Lautenschlager Stopping the Sea-Based
Counterforce Threat Harold A. Feiveson and John Duffield Part III:
Naval Operations--Controlling the Risks Nuclear War at Sea Desmond
Ball Inadvertent Nuclear War? Escalation and NATO's Northern Flank
Barry R. Posen A Quiet Success for Arms Control: Preventing
Incidents at Sea Sean M. Lynn-Jones
Originally published in 1988.
The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand
technology to again make available previously out-of-print books
from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press.
These paperback editions preserve the original texts of these
important books while presenting them in durable paperback
editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly
increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the
thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since
its founding in 1905.
US Heavy Cruisers provides a detailed, illustrated look at the
wartime and post-war-built heavy cruiser classes of the US Navy of
World War II.
Fast and heavily armed, the Baltimore class was an evolution of the
heavy cruiser designs from before World War II, but without the
limitations imposed by the Washington Naval Treaty. Versatile
vessels, the heavy cruisers of the Baltimore class, and their
successors in the Oregon City and Des Moines classes, commonly
acted as carrier escorts throughout World War II, but also
performed bombardment duties in support of amphibious landings.
Post-World War II, the heavy cruisers continued to see service,
chiefly in Korea and Vietnam. Even after the heyday of the heavy
cruiser had passed, the ships continued to serve - several were
converted into the earliest examples of guided missile cruisers,
and established an enduring legacy in the US Navy.
Soldier by instinct, sailor by fate... The relationship that
defined a career - and saved a nationThe Navy almost finished the
career of Britain's greatest wartime leader. As a young minister
responsible for the senior service from 1911, Churchill ruffled
feathers and gave scant regard for the feelings of the admirals.
When disaster struck in the First World War, it was the navy that
led to his political downfall. But when he returned to power after
years in the wilderness, the Royal Navy welcomed him with the cry,
'Winston is back!' From that point onwards, the successful pursuit
of the war at sea remained his primary consideration. Within a few
days of his return to the Admiralty, Churchill received a friendly
overture from President Roosevelt, and there began a steady
communication and friendship between the self-styled 'Former Naval
Person' and the President of the United States, their differences
subordinated in the pursuit of one shared goal: winning the war.
From a veteran naval historian comes the extraordinary and gripping
story of Churchill's stormy association with the navy and the sea,
perfect for readers of Richard Overy and Jonathan Dimbleby.
Built of plywood and measuring 115 feet long, powered by four
supercharged petrol engines and armed to the teeth with heavy
weapons, the 'D' Class Motor Gun Boats (MGBs) and Motor Torpedo
Boats (MTBs) were better known as Dog Boats and played havoc with
enemy shipping in home and foreign waters. During three years of
war they engaged the enemy on more than 350 occasions, sinking and
damaging many ships. Dog Boats at War is the authoritative account
of operations by the Royal Navy's 'D' Class MGBs and MTBs in the
Second World War in Home, Mediterranean and Norwegian waters. As
well as drawing on official records - both British and German - the
author has contacted several hundred Dog Boat veterans whose eye
witness accounts add drama to the unfolding story.
For a very long time now I have delighted in histories, letters,
records, and memoirs to do with the Royal Navy in the eighteenth
and early nineteenth century; but Suzanne Stark's book has told me
many, many things I did not know, and I shall keep it on an honored
shelf."--Patrick O'Brian The wives and female guests of
commissioned officers often went to sea in the sailing ships of
Britain's Royal Navy in the 18th and 19th centuries, but there were
other women on board as well, rarely mentioned in print. Suzanne
Stark thoroughly investigates the custom of allowing prostitutes to
live with the crews of warships in port. She provides some
judicious answers to questions about what led so many women to such
an appalling fate and why the Royal Navy unofficially condoned the
practice. She also offers some revealing firsthand accounts of the
wives of warrant officers and seamen who spent years at sea
living--and fighting--beside their men without pay or even food
rations, and of the women in male disguise who served as seamen or
marines. Now available in paperback, this lively history draws on
primary sources and so gives an authentic view of life on board the
ships of Britain's old sailing navy and the social context of the
period that served to limit roles open to lower-class women.
Written by US Navy expert Mark Stille, this book offers a unique
insight into the Standard-type classes of US battleships. It
provides a detailed investigation into the histories of each of the
warships in the Standard-type battleship classes, the first three
of which, the Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, formed the US
Navy's main force in the inter-war period. The Standard-types
reflected a new design philosophy: by designing each class to meet
common standards of maneuvrability and handling, vessels of
different classes could operate as a single tactical unit without
being limited by the performance of the slowest and least
maneuvrable ship. At the time of their construction, these ships
incorporated the latest design features such as triple gun turrets.
Although they were rendered increasingly obsolete by evolving naval
doctrines and the ascendance of the fast battleship, they served
with distinction throughout World War II. This study combines
analysis of design features and an absorbing narrative of
operational histories to offer a comprehensive picture of the
Standard-type battleships, from the brutal destruction of the USS
Arizona to the triumphant occupation of Japan.
The Indian Ocean, 1809. At stake: Britain's commercial lifeline to
India and naval supremacy. In one fatal season, the natural order
of maritime power since Trafalgar was destroyed. Storm and Conquest
brings together the terrifying ordeal of men, women and children
caught at sea in hurricanes, and those who survived to drive the
French from the Eastern seas. All shared a need to prove themselves
- to make a career, or a fortune, or a marriage - in places which
could be at once magnificent and terrifying.
The Royal Navy of Nelson's time was such a huge organisation, that
it is sometimes hard to comprehend its full scope. Indeed, during
the Napoleonic Wars it was by far the largest employer in the
entire world. Not only did the Royal Navy maintain a fleet of close
on 1,000 ships, including over 100 line of battle ships, but it was
also responsible for the entire organisation of maintaining them at
sea. From the recruitment of crews, the maintenance and protection
of bases throughout the world, the production and delivery of food
supplies to feed this vast fleet and the procurement of naval
supplies to keep the ships at sea, it was all the responsibility of
this vast organisation. The Royal Navy was often Britain's last
line of defence and many of its most successful officers became
superstars, although none eclipsed Admiral Lord Nelson, who became
the personification of the Navy. The whole country revelled in
their successes and 'Jolly Jack Tar' became a source of national
pride and a huge number of naval terms were taken into normal life
and many are often still used to this very day. _Nelson's Navy in
100 Objects_ investigates all aspects of this incredible
organisation and the lives of the men who served within it,
including Nelson himself, using historical artefacts and naval
terms that are now part of everyday language to illustrate them.
Attack aircraft carriers, battleships, destroyers, frigates, light
and heavy cruisers, and patrol crafts. 1,300 different ships and
submarines from WWII, Korea, Vietnam, and the Gulf War have their
crests displayed in brilliant full color. This book is an
encyclopedia, preserving the emblems that reflect the pride of the
crews belonging to the best ships in the U.S. Navy."" Indexed.""
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