During the last four years of the Second World War, the Western Allies secured Russian defenses against Germany by supplying vital food and arms.

The plight of those in Murmansk and Archangel who benefited is now well known, but few are aware of the courage, determination and sacrifice of Allied merchant ships, which withstood unremitting U-boat attacks and aerial bombardment to maintain the lifeline to Russia. In the storms, fog and numbing cold of the Arctic, where the sinking of a 10,000 ton freighter was equal to a land battle in terms of destruction, the losses sustained were huge.

Told from the perspective of their crews, this is the inspiring story of the long-suffering merchant ships without which Russia would almost certainly have fallen to Nazi Germany.

The most eloquent and personal story of a young man at war since Geoffrey Wellum's FIRST LIGHT Until a winter evening in 1998 Nathaniel was just another history student on a comfortable career trajectory of high school to college to white collar job. Then he went to a lecture by a Wall Street Journal reporter who had just published a book on the US Marines. It brought forth a latent desire to break free of the 'seat belt and safety goggle, safety-first' culture: to be a warrior. He passed the gruelling selection course and joined the Marine Corps on graduation. Posted to a Marine Regiment in the wake of 9/11, he took part in the invasion of Afghanistan, then led a platoon of their elite Recon Battalion during the invasion of Iraq. This is not a book about the Iraq invasion as such: it is an articulate and deeply thoughtful young man's account of what it means to fight in the frontline, to risk not just death or injury, but psychological harm. He reveals some of the awful dilemmas war can bring, horrible problems to which there is no 'right' answer, but a decision had to be made quickly -- by him alone. In combat you are just one bullet away from death -- or promotion. But this doesn't focus the mind: it makes it freeze up -- unless your training is so thorough that you overcome exhaustion and terror. 'Nate' took 65 men to war and came home with all 65. He proved himself an excellent officer and won promotion, but resigned in 2003 to write this book and attend Harvard Business School.

Weuner Furbringer (Fips) became one of the most successful U-Boat commanders in WW1 through a blend of skill, daring and, by his own typically modest admission, sheer luck. This vivid memoir, never before published in English, makes compelling reading. This is an inspiring and chivalrous story; it is ironic then that, when finally sunk by the Royal Navy off the East Coast of England, Fips was machine-gunned in the water, contrary to repeated Government denials of such behaviour.

They are floating cities with crews of thousands. They are the linchpins of any military strategy, for they provide what has become the key to every battle fought since World War I: air superiority. The mere presence of a U.S. naval carrier in a region is an automatic display of strength that sends a message no potential enemy can ignore. Now, Tom Clancy welcomes you aboard for a detailed look at how these floating behemoths function. With his trademark style and eye for detail, Clancy brings you naval combat strategy like no one else can. Carrier includes:

* Takeoffs and landings: flying into the danger zone
* The aircraft onboard: their range, their power, their weaponry
* The role of the carrier in modern naval warfare
* Exclusive photographs, illustrations and diagrams
Plus: An interview with the U.S. Navy's Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jay Johnson

The author explores the spirit of the Royal Navy in its 20th-century heyday, from 1900 and on through two momentous world wars to 1945. With anecdotes, eyewitness accounts, reminiscences, archive material and published works, he portrays life in the Navy in this challenging era.

The battle of the Java Sea, fought in February 1942, was the first major surface engagement of the Pacific War and one of the few naval battles of the entire war fought to a decisive victory. It was the culminating point of the Japanese drive to occupy the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) and, to defend the territory, the Allies assembled a striking force comprised of Dutch, American, British and even an Australian ship, all under the command of a resolute Dutch admiral. On 27 February 1942, the Allied striking force set course to intercept the Japanese invasion force in the Java Sea. In one of the few such times during the whole of World War II a protracted surface engagement was fought unmolested by airpower. For over seven hours, the Allied force attempted to attack the Japanese invasion force, finally breaking off in the early evening. Some three hours later, the Allied force, now reduced to just four remaining cruisers and two destroyers, attempted another attack on the invasion convoy during which Japanese torpedoes scored heavily, sinking two Dutch cruisers and bringing the battle to a conclusion. Over the next two days, as the Allies attempted to flee, five more ships were sunk. From that point on, Allied naval power was eliminated from Southeast Asia. In this illustrated title, Mark Stille tells the full story of the battle of the Java Sea, explaining how and why the Japanese achieved such a resounding victory, and delving into the tremendous impact of the battle on the course of the Pacific War.

Hunt the Bismarck tells the story of Operation Rheinübung, the Atlantic sortie of the Nazi Germany's largest battleship in May 1941.

Bismarck entered service in the summer of 1940. She was well-armed, with eight 15-inch guns as well as a powerful array of lighter weapons, while her armoured protection earned her the reputation of being unsinkable. This claim was finally put to the test in May 1941, when she sortied into the Atlantic and fought the legendary battle of the Denmark Strait, destroying HMS Hood, the pride of the Royal Navy. Bismarck was now loose in the North Atlantic. However, damage sustained in the battle limited her ability to roam at will, while the Royal Navy deployed the Home Fleet to revenge the Hood. The stage was set for the greatest chase story in the history of naval warfare.

Drawing on a wealth of first-hand accounts, and intertwining extensive research into a fast-paced narrative, this is the most readable and accurate account of Bismarck's epic voyage ever produced.

From Across the Sea: North Americans in Nelson's Navy explores the varied contributions of North Americans to the Royal Navy during Great Britain's wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France. It is the first book that explores this topic in depth. As an edited compilation, top specialists in the field have contributed thematic essays (on topics ranging from impressment to the Anglo-American maritime relationship) as well as biographical essays on a range of North Americans from both the officer ranks and the lower deck. For the biographical portraits, special attention has been paid to individuals who have not already been the subject of extensive research and writing. Accompanying these essays are several never-before-published illustrations depicting some of the key North Americans as well as the ships and naval battles in which they were a part. The book's central focus is to challenge the common assumption that the Nelsonic-era Royal Navy was manned exclusively by British sailors and officers. Instead, Royal Navy personnel from this era often hailed from different parts of the world, with North Americans comprising a particularly significant contingent. For instance, Nelson's fleet at Trafalgar had hundreds of Americans as well as Canadians, not to mention individuals from the Caribbean. Thus, From Across the Sea sheds new light on these sailors and officers, showcasing years of original, primary source research on the subject. The book also challenges the misconception that all North American-born sailors who served in the Royal Navy were pressed into service. Instead, a significant number volunteered for service of their own free will, lured into the Royal Navy by visions of adventure and prize money. Others volunteered more reluctantly, figuring that joining the Royal Navy on their own terms was preferable to being forced in by a press gang. Thus, From Across the Sea reveals that impressment was a more complicated topic than most generally assume. Over all, From Across the Sea concludes that North Americans played an integral role in the Royal Navy during the Wars with France, from the lower deck all the way to the highest levels of command. While some of these North Americans operated in relative obscurity, others achieved high rank and formed lasting friendships with some of Great Britain's foremost naval leaders of the age, including Lord Nelson and King William IV. Theirs is a story that needs to be told, and now it has been told for the first time through From Across the Sea.

A fascinating personal memoir of underwater combat in World War II, told by a man who played a major role in those dangerous operations. Frank and beautifully written, Submarine Commander's breezy style and irrepressible humor place it in a class by itself. This book will be of lasting value as a submarine history by an expert and as an enduring military and political analysis. In early 1943 the submarine USS Scorpion, with Paul R. Schratz as torpedo officer, slipped into the shallow waters east of Tokyo, laid a minefield, and made successful torpedo attacks on merchant shipping. Schratz participated in many more patrols in heavily mined Japanese waters as executive officer of the Sterlet and the Atule. At war's end he participated in the Japanese surrender, aided the release of American POWs, and had a key role in the disarming of enemy suicide submarines. He then took command of the revolutionary new Japanese submarine I-203 and returned it to Pearl Harbor. But this was far from the end of Schratz's submarine career. In 1949 he commissioned the ultramodern USS Pickerel, the most deadly submarine then afloat, and set a world's record in a 21-day, 5,200-mile submerged passage from Hong Kong to Honolulu. With the outbreak of the Korean War, the Pickerel was immediately sent to Korea to participate in secret intelligence operations only recently declassified and never before revealed in print. Schratz's broad military experience makes this a far from ordinary memoir.

Now in its final resting place at the bottom of the Potomac River in Maryland, the U-Boat U-1105 is unique among German World War II submarines. Technologically innovative, it was the only U-Boat to conduct a wartime patrol while equipped with the snorkel, GHG Balkon passive sonar and a rubberized coating known as Alberich designed to reduce its acoustic signature and hide from Allied sonar. After the end of World War II, it was the subject of instense testing and evaluation by the Allies, before finally being sunk to the bottom of the Potomac River.

This highly illustrated book uses many new and previously unpublished images to tell the full story of this remarkable U-Boat, evaluating the effectiveness of its late war technologies, document its extensive postwar testing and detail all the features still present on the wreck site today.

This is the first of a two volume set exploring the inception, planning and preparation of the offensive to liberate Europe, Operation Overlord, culminating in its launch on D-Day.

"The Twilight Warriors" is the engrossing, page-turning saga of a tightly knit band of naval aviators who are thrust into the final--and most brutal--battle of the Pacific war: Okinawa.
April 1945. The end of World War II finally appears to be nearing. The Third Reich is collapsing in Europe, and the Americans are overpowering the once-mighty Japanese Empire in the Pacific. For a group of young pilots trained in the twilight of the war, the greatest worry is that it will end before they have a chance to face the enemy. They call themselves Tail End Charlies. They fly at the tail end of formations, stand at the tail end of chow lines, and now they are catching the tail end of the war. What they don't know is that they will be key players in the bloodiest and most difficult of naval battles--not only of World War II but in all of American history.
"The Twilight Warriors" relives the drama of the world's last great naval campaign. From the cockpit of a Corsair fighter we gaze down at the Japanese task force racing to destroy the American amphibious force at Okinawa. Through the eyes of the men on the destroyers assigned to picket ship duty, we experience the terror as wave after wave of kamikazes crash into their ships. Standing on the deck of the legendary superbattleship "Yamato, " we watch Japan's last hope for victory die in a tableau of gunfire and explosions.
Among the Tail End Charlies are men such as a twenty-two-year-old former art student who grows to manhood on the day of his first mission over Japan and his best friend, a ladies' man and intrepid fighter pilot whose life abruptly changes when his Corsair goes down off the enemy shore. Another is a young Texan lieutenant who volunteers for the most dangerous flying job in the fleet--intercepting kamikazes at night over the blackened Pacific. Their leader is a charismatic officer who rises to greatness in the crucible of Okinawa. Directing the vast armada of sea, air, and land forces is a cast of brilliant and flawed commanders--from the imperturbable admiral and master of carrier warfare to the controversial soldier assigned to command the land forces.
The fate of the Americans at Okinawa is intertwined with the lives of the "young gods"-- the honor-bound Japanese airmen who swarm like killer bees toward the U.S. ships. The kamikazes are dispatched on their deadly one-way missions by a classic samurai warrior who vows that he will follow them to a warrior's grave.
The ferocity of the Okinawa fighting stuns the world. Before it ends, the long battle will cost more American lives, ships, and aircraft than any naval engagement in U.S. history. More than simply the account of a historic battle, "The Twilight Warriors" brings to life the human side of an epic conflict. It is the story of young Americans at war in the air and on the sea--and of their enigmatic, fanatically courageous enemy.

"From the Hardcover edition."

In The Royal Marines and the War at Sea 1939-45 military and naval historian Martin Watts records how marines fought at sea, their relationship with the Royal Navy, and the overall contribution they made to victory in the Second World War. Combining personal narrative with strategical, tactical and technical analysis, this book is centred on the career of the author's great-uncle, Colour Sergeant Albert 'Nobby' Elliott, who saw active service in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, Arctic and Indian Oceans. He was Mentioned in Despatches at the Second Battle of Sirte, took part in Operation Torch, and was a gun layer in HMS Jamaicawhen she took part in the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorston Boxing Day 1943. Nobby finished the war recovering Allied prisoners of war from the south-west Pacific, and was present at the surrender of Japanese forces while on board HMS Glory.

Marine archaeologist Dr Innes McCartney solves the mysterious fate of the lost ships of Jutland and reveals – for the first time – the location and state of the wrecks of all 25 warships sunk in the scuttling of the German fleet at Scapa Flow.

The German High Seas Fleet was one of the most power naval forces in the world, and had fought the pride of the Royal Navy to a stalemate at the battle of Jutland in 1916. After the armistice was signed, ending fighting in World War I, it surrendered to the British and was interned in Scapa Flow pending the outcome of the Treaty of Versailles. In June 1919 the entire fleet attempted to sink itself in the Flow to prevent it being broken up as war prizes. Of the 74 ships present, 52 sunk and 22 were prevented from doing so by circumstance and British intervention.

Marine archaeologist and historian Dr Innes McCartney reveals for the first time what became of the warships that were scuttled, examining the circumstances behind the loss of each ship and reconciling what was known at the time to what the archaeology is revealing today. This fascinating study reveals a fleet lost for nearly a century beneath the waves..

This first scholarly account of the Royal Navy in the Pacific War is a companion volume to Arthur Marder's Old Friends, New Enemies: Strategic Illusions, 1936-1941 (0-19-822604-7, OP). Picking up the story at the nadir of British naval fortunes - `everywhere weak and naked', in Churchill's phrase - it examines the Royal Navy's role in events from 1942 to the Japanese surrender in August 1945. Drawing on both British and Japanese sources and personal accounts by participants, the authors vividly retell the story of the collapse of Allied defences in the Dutch East Indies, culminating in the Battle of the Java Sea. They recount the attempts of the `fighting admiral', Sir James Somerville, to train his motley fleet of cast-offs into an efficient fighting force in spite of the reluctance of Churchill, who resisted the formation of a full-scale British Pacific Fleet until the 1945 assault on the Ryukyu Islands immediately south of Japan. Meticulously researched and fully referenced, this unique and absorbing account provides a controversial analysis of the key personalities who shaped events in these momentous years, and makes fascinating reading for anyone interested in the Pacific War. This book also appears in the Oxford General Books catalogue for Autumn 1990.

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 class, then moves to an extensive photographic survey of either a high-quality model or a surviving example of the ship. Hints on building the model, and on modifying and improving the basic kit, are followed by a section on paint schemes and camouflage, featuring numerous colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings. The strengths and weaknesses of available kits of the ships are reviewed, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.The Yamato class battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy were the largest warships of the Second World War and the largest battleships ever constructed, displacing 78,800 tonnes. They also carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship - 18in guns. Neither Yamato nor her sistership Musashi made much impact on the War. Musashi was sunk during the battle of Leyte Gulf while Yamato, deployed in a deliberate suicide attack on Allied forces at the battle of Okinawa, was finally sunk by US carrier-based aircraft; Not 300 of her 3,330 crew survived.

A young sailor with the weight of the world on his shoulders, a brother in the line of fire, and the greatest naval battle of all time...Jutland, 1916: In the icy waters of the North Sea, the Royal Navy awaits the challenge of the Kaiser's High Sea Fleet. Sub-lieutenant Nick Everard could never have imagined the terror he would face as his destroyer races to launch its torpedoes into the blazing guns of a horizon obscured by dreadnoughts. But when the steering-gear on HMS Warspite jams, it is up to Nick, along with his brother, Hugh, to save thousands of lives. Dramatic, action-packed and brimming with suspense, The Blooding of the Guns launches the epic career of Nicholas Everard, and is perfect for fans of C. S. Forrester, Max Hennessy and Alan Evans. Praise for Alexander Fullerton'The most meticulously researched war novels that I have ever read' Len Deighton 'His action passages are superb and he never puts a period foot wrong' Observer 'The research is unimpeachable and the scent of battle quite overwhelming' Sunday Times

One of the most unusual and remarkable American fighter aircraft, the F-82 Twin Mustang was the last mass production propeller-driven fighter acquired by the U.S. Air Force. Originally intended as a very long-range fighter escort for the Boeing B-29 Superfortress during World War II, it arrived too late to see combat and evolved into a night and all-weather fighter during the post-war years. Combat operations in the Korean War followed, along with a host of other dynamic episodes of deployment. This work traces the developmental, operational, and combat history of this unique American fighter and features 120 photographs and illustrations, many of which have never been published before. Seven chapters, all extensively illustrated, cover the aircraft's development, descriptions of the variants and sub-types, details of initial entry into service, three chapters covering the F-82's service in the Korean War, and a final chapter detailing the type's removal from the Korean War Theatre in February 1952, to see out its operational days in the Alaskan Air Defence Command. An appendix section follows, featuring tables of the different variants, an illustrated list of known nose art applied to F-82s, and an entry of losses suffered in the Korean War. All these additional details bring new points of interest to the popular Images of War format, making for a richer, more informative reading experience. Focussing on an overlooked type, deployed in a conflict often side-lined within mainstream war histories, this publication offers a much deserved platform upon which to appreciate this dynamic and immensely interesting aircraft.

How did Britain manage the transportation of large numbers of troops to French controlled territory during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars and successfully land them? Shortlisted for the Society for Nautical Research Anderson Medal 2016 Britain's naval victories in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars succeeded in protecting Britain from French invasion, but they could not of themselves defeat France. This required the support of allied armies and necessitated the shipping of large numbers of troops to, and successfully landing them on, French controlled territory - a major logistical operation. Wellington's expedition to Portugal and Spain led to Napoleon's defeat in the Peninsular War, but there were many other British expeditions before this which were not successful, in part because they were too logistically ambitious and/or they lacked allied support. This book examines the nature of combined operations and considers the planning and preparation of expeditions. It highlights the navy's important role in amphibious warfare and describes in detail the logistical operations which supported British expeditionary warfare in the period. It outlines the role of the Transport Board, explores how it periodically chartered a large proportion of the British merchant fleet and what theeffects of this were on merchant shipping. The book concludes that the Transport Board grew in competence; that the failure of expeditions was invariably due to circumstances well beyond its control; and that its pivotal role inthe preparation of all the major military expeditions in which hundreds of thousands of British troops served overseas was very significant and very effective. Robert K. Sutcliffe completed his doctorate at the University of Greenwich.

This book explores the political emergence of the Imperial Japanese Navy between 1868 and 1922. It fundamentally challenges the popular notion that the navy was a 'silent, ' apolitical service. Politics, particularly budgetary politics, became the primary domestic focus - if not the overriding preoccupation - of Japan's admirals in the prewar period. This study convincingly demonstrates that as the Japanese polity broadened after 1890, navy leaders expanded their political activities to secure appropriations commensurate with the creation of a world-class blue-water fleet. The navy's sophisticated political efforts included lobbying oligarchs, coercing cabinet ministers, forging alliances with political parties, occupying overseas territuries, conducting well-orchestrated naval pageants, and launching spirited propaganda campaigns. These efforts succeeded: by 1921 naval expenditures equaled nearly 32 percent of the country's total budget, making Japan the world's third-largest maritime power. The navy, as this book details, made waves at sea and on shore, and in doing so significantly altered the state, society, politics, and empire in prewar Japan

A boyhood visit to the battleship HMS Nelson left the author with the ambition to be a midshipman in the Royal Navy and to be in charge of a steam picket-boat with a brass funnel. The author relates how he went to sea, his adventures and experiences ashore and afloat during his 35 years service under the White Ensign and the Red Ensign. Starting as a Merchant Navy cadet in the British India Steam Navigation Company at the start of World War II, he subsequently joined the Royal Navy and progressed from midshipman to lieutenant during ten years of service. Captain Stewart's story includes details of his first ship, the SS Mulbera; coming home to the Clyde and later sailing around the Cape. During the war years he experienced life in a minesweeper and a corvette, and escorted convoys in the Arctic and the Mediterranean. Leaving the Navy after the war, he spent several years ashore before returning to seafaring in the Merchant Navy. He joined the fleet of a major oil company as a junior officer and quickly progressed through the ranks until he reached the rank of master, spending many years in command of large crude oil tankers. Although Captain stewart served in eight classes of warship and many more types of tanker, he never did command a picket boat with a brass funnel!

As the possibility of war loomed in the 1930s, the British Admiralty looked to update their fleet of destroyers to compete with the new ships being built by Germany and Japan, resulting in the commissioning of the powerful Tribal-class. These were followed by the designing of the first of several slightly smaller ships, which carried fewer guns than the Tribals, but were armed with a greatly enlarged suite of torpedoes. The first of these, the 'J/K/M class' was followed by a number of wartime variants, with slight changes to their weaponry to suit different wartime roles. Designed to combat enemy surface warships, aircraft and U-boats, the British built these destroyers to face off against anything the enemy could throw at them. Using a collection of contemporary photographs and beautiful colour artwork, this is a fascinating new study of the ships that formed the backbone of the Royal Navy during World War II.

Although not a weapon in the traditional sense of the word, arguably no item in the Allied arsenal contributed as much to the defeat of the Axis during WWII as did the Liberty ships. The 2,710 Liberty ships placed into service between 1941 and 1945 provided a vital link in the supply chain not only of US but also Allied forces during WWII. Although the basic design itself was obsolete even before the first one slid down the builder's ways, it had the advantage of being relatively easy to produce, and simple to operate and maintain. Thus, the vessels were mass-produced by no fewer than eighteen shipyards. Building time, initially 244 days, dropped to forty-two days per ship, although as a publicity stunt the Robert E. Peary was launched four days and fifteen and a half hours after the keel was laid.

The Royal Navy Day by Day, the splendid history of the Senior Service across 500 years, presented as a diary of daily events, has become a familiar and much-loved part of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. It is the standard naval history reference book employed daily throughout the Fleet. Here are recorded not just great battles but also minor actions by small ships, and the service of men and women, sailors, Royal Marines, the WRNS, aircrew, submariners, and RFA and Merchant Navy personnel, down the generations. It is also the Royal Navy's own story - what was done to it by the sea, the enemy and the Admiralty - and the traditions and customs, the quirks and eccentricities it has gathered around itself. This book is a tribute to the Royal Navy but it is not a company history; it records just a few of the Navy's dropped catches and own goals which give added credibility to this very fine record. The Royal Navy Day by Day is highly regarded in the Royal Navy and it is issued to all HM ships and establishments. First published in 1979, this expanded fifth edition has been thoroughly revised and updated, and contains many fresh images.