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Spain (1936-9), China (1937 onwards), Mongolia (1939), Finland
(1939-40) and France (1939-40) were a testing ground for a new
approach to air tactics with western democracies and totalitarian
states analyzing the resulting lessons. Attention in Air Wars
1920-1939: The Development and Evolution of Fighter Tactics is
given to the means by which intelligence on aerial tactics was
collected and why it was not always fully absorbed, resulting in
many nations having to relearn the same lessons at the outset of
the Second World War. Finland, during the Winter War, while not
involved in Spain or any other air war of the time, better applied
the lessons being learned than that of the Soviet Union, which had
been directly involved in air wars fought over China, Mongolia and
Spain. In the case of Britain, not only were the lessons of Spain
ignored, but so too that of its own experimental fighter unit, the
AFDE (Air Fighting Development Establishment) that had been formed
in 1934 and which was reinforcing the intelligence received from
those real air war conflicts."
Examines Naval co-operation between Britain and Russia and the
often underappreciated prowess of the Russian navy. Naval
co-operation between Britain and Russia continued throughout the
eighteenth century, with Britain providing huge assistance to the
growth of Russia's navy, and Russia making an essential but often
overlooked contribution to Britain's maritime power in the period.
From 1698 when Tsar Peter the Great served briefly as a trainee
shipwright at Deptford dockyard Russia recruited British, often
Scottish, shipwrights, engineers, naval officers and naval surgeons
who both helped build up the Russian navy and who were also key
advisers to the Russian navy at sea. At the same time, naval stores
from Russia, especially after Britain lost the American colonies,
were vital for the maintenance of Britain's fleet. Moreover, as
this book argues, Russian naval power was much more formidable than
is often realised, with the Russian navy active alongside the
British fleet in the North Sea and winning decisive battles against
the Ottoman navy in the Mediterranean, including the battles of
Cesme in 1770 and Navarino in 1827. Britain did well to have Russia
as a naval ally rather than an enemy. This book provides a
comprehensive overview of this important subject, at a time when
Britain's relationship with Russia is of considerable concern.
Reveals, from a non-Eurocentric perspective, how Indian states
developed and implemented maritime strategies which posed a serious
threat to British naval power in the region. Most books on the
colonisation of India view the subject in Eurocentric imperial
terms, focusing on the ways in which European powers competed with
each other on land and at sea and defeated Indian states on land,
and viewing Indian states as having little interest in naval
matters. This book, in contrast, reveals that there was substantial
naval activity on the part of some Indian states and that this
activity represented a serious threat to Britain's naval power.
Considering the subject from an Indian point of view, the book
discusses the naval activities of the Mahratta Confederacy and
later those of Mysore under its energetic rulers Haidar Ali and his
successor Tipu Sultan. Itshows how these states chose deliberately
to develop a naval strategy, seeing this as the most effective way
of expelling the British from India; how their strategies learned
from European maritime technology, successfully blending this with
Indian technology; how their opposition to British naval power was
at its most effective when they allied themselves with the other
European naval powers in the region - France, Portugal and the
Netherlands, whose maritime activities in the region are fully
outlined and assessed; and how ultimately the Indian states' naval
strategies failed. Philip MacDougall, a former lecturer in economic
history at the University of Kent, is a founder member of the Navy
Dockyards Society, editor of the Society's Transactions, and the
author or editor of seven books in maritime history, including The
Naval Mutinies of 1797 (The Boydell Press, 2011).
The dockyard at Portsmouth was founded by Henry VII, developing
into a naval base that was essentially the nation’s most
important military establishment. Here, in times of war, huge
fleets were assembled and the harbour that lay alongside the
dockyard witnessed the constant arrival and departure of ships
engaged in convoy duties, blockading and attacking enemy ports or
intercepting hostile seagoing fleets. In turn, it was a potential
target for an enemy, for if the dockyard could be destroyed or
captured, then the nation’s first line of defence, the Royal
Navy, would cease to be effective. Sensitive to such a danger,
successive governments built defence structures in and around
Portsmouth as well as barracks to house the navy, army and marine
personnel. As the firepower of guns increased and the nature of
fortifications changed, so did the defences of Portsmouth, with
these gradually pushed further and further back so that the forts
and gun batteries would always ensure the safety of Portsea Island
from either land or sea attack. In the twentieth century the
defences were adapted further for the new threat of aerial
bombardment or attack by submarine. This book will be of interest
to all those who would like to know more about Portsmouth’s
remarkable military history.
A reassessment of the naval mutinies of 1797, arguing that the
mutinies were more industrial dispute than expression of French
revolution inspired political radicalism. The naval mutinies of
1797 were unprecedented in scale and impressive in their level of
organisation. Under threat of French invasion, crews in the Royal
Navy's home fleet, after making clear demands, refused to sail
until their demands were met. Subsequent mutinies affected the
crews of more than one hundred ships in at least five home
anchorages, replicated in the Mediterranean, Atlantic and Indian
Ocean. Channel Fleet seamen pursued their grievances of pay and
conditions by traditional petitions to their commanding officer,
Admiral Richard Howe, but his flawed comprehension and
communications were further exacerbated by the Admiralty. The
Spithead mutiny became the seamen'slast resort. Ironically Howe
acknowledged the justice of their position and was instrumental in
resolving the Spithead mutiny, but this did not prevent occurrences
at the Nore and elsewhere. The most extensive approach sinceConrad
Gill's seminal and eponymous volume of 1913, The Naval Mutinies of
1797 focuses on new research, re-evaluating the causes, events,
interpretations, discipline, relationships between officers and
men, political inputs and affiliations and crucially, the role of
the Irish and quota men. It poses new answers to old questions and
suggests a new synthesis - self-determination - the seamen on their
own terms. ANN VERONICA COATS is senior lecturer in the the School
of Civil Engineering and Surveying at the University of Portsmouth
and is Secretary of the Naval Dockyards Society. PHILIP MACDOUGALL
is a writer and historian, author of seven books, with a
doctorateon naval history from the University of Kent at
Canterbury.
Up to and during the First World War, the Royal Navy was at the
forefront of developments in aviation: concerned not just with the
use of military aircraft to defend the fleet, but also securing the
homeland against Zeppelin raiders and undertaking tactical air
strikes into enemy territory. With the aeroplane a totally new and
revolutionary weapon, the work of several experimental airfields
and seaplane stations became crucial to the success of these
operations. Taking the lead role were Felixstowe and the Isle of
Grain, where work on the development of new aircraft and aerial
weapons was handled, alongside ground-breaking advances in
navigational systems, air-to-ground radio communication, and
deck-board ship landings. These two air stations (as well as others
with a more minor role) witnessed a huge scale of expenditure and
the assembly of an elite group of experts and hotshot pilots who,
in pushing the envelope to the extreme, sometimes sacrificed their
own lives. The work of these experimental stations has been more or
less forgotten, a result of the Royal Naval Air Service having been
subsumed into the Royal Air Force, and the subsequent emphasis on
the aeroplane as a weapon of land warfare. In this First World War
anniversary period, it is a story that needs telling.
At a time when the Royal Navy was the biggest and best in the
world, Georgian London was the hub of this immense
industrial-military complex, underpinning and securing a global
trading empire that was entirely dependent on the navy for its
existence. Philip MacDougall explores the bureaucratic web that
operated within the wider city area before giving attention to
London's association with the practical aspects of supplying and
manning the operational fleet and shipbuilding, repair and
maintenance. His supremely detailed geographical exploration of
these areas includes a discussion of captivating key personalities,
buildings and work. The book examines significant locations as well
as the importance of Londoners in the manning of ships and how the
city memorialised the navy and its personnel during times of
victory. An in-depth gazetteer and walking guide complete this
fascinating study of Britain, her capital and her Royal Navy.
The modern town of Gillingham grew up on the banks of the River
Medway around the Royal Naval Dockyard of Chatham, most of which
actually lay within Gillingham. The sixteenth century saw the
expansion of the one-time fishing and farming village of
'Jyllingham' into a town. The population of the town expanded as
the dockyard, with its accompanying fortifications around the
Medway, grew, and today Gillingham is the largest town in the
Medway area. In this book Philip MacDougall investigates
Gillingham's past, including many lesser-known and secret events,
including a hidden English warship sunk by the Dutch when they
invaded the Medway and that was still under the foundations of the
dockyard; the prison hulks for convicts and prisoners of war moored
in the River Medway, off Gillingham; an attempt to turn the town
into a seaside resort to rival Margate; Jezreel's Tower and the
unusual sect that built it; the country's worst death toll from a
single bomb dropped in the First World War; and failure to prepare
the town for the threatened mass bombing of the Second World War.
Secret Gillingham explores the lesser-known episodes and characters
in the history of Gillingham through the centuries. With tales of
remarkable people and unusual events, and fully illustrated, this
book will appeal to all those with an interest in this town in
Kent.
When Britain declared war on Nazi Germany in 1939, it did not come
as a surprise. Hitler's remilitarisation and repudiation of the
Treaty of Versailles sounded a warning bell for what was to follow.
Philip MacDougall here examines what steps the British Government
took to prepare the country for the war they knew was coming.
Focusing on the front-line counties of Hampshire, Sussex and Kent,
he looks at how they learnt lessons from the effect of war on
civilian populations during previous conflicts; the public
perception of war on the home front as evidenced by Mass
Observation; plans for the emergency services, food supplies, the
ARP, dispersal of industry and government, and control of enemy
aliens; and how effective these preparations were after the
outbreak of war. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in
British history during the late thirties and early forties, and for
local historians in these three counties.
Shows how extensive the naval power of Islamic states was, charts
the rise and fall of Islamic navies, and outlines the various wars
and campaigns in which Islamic navies were involved. Studies of the
"Age of Fighting Sail" have tended to focus on the British or
American navies, or sometimes on those of France or Spain. However,
there were also at this time very significant navies built by the
Islamic powers: theNorth African Barbary states, whose ships,
allegedly pirates, plagued Mediterranean shipping and raided even
as far as Cornwall and the south coast of Ireland; the Ottoman
Empire, which built some of the largest sailing warshipsever; the
navies of Arabian and Indian rulers and of Persia, which were
forces to be reckoned with in the Indian Ocean; and more. This book
presents a comprehensive survey of Islamic seapower from about the
beginning of the seventeenth century until the middle of the
nineteenth century, charting the rise and fall of different Islamic
navies. It focuses on strategy, examining the development and
implementation of naval policy and exploring the technology that
supported it. It considers the wars Islamic navies participated in,
covers all the areas in which Islamic navies operated, and relates
Islamic naval power to wider international power politics. The book
highlights in particularthe importance of the large Ottoman navy,
which influenced and gave a lead to other Islamic naval powers.
PHILIP MACDOUGALL was formerly a Lecturer in the Department of
Economic History at the University of Kent. He isthe author and
editor of several books on maritime history, including The Naval
Mutinies of 1797 (Boydell, 2011) and Naval Resistance to Britain's
Growing Power in India, 1660-1800 (Boydell, 2014).
Dr Philip MacDougall, local historian, takes you on a journey
through the City of Chichester revealing much of its lesser-known
history. Here you will find the story behind the city's
nineteenth-century banking crisis, the activities of a London mob
of criminals who targeted the Goodwood races, a fascinating
collection of letters written during the First World War and even
how local politicians once bribed potential voters with lashings of
beer. Blending the serious and the not so serious and drawing
heavily on primary sources, including newspapers and original
documents, Secret Chichester gives a fascinating look at this
city's past with images from long ago and today.
In these days of ubiquitous, non-stop media and information you
would think that there were few secrets anywhere left to reveal,
but when it comes to Chatham there remain a surprising number of
facts and idiosyncrasies that, over the years, have remained
obscure. Secret Chatham is a journey through the past of this
former Royal Dockyard home, unearthing many fascinating and
little-known details about the Medway town that will entertain,
inform and horrify visitors as well as its current inhabitants in
equal measure, many of whom probably thought they knew it all. The
book gives a unique perspective on the many less-obvious aspects of
Chatham's history and will go a long way to explaining why today's
town is as it is, and how it may develop in the future.
The Thames Estuary is the gateway into London that had to be
defended against seaborne invasion. Through proximity to the
Continent, these waters were a likely passageway for those intent
upon seaborne raids or invasion, necessitating the need for a
powerful naval force to be on hand when threatened. The first
fortifications date back to Roman times. To support the British
navy in these waters, four of the nation’s royal dockyards –
Chatham, Deptford, Sheerness and Woolwich – were clustered along
the Thames Estuary or close by on the Medway from the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries for the commissioning, refitting and repair
of warships. As well as being of importance for the defence of the
country, the Thames Estuary fulfilled another role: that of
underpinning naval activities designed to support British tactical
and strategic operations in more distant parts of the world. Close
to the mouth of the Thames, and near the point of confluence with
the Medway, was the Nore, a key naval anchorage where newly
commissioned warship assembled, taking on crews and receiving final
instructions before joining the active seagoing fleet. In the
twentieth century, additional defences against attack by submarine
or from the air were established, and gunpowder factories sited
along the estuary. This book will be of interest to all those who
would like to know more about the remarkable military history of
the Thames Estuary over the last 2,000 years.
The history of the Medway Towns is synonymous with the large-scale
military industrial complex that was centred on the dockyard,
military barracks and various fortifications. This has, over many
years, provided employment for the people of Chatham and Gillingham
as well as Rainham, Rochester and Strood, along with the service
industries that were part of the military-industrial complex. But
the Medway Towns also had an abundance of cement and brickworks,
barge makers, breweries, engineering workshops and clothing
manufacturers. Among the household names were Short Brothers of
Rochester, manufacturers of seaplanes and RAF bombers, while Strood
was home to Aveling & Porter, whose iconic traction engines
still grace steam fairs across the country. Despite this heavy
industrialisation, the present-day Medway Towns, where houses and
parks now stand, were also an area rich in farmland, with the
former village of Luton as important for hop picking as anywhere in
the county of Kent. In a fascinating series of contemporary
photographs and illustrations, combined with a well-researched
commentary, this book explores the life of these five Kent towns,
the nature of local employment and the impact it had upon those
employed to reflect the daily life of the Medway Towns at work.
This fascinating selection of photographs illustrates the
extraordinary transformation that has taken place in Chatham during
the twentieth century. The book offers an insight into the daily
lives and living conditions of local people and gives the reader
glimpses and details of familiar places during a century of
unprecedented change. Many aspects of Chatham's recent history are
covered, famous occasions and individuals are remembered and the
impact of national and international events is witnessed. The book
provides a striking account of the changes that have also altered
Chatham's appearance and records the process of transformation.
Drawing on detailed local knowledge of the community, and
illustrated with a wealth of black-and-white photographs, this book
recalls what Chatham has lost in terms of buildings, traditions and
ways of life. It also acknowledges and celebrates the character and
energy of local people as they move through the first years of the
twenty-first century.
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