Wars & Battles/World War 2

Showing 1–24 of 41 results

  • Above us the waves – The story of Midget submarines and Human torpedoes

     £10.35

    It was the Italians who pioneered the use of two-man human torpedoes or ‘chariots’, and their attacks on ships of the Royal Navy in Alexandria Harbour in 1941 caused Winston Churchill to write to the Chief of Staffs committee to enquire what was being done to emulate these daring attacks. The result was the development of British ‘chariots’ which were regarded as stop-gaps until the X-craft or midget submarines could be deployed.

  • Air Power and the Royal Navy 1914-1945

     £9.20

    Shows how the forging of the Fleet Air Arm affected the Royal Navy and its role in the defence of country and Empire

  • American Gunboats and Minesweepers

     £9.78

    This large format book lists all auxiliary escort vessels of the U.S. Navy in WW2, including ex-British corvettes, the famous “Eagle” boats of WW1, and converted fishing craft and yachts. Provides specifications of the various vessels, together with details of each vessel’s launch date, builder and fate.

  • An illustrated history of Steamships

     £9.20

    This heavilly illustrated book, the early origins and developments of the steamship are explained, and the total history, right up to the present day is illustrated with engravings and many fine photographs.

  • Battleship – The Loss of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse

     £9.78

    The disaster of the loss of the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse in the defence of Singapore in December, 1941.

  • British Warships 1914-1919

     £17.25

    Lists every British and Dominion warship in service at the outbreak of the First World War in August 1914, together with those built or ordered up to the end of the war in November 1918. This comprehensive record includes every type of vessel from battleship down to drifters, harbour vessels and other small craft.

  • British Warships since 1945 – Minesweepers

     £6.90

    Whilst the content of this book only covers minesweepers since World War 2 the history of these ships, that have had a vital but unsung role is given in a brief history.

  • Cockleshell Heroes

     £6.90

    Account of the raid on shipping in the German occupied harbour of Bordeaux in December 1942, Operation Frankton, by a team of Royal Marines using ‘cockles’ (kayak-type canoes) to gain access and then attaching limpet mines – only 2 of the team of 10 survived but six ships were put out of action

  • Command At Sea – Great fighting Admirals from Hawke to Nimitz

     £8.05

    All the admirals here depicted-six British, two French and two American-were men extraordinarily able to deal successfully with problems and decisions outside the range of their predecessors.

  • Convoy! – Drama in Arctic Waters

     £6.90

    A freshly researched, exciting history of the hard fought wartime convoys to Russia, emphasising the bitter struggle to get material through and desperate attacks by German aircraft and U-boats to prevent it.

  • Destroyer & Preserver – The story of HMS Middleton & Her ships company

     £63.25

    Drawing on official records and the vivid and often humorous recollections of over 60 members of the ships company, the author- him self a member of the crew – provides an absorbing and well researched account of life in a small destroyer.

  • Devonport built warships since 1860

     £6.90

    In August 1689 the Admiralty raised the possibility of building a dry dock somewhere within the Devonport harbour limits. From its inception, ships were being refitted in the new Dockyard and within twelve months, the first two Devonport Warships built had been launched. Many, many more followed – including some illustrious and historic names HMS ROYAL OAK, HMS WARSPITE and HMS EXETER. The last warship to be launched at Devonport was the frigate HMS SCYLLA, launched in 1968 and completed in 1969. The last large vessel to come off the slip was the Research Vessel Crystal, launched in 1971.

  • East of Malta West of Suez

     £6.90

    East of Malta, West of Suez: The Admiralty Account of the Naval War on the Eastern Mediterranean September 1939 to March 1941

  • Experiences of War – The British Sailor

     £8.05

    In the flood of literature on the Second World War at sea. the ‘other ranks’ – seamen, naval airmen, submariners, stokers, writers, sick bay ‘tiffies, supply ratings, ‘sparkers’, ‘bunting tossers’, all the ‘ordinary men who filled the lower deck of the Royal Navy and Merchant Navies.

  • Londons Navy – A story of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve

     £7.95

    At Trafalgar about 22% of the crew of Nelsons Victory we volunteers . In 1945 the RNVR boosted by maby wartime volunteers was providing no less than 88% of officer in the Navy.

  • Mountbatten of Burma

     £10.35

    This book tells how he proved himself, and what he did to make his name honoured, glorious, respected and loved. As a boy he showed little promice of the man he was to become.

  • Mountbatten of Burma – The Princely Sailor

     £8.05

    The name Moutbatten resonates through the history of Great Britain and the Commonwealth. Born in 1900 as Prince Louis of Battenburg, a great-grandson of Queen Victoria, Louis Mountbatten’s life was at first shaped by World War I and its aftermath. In mid-career he was a victorious commander in World War II, and when peace came he brought independence to India and Pakistan. It was an epoch of rapid, often dramatic and accelerating change – political, social, economic, scientific and technological. Having a father dedicated to service in the Royal Navy (rising to First Sea Lord) and a royal mother of egalitarian sentiments, enquiring mind and powerful personality; to what extent were “Dickie” Mountbatten’s outstanding capacity and influence attributable to naval nature and to regal nature respectively?

  • Mountbatten the Private Story

     £8.05

    Lord Louis Mountbatten accepted the Japanese surrender in 1945, was the last Viceroy of India, and was murdered by the IRA. Behind the public acclaim that his wartime achievements brought him, he had vanity and a controversial lifestyle. He had influential connections with the Royal Family but made many enemies, including Winston Churchill, who never forgave him for his part in “giving away India,” while courtiers in the Royal Household disliked him for his arrogance and interference. Both Mountbatten and his wife were widely known to have had numerous affairs, but this was rarely spoken of outside their circle. He was an egotistical man, fascinated by royalty and his own relationship to the royal family, and delighted in being seen with celebrities.

  • My Mountbatten Years – In the service of Lord Louis

     £6.90

    William Evans had a passion to see the world which led him to join the Royal Navy in 1950 and, nine years later, he had reached the rank of Petty Officer when he was appointed to the Royal yacht Britannia.

  • Naval Air Power – The Complete History

     £17.25

    This title is an illustrated guide to the development of the aircraft as an instrument of naval power from its inception in the early 20th century to the modern day. Naval warfare was transformed by airpower, but it was a hit and miss process. The Royal Navy pioneered the use of aircraft carriers during World War I, but famously lost Prince of Wales and Repulse to land based Japanese bombers in 1941. From the early days of airships and bi-planes, the carrier planes of the Pacific to the very latest in carrier based strike aircraft, and anti-submarine helicopters, Bernard Ireland reveals how airpower has revolutionized naval warfare.

  • Naval Aircraft of World Wars I and II

     £9.20

    This title features a directory of over 70 aircraft with 330 identification photographs. It includes Shipborne fighters, bombers, flying boats and naval planes, including the Curtiss Helldiver, Mitsubishi Zero-Sen, Supermarine Seafire, Fairey Swordfish, Grumman F6F Hellcat, Mitsubishi Zero and Vought F4U Corsair. It examines the history and evolution of naval aircraft, from the first flights launched from ships and their pioneering role in World War I to the rise of naval airpower during World War II, with special reference to Pearl Harbor, the Doolittle Raid and the Battle of Midway.

  • Naval and Marine Badges and Insignia of World War 2

     £8.05

    Naval fashion, which developed simultaneously with the growth of the world navies, has so far been a neglected subject and this is the principal reason why the material in this book will provide an absorbing study both for the advanced collector and the novice.

  • Pursuit – The Sinking of the Bismark

     £7.00

    In May1941 the German battleship Bismarck, at the time the most formidable fighting ship afloat, escaped into the Atlantic. Her presence there posed a fearful threat to the convoys that kept Britain alive.

  • Send her Victorious

     £9.00

    The fighting career of the WWII aircraft carrier HMS VICTORIOUS which was laid down before the conflict began and fought in a wide variety of theatres. She was taken out of commission in 1968 after a useful and active life. VICTORIOUS played an important role in the struggle to save Malta, she escorted convoys on the notorious route to Murmansk, and went East to join the British Pacific Fleet during the final stages of the war against Japan where she survived repeated kamikaze attacks. Even after the war she was briefly in action off Malaya and Kuwait. Other wartime actions included the hunt and chase of the BISMARCK and the invasion of North Africa. Illustrated with 37 photographs.