Maritime history has dominated British history thanks to our island status. The Seaforth and Pen and Sword lists have some exceptional titles which have established themselves as key reference titles in the maritime and modelling worlds from the early years of seafaring, right through to the modern day.
A hidden bit of American maritime history brought to light for the first time. Unique! As a military and maritime correspondent for many years, I spent time with Peter Marsh while living in the Pacific North West and suggested that since this was home turf, he should look at possibly doing a book on ships that emerged during World War Two from Portland, Washington State's Vancouver as well as Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. It took him five years but a remarkable work has emerged from British publishers Seaforth (a Pen & Sword subsidiary). The book is one of the best and most comprehensively illustrated I've seen and is a tribute to that remarkable period when the United States lifted itself up from its bootstraps and set about creating the wherewithal needed to defeat Japan. Neither Berlin nor Tokyo believed that the Yanks had it in them: surprise, surprise! There is something of a lesson here for China which seems to heading the same path almost a century after Japan tried.. Read more
Amazon UK Review
A hidden bit of American maritime history brought to light for the first time. Unique! As a military and maritime correspondent for many years, I spent time with Peter Marsh while living in the Pacific North West and suggested that since this was home turf, he should look at possibly doing a book on ships that emerged during World War Two from Portland, Washington State's Vancouver as well as Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River. It took him five years but a remarkable work has emerged from British publishers Seaforth (a Pen & Sword subsidiary). The book is one of the best and most comprehensively illustrated I've seen and is a tribute to that remarkable period when the United States lifted itself up from its bootstraps and set about creating the wherewithal needed to defeat Japan. Neither Berlin nor Tokyo believed that the Yanks had it in them: surprise, surprise! There is something of a lesson here for China which seems to heading the same path almost a century after Japan tried.. Read more
Amazon UK Review
This is the fifth fully revised edition of a book first published in 1970. Each entry gives concise details of dimensions, armament and service dates, and its alphabetical and chronological arrangement makes it easy to track down the right ship (otherwise the Royal Navy’s tradition of re-using the same names can be misleading). This edition contains some 200 new entries and revisions to many older entries. These reflect the demise of many ships post-Cold War as the Royal Navy was shrunk down as part of the peace dividend. The book includes updates to the Royal Australian, Canadian and New Zealand navies which have programmes to introduce new destroyers, Arctic patrol vessels, submarines and support ships. Since the death of Jim Colledge, who was widely respected for his pioneering research on the technical details of warships, his magnum opus has been updated, corrected and expanded with similar enthusiasm and attention to detail by Ben Warlow, a retired naval officer and author of a.. Read more
Julian Stockwin
This is the fifth fully revised edition of a book first published in 1970. Each entry gives concise details of dimensions, armament and service dates, and its alphabetical and chronological arrangement makes it easy to track down the right ship (otherwise the Royal Navy’s tradition of re-using the same names can be misleading). This edition contains some 200 new entries and revisions to many older entries. These reflect the demise of many ships post-Cold War as the Royal Navy was shrunk down as part of the peace dividend. The book includes updates to the Royal Australian, Canadian and New Zealand navies which have programmes to introduce new destroyers, Arctic patrol vessels, submarines and support ships. Since the death of Jim Colledge, who was widely respected for his pioneering research on the technical details of warships, his magnum opus has been updated, corrected and expanded with similar enthusiasm and attention to detail by Ben Warlow, a retired naval officer and author of a.. Read more
Julian Stockwin
This book takes its title from the familiar opening exchange of signals between passing ships, and celebrates the long history of visual communications at sea. It traces the visual language of signalling from the earliest naval banners or streamers used by the Byzantines in AD 900 through to morse signalling still used at sea today. Covering a wide spectrum of visual signalling methods from false fire, through shapes, furled sails and coloured flags to experiments in high speed text messaging by signal lamp, the book also examines the complex interrelation between all three methods under battle conditions. A detailed analysis of visual signal exchanges before and during the Battle of Jutland reveals both the success and ultimate limitations of flag signalling at the limits of visibility. Extensively and beautifully illustrated, the book both enlightens and entertains.
Read the full review [link=https://julianstockwin.com/2021/02/15/bookpick-winter-2021/]here[/link]
Julian Stockwin
This book takes its title from the familiar opening exchange of signals between passing ships, and celebrates the long history of visual communications at sea. It traces the visual language of signalling from the earliest naval banners or streamers used by the Byzantines in AD 900 through to morse signalling still used at sea today. Covering a wide spectrum of visual signalling methods from false fire, through shapes, furled sails and coloured flags to experiments in high speed text messaging by signal lamp, the book also examines the complex interrelation between all three methods under battle conditions. A detailed analysis of visual signal exchanges before and during the Battle of Jutland reveals both the success and ultimate limitations of flag signalling at the limits of visibility. Extensively and beautifully illustrated, the book both enlightens and entertains.
Read the full review [link=https://julianstockwin.com/2021/02/15/bookpick-winter-2021/]here[/link]
Julian Stockwin
As a relatively short, affordable, very readable, account for the non-specialist it does, however, have much to commend it.
The Waterloo Association
As a relatively short, affordable, very readable, account for the non-specialist it does, however, have much to commend it.
The Waterloo Association
As a wide ranging work it could help ship modellers and was clearly a labour of love for the author who has contributed a useful volume of naval history.
The Society of Model and Experimental Engineers
As a wide ranging work it could help ship modellers and was clearly a labour of love for the author who has contributed a useful volume of naval history.
The Society of Model and Experimental Engineers
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ShipCraft 11: British Destroyers
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… Read more...
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ShipCraft 18: Titanic and her Sisters Olympic and Britannic
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, highlighting differences between sister-ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage,… Read more...
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Aircraft Carriers of the United States Navy
In 1922 the US Navy commissioned its first small experimental aircraft carrier. This was followed into service by two much larger and capable carriers in 1927 with five more being built prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor including three large Yorktown class. To take the offensive against the Japanese Navy, the American Congress funded by… Read more...
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Battleships: WWII Evolution of the Big Guns
Beginning with a pictorial essay on battleship construction in the 1930s and 1940s, this new book looks at the various design facets of the last great capital ships of the world's navies. Kaplan offers us a glimpse into those massive American and German navy yards and construction facilities that were put to use during this time, acquainting us with… Read more...
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HMS Belfast: Cruiser 1939
HMS Belfast, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. One of ten Town-class cruisers she saw service on the icy Arctic convoys during the Second World War and was also present for the bombardment of the D-Day beaches in 1944. Later, she saw service during the Korean War. As is the case for many historic… Read more...
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British Battleships of World War One
This superb reference book achieved the status of 'classic' soon after its first publication in 1986; it was soon out of print and is now one of the most sought-after naval reference books on the secondhand market. It presents, in one superb volume, the complete technical history of British capital ship design and construction during the dreadnought… Read more...
The pilot cutters that operated around the coasts of northern Europe until the First World War were amongst the most seaworthy and beautiful craft of their size ever built, while the small number that have survived have inspired yacht designers, sailors and traditional craft enthusiasts over the last hundred years. Even in their day they possessed… Read more...
Building on the success of various Commando Raids during 1941, Headquarters Combined Operations moved up the scale of size and complexity by electing to attack and deny the only dry dock that could take a German battleship for repairs, the Normandie Dock at St Nazaire on France's Atlantic coast. The problem was that the port was miles up an estuary… Read more...
Tony Chapman was born in Southampton in 1924. Aged 16 he watched with horror as the historic High Street of Southampton burnt to the ground in a firestorm caused by a heavy German bombing raid on the night of 30 November 1940. He vowed to join up and fight back. Tony joined the Navy. Within hours of being posted to his first Motor Gun Boat, Telegraphist… Read more...
Ironically while the Japanese Navy followed many of the Royal Navy's traditions and structures, it had a totally different approach to the treatment of its foes. The author has uncovered a plethora of outrages against both servicemen and civilians which make chilling and shocking reading. These range from the execution of POWs, the abandonment of survivors… Read more...
On 16 March 1807, the British Parliament passed The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. In the following year the Royal Navy's African Squadron was formed, its mission to stop and search ships at sea suspected of carrying slaves from Africa to the Americas and the Middle East. With typical thoroughness, the Royal Navy went further, and took the fight… Read more...