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showing 4,201 library results for 'navy'

Letters of seamen in the wars with France, 1793-1815 edited by Helen Watt and Anne Hawkins. "Letters of seamen below the rank of commissioned officer are rare, both in original form and in print. This edited collection of 255 letters, written by seamen in the British Navy and their correspondents between 1793 and 1815, gives voice to a group of men whose lives and thoughts are otherwise mostly unknown. The letters are extremely valuable for the insights which they give into aspects of life below decks and the subjects close to the writers' hearts: money matters, ties with home and homesickness. They also provide eye-witness accounts of events during a tumultuous and important period of British and European history. One group of letters, included as a separate section, comprises the letters of seamen and their family and friends which were intercepted by the authorities during the mutinies of 1797. These letters shed a great deal of light on the extraordinary events of that year and of seamen's attitudes to the mutinies. The editors' introductory material, besides highlighting what the letters tell us about seamen's lives and attitudes, also discusses the extent of literacy amongst seamen, setting this into its wider contemporary popular context. The letters are supported by a substantial editorial apparatus and two detailed appendices containing biographies of seamen and information on select ships which took part in the mutinies of 1797."--Provided by the publisher. 2016. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 940.2
The Shetland bus : transporting secret agents across the North Sea in WW2 /Stephen Wynn. "The Shetland Bus was not a bus, but the nickname of a special operations group that set up a route across the North Sea between Norway and the Shetland Islands, north-east of mainland Scotland. The first voyage was made by Norwegian sailors to help their compatriots in occupied Norway, but soon the Secret Intelligence Service and the Special Operations Executive asked if they would be prepared to carry cargoes of British agents and equipment, as well. Fourteen boats of different sizes were originally used, and Flemington House in Shetland was commandeered as the operation's HQ. The first official journey was carried out by the Norwegian fishing vessel the Aksel, which left Luna Ness on 30 August 1941 on route to Bremen in Norway. This book examines that first journey, as well later ones, and discusses the agents and operations which members of the Shetland Bus were involved in throughout the war. It also looks at the donation of 3 submarine chasers to the operation, made in October 1943, by the United States Navy. These torpedo-type boats were 110 ft long and very fast, allowing journey times between Shetland and Norway to be greatly reduced and carried out in greater safety. The story of the Shetland Bus would be nothing without the individuals involved, both the sailors of the boats and the agents who were carried between the two countries. These were very brave individuals who helped maintain an important lifeline to the beleaguered Norwegians. It also allowed British and Norwegian agents a way in to Norway so that they could liaise with the Norwegian Underground movement and carry out important missions against the German occupiers."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.5459481
Nimitz at ease / by Capt. Michael A. Lilly, USN (RET). "Nimitz at Ease relates the true and unpublished story of a grand relationship that developed between Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz and Una and Sandy Walker during World War II and how the Walkers helped relieve Nimitz of the tremendous pressures of war, including awful letters from parents that accused him of killing their son. The Walkers gave Nimitz a place, space and time free of command or demand which, in a small but meaningful way, helped him cope with and win the war in the Pacific. Nimitz commanded all the armed forces in the Pacific during World War II - the largest military power that ever existed in history. Victorious over the Japanese Empire, he was elevated to the highest rank in the United States Navy - five-star Fleet Admiral. Nimitz wore two challenging hats, positions currently held by two different four-star admirals in Hawai'i - Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet (CinCPac), and Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (CinCPOA). Under the latter hat, he had operational command of all Allied forces - air, land and sea - in the Pacific. He was the supreme commander, overseeing the enormous effort fighting World War II in the Pacific. Nimitz first met and became close friends of the Walkers when, as a young Lieutenant Commander, he was assigned to build the Submarine Base at Pearl Harbor in 1920. He rekindled that friendship soon after taking over the Pacific Fleet after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The day after taking command, Nimitz was asked by the press how he was going to handle a fleet under water and the Japanese juggernaut rampaging through the western Pacific. In response, he drew on a Hawaiian word given him by the Walkers - ho'omanawanui which means All things work out in the fullness of time."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. txt
British piers and pier railways / Anthony Poulton-Smith. "The British have always had a special affinity for their coastal resorts and piers are the epitome of the British seaside. This book takes the reader on a clockwise tour of our islands, stopping at every pier and walking through their histories. Yet this is not just a tour of the pier, for it is not the pier that makes the history, but the people who work and walk along it. Within these pages the reader will meet a prizefighter who achieved fame in a very different sport; learn of several 'professors' whose talents were solely being able to leap from the pier; discover why man would ever want to fly from a pier; meet the former Beatle who worked for a pier company; read about the ferries and steamers that carried visitors; the fires which are an ever-present danger; the men who designed and built the piers along with the entertainers, characters, enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who made the piers. Fascinating information is included on how piers became longer or shorter, which piers served as part of the Royal Navy during two World Wars, and the tremendous amount of work and effort it takes to keep the piers open to the public today. Several piers have embedded rails, with some still being used by trains or trams. These pier railways are described in detail: the engineering, the designs and the changes over the years. While electricity is the sole motive power today, these had once been either steam-driven, pulled by horses, moved by hand or even, in one example, wind-powered by a sail! With over one hundred photographs, both old and new, this is a tour of the coast of the mainland and two islands. Piers which sadly have not survived are included as well as those which never got off the ground (or the shoreline). It reveals why they were built, how they were repurposed over the years, and their role in the future. Join the tour and recall the sea air, candy floss, the music, the sounds of a holiday, that day trip, an encounter, a rendezvous or special memory"--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 627.31
Rising sun, falling skies : the disastrous Java Sea campaign of World War II /Jeffrey R. Cox. In the immediate aftermath of Pearl Harbor, the Japanese juggernaut quickly racked up victory after victory. Desperate to secure resource-rich regions in the Pacific and ensure their continued dominance of South East Asia, Japanese forces were determined in their efforts to conquer Malaya, Singapore and the oil-rich islands around Java Sea - Borneo, Sumatra and Java itself. In the face of this seemingly unstoppable tide stood a small Allied force - American, Australian, British and Dutch. Thrown together by circumstance; cut off from reinforcements or in many cases retreat; operating with old, obsolete equipment and dwindling supplies, there was little hope of victory. Indeed, the month-long Java Sea Campaign, as it subsequently became known, quickly evolved from a traditional test of arms into a test of character. In the face of a relentless enemy and outnumbered, outgunned and alone, they defiantly held on, attempting to buy weeks, days, even hours until a better line of defense - and offense - could be established. These were the men of the US Asiatic Feet, the British Far Eastern Fleet, the Royal Netherlands Navy's East Indies Squadron and the Royal Australian Navy. And their supporting units like Patrol Wing Ten, the Royal Netherlands Naval Air Service, the US Army Air Force's 17th Pursuit Squadron and submarines of all these fine nations. A campaign that has been too often either ignored by historians or criticised for poor command decisions, this is the story of the sailors and the airmen at the sharp end, and how they fought and endured the first months of the War in the Pacific. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.5"1942"
Passage to destiny : the sinking of the troopship Khedive Ismail in the sea war against Japan /Brian James Crabb. "This is the full story of the loss of the troopship SS Khedive Ismail in convoy KR8 in February 1944. 1,296 people lost their lives in the space of the 100 seconds it took to sink the ship, including seventy-seven women (the single worst loss of female personnel in the history of the British Commonwealth). Carrying 1,511 personnel from the Army and the Royal and Merchant Navies, the Khedive Ismail sank on Saturday 12 February 1944 when torpedoed by the Japanese submarine I-27 in the Indian Ocean. Only 209 men and 6 women survived the ordeal. The submarine was then depth-charged to the surface by the destroyers Paladin and Petard and the book includes an account of their difficult but successful attempt to sink her, a campaign which forced the Navy to attack the submarine through some of the survivors (this incident inspired a similar detail in the novel The Cruel Sea). This compelling read draws on many eyewitness accounts and previously unpublished Admiralty papers, many of which were not released for forty years because of their sensitivity, for the sinking of the Khedive Ismail was the third worst Allied maritime shipping disaster of the Second World War. The book includes many appendices, including the names of the entire ship's complement and includes over 140 illustrations. The painting on the front cover is by maritime artist Robert Blackwell. This is the revised second edition of the book. The first appeared in 1997, but has long been out of print. This new edition includes a great many more photographs and many more eye-witness accounts, and more appendices, and there is a comprehensive index. The ship was built at Greenock in Scotland and launched in 1922 as the SS Aconcagua (owned by a South American company). She was sold in 1935 to an Egyptian line and renamed in honour of the famous nineteenth-century ruler of Egypt. In 1940 she was requisitioned to serve as a troop carrier and took part in many convoys in the Indian Ocean before being sunk in 1944." 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545:656.61.086.2
Operation Dynamo : the evacuation from Dunkirk, 26th May - 4th June 1940 /edited by Tim Benbow. "In May 1940, as France collapsed in the face of the German blitzkrieg, the British army and some French forces fell back on the Channel coast. The advancing Germans pushed them back and then briefly paused, confident that this cornered remnant of the allied forces was trapped. Yet the German command had failed to appreciate just what sea power could do to deny them the full fruits of their apparent victory; at short notice an evacuation was improvised which, it was initially thought, might if all went well last two days and rescue 45,000 men. The heroic rear guard action of the troops ashore against the renewed German advance, the ability of the RAF to provide just enough air cover, the tireless efforts of naval crews and those manning the priceless 'little ships', and the organisational genius of Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay saw Operation Dynamo succeed beyond all realistic expectation: two days became nine, and over 338,000 men were saved. Operational disaster in the Battle of France did not become strategic defeat in the war, and albeit at great cost to the Navy, the British army survived to be rebuilt. Above all, Britain could continue to fight. This volume reproduces the complete text of the Battle Summary written shortly after the war by the Admiralty historical staff, comprising a detailed and authoritative account of these dramatic events. This is accompanied by a comprehensive introduction, newly written for this volume, that explains the context for the operation as well as an overview of further reading on the subject."--Publisher website. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.1"1940"
Heligoland : Britain, Germany, and the struggle for the North Sea /Jan Rèuger. "On 18 April 1947, British forces set off the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. The target was a small island in the North Sea, thirty miles off the German coast, which for generations had stood as a symbol of Anglo-German conflict: Heligoland. A long tradition of rivalry was to come to an end here, in the ruins of Hitler's island fortress. Pressed as to why it was not prepared to give Heligoland back, the British government declared that the island represented everything that was wrong with the Germans: 'If any tradition was worth breaking, and if any sentiment was worth changing, then the German sentiment about Heligoland was such a one'. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, Jan Rèuger explores how Britain and Germany have collided and collaborated in this North Sea enclave. For much of the nineteenth century, this was Britain's smallest colony, an inconvenient and notoriously discontented outpost at the edge of Europe. Situated at the fault line between imperial and national histories, the island became a metaphor for Anglo-German rivalry once Germany acquired it in 1890. Turned into a naval stronghold under the Kaiser and again under Hitler, it was fought over in both world wars. Heavy bombardment by the Allies reduced it to ruins, until the Royal Navy re-took it in May 1945. Returned to West Germany in 1952, it became a showpiece of reconciliation, but one that continues to bear the scars of the twentieth century. Tracing this rich history of contact and conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the Cold War, Heligoland brings to life a fascinating microcosm of the Anglo-German relationship. For generations this cliff-bound island expressed a German will to bully and battle Britain; and it mirrored a British determination to prevent Germany from establishing hegemony on the Continent. Caught in between were the Heligolanders and those involved with them: spies and smugglers, poets and painters, sailors and soldiers. Heligoland is the compelling story of a relationship which has defined modern Europe."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 943/.512
The last days of the High Seas Fleet : from mutiny to Scapa Flow /Nicholas C. Jellicoe. "On 21 June 1919 the ships of the German High Seas Fleet - interned at Scapa Flow since the Armistice - began to founder, taking their British custodians completely by surprise. In breach of agreed terms, the fleet dramatically scuttled itself, in a well-planned operation that consigned nearly half a million tons, and 54 of 72 ships, to the bottom of the sheltered anchorage in a gesture of Wagnerian proportions. This much is well-known, but even a century after the 'Grand Scuttle' many questions remain. Was von Reuter, the fleet's commander, acting under orders or was it his own initiative? Why was 21 June chosen? Did the British connive in, or even encourage the action? Could more have been done to save the ships? Was it legally justified? And what were the international ramifications? This new book analyses all these issues, beginning with the fleet mutiny in the last months of the War that precipitated a social revolution in Germany and the eventual collapse of the will to fight. The Armistice terms imposed the humiliation of virtual surrender on the High Seas Fleet, and the conditions under which it was interned are described in detail. Meanwhile the victorious Allies wrangled over the fate of the ships, an issue that threatened the whole peace process. Using much new material from German sources and a host of eye-witness testimonies, the circumstances of the scuttling itself are meticulously reconstructed, while the aftermath for all parties is clearly laid out. The story concludes with 'the biggest salvage operation in history' and a chapter on the significance of the scuttling to the post-war balance of naval power. Published to coincide with the centenary, this book is an important reassessment of the last great action of the First World War."--Provided by the publisher 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.353(43)
The first HMS Invincible (1747-58) : her excavations (1980-1991) /by John M. Bingeman. "In 1980, following the discovery of a wreck off the south coast by a local fisherman, John Bingeman applied for a Government Protection Order and subsequently identified the ship as the Royal Navy's first Invincible (1747-58). Invincible was a 74-gun warship that came to grief on Sunday the 19th February 1758 off Portsmouth. She was sailing as part of the expedition to besiege the French Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. This was the beginning of a progressive series of military operations leading to the eventual colonisation of Canada. The Ship, brought into British service when only three years old, was the first newly designed 74-gun warship to be captured from the French. It represented a significant step forward in ship construction and was to become the prototype for a new generation of British men-of-war. In 1758 when Invincible foundered, she was a British ship-of-the-line fully equipped for an expedition abroad. Although her guns and much of her equipment were salvaged at the time, she was subsequently abandoned with a considerable amount of equipment still onboard. This volume includes a description of Invincible 's building as a French warship; her capture in 1747 by the Royal Navy, her foundering in the Solent, and the 1979-1990 excavations of the wreck site. Particular attention is paid to the artefacts recovered, which have provided naval archaeologists and historians with a time capsule of equipment aboard a warship in the mid-18th century. In addition, because Invincible was carrying troops to Canada, the wreck site contained regimental equipment, including army buttons that pre-dated previously accepted dates and are therefore of great significance to army historians."--Provided by the publisher. 2010. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 930.26(204)
The Naval Institute guide to combat fleets of the world, 16th edition : their ships, aircraft, and systems /Eric Wertheim. "Called 'the nation's premier naval reference book',The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World is internationally acknowledged as the best one-volume reference to the world's naval and paranaval forces. Updated regularly since 1976, it has come to be relied on for all-inclusive, accurate, and up-to-date data on the ships, navies, coast guards, and naval aviation arms of more than 170 countries and territories. Large fleets and small maritime forces get equally thorough treatment. Comprehensive indexes make the book easy to use and allow for quick comparisons between ships and fleets. This new 16th edition, presents information on all the major and minor maritime developments that could impact the world scene in the years to come. Heavily illustrated with 4,450 black & white photos and 179 multi-view line drawings, Combat Fleets provides the user with the most detailed views available for identification and comparison purposes. Additional aids for the user include a section on how to use the book, lists of terms and abbreviations,an informative ship-name index, and more. An expanded chapter on the Chinese navy provides major updates on the status of their new aircraft carrier and the latest Chinese submarines, surface ships and naval missiles. Dozens of detailed line drawings depict exactly where weapons and sensors are located on the world's combatants such as the Iranian Ghadir-class submarines, the French Forbin-class destroyers, and the U.S. Navy's Littoral Combat Ships. The ship data section for each country provides full coverage of all ships, from the largest aircraft carriers to the smallest training and auxiliary craft. The vessels of the world's coast guards and customs services are given thorough treatment as well. But the book is much more than a ship encyclopedia. It includes information on the personnel strengths of each country's naval forces, major base locations, and details on maritime radar, sonar, naval aircraft, and weapon systems currently in service."--Provided by the publisher. 2012. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82(100)
HMS Terror / Matthew Betts. "In the summer of 1845, Sir John Franklin and a crew of 128 men entered Lancaster Sound on board HMS Erebus and HMS Terror in search of a Northwest Passage. The sturdy former bomb ships were substantially strengthened and fitted with the latest technologies for polar service and, at the time, were the most advanced sailing vessels developed for Polar exploration. Both ships, but especially HMS Terror, had already proven their capabilities in the Arctic and Antarctic. With such sophisticated, rugged, and successful vessels, victory over the Northwest Passage seemed inevitable, yet the entire crew vanished, and the ships were never seen again by Europeans. Finally, in 2014, the wreck of HMS Erebus was discovered by Parks Canada. Two years later, the wreck of HMS Terror was found, sitting upright, in near pristine condition. The extraordinarily well-preserved state and location of the ships, so far south of their last reported position, raises questions about the role they played in the tragedy. Did the extraordinary capabilities of the ships in fact contribute to the disaster? Never before has the Franklin Mystery been comprehensively examined through the lens of its sailing technology. This book documents the history, design, modification, and fitting of HMS Terror, one of the world?s most successful polar exploration vessels. Part historical narrative and part technical design manual, this book provides, for the first time, a complete account of Terror's unique career, as well as an assessment of her sailing abilities in polar conditions, a record of her design specifications, and a full set of accurate plans of her final 1845 configuration. Based on meticulous historical research, the book details the ship's every bolt and belaying pin, and ends with the discovery and identification of the wreck in 2016, explaining how the successes and ice-worthiness of Terror may have contributed to the Franklin disaster itself. It is an ideal reference for those interested in the Franklin Mystery, in polar exploration, the Royal Navy, and in ship design and modelling." -- Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82TERROR
Radio man : Marconi Sahib /Mahrie Locket. "Radio Man consists of never before published stories and pictures about the British Merchant Marine seen through the eyes of Ship's Radio Officer Alan Patterson. His captivating diaries offer rare 1st- person insight to the harrowing state of the Pacific theatre at the time, taking us from 1938 through to the end of the war. Here is a glimpse of a typical day in Alan's life as the Ship's Radio Man. "We saw no patrol ships at all while at sea, the poor old Merchant Service had to just plug along on its own with no protection and no guns. However, the Navy had put a gun platform on our stern before we left, so we built an imitation of a gun with a mast spar and an empty oil drum. We hoped that if a sub saw it at a distance it might possibly mistake it for a gun and so prevent it surfacing and shelling us. I couldn't help thinking how futile and rather pathetic this was but still while there is life there is hope. We arrived in Calcutta safely-- thanks to no one but ourselves. Shortly after this trip we were given guns and taught how to use them!" Alan and his crew managed to escape submarine wolf packs several times. On one especially dangerous run near India, he discovered that the fine bunch of courageous men from the ship he had just left had been blown to bits while returning to India on a British India Vessel loaded with munitions. Alan writes about more than just the war however. His diary is also a wealth of historical sidebars and anecdotal observations covering both India and Burma as World War II smouldered ominously in the closing distance. Here is one of those obscure front-row seats which imparts a genuine sense of immediacy to the turbulence of the the times. One can almost sense the destruction and devastation caused by the bombing and the plundering as Alan's eye-witness accounts unfold before you. Radio Man is a fascinating read and it will keep you intrigued until the very end."--Provided by the publisher. 2007. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 377.6:656.61