Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

A history of women in astronomy and space exploration : exploring the trailblazers of STEM /Dale DeBakcsy. "For the last four hundred years, women have played a part far in excess of their numerical representation in the history of astronomical research and discovery. It was a woman who gave us our first tool for measuring the distances between stars, and another who told us for the first time what those stars were made of. It was women who first noticed the rhythmic noise of a pulsar, the temperature discrepancy that announced the existence of white dwarf stars, and the irregularities in galactic motion that informed us that the universe we see might be only a small part of the universe that exists. And yet, in spite of the magnitude of their achievements, for centuries women were treated as essentially second-class citizens within the astronomical community, contained in back rooms, forbidden from communicating with their male colleagues, provided with repetitive and menial tasks, and paid starvation wages. This book tells the tale of how, in spite of all those impediments, women managed, by sheer determination and genius, to unlock the secrets of the night sky. It is the story of some of science's most hallowed names - Maria Mitchell, Caroline Herschel, Vera Rubin, Nancy Grace Roman, and Jocelyn Bell-Burnell - and also the story of scientists whose accomplishments were great, but whose names have faded through lack of use - Queen Seondeok of Korea, who built an observatory in the 7th century that still stands today, Wang Zhenyi, who brought heliocentrism to China, Margaret Huggins, who perfected the techniques that allowed us to photograph stellar spectra and thereby completely changed the direction of modern astronomy, and Hisako Koyama, whose multi-decade study of the sun's surface is as impressive a feat of steadfast scientific dedication as it is a rigorous and valuable treasure trove of solar data. A History of Women in Astronomy and Space Exploration is not only a book, however, of those who study space, but of those who have ventured into it, from the fabled Mercury 13, whose attempt to join the American space program was ultimately foiled by betrayal from within, to mythical figures like Kathryn Sullivan and Sally Ride, who were not only pioneering space explorers, but scientific researchers and engineers in their own rights, aided in their work by scientists like Mamta Patel Nagaraja, who studied the effects of space upon the human body, and computer programmers like Marianne Dyson, whose simulations prepared astronauts for every possible catastrophe that can occur in space."--Provided by the publisher. 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 520.9252

Hitler's Munich man : the downfall of Admiral Sir Barry Domvile /Martin Connolly. "Between the First and Second World Wars, there was a growth of fascism in Britain and anxiety about revolution was in the air. Concerns of a possible Fascist attempt to overthrow the established order were high, not to mention the rise of Hitler and the threat of invasion. With secret clubs and clandestine meetings now a threat, the security services decided to infiltrate their ranks. Sir Barry Domvile had served with honour during the First World War and had risen to Director of Naval Intelligence. He became involved with Oswald Mosley and other far right leaders, also visiting prominent Nazis in Germany, with whom he became enamoured and forming 'The Link', a far right, pro-German organisation. Concerns were raised and in 1940 he, along with his wife and son, were detained and imprisoned without trial under Regulation 18B of the Defence (General) Regulations 1939, under suspicion of being involved in a secret plot to bring in a Fascist Government. Hitler's Munich Man gives a detailed account of Domvile's background, detention and hearings that were held behind closed doors and reveals the extent of his Fascism, pro-German attitudes and anti-Semitism. The first book to throw a spotlight on the saga, it examines his writings, both open and issued under a pseudonym, and considers the legitimacy of his detention. With photographs from the German archives, substantial coverage using the Secret Service files, Domvile's personal diaries and other sources, the book will illuminate and inform the reader."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 940.531630941

Explorers and their quest for North America / Philip J. Potter. "On 11 October 1492 the sun set on a clear Atlantic Ocean horizon and the night was cloudless with a late rising moon. As the lookouts high in the riggings of Christopher Columbus' three ships strained their eyes into the golden light of the moon, near two o'clock in the morning the watchman on the Pinta shouted out, 'Land, land' igniting the era of exploration to the New World. The Age of Discovery became an epic adventure sweeping across the continent of North America, as the trailblazers dared to challenge the unknown wilderness to advance mankind's knowledge of the world. Explorers Discovering North America traces the history of the discovery, exploration and settlement of the western hemisphere through the comprehensive biographies of fourteen explorers, who had the courage and inquisitiveness to search the limits of the world. The book features many famous adventurers including Hernan Cortes whose victorious battles against the Aztecs conquered Mexico for Spain, Henry Hudson's sea voyages in search of the Northwest Passage led to the colonization of New York and exploration of the Hudson Bay in Canada, while Meriwether Lewis' journey across the Louisiana Purchase began the mass migration of settlers to western America. Among the lesser known explorers discussed in the work are Vitus Bering whose discovery of Alaska established Russia's claim to the region and Alexander Mackenzie's 107-day trek across western Canada that opened the frontier to settlement, commerce and development of its natural resources. From Columbus to Lewis the exploration of the New World became one of humankind's greatest quests that altered history forever."--Provided by the publisher 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(7)

The Kaiser's battlefleet : German capital ships 1870-1918 /Aidan Dodson. "The battleships of the Third Reich have been written about exhaustively, but there is little in English devoted to their predecessors of the Second Reich. This new book fills an important gap in the literature of the period by covering these German capital ships in detail and studying the full span of battleship development during this period. The book is arranged as a chronological narrative, with technical details, construction schedules and ultimate fates tabulated throughout, thus avoiding the sometimes disjointed structure that can result from a class-by-class approach. Heavily illustrated with line work and photographs, many from German sources, the book offers readers a fresh visual look at these ships, beyond the limited range of images available from UK sources. A key objective of the book is to make available a full synthesis of the published fruits of archival research by German writers found in the pre-WW2 books of Koop & Schmolke, Grossmer's on the construction programme of the dreadnaught era, Forstmeier & Breyer on WW1 projects, and Schenk & Nottelmann's papers in Warship International. As well as providing data not available in English-language books, these sources correct significant errors in the 'standard' English sources. This entirely fresh study will appeal to historians of WWI German naval developments as well as to enthusiasts and model makers." --Provided by the publisher. 2016. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.821(43)"1871/1918"

Abandon ship! : the post-war memoirs of Captain Tony McCrum, RN /Tony McCrum. "Captain Tony McCrum's naval career started in 1932. He survived the sinking of HMS Skipjack at Dunkirk and went on to serve on minesweepers and at sea during the landings at Salerno. His wartime experiences were recently published as Sunk by Stukas. This book covers the second part of his naval career between 1945 and 1963. Having arrived back in Plymouth from Trincomlee as a lieutenant aboard the destroyer Tarter in November 1945, his first appointment was as senior instructor at the RN Signals School in Devonport. There then followed two appointments as Flag Lieutenant; first to Admiral Pridham-Wippell, CinC Plymouth Command and then Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor, CinC Home Fleet, where he was also Deputy Fleet Communications Officer. He was based on the admiral's flagship, the battleship HMS Duke of York which he joined in 1947. The fleet exercised in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and 'showed the flag' in various ports in the USA, Caribbean Islands and the Baltic. In May 1948 he was promoted Lt. Commander. In 1950 he instructed at the main Naval Signals School at Leyedene House near Petersfield. Promoted Commander, now 32 years of age, he was surprised to be appointed to accompany King George VI on a state visit to Australia and New Zealand. This was to be aboard the liner SS Gothic as there was no Royal Yacht at that time. However after months of preparation the voyage was cancelled because of the King's terminal illness and the coronation of Britain's new Queen. In November 1954 he took his first command, HMS Concord, a destroyer in the 8th Destroyer Squadron based in Hong Kong. During his eighteen month captaincy of this ship he saw action off the coast of Malaya and a lengthy visit to Australia to assist in the aftermath of a hurricane. After a spell ashore as Training Commander at HMS Ganges and after promotion to Captain in 1958, he was sent to Norway on the staff of the CinC Northern European Command. In November 1960 he was again given a seagoing command. He was to skipper HMS Meon and responsibility for the Amphibious Warfare Squadron in the Persian Gulf. The squadron composed of Meon, two tank-landing ships, four tank-landing craft and a Rhino (a pontoon-like vessel for the shallow-water landing of tanks). He was ordered to cover an area extending from the East African coast, the Red Sea and to the Persian Gulf. Having worked-up this mixed bunch of vessels and their crews, plus army personnel he was confronted with the defence of Kuwait when it was threatened by the Iraqi dictator General Kassem in 1961. He was charged with landing the twelve tanks in his squadron to defend Kuwait's main port of Shuwaikh. This was successfully carried out under difficult circumstances and the Iraqi invasion was defeated. After 42 years in the RN, Tony retired to be with his wife and young family."--Provided by the publisher. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92MCCRUM

Action imminent : three studies of the naval war in the Mediterranean theatre during 1940 /Peter C. Smith. Smith, Peter C 1980. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.1

The company-state : corporate sovereignty and the early modern foundation of the British Empire in India /Philip J. Stern. Stern, Philip J. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 347.71EAST INDIA:325.36

Naval aviation in the Second World War : rare photographs from wartime archives /Philip Kaplan. "The first aircraft carriers made their appearance in the early years of World War I. These first flattops were improvised affairs built on hulls that had been laid down with other purposes in mind, and it was not until the 1920s that the first purpose-built carriers were launched, but no-one was as yet clear about the role of the carriers and they were largely unloved by the 'battleship admirals' who still believed that their great dreadnoughts were the ultimate capital ships. World War II changed all that, At Taranto, Pearl Harbour, and in the North Atlantic, the carrier, the ugly duckling of the world's navies, proved itself to be the dreadnought nemesis. As the tide of war turned, the fast attack carriers of the U.S. Navy spearheaded the counter-attack in the Pacific while the makeshift escort carriers helped to seal the fate of the German U-boats in the Atlantic. The carrier, and naval aviation, thus emerged into the post-war world as the primary symbol and instrument of seapower; it would play a crucial role in the strategic encirclement of the Soviet Union and enabled western airpower to be rapidly and effectively deployed in areas of conflict as remote as Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands and the Gulf. Kaplan describes the adventure of the young American, British, and Japanese naval aviators in the Second World War. It is an account of their experiences based on archives, diaries, published and unpublished memoirs, and personal interviews with veteran naval airmen of WWII, providing a vivid and often hair-raising picture of the dangers they encountered in combat and of everyday life aboard an aircraft carrier. It considers some of the key aspects of the WWII naval aviator's combat career, such as why it was that only a tiny minority of these pilots - those in whom the desire for aerial combat overrode everything - accounted for such a large proportion of the victories. In the major carrier actions of that conflict, from the Royal Navy's attack on Taranto which crippled the Italian fleet in 1940, to the Japanese carrier-launched surprise attack on U.S. Navy battleships and facilities at Pearl Harbour in 1941, to the carrier battle of Midway in 1942, and the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot of 1944, through the Japanese Kamikaze campaign against the U.S. Carriers in the final stages of the Pacific war, this book takes the reader back to one of the most exciting and significant times in modern history."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.7"1939/1945"

The Kaiser's pirates : hunting Germany's raiding cruisers in World War I /Nick Hewitt. "The Kaiser's Pirates is a dramatic and little-known story of World War I, when the actions of a few men shaped the fate of nations. By 1914 Germany had ships and sailors scattered across the globe, protecting its overseas colonies and 'showing the flag' of its new Imperial Navy. After war broke out on August 4 there was no hope that they could reach home. Instead, they were ordered to attack Britain's vital trade routes for as long as possible. Under the leadership of a few brilliant, audacious men, they unleashed a series of raids that threatened Britain's war effort and challenged the power and prestige of the Royal Navy. The next year saw a battle of wits which stretched across the globe, drawing in ships and men from six empires. By the end, the 'Kaiser's Pirates' were no more, and Britain once again ruled the waves. Including vivid descriptions of the battles of Coronel and the Falklands and the actions of the Emden, the Goeben and the Breslau, the Karsrèuhe and the Kèonigsberg, The Kaiser's Pirates tells a fascinating narrative that ranges across the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, and the Caribbean."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.459(43)

Britain's maritime empire : Southern Africa, the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean, 1763-1820 /John McAleer "A fascinating new study in which John McAleer explores the maritime gateway to Asia around the Cape of Good Hope and its critical role in the establishment, consolidation and maintenance of the British Empire in the late eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Situated at the centre of a maritime chain that connected seas and continents, this gateway bridged the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, which, with its commercial links and strategic requirements, formed a global web that reflected the development of the British Empire in the period. The book examines how contemporaries perceived, understood and represented this area; the ways in which it worked as an alternative hub of empire, enabling the movement of people, goods, and ideas, as well as facilitating information and intelligence exchanges; and the networks of administration, security and control that helped to cement British imperial power"-- 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 941-44

Normandy, the sailors' story: a naval history of D-Day and the battle for France /Nick Hewitt. "On 6 June 1944, Operation Neptune began. The D-Day landings in Normandy, involving 7,000 ships and nearly 200,000 sailors, formed the largest seaborne invasion in history. Nick Hewitt draws on groundbreaking new material to chart the complex campaign at sea which enabled the Allied assult, and the violent sea battle that mirrored the fighting on land. Aboard ships ranging from frail plywood landing craft to sleek destroyers, sailors were active combatants in the operation, having already worked tirelessly to secure the Seine Bay in the months preceding. They fought battles against German submarines, aircraft, and warships, and maintained careful watch to keep control of the English Channel. But despite this immense effort from the Navy, the wider maritime campaign has been broadly forgotten. Hewitt recounts these sailors' stories for the first time--and shows how, without their actions, D-Day would have failed."--Provided by the publisher. [2024] • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.54/21421

Down to the sea in submarines : a Cold War odyssey /Dan Conley ; foreweord by Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope GCB, OBE, DL. "This memoir charts the career of the author in the Royal Navy Submarine Service, and in doing so details many of the Silent Service's remarkable achievements since the end of the Second World War. And it provides a dramatic first-hand account of the underwater confrontation during the Cold War between submarines of the West and those of the Soviet Union. Dan Conley narrates the successive stages from his basic submarine training to taking command of two nuclear attack submarines. He sets out in detail what life was like serving onboard submarines, and in particular the book describes the British submariner's remarkable transformation from a kind of buccaneering free spirit, serving on a worn-out WW2 boat during the sunset of the British Empire, to the highly professional individual who spends prolonged periods under the sea in a vessel which matches the complexity of a space craft. The book also sets out the long and difficult challenges encountered in developing effective weapon systems and discusses the difficulties and shortcomings in the UK?s defence procurement system, a situation which still exists today. Ultimately, however, Western technological superiority and crew proficiency enabled the submarines of the Royal and United States Navies to match those of the Soviet Union, and he describes vividly the suspense and tension of underwater confrontations which might so easily have escalated to another terrifyng dimension of warfare. Though the Cold War is in the past, the West now confronts an aggressive, recidivist Russia and a more aggressive China. Britain?s submarine force once again will be key to the security of all its citizens. This fine memoir, while capturing vividly the key events and history of the Cold War, will open the reader's eyes to the significance and importance today of the Royal Navy Submarine Service." 2024. • BOOK • 1 copy available.

National Maritime Museum : annual report : 1982. National Maritime Museum (Great Britain) [1983]. • PAMPHLET • 8 copies available. 069(26:421.6)

Born to be hanged : the epic story of the gentlemen pirates who raided the South Seas, rescued a princess, and stole a fortune /Keith Thomson. "The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than three hundred daring, hardened pirates-a potent mix of low-life scallywags and a rare breed of gentlemen buccaneers-gather on a remote Caribbean island. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Pacific coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become legends. So begins one of the greatest piratical adventures of the era - a story not given its full due until now. Inspired by the intrepid forays of pirate turned Jamaican governor Captain Henry Morgan - yes, that Captain Morgan - the company crosses Panama on foot, slashing its way through the Darien Isthmus, one of the thickest jungles on the planet, and liberating a native princess along the way. After reaching the South Sea, the buccaneers, primarily Englishmen, plunder the Spanish Main in a series of historic assaults, often prevailing against staggering odds and superior firepower. A collective shudder racks the western coastline of South America as the English pirates, waging a kind of proxy war against the Spaniards, gleefully undertake a brief reign over Pacific waters, marauding up and down the continent. With novelistic prose and a rip-roaring sense of adventure, Keith Thomson guides us through the pirates' legendary two-year odyssey. We witness the buccaneers evading Indigenous tribes, Spanish conquistadors, and sometimes even their own English countrymen, all with the ever-present threat of the gallows for anyone captured. By fusing contemporaneous accounts with intensive research and previously unknown primary sources, Born to Be Hanged offers a rollicking account of one of the most astonishing pirate expeditions of all time." 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 972.87/02

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