Royal Navy Handbook

Royal Navy Handbook PDF

Author: David W. Wragg

Publisher: Sutton Pub Limited

Published: 2006

Total Pages: 310

ISBN-13: 9780750942034

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In 1914, the Royal Navy was the largest in the world, as the 'two power standard' meant that it had to be equal to the combined strength of any two other fleets. Yet, the Royal Navy had also suffered from almost a century without war. This handbook tells the story of how the 'Senior Service' adapted to the demands of war.

German Navy Handbook, 1939-1945

German Navy Handbook, 1939-1945 PDF

Author: Jak P. Mallmann Showell

Publisher: Sutton Publishing

Published: 1999

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13:

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Synonymous with such infamous battleships as the Bismarck, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, the German Navy (or Reichsmarine) was renamed the Kriegsmarine in 1935, shortly after the emergence of the Nazi State, and went through a major re-organization in 1939. During World War II, it became a much-feared adversary both on and beneath the high seas, with its marauding U-boat wolf packs coming close to defeating Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic. The author of this text examines the different roles of the Fleet, and its organization and training activities during the war years. Incidents and operations are described, together with technical data for ships, U-boats and their weaponry. A guide to German Navy uniforms and insignia is included, together with full details of rank structure and specialist trades.

The Fleet Air Arm Handbook, 1939-1945

The Fleet Air Arm Handbook, 1939-1945 PDF

Author: David W. Wragg

Publisher: Sutton Publishing

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13:

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The Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-45 is the most comprehensive review available of the Royal Navy's air power during the war years. Starting with a brief history, the book progresses with a full war diary of all of the major operations in a gripping narrative account. In-depth analysis reveals what it was like to work as part of the Fleet Air Arm during the war - the food, accommodation, training, activities and uniform; and gives a glimpse into the men's characters. At the outbreak of the Second World War, British naval aviation was in the midst of chaos and confusion. But as this book shows, the rapid expansion of the Fleet Air Arm was one of the major achievements of the war. The author provides a detailed look at the aircraft, squadrons, naval air stations and aircraft carriers, battleships and cruisers involved. The book ends with a review of what is available at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton.

Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945

Fleet Air Arm Handbook 1939-1945 PDF

Author: DAVID. WRAGG

Publisher:

Published: 2019-07

Total Pages: 264

ISBN-13: 9780750993036

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Fleet Air Arm Handbook is the most comprehensive review available of the Royal Navy's air power during the war years. Starting with a brief history, the book progresses with a full war diary of all the major operations in a gripping narrative account. We see the different functions of the Fleet Air Arm - to protect the essential supplies brought by merchant ships, and their close support of sea and ground forces, both from carriers at sea and bases ashore. In-depth analysis reveals what life was like in the Fleet Air Arm during the war; the food, accommodation, training, activities, uniform, and the relationship between aircrew and their shipmates aboard the Royal Navy's carriers. Each squadron, wing and carrier air group is listed along with their operations and locations. This is a well-researched tribute to an important force and is essential reading for anyone interested in naval or aviation activity during the Second World War.

RAF Handbook 1939-1945

RAF Handbook 1939-1945 PDF

Author: David Wragg

Publisher: Sutton Pub Limited

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 9780750943611

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This book is a comprehensive, single source reference on the RAF and the vital part it played in the Second World War. The chapters that follow look at the structure of the RAF, the main aircraft types used are listed, a full listing of squadrons and airfields in the British Isles. The training of personnel, and such matters as uniforms, rank insignia, medals and life on a typical airfield, are also covered. The main battles or campaigns in which the service was involved are also described.

Naval Warfare in the English Channel, 1939–1945

Naval Warfare in the English Channel, 1939–1945 PDF

Author: Peter C. Smith

Publisher: Casemate Publishers

Published: 2007-11-13

Total Pages: 526

ISBN-13: 1781596352

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This WWII history examines how the Royal Navy defended the English Channel from the first Dover Patrols to the liberation of the Channel Islands. The English Channel has always provided Great Britain with a natural defensive barrier, but it was never more vital than in the early days of World War Two. This book relates how the Royal Navy maintained control of that vital seaway throughout the war. Military historian Peter Smith takes readers from the early days of the Dover Patrols, through the traumas of the Dunkirk evacuation and the battles of the Channel convoys; the war against the E-boats and U-boats; the tragic raids at Dieppe and St Nazaire; the escape of the German battle-fleet; coastal convoys; the Normandy landings and the final liberation of the Channel Islands. Many wartime photographs, charts and tables add to this superb account of this bitterly contested narrow sea.

British Aircraft Carriers 1939–45

British Aircraft Carriers 1939–45 PDF

Author: Angus Konstam

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-12-20

Total Pages: 78

ISBN-13: 1782008411

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With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these carriers battled the Axis powers in every theatre, attacking Italian naval bases, hunting the Bismark, and even joining the fight in the Pacific. This book tells the story of the small, but resilient, carriers and the crucial role they played in the British war effort.

Royal Navy Handbook 1939-1945

Royal Navy Handbook 1939-1945 PDF

Author: David Wragg

Publisher: The History Press

Published: 2005-08-25

Total Pages: 282

ISBN-13: 0750954280

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Overstretched from the start of the Second World War in 1939, the Royal Navy acquired First World War surplus destroyers from the United States Navy and embarked on a massive programme of construction, building and buying aircraft carriers, escort carriers and frigates and corvettes, building up a powerful submarine arm and, almost from scratch, re-creating the naval air arm taken from it in 1918. The service had to learn fast. It soon became clear that the Germans would not provide an opportunity for a major battleship to battleship fleet action along the lines of Jutland, but that submarine warfare and surface raiders were to be just as effective at undermining the British war effort. The Royal Navy was expected to be active in the North Atlantic and in British waters, and then after the Soviet Union was invaded by Germany, it had to protect the Arctic convoys. Meanwhile, it also had to keep control of the Mediterranean, alone after the fall of France, supporting ground forces in North Africa and then in Greece, send convoys to Malta and disrupt the Axis supply lines both in the Mediterranean and off the coast of Norway, and then it had to face the Japanese in the Far East. By the war's end the Royal Navy had grown from its pre-war strength of 129,000 to 863,000 men. Its fleet had also grown from 12 to 61 battleships and cruisers, seven to 59 aircraft carriers, and 100 to 846 destroyers, by 1945.