The author of Blitzkrieg covers one of the most dramatic events of the Second World War in an "outstanding book about naval warfare" ( World War II History).When the German battleship Bismarck—a masterpiece of engineering, well-armored with a main artillery of eight 15-inch guns—left the port of Gotenhafen for her first operation on the night of May 18, 1941, the British battlecruiser Hood and the new battleship...

The authors of Bismarck deliver "a very good account of the Tirpitz and of the naval war in the North Atlantic and Norwegian waters" during World War II ( NYMAS Review).After the Royal Navy's bloody high seas campaign to kill the mighty Bismarck, the Allies were left with an uncomfortable truth—the German behemoth had a twin sister. Slightly larger than her sibling, the Tirpitz was equally capable of destroying any other battleship afloat, as well...

The Imperial Japanese Navy of World War II surpassed the Allied and Axis fleets in innovation and technology.This illustrated guide covers the 12 Japanese battleships that saw service between 1941 and 1945, including the mighty Yamato. Each class is considered in light of its design and construction, its armament and wartime modifications. Mark Stille uses primary sources and dramatic photographs to tell the story of these mighty battleships at war, including their...

In this comprehensive book, the wartime development of the U-Boat is traced along with the experiences of typical U-Boat crewmen, from recruitment to combat.Germany's World War II U-Boat fleet represented the elite of their naval personnel. In terms of technology, training, tactics and combat successes, the U-Boat Waffe was far superior to that of any other combatant nation. Gordon Williamson examines the operational tactics of the U-Boat fleet, as well as describi...

In February 1942, three of the major ships of the German surface fleet – the battle-cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, and the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen – stormed out of the harbour at Brest on a dramatic voyage back to Germany. Passing through the straights of Dover, the ships faced everything the Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy could throw at them. In a dramatic running fight, the ships managed to sail right under the nose of history's greatest maritime nation to reach the safety of ...

"The hunting down and sinking of the magnificent German battle cruiser Scharnhorst was one of the epic actions of World War II . . . stirring" ( Work Boat).On December 25, 1943, the German battle cruiser Scharnhorst slipped out of Altenfjord in Norway to attack Arctic convoy JW55B which was carrying vital war supplies to the Soviet Union. But British naval intelligence knew of the Scharnhorst's mission before she sailed, and the ...

The biography of a British battleship, from an author with " a facility for rendering nonfiction into a narrative as brisk and readable as a novel" ( HistoryNet).The Second World War battleship HMS Rodney achieved lasting fame for her role in destroying the pride of Hitler's navy, the mighty Bismarck, in a thrilling duel. The Rodney, carrying the largest guns ever mounted in a British warship, finally succeeded i...

This is the wartime history of the battleship HMS Royal Sovereign, along with the story of her four sister ships HMS Revenge, HMS Resolution, HMS Royal Oak and HMS Ramillies. These ships were built and launched during World War I and although old and slow, and bitterly criticised by Churchill and others as being "Coffin Ships", the Royal Sovereign class battleships in fact played a valiant and doughty role in World War II. The Royal Oak was an early loss, thanks mainly to pre-war Governmen...

The last great untold story of World War II, the career of Hitler's "Super Fighter" intended to destroy the RAF in the Battle of Britain and why it never succeeded.The super-secret Heinkel He113 fighter was designed to be a high-speed, high-altitude fighter that could outperform, outgun and outfight any other aircraft in the world when it entered service with the Luftwaffe in 1940.

A true account of a unique event in naval history from "a superb storyteller" ( Northern Mariner).On June 21, 1919, the German High Seas Fleet, one of the most formidable ever built, was deliberately sent to the bottom of the sea at the British Grand Fleet's principal anchorage at Orkney by its own officers and men.The Grand Scuttle became a folk legend in both Germany and Britain. However, few people are aware that Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter b...

A fascinating and lively account of the lives of British warships named London, looking at history from the perspective of the men who were there.There is no current warship in the Royal Navy called HMS London, but vessels carrying the name have featured in some of the most controversial episodes of British naval history.For example, the wooden wall battleship HMS London of the late 18th century could be called "the ship that lost A...

There are few moments in American history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force (the Kido Butai) had been sunk and their grip on the Pacific had been loosened forever. In this absolutely riveting account of a key moment in the history of World War II, one of America's leading naval historians, Craig L. Symonds paints an unfo...