In the late nineteenth century, some of Britains leading main-line railway companies threw caution to the winds in an attempt to provide the fastest passenger express services between London and Scotland. These became known as the races to the north. There were two phases, in 1888 and 1895, and they spurred the building of new bridges across the Firth of Forth and Firth of Tay.David Wraggs gripping, detailed narrative tells the story of this epic engineering and commercial competition. He ...

Fighter Operations in Europe and North Africa 1939–1945 tells the story of Allied and German fighter pilots in Europe, over the Mediterranean and in North Africa during the Second World War. The book starts with the early skirmishes as each side tested the others defenses, moves through the Battle of Britain and then the Blitz, when the emphasis switched from single-engined day fighters to twin-engined night fighters, while increasingly fighters were used to sweep over enemy air fields and...

Rejoin fantasy’s most deadly and dysfunctional mercenaries in the sequel to debut sensation THE BLACK HAWKS.Bound by oath and honour, Vedren Chel found himself drawn to the heart of a deadly rebellion. With him stood the mercenaries of the Black Hawk Company, who were only ever in it for the money.But the uprising failed. Now, Chel and the sell-sword Rennic languish in prison, watching as their comrades are taken one by one for execution.A daring es...

Award-winning historian David Wragg's Second World War Carrier Campaigns explores how aircraft carriers changed the course of the war for Allied victory.Without the aircraft carrier, the Japanese would not have brought the United States into the Second World War through their attack on Pearl Harbor; without the carrier, the United States could not have rolled back the Japanese forces spread across the wide reaches of the Pacific and carried the war to Japan...

Full of David Wragg’s unique blend of humour, heart, and high stakes, The Company of the Wolf is the epic next instalment in the Tales of the Plains trilogy.Seeking a better life, Ree and Javani have travelled west into the mountains, and left their pasts – and their troubles – behind. But new places bring new problems, and when they stumble across a lone traveller under bandit attack, they make the mistake of lending a hand.Forced to take refuge in the traveller's...

For many the GWR was synonymous with holidays by the sea in the West Country, but it was built to serve as a fast railway line to London, especially for the merchants and financiers of Bristol. Its operations stretched as far as Merseyside, it provided most services in Wales, and it was the main line to Cardiff, Bristol, Cornwall and Birmingham. This book, a classic first published in 2006, reveals the equipment, stations, network, shipping and air services, bus operations...

Few modes of travel have the enduring appeal of steam railways. Today preserved lines, locomotives and rolling stock attract not just expert enthusiasts but more casual visitors who are keen to savor the distinctive atmosphere of a lost era in transport history. Yet these relics are but one aspect of the long story of steam, for they cannot reveal the human side of working life on the railways the experience of the railwaymen who operated the machinery of the steam age. It is this, the hum...

Dark, thrilling, and hilarious, The Black Hawks is an epic adventure perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch.Life as a knight is not what Vedren Chel imagined. Bound by oath to a dead-end job in the service of a lazy step-uncle, Chel no longer dreams of glory – he dreams of going home.When invaders throw the kingdom into turmoil, Chel finds opportunity in the chaos: if he escorts a stranded prince to safety, Chel will be released from h...

Rejoin fantasy’s most deadly and dysfunctional mercenaries in the sequel to debut sensation THE BLACK HAWKS.Bound by oath and honour, Vedren Chel found himself drawn to the heart of a deadly rebellion. With him stood the mercenaries of the Black Hawk Company, who were only ever in it for the money.But the uprising failed. Now, Chel and the sell-sword Rennic languish in prison, watching as their comrades are taken one by one for execution.A daring es...

To the US Navy they were CVEs! To the Royal Navy auxiliary carriers! To crews of endangered merchantmen in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans they were heaven-sent protection! To their crews they were Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable!The need for air cover against enemy aircraft and submarines brought unprecedented demand for carriers. Over 100 vessels were converted on specially built for convoy duty. This is their story, warts and all.

Dark, thrilling, and hilarious, The Black Hawks is an epic adventure perfect for fans of Joe Abercrombie and Scott Lynch.Life as a knight is not what Vedren Chel imagined. Bound by oath to a dead-end job in the service of a lazy step-uncle, Chel no longer dreams of glory – he dreams of going home.When invaders throw the kingdom into turmoil, Chel finds opportunity in the chaos: if he escorts a stranded prince to safety, Chel will be released from h...

Covers the Second World War Operations of the Royal Navy in One Concise VolumeOn the declaration of war in 1939, the British Admiralty signaled all warships and naval bases: Total Germany, Total Germany.”It was fortunate that of Germany’s three armed services, the Kriegsmarine, under Grosseradmiral Erich Raeder, was the least well prepared. They had not expected to fight all-out war for another two to three years. While Admiral Karl Dönitz’s U-boat force w...