This new addition to the Images of War series takes as its focus the early Big Gun battleships that saw development and deployment during the First World War. Iconic ships such as HMS Warspite and Malaya feature amidst this pictorial history that is sure to appeal to fans of the series, and naval enthusiasts in particular. ??Vessels featured include the battleship Royal Sovereign, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, the cruiser HMS Gloucester, the Queen Elizabeth class battleship HMS Barham and the Italian battleships Littorio, Cesare, Duillo, Vittorio Veneto, Conte di Cavour and Doria, amongst many others. British and international battleships feature side by side in a publication that offers a truly representative selection of the kind of vessels in action at this time.
At the outbreak of World War II the German Kriegsmarine still had a relatively small U-boat arm. To reach Britain's convoy routes in the North Atlantic, these boats had to pass around the top of the British Isles - a long and dangerous voyage to their "hunting grounds". Germany's larger surface warships were much better suited to this kind of long-range operation. So, during late 1939 the armoured cruiser Deutschland, and later the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were used as commerce raiders, to strike at Allied convoys in the North Atlantic. These sorties met with mixed results, but for Germany's naval high command they showed that this kind of operation had potential. Then, the fall of France, Denmark and Norway in early 1940 dramatically altered the strategic situation. The Atlantic was now far easier to reach, and to escape from. During 1940, further moderately successful sorties were made by the cruisers Admiral Scheer and Admiral Hipper. By the end of the year, with British mercantile losses mounting to surface raiders and U-Boats, plans were developed for a much larger raid, first using both cruisers, and then the two battlecruisers. The climax of this was Operation Berlin, the Kriegsmarine's largest and most wide-ranging North Atlantic sortie so far. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau remained at sea for two months, destroying 22 Allied merchant ships, and severely disrupting Britain's lifeline convoys. So, when the operation ended, the German commander, Admiral Lütjens was ordered to repeat his success - this time with the brand new battleship Bismarck. The rest, as they say, is history. These earlier Atlantic raids demonstrated that German surface ships could be highly effective commerce raiders. For those willing to see though, they also demonstrated just how risky this strategy could be. Covering a fascinating and detailed analysis of the Kriegsmarine's Atlantic raids between 1939 and 1941, this book will appeal to readers interested in World War II and in particular in Germany's naval operations.
The launch in 1606 of HMS Dreadnought, the worlds's first all-big-gun battleship, rendered all existing battle fleets obsolete, but at the same time it wiped out the Royal Navy's numerical advantage, so expensively maintained for decades. Already locked in the same arms race with Germany, Britain urgently needed to build an entirely new battle fleet of these larger, more complex and more costly vessels In this she succeeded spectacularly; in little over a decade fifty such ships were completed, almost exactly double that of what Germany achieved It was only made possible by the companyÍs vast industrial nexus of shipbuilders, engine manufacturers, armament fleets and specialist armour producers, whose contribution to the Grand Feet is too often ignored. This heroic achievement, and how it was done, is the subject of this book. It charts the rise of the large industrial conglomerates that were key to this success, looks at the reaction to fast-moving technical changes, and analyses the politics of funding this vast national effort, both before and beyond the Great War. It also attempts to assess the true cost- and value- of the Grand Fleet in terms of the resources consumed. And finally, by way of contrast, it describes the effects of the post-war recession, industrial contraction, and the very different responses to rearmament in the run up to the Second World War.
Beginning with a pictorial essay on battleship construction in the 1930s and 1940s, this new book looks at the various design facets of the last great capital ships of the world's navies. Kaplan offers us a glimpse into those massive American and German navy yards and construction facilities that were put to use during this time, acquainting us with the arenas in which these final examples of battleship technology were laid down, built up, launched, fitted out, commissioned and taken out to sea. The book roots itself in a period of monumental change within the history of contemporary warfare. With the baton being passed from the battleship community to that of the aircraft carrier, the iconic battleship was gradually superseded by a new and even more threatening weapons system. It was destined to be consigned to the history books, whilst newer, slicker and more efficient fighting machines took precedence. This publication serves as a tribute to a lost legend of naval warfare. There is a look at some of modern history's most significant battleships, relaying their thrilling stories, defining characteristics and eventual fates. Ships featured include Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Warspite, Tirpitz and Yamato. The book is completed with 'Fast and Last', a visit on board the four final examples of battleship technology and design, the last serving battleships USS Iowa, USS New Jersey, USS Wisconsin, and USS Missouri. Their Second World War careers are recounted, as are the qualities that made them special.
The story of the HMS Hood, the last great warship of the British Royal Navy, told by the bestselling author of Hannibal. When it was launched in 1918, the HMS Hood was the flagship of the Royal Navy. As a battle cruiser, “The Mighty Hood” was fast enough to evade enemy cruiser ships and powerful enough to destroy them. But for all the Hood’s might, it had one fatal flaw: armor had been sacrificed for speed. In 1941, the Hood confronted the legendary German warship Bismarck. A salvo from the enemy penetrated the Hood’s ammunition magazine, destroying the British ship and killing all but three of its crew. The brutal defeat marked the end of the Royal Navy’s dominance. But it also inspired Winston Churchill’s vow to sink the Bismarck—a vow that in time was fulfilled. Through oral history and documentary research, Ernle Bradford chronicles the Hood’s career from design to demise, with colorful insight into life aboard the ship as well as its broader historical significance.
1906-1945 saw the power of artillery at sea challenged by torpedo boats and submarines, and later by aircraft. Taking the decline of the all-big-gun battleship as its main theme, this book charts the development of all warship types of the period, from the aircraft carrier to small costal vessels.
A fully illustrated compendium of carefully organized information on US battleships written by a noted naval historian and author. For nearly half a century, the battleship was the most powerful weapon on the ocean, deployed by the US Navy and many other fleets. However, their time seemed to be at an end when Japanese carrier-based aircraft destroyed so many at Pearl Harbor in 1941, ushering in the age of the aircraft carrier. Nevertheless, US battleships continued to serve with distinction in various roles throughout World War II and during the Cold War. Naval historian Ingo Bauernfeind tells the dramatic yet successful story of the US Navy’s battleships and battle cruisers by class, ranging from the early Dreadnought-type of the South Carolina-class to the gigantic but never-built Montana-class. This fully illustrated volume gives a clear overview of each ship’s career, its fate and highlights its significance in American naval history. Besides covering various battles in the Pacific, it also describes the important actions of US battleships providing shore bombardment during the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa as well as during the D-day landings in Normandy, thus illustrating their contribution to Allied victory in World War II. Moreover, it covers the little-known actions of the Iowa-class during the Korean and Vietnam wars and even during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, when the modernized USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin fired guided missiles and operated drones in addition to the use of their historic 16-inch guns. This volume culminates in a guided tour through the mighty USS Missouri, an overview of the other seven preserved US battleships serving as floating museums for future generations, as well as a dive to the sunken USS Arizona and USS Utah at Pearl Harbor.
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