Although it is a subject of immense importance to warship enthusiasts, modelmakers, photograph collectors, and indeed academic naval historians, there has never been an authoritative history of camouflage. Apart from the huge scale of the subject, the reason for this lies largely in the fragmented nature of the surviving evidence, and the ad hoc nature of much wartime development. This book does not claim to be such a narrative history, but it does set out to provide a comprehensive study. Visual and illustrative in its approach, it is Anglo-American in emphasis, but the camouflage patterns of enemy navies (and selected neutrals) are covered as well.
An extensive pictorial history of the official and unofficial camouflage paint schemes used by the Royal Navy and Commonwealth ships during World War II. During the Second World War navies developed low visibility camouflage for their ships, on both the vertical and horizontal surfaces, in order reduce visibility by blending in with the sea, or confuse the identity of a ship by applying more obtrusive patters. In this now classic work by maritime artist Mal Wright both the official and unofficial paint schemes that adorned ships of the Royal Navy and Commonwealth are depicted in detail, along with discussion on changes of armament and electronics that effected the outward appearance of each ship. Starting with destroyers from WW1 still in service during WW2, the book progressively covers ships below cruisers, class by class, to provide a detailed and easy-to-use guide to paint schemes in use. In some cases individual ships are shown in the several schemes they wore thus providing a source that covers various periods of service. With 740 full colour illustrations, all of named vessels, this book concentrates information into a single volume to provide a one-stop reference source, and, for the first time in a single volume, it covers not just the well-known ships, but also escort vessels, minesweepers, trawlers, coastal craft and auxiliaries in sequential format. Many schemes would be difficult for the reader to have found other than with the most intensive research so that historians, collectors, modelmakers and wargamers will find this unique reference source absolutely invaluable.
During the Second World War navies developed low visibility camouflage for their ships, on both the vertical and horizontal surfaces, in order reduce visibility by blending in with the sea, or confuse the identity of a ship by applying more obtrusive patters. In this the second volume by maritime artist Mal Wright, both the official and unofficial paint schemes that adorned the capital ships of the Royal Navy and Commonwealth are depicted in detail, along with discussions on changes of armament and electronics that effected the outward appearance of each ship. Beginning with the Royal Sovereign class, the book goes on to cover all the other battleship classes as well as the battlecruisers, monitors, the first and second generation carriers as well as light and escort carriers. Where possible both sides of the ship are depicted, and there are multiple images of the ships where armament or equipment changes had a fundamental impact on a ship's appearance. Overhead views are also included. With 525 full colour illustrations, arranged by ship type rather than camouflage scheme, this book concentrates the clearest possible information into a single volume to provide a one-stop reference source. Many schemes would be difficult for the reader to have found other than with the most intensive research so that historians, collectors, modelmakers and wargamers will find this unique reference source absolutely invaluable.
The real story of how Winston Churchill and the British mastered deception to defeat the Nazis - by conning the Kaiser, hoaxing Hitler and using brains to outwit brawn. By June 1940, most of Europe had fallen to the Nazis and Britain stood alone. So, with Winston Churchill in charge the British bluffed their way out of trouble, drawing on the trickery which had helped them win the First World War. They broadcast outrageous British propaganda on pretend German radio stations, broke German secret codes and eavesdropped on their messages. Every German spy in Britain was captured and many were used to send back false information to their controllers. Forged documents misled their intelligence. Bogus wireless traffic from entire phantom armies, dummy airfields with model planes, disguised ships and inflatable rubber tanks created a vital illusion of strength. Culminating in the spectacular misdirection that was so essential to the success of D-Day in 1944, Churchill's Wizards: The British Genius for Deception 1914-1945 is a thrilling work of popular military history filled with almost unbelievable stories of bravery, creativity and deception. Nicholas Rankin is the author of Dead Man's Chest, Telegram From Guernica and Ian Fleming's Commandos. 'This is a story clamouring to be told. We could not have imagined the scope of the inventiveness, the daring of these people's imaginations . . . I could not stop reading this book.' Doris Lessing
The "Interim" LSM(R) or Landing Ship, Medium (Rocket) was a revolutionary development in rocket warfare in World War II and the U.S. Navy's first true rocket ship. An entirely new class of commissioned warship and the forerunners of today's missile-firing naval combatants, these ships began as improvised conversions of conventional amphibious landing craft in South Carolina's Charleston Navy Yard during late 1944. They were rushed to the Pacific Theatre to support the U.S. Army and Marines with heavy rocket bombardments that devastated Japanese forces on Okinawa in 1945. Their primary mission was to deliver maximum firepower to enemy targets ashore. Yet LSM(R)s also repulsed explosive Japanese speed boats, rescued crippled warships, recovered hundreds of survivors at sea and were deployed as antisubmarine hunter-killers. Casualties were staggering: enemy gunfire blasted one, while kamikaze attacks sank three, crippled a fourth and grazed two more. This book provides a comprehensive operational history of the Navy's 12 original "Interim" LSM(R)s.
While many publications have engaged with the events, artists and poets associated with war fought on land, the cultural history of the war at sea has been neglected. This original book redresses this imbalance by being the first study to focus on the art of war in the first half of the 20th century from a distinctly naval and maritime perspective. Drawing on the first-class collections of paintings, works on paper (including drawings, photography and posters) and archival material, such as private papers, journals and memoirs, held at the National Maritime Museum, London, the artistic response to the war at sea is analysed in the context of specific focus points such as the major arenas of naval conflict; life on board ships, aircraft carriers and submarines; the experiences of prisoners of war and the response of artists to the commemoration and legacy of key maritime events. Featuring the work of established and lesser known artists, this publication will make an invaluable contribution to war art scholarship while also presenting a little known aspect of a major museum collection.
The USS Langley, the first American aircraft carrier, entered service in 1922. Despite being converted into an aircraft tender, it was the first step in a new direction for the US Navy and naval warfare. This book covers the design, development and operation of USN aircraft carriers built prior to World War II, including their aircraft and weaponry. It also explains their various successes and losses such as the first carrier vs carrier battle at Midway; the battle of the Coral Sea; the battle of the Philippine Sea; and the Operation Torch landings.
An expert account of how different countries have sought to hide their forces in plain view for the past century packed with photographs and colour artworks, Camouflage at War is a fascinating exploration of how the nature of combat has changed over the last hundred years.
Aircraft carriers were the US Navy's principal weapon against Japan during the Pacific War. Development of the Essex class began in 1939, becoming the largest class of carrier ever to be built. Early in the Pacific War it became renowned for its 'Sunday Punch' of 36 fighter planes, 36 dive bombers, and 18 torpedo planes. Alongside the lighter Independence class, these carriers formed the formidable Fast Carrier Force in the Pacific. Featuring artwork detailing the interior and exterior features of the ships, this book explores their design, development, and the action they saw in the Pacific, including the climactic battles of Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, and Okinawa.
The French produced some of the most striking and innovatory interwar cruiser designs. A large amount of new information about these ships has become available over the past twenty years in France, but this book is the first to make this accessible to an English-speaking readership. Part I explains the design philosophy behind each of the classes built after 1922, and outlines the characteristics of each type, accompanied by detailed data tables and a comprehensive set of specially-drawn plans based on official documents, as well as carefully-selected photographs. Coverage includes the De Grasse, laid down in August 1939 and completed postwar as an AA cruiser, and also the heavy cruisers of the Saint Louis class intended to follow her, about which little has been published. Part II deals with the historical side, covering not only the eventful careers of these ships, but also explaining the peacetime organisation of the Marine Nationale, the complex politics of this turbulent period and their impact on the navy. Like its highly successful predecessor, French Battleships, this beautifully presented book subtly blends technical and historical analysis to produce what must become the standard reference work.
