Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy
Pendant Numbers of the Royal Navy

Author: Ben Warlow

Publisher: Seaforth Publishing

Published: 2021-07-31

Total Pages: 1489

ISBN-13: 1526793792

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Pendant (or pennant) numbers have been used by individual ships of the Royal Navy for purposes of identification for more than 100 years. They were also used in all the navies of the British Empire so that ships could be easily transferred from one navy to another without changing her number. They offer the simplest and clearest way to identify a ship, but until now there has been little in the way of consistent and accurate information, and certainly no single location where you can look up or research complete pendant numbers. The book is designed as an easy-to-use reference work and as such is, in the main, composed of alpha-numeric listings to enable the user to find and identify warships by reference to ship name and to identify specific pendant numbers assigned to that name; or by pendant number to identify specific vessels assigned that number at various times. It begins with an introduction and a brief history of visual signalling used by the Royal Navy before industrialisation, and explains how the large numbers of identical ships being built brought about the need to identify specific ships within fleets to aid signalling and tactical deployment. There follow chapters covering the pendant numbers of the surface fleet and submarines (which stopped using them once boats began to spend so little time on the surface), and then pedant numbers by ship name. A significant chapter lists the pendant numbers assigned to the British Pacific Fleet during the Pacific campaign of WWII together with an explanation of why numbers were assigned, and an examination of missing ‘A’ series pendants known to have been carried by some vessels during the conflict. The BPF numbers have only recently come to light and there is still much that is not known but this section provides the most comprehensive study of available data at this time. There is also an appendix covering deck letters assigned to aviation capable ships. This is a genuinely new and significant reference book and is destined to become a major new aid for Royal Navy warship and auxiliary identification.

Ships of the Royal Navy
Ships of the Royal Navy

Author: J J Colledge

Publisher: Seaforth Publishing

Published: 2021-02-28

Total Pages: 1061

ISBN-13: 1526793288

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Newly updated fifth edition: The remarkable reference that is “absolutely essential in every naval historian’s library” (Warship World). This is the latest updated edition of the book known simply as “Colledge” for its longtime reputation as the first stop for anyone wanting more information on any British warship from the fifteenth century to the present day when only the name is known. Each entry gives concise details of dimensions, armament, and service dates, and the volume’s alphabetical and chronological arrangement makes it easy to track down the right ship—avoiding the confusion and errors that can result due to the Royal Navy’s tradition of re-using the same names. This fifth edition contains some 200 new entries and revisions to many older entries. These reflect the demise of the post-Cold War ships as the Royal Navy was shrunk down as part of the peace dividend and successive defense reviews saw the loss of significant ships classes such as the Type 42 destroyers, Type 22 frigates, and the Illustrious class carriers. It is now being re-equipped in the face of new global challenges and has seen the introduction of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers, the largest ships ever built for the RN; the Type 45 destroyers; and Type 26 frigates and new patrol ships which will take on more global policing roles. Regarding submarines, the Cold War S and T classes are being replaced by the Astute class, and the deterrent role undertaken by the Vanguard class is to be carried forward by the Dreadnought class. Also included are the new RFAs, which are increasingly taking on frontline operations to release the small number of escorts to more combative roles. In addition, there are updates to the Royal Australian, Canadian, and New Zealand navies, which have programs to introduce new destroyers, Arctic patrol vessels, submarines, and support ships. Since the death of Jim Colledge, who was widely respected for his pioneering research on the technical details of warships, his magnum opus has been updated, corrected and expanded with similar enthusiasm and attention to detail by Ben Warlow, a retired naval officer and author of a number of books in the field. “An authoritative guide to British warships through the ages.” —Ships Monthly “The automatic starting point of research on Royal Navy ships.” —Lloyd’s List “[A] quite invaluable reference tool.” —The Mariner’s Mirror

In Defence of Naval Supremacy
In Defence of Naval Supremacy

Author: Jon Tetsuro Sumida

Publisher: Naval Institute Press

Published: 2014-02-15

Total Pages: 408

ISBN-13: 1612514812

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In his groundbreaking work, In Defence of Naval Supremacy, Sumida presents a provocative and authoritative revisionist history of the origins, nature and consequences of the "Dreadnought Revolution" of 1906. Based on intensive and extensive archival research, the book strives to explain vital financial and technical matters which enable readers to observe the complex interplay of fiscal, technical, strategic, and personal factors that shaped the course of British naval decision-making during the critical quarter century that preceded the outbreak of the First World War.

The Royal Navy in the Cold War Years, 1966–1990
The Royal Navy in the Cold War Years, 1966–1990

Author: Edward Hampshire

Publisher: Seaforth Publishing

Published: 2024-07-30

Total Pages: 707

ISBN-13: 139904124X

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During the period covered by this new book the Royal Navy faced some of its greatest challenges, both at sea confronting the increasingly capable and impressive Soviet Navy, and on shore when it faced policy crises that threatened the survival of much of the fleet. During this remarkable period, the Navy had rarely been so focussed on a single theater of war – the Eastern Atlantic – but also rarely so politically vulnerable. The author sets out to analyze shadowing operations and confrontations at sea with Soviet ships and submarines; the Navy’s role in the enormous NATO and Warsaw Pact naval exercises that acted out potential war scenarios; individual operations from the Falklands and the 1990–91 Gulf War to the Beira and Armilla patrols; the development of advanced naval technologies to counter Soviet capabilities; policy-making controversies as the three services fought for resources – including the controversial 1981 Nott defense review; and what life was like in the Cold War navy for ratings and officers. The book, the first to cover this subject in depth for more than thirty years, will make use of the full range of archival sources that have been publicly available over the last two decades, but of which little use has been made by historians. This work is destined to become a definitive naval history of the period, and also provide a fascinating and gripping narrative of a navy under threat from many directions but which survived and eventually prospered, winning a remarkable victory in the far South Atlantic more than 7,000 miles from its expected battleground in the North Atlantic. Elegantly written for a wide audience, it will be a very significant volume for professional and enthusiast alike.

British Naval Intelligence through the Twentieth Century
British Naval Intelligence through the Twentieth Century

Author: Andrew Boyd

Publisher: Seaforth Publishing

Published: 2020-08-30

Total Pages: 757

ISBN-13: 1526736608

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An acclaimed military historian examines the vital role of British naval intelligence from the mid-nineteenth century to the end of the Cold War. In this comprehensive account, Andrew Boyd brings a critical new dimension to our understanding of British naval intelligence. From the capture of Napoleons signal codes to the satellite-based systems of the Cold War era, he provides a coherent and reliable overview while setting his subject in the larger context of the British state. It is a fascinating study of how naval needs and personalities shaped the British intelligence community that exists today. Boyd explains why and how intelligence was collected and assesses its real impact on policy and operations. Though he confirms that naval intelligence was critical to Britains victory in both World Wars, he significantly reappraises its role in each. He reveals that coverage of Germany before 1914 and of the three Axis powers in the interwar period was more comprehensive and effective than previously suggested; and while British power declined rapidly after 1945, the book shows how intelligence helped the Royal Navy to remain a significant global force for the rest of the twentieth century.

Naval Power and British Culture, 1760–1850
Naval Power and British Culture, 1760–1850

Author: Roger Morriss

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-05-15

Total Pages: 284

ISBN-13: 1351915584

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Recent work on the growth of British naval power during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries has emphasised developments in the political, constitutional and financial infrastructure of the British state. Naval Power and British Culture, 1760-1850 takes these considerations one step further, and examines the relationship of administrative culture within government bureaucracy to contemporary perceptions of efficiency in the period 1760-1850. By administrative culture is meant the ideas, attitudes, structures, practices and mores of public employees. Inevitably these changed over time and this shift is examined as the naval departments passed through times of crisis and peace. Focusing on the transition in the culture of government employees in the naval establishments in London - in the Navy and Victualling Offices - as well as the victualling yard towns along the Thames and Medway, Naval Power and British Culture, 1760-1850 concerns itself with attitudes at all levels of the organisation. Yet it is concerned above all with those whose views and conduct are seldom reported, the clerks, artificers, secretaries and commissioners; those employees of government who lived in local communities and took their work experience back home with them. As such, this book illuminates not only the employees of government, but also the society which surrounded and impinged upon naval establishments, and the reciprocal nature of their attitudes and influences.

The Royal Navy and Nuclear Weapons
The Royal Navy and Nuclear Weapons

Author: Richard Moore

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2018-12-07

Total Pages: 267

ISBN-13: 1135282730

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This work examines British thinking about nuclear weapons in the period up to about 1970, looking at the subject through the eyes of the Royal Navy, in the belief that this can offer new insights in this field. The author argues that the Navy was always sceptical about nuclear weapons, both on practical grounds and because of wartime and pre-war experiences. He suggests that this scepticism can teach us a good deal about military technological innovation in general.

The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume V: Historiography
The Oxford History of the British Empire: Volume V: Historiography

Author: Robin Winks

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 2001-07-26

Total Pages: 756

ISBN-13: 0191647691

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The Oxford History of the British Empire is a major new assessment of the Empire in the light of recent scholarship and the progressive opening of historical records. From the founding of colonies in North America and the West Indies in the seventeenth century to the reversion of Hong Kong to China at the end of the twentieth, British imperialism was a catalyst for far-reaching change. The Oxford History of the British Empire as a comprehensive study helps us to understand the end of Empire in relation to its beginning, the meaning of British imperialism for the ruled as well as for the rulers, and the significance of the British Empire as a theme in world history. This fifth and final volume shows how opinions have changed dramatically over the generations about the nature, role, and value of imperialism generally, and the British Empire more specifically. The distinguished team of contributors discuss the many and diverse elements which have influenced writings on the Empire: the pressure of current events, access to primary sources, the creation of relevant university chairs, the rise of nationalism in former colonies, decolonization, and the Cold War. They demonstrate how the study of empire has evolved from a narrow focus on constitutional issues to a wide-ranging enquiry about international relations, the uses of power, and impacts and counterimpacts between settler groups and native peoples. The result is a thought-provoking cultural and intellectual inquiry into how we understand the past, and whether this understanding might affect the way we behave in the future.