Recently published English language books

There are all the English language books found in the system that have been published from 2000 to this day. If you think we are missing some please let us know.



 

K Boat Catastrophe

by - N.S. Nash
EIGHT SHIPS AND FIVE COLLISIONS: The full story of the 'Battle' of the Isle of May
2009, Pen and Sword
ISBN 1844159841
Hardcover, 224 pages
The "Battle of the Isle of May" was one of the strangest episodes during WWI and was suppressed for decades after the war. During the night of 31 Jan 1918 8 ships were involved in 5 collisions that resulted in 2 submarines being lost with 104 officers and men.

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The Milk Cows

by - John F White
The U-Boat Tankers at War 1941 - 1945
2009, Pen and Sword
ISBN 184884008X
Hardcover, 272 pages
This title is a much revised version of his former title U-boat tankers from 1998. The book gives a detailed overview on the development and operations of the important supply U-boats during 1942 onwards.

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British Submarines 1939-45

by - Innes McCartney
2006, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846030072
Paperback, 48 pages

The submarine was as formidable a weapon for the Royal Navy in World War II as for the other main combatant nations. The first half of this book explores the conception, design, development and subsequent evolution of the three major classes: the "S", "T", and "U".

The "S" Class submarine was originally conceived in the 1920s, specifically for deployment in narrow seas. As the war progressed the submarine was modified to increase its diving capability and fuel-carrying capacity, and radar and many other features were added. The "S" Class served in all theaters from the North Atlantic to the Pacific with notable success, in many cases surviving very severe damage.

The "T" Class submarine was originally conceived for operations in the Far East, thus was one of the largest types to be built and serve in World War II. The development of the "T" Class during the war was sometimes at the expense of its underwater stability and in the Mediterranean theater half of the submarines that were deployed sunk.

The "U" Class include Upholder, the most successful British submarine of World War II.

The second half of the book surveys the major submarine actions of the war, including the Norwegian Campaign, operations to save Malta and many other engagements in all theaters involving British submarines, German U-Boats and the Japanese. The author has accessed many previously unpublished sources and draws on his own extensive underwater research to give a highly detailed and informed account of the British submarine.

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US Submarines 1941-45

by - Jim Christley
2006, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1841768596
Paperback, 48 pages
Naval warfare in the Pacific changed completely with the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. The strategic emphasis shifted from battleships to much more lethal, far-ranging weapons systems; one of these was the submarine. This book details the design and development, classes, weapons and equipment, tactics and operational history of the US submarine in World War II. Detailed tables, photographs, and superb color plates depict the force that had an effect far beyond its size - the submarine accounted for 55% of all Japanese shipping losses, despite suffering the highest percentage loss of any unit of the United State Armed Forces in World War II.

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British destroyers & frigates

by - Norman Friedman
The Second World War and After
2006, Greenhill Books
ISBN 1861761376
Hardcover, 288 pages

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The USS Flier

by - Michael Sturma
Death and Survival on a World War II Submarine
2008, The University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 0813124816
Hardcover, 232 pages

The fate of the USS Flier is one of the most astonishing stories of the Second World War. On August 13, 1944, the submarine struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Sulu Sea in less than one minute, leaving only fourteen of its crew of eighty-six hands alive. After enduring eighteen hours in the water, eight remaining survivors swam to a remote island controlled by the Japanese. Deep behind enemy lines and without food or drinking water, the crewmen realized that their struggle for survival had just begun.

On its first war patrol, the unlucky Flier made it from Pearl Harbor to Midway where it ran aground on a reef. After extensive repairs and a formal military inquiry, the Flier set out once again, this time completing a distinguished patrol from Pearl Harbor to Fremantle, Western Australia. Though the Flier's next mission would be its final one, that mission is important for several reasons: the story of the Flier's sinking illuminates the nature of World War II underwater warfare and naval protocol and demonstrates the high degree of cooperation that existed among submariners, coast watchers, and guerrillas in the Philippines.

The eight sailors who survived the disaster became the first Americans of the Pacific war to escape from a sunken submarine and return safely to the United States. Their story of persistence and survival has all the elements of a classic World War II tale: sudden disaster, physical deprivation, a ruthless enemy, and a dramatic escape from behind enemy lines.

In The USS Flier: Death and Survival on a World War II Submarine, noted historian Michael Sturma vividly recounts a harrowing story of brave men who lived to return to the service of their country.

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A tale of two subs

by - Jonathan J. McCullough
An Untold Story of World War II, Two Sister Ships, and Extraordinary Heroism
2009, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 0446178403
Paperback, 304 pages

On November 19, 1943, the submarine USS Sculpin, under attack by the Japanese, slid below the waves for the last time in what would become one of the most remarkable stories in U.S. Naval history. Not only did several crewmembers survive the sinking - an extremely rare event in World War II submarine warfare - but several were aboard a Japanese aircraft carrier enroute to a POW camp when it was in turn torpedoed and sunk by the Sculpin's sister ship, the USS Sailfish.

At the end of World War II, several unlikely survivors would tell a tale of endurance against these amazing reversals of fortune. For one officer in particular, who knew that being captured could have meant losing the war for the allies, his struggle was not in surviving, but in sealing his own fate in a heartbreaking act of heroism which culminated in the nation's highest tribute, the Medal of Honor.

Sculpin Lt. Commander John Phillip Cromwell was one of the few who knew that American Naval Intelligence had succeeded in cracking Japan's top-secret codes. Cromwell also knew that if the Japanese confirmed this by torturing him, it would force Naval Intelligence to change their encryption, which would potentially change the course of the war. This is Cromwell's story as well.

The incredible interconnection of the Sculpin and the Sailfish has been thoroughly researched by Jonathan McCullough. Through access to the few living survivors, scores of oral histories, never-before translated Japanese war documents, and interviews with Navy veterans, McCullough delivers a gripping and, intimate account for the reader.

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An Honorable German

by - Charles McCain
2009, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 0446538981
Hardcover, 384 pages
Novel

When World War II begins, Max Brekendorf, a proud young German naval officer, fights for his country with honor and courage. With the unstoppable German war machine overrunning Europe, Max looks ahead to a bright future with his fiancée, Mareth. But as the war progresses, their future together becomes less and less certain. German victories begin to fade. In the North Atlantic, Max must face the increasing strength of the Allies on ever more harrowing missions. Berlin itself is savaged by bombing, making life for Mareth increasingly dangerous and desperate. And as the Third Reich steadily crumbles, Nazi loyalists begin to infiltrate Max's crew and turn their terror on Germany's own armed forces.

Recognizing what his nation has become, Max is forced to make a choice between his own sense of morality, and his duty to the Reich. With its stirring, rarely seen glimpse of the German home front during WWII, vivid characters, and evocation of the drama and terror of war at sea, An Honorable German is a suspense-filled story of adventure, of love and loss, and of honor and redemption.

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Left for dead

by - Pete Nelson
A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis
2003, Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN 0385730918
Paperback, 201 pages

Just after midnight on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The ship sank in 14 minutes. More than 1,000 men were thrown into shark-infested waters. Those who survived the fiery sinking—some injured, many without life jackets—struggled to stay afloat in shark-infested waters as they waited for rescue. But the United States Navy did not even know they were missing. The Navy needed a scapegoat for this disaster. So it court-martialed the captain for “hazarding” his ship. The survivors of the Indianapolis knew that their captain was not to blame. For 50 years they worked to clear his name, even after his untimely death. But the navy would not budge—until an 11-year-old boy named Hunter Scott entered the picture. His history fair project on the Indianapolis soon became a crusade to restore the captain’s good name and the honor of the men who served under him.

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Clash of the carriers

by - Barrett Tillman
The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II
2006, NAL Trade
ISBN 0451219562
Paperback, 368 pages

The true story of one of the greatest and most decisive conflicts in the history of naval warfare-from an award-winning author.

In June, 1944, American and Japanese carrier fleets made their way through the Philippine Sea, both hoping to take control of the vital Marianas Islands. When they met, they embarked upon a naval engagement that escalated into the most spectacular aircraft carrier battle in history. Here is the true account of the battle, told from both sides-by those who were there. Drawing upon numerous interviews as well as official sources, Clash of the Carriers is an unforgettable testimonial to the bravery of those who fought and those who died in a battle that will never be forgotten.

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South pacific destroyer

by - Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr.
The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591141435
Paperback, 304 pages

Russell Crenshaw's riveting account of the savage night battle for the Solomon Islands in early 1943 offers readers a unique insider's perspective from the decks of one of the destroyers that bore the brunt of the struggle. Drawing on his experience as a gunnery officer in the USS Maury, his vivid, balanced, and detailed narrative includes the Battle of Tassafaronga in November 1942 and Vella Gulf in August 1943, actions that earned his warship a Presidential Unit Citation and sixteen battle stars. Crenshaw also discusses the impact of radar and voice radio, the shortcomings of U.S. torpedoes and gunfire, and the devastating effectiveness of Japan's super torpedo.

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The last stand of the tin can sailors

by - Hornfischer, James D.
The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
2005, Bantam
ISBN 0553381482
Paperback, 512 pages

One of the finest WWII naval action narratives in recent years, this book follows in the footsteps of Flags of Our Fathers, creating a microcosm of the war's American Navy destroyers. Hornfischer, a writer and literary agent in Austin, Tex., covers the battle off Samar, the Philippines, in October 1944, in which a force of American escort carriers and destroyers fought off a Japanese force many times its strength, and the larger battle of Leyte Gulf, the opening of the American liberation of the Philippines, which might have suffered a major setback if the Japanese had attacked the transports. He presents the men who crewed the destroyer Taffy 3, most of whom had never seen salt water before the war but who fought, flew, kept the crippled ship afloat, and doomed ships fighting almost literally to the last shell. Finally, Hornfischer provides a perspective on the Japanese approach to the battle, somewhat (and justifiably) modifying the traditional view of the Japanese Admiral Kurita as a fumbler or even a coward-while exalting American sailors and pilots as they richly deserve. (American admirals don't get off so easily.) Not entirely free of glitches in research, the book still reads like a very good action novel, indicated by its selection as a dual split main selection of the BOMC and History Book Club alternate. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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We were pirates

by - Robert Schultz
A Torpedoman's Pacific War
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591147786
Hardcover, 212 pages

A sailor's extraordinary experiences on an American submarine in the Pacific are candidly reported in this eyewitness account of war from a torpedoman's perspective. Robert Hunt managed to survive twelve consecutive war patrols on the submarine USS Tambor. During the course of the war, Hunt was everywhere that mattered in the Pacific. He stood on the bow of the Tambor as it cruised into Pearl Harbor just days after the devastation of the Japanese air raid, peered through binoculars as his boat shadowed Japanese cruisers at the Battle of Midway, ferried guns and supplies to American guerilla fighters in the Philippines, fired torpedoes that sank vital Japanese shipping, and survived a near-fatal, seventeen-hour depth-charge attack. For exceptional skill and proficiency at his battle station Hunt received a commendation from Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. This WWII torpedoman's account of the war offers the rare perspective of an enlisted seaman that is not available in the more common officer accounts. To capture and recount the progress of the Pacific War through Hunt's eyes coauthors Robert Schultz and James Shell examined the young submariner's war diary, as well as crew letters, photographs, and captains' reports, and they also conducted hours of interviews. Their vivid descriptions of the ways in which sailors dealt with the stress of war while at sea or on liberty show a side of the war that is rarely reported. The fact that Hunt's submarine was the first of a new fleet of World War II boats and the namesake of a significant class adds further value to his remarkable story.

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U-1706

by - Rene D. Egle
2006, Llumina Press
ISBN 978159526698
472 pages, Paperback & Hardcover
Novel
November 1944. Germany is losing World War II. In a last, desperate attempt to turn the tide, German High Command send a U-boat loaded with the latest in weapons technology and uranium to meet with the Japanese in the Philippine Sea. U-1706 also carries highly sensitive documents. November 2004 High in the mountains of the Black Forest at the Freiberg Institute, two young scientists make a revolutionary breakthrough during a routine experiment. Instead of a test cube, they transport an entire submarine from the past to the future. Stranded in the 21st century, U-1706 with all its crew is soon sighted in Southeast Asia, drawing the attention of American Intelligence. The two German scientists must race U.S. operatives to find the boat and make contact, to prevent the worst.

 

Ubootwaffe, Marine - Kleinkampfverbande

by - Trojca, Waldemar
2004, Model Hobby
ISBN 83-9192215-8-1
HB, 598pages
Extensive coverage with color profiles.

 

Adolf Hitler: A Portrait

by - FitzGerald, Michael
2006, Spellmount
ISBN 1862273227
Hardcover, 224 pages, 16 illustrations
A radically different biography of Hitler that actually contains some new facts never before published in any previous work. Based on primary research, it represents the very latest in Hitler scholarship.

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A Submarine at War

by - Grant, David Renwick
The brief life of HMS Trooper
2006, Periscope Publishing
ISBN 1-904381-33-2
Softcover, 128 pages, 19 illustrations
Monograph detailing all that is known about the Trooper from launch to loss. Much detailed information from official sources and many contributions from private ones.

 

SS Ceramic

by - Hardy Clare
The Untold Story
2006, Central Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978-1904908647
Paperback, 572 pages
Presents the history of the White Star Liner, SS Ceramic (subsequently Shaw Savill & Albion), with emphasis on the circumstances of the ship's sinking and the story of the sole survivor, Eric Munday.

 

Bismarck

by - Zetterling, Niklas
A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship
2009, Casemate
ISBN 1935149040
Hardcover, 320 pages

The sinking of the German battleship Bismarck-a masterpiece of engineering, well-armored with a main artillery of eight 15-inch guns-was one of the most dramatic events of World War II. She left the port of Gotenhafen for her first operation on the night of 18 May 1941, yet was almost immediately discovered by Norwegian resistance and Allied air reconnaissance. British battlecruiser Hood was quickly dispatched from Scapa Flow to intercept the Bismarck, together with new battleship Prince of Wales. They were ordered to find the ship quickly because, on their way from the USA, several large convoys were heading for Britain.

On 24 May, Bismarck was found off the coast of Greenland, but the ensuing battle was disastrous for the British. The Hood was totally destroyed within minutes (only 3 crewmen surviving), and Prince of Wales was badly damaged. The chase resumed until the German behemoth was finally caught, this time by four British capital ships supported by torpedo-bombers from the carrier Ark Royal. The icy North Atlantic roiled from the crash of shellfire and bursting explosions until finally the Bismarck collapsed, sending nearly 2,000 German sailors to a watery grave.

Tamelander and Zetterling's work rests on stories from survivors and the latest historical discoveries. The book starts with a thorough account of maritime developments from 1871 up to the era of the giant battleship, and ends with a vivid account, hour by hour, of the dramatic and fateful hunt for the mighty Bismarck, Nazi-Germany's last hope to pose a powerful surface threat to Allied convoys.

NIKLAS ZETTERLING, a researcher at the Swedish Defense College, is most recently co-author of The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East, 1944. Together with MICHAEL TAMELANDER, a part-time military author, they have written books about the battleship Tirpitz, the D-Day landings and the 1940 campaign in Norway.

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U-Boats in World Wars One and Two

by - Sutherland, Jon
2009, Pen & Sword Maritime
ISBN 1848840454
Hardcover, 160 pages
This book will be available in Sept 2009.

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Shattered sword

by - Parshall, Jonathan
The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
2007, Potomac Books Inc.
ISBN 1574889249
Paperback, 568 pages
Many consider the Battle of Midway to have turned the tide of the Pacific War. It is without question one of the most famous battles in history. Now, for the first time since Gordon W. Prange's bestselling Miracle at Midway, Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully offer a new interpretation of this great naval engagement.

Unlike previous accounts, Shattered Sword makes extensive use of Japanese primary sources. It also corrects the many errors of Mitsuo Fuchida’s Midway: The Battle That Doomed Japan, an uncritical reliance upon which has tainted every previous Western account. It thus forces a major, potentially controversial reevaluation of the great battle. The authors examine the battle in detail and effortlessly place it within the context of the Imperial Navy's doctrine and technology. With a foreword by leading WWII naval historian John Lundstrom, Shattered Sword will become an indispensable part of any military buff’s library. Winner of the 2005 John Lyman Book Award for the "Best Book in U.S. Naval History" and cited by Proceedings as one of its "Notable Naval Books" for 2005.

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Coastal convoys 1939 - 1945

by - Hewitt, Nick
The Indestructible Highway
2009, Pen and Sword
ISBN 1844158616
Hardcover, 256 pages
Using official records from the National Archives personal accounts from the Imperial War Museum and other sources, Coastal Convoys 1939 - 1945: The Indestructible Highway describes Britain's dependence on coastal shipping and the introduction of the convoy system in coastal waters at the outset of the war. It beings to life the hazards of the German mining offensive of 1939, the desperate battles fought in coastal waters during 1940 and 1941, and the long struggle against German air and naval forces which lasted to the end of the Second World War. Reference is also made to the important role played by coasters during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 and the Normandy landings in 1944.

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Periscope patrol

by - Turner, John Frayn
The siege of the Malta Force submarines
2009, Pen and Sword
ISBN 1844157245
Hardcover, 224 pages

The Malta Force submarines had the vital task of interrupting German and Italian convoys crossing the Mediterranean to resupply Rommel and his Army in North Africa. The outcome of the Desert War depended on this.

Operations from the beleaguered island were hazardous both at sea and in port. The Naval Base was under constant air attack. Due to the courage and tenacity of the crews by the time the Malta-based submarines were at full strength a staggering 50% of Axis shipping bound for Africa failed to arrive at its destination. The submarines sank some 75 enemy vessels totaling 400,000 tons.

Periscope Patrol picks out the highlights of their actions and sets them against the bombed-out background of Malta, the island awarded the George Cross for its single handed stand. This is a hugely readable and informative account of submarine warfare at its toughest and roughest.

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No ordinary war

by - Prag, Christian
The Eventful Career of U-604
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591146283
Hardcover, 208 pages
U-604 may have looked like the hundreds of other Type VIIC U-boats built by the Nazi Kriegsmarine during World War II, but her six wartime patrols were far from ordinary. This book draws on the eyewitness testimony of survivors and the boat s war diary to weave a detailed tapestry of life and action on U-604 during some of the fiercest convoy battles of the Atlantic war. She was credited with many successes, among them inflicting the largest single loss of U.S. mercantile personnel in one attack. The success of her career, however, pales beside the epic story of her loss. The boat was damaged beyond repair after repeated bombing by American aircraft, and her commanding officer organized an amazing but tragically unsuccessful rescue attempt by two other U-boats in their wolfpack. Many of the book's photos have not been published previously.

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Struggle for the middle sea

by - O'Hara, Vincent P.
The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940-1945
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591146488
Hardcover, 352 pages
The Mediterranean Sea was the most intensely contested body of water in World War II. As the maritime crossroads where Europe, Asia, and Africa meet, more major naval actions were fought in the Mediterranean than in the Atlantic or Pacific. Despite its importance, remarkably little has been written about the subject, and what exists is largely one-sided and outdated. This fresh study of the naval war in the Mediterranean analyzes the actions and performances of the five major navies British, Italian, French, German, and American during the entire five-year campaign and objectively examines the national imperatives that drove each nation s maritime strategy. The Struggle for the Middle Sea sidesteps the myths that haunt this campaign, such as Great Britain enjoying a moral advantage over Italy, or the French being Germany s puppet, or the North African campaign significantly contributing to the eventual Allied victory. The book documents how the British Royal Navy, despite brilliant victories, was bled white in a campaign with questionable strategic goals; how Italy followed its own coherent naval strategy, much to the frustration of its German ally; and how the Marine Nationale was the strength of the independent French state and how it fought the Allies--and rejected the Axis--to maintain that independence. Most World War II histories tell the story of the Mediterranean War from a limited national point of view. Other works also end the story in 1943. Struggle for the Middle Sea provides a complete history of the entire campaign from all perspectives and covers Germany s largely unknown and remarkably successful struggle to employ sea power in the Mediterranean after the Italian armistice. The book s perspective and depth of detail is unmatched by other works, and its fresh viewpoints, supported by extensive research in Italian and French sources, are certain to provoke controversy. Its lessons about coastal warfare, the use of the sea, and the difficulty of gaining command of the sea in wartime provide insight into the role naval strategy played in Word War II.

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Carrier Operations in World War II

by - Brown, J.D.
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591141087
Hardcover, 320 pages
The Royal Navy s Fleet Air Arm grew from a small force into a powerful strategic weapon during World War II, with British carrier-based aircraft fighting throughout the world. This complete history describes their activities in the Home, Mediterranean, Eastern, and British Pacific Fleets, together with forces created for specific operations, and lists aircraft and units embarked during the various phases. The author also covers carrier operations in the Pacific between 1941 and 1945, noting that both the U.S. Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy watched the Royal Navy s early carrier operations in the European Theatre and benefited from the lessons. This work combines material from two earlier studies by J. D. Brown and adds information the author was compiling for a third volume at the time of his death.

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British battleships 1939-45 (1)

by - Konstam, Angus
Queen Elizabeth and Royal Soverign Classes
2009, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846033888
Paperback, 48 pages

With the outbreak of World War II, Britain's Royal Navy and her fleet of battleships would be at the forefront of her defence. Yet from a fleet of 12 battleships, ten were already over 20 years old, venerable veterans of World War I. Extensive modifications throughout the 1930s allowed these ships to perform a vital service throughout the six long years of conflict, and further improvements made during the course of the war enabled them to hold their own against their German and Italian counterparts. This title offers a comprehensive review of the development of these British battleships from their initial commissioning to their peacetime modifications and wartime service. Detailed descriptions of the main armament of each ship will offer further analysis of individual battleships' effectiveness, discussing how the guns were manned when engaging the enemy. Describing HMS Warspite during the battle of Matapan in 1941, the author details how this British battleship, together with other Royal Navy and Australian vessels, defeated the might of the Italian navy so that they never again threatened Allied fleets within the Mediterranean. With specially commissioned artwork and a dramatic retelling of key battleship engagements, this book will highlight what it was like on board for the sailors who risked their lives on the high seas.

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British battleships 1939-45 (2)

by - Konstam, Angus
Nelson and King George V classes
2009, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846033896
Paperback, 48 pages

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The Dardanelles disaster

by - van der Vat, Dan
The Extraordinary Story of Churchill's Most Spectacular Defeat
2009, Overlook Hardcover
ISBN 1590202236
Hardcover, 256 pages
This extraordinary book covers the ill-fated and badly thought out Allied attack on the Dardanelles peninsula in 1915. The author claims that even if the attack would have succeeded, he claims was impossible, it would not have made any difference on the war.

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North atlantic run

by - Milner. Marc
The Royal Canadian Navy and the Battle for the Convoys
2006, Vanwell Publishing
ISBN 1551251086
Paperback, 384 pages
At the height of The Battle of the Atlantic, half of the Allied convoy escorts on the main trade routes were Canadian, but history has largely ignores their contribution and their bitter sacrifices of their struggle against U-boat attacks in 1942 and 1943.

In North Atlantic Run, noted military historian Marc Milner tells the story of this drama at sea, detailing the dynamic role played by Canada and The Royal Canadian Navy in the battle for the convoys.

Originally published in hardcover in 1985. See our review for that copy.

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German Raiders in the Pacific

by - Waters, S. D.
2008, Lulu.com
ISBN 1435757602
Paperback, 66 pages

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Cape Hatteras

by - Lloyd, Keith Warren
2008, AuthorHouse
ISBN 0595492185
Paperback, 123 pages
During the Second World War, long-range German submarines, commonly referred to by their German name Unterseeboot, or U-boat, ranged the American coastline and placed a stranglehold on the flow of vital war supplies. The shipping lanes off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina were prime hunting ground for these feared sea hunters.

As the war raged on, however, Allied destroyers using the newly invented sonar and radar began to hunt down and destroy the U-boats as they moved in to attack. There are six U-boats resting on the seabed near Cape Hatteras, known to mariners as "the Graveyard of the Atlantic." Of the 280 young German sailors who undertook these dangerous missions, only 40 survived to be taken prisoner.

What might have happened if survivors from a sinking German submarine were able to land on the eastern coast of the United States?

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Torpedoed

by - Nolan, L and Nolan J.
Was Convoy T.M. 1. Sacrificed?
2007, Bellevue Publications/Trafford Publications
ISBN 1412069874
Paperback
The strange facts about the near-total destruction of the first Special Oil Convoy of World War II.

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U-Boat Combat Missions

by - Paterson, Lawrence
Pursuers & the pursued: first-hand accounts of U-boat Life and operations
2007, Chatham/Casemate
ISBN 1861763204
Hardcover, 170 memorabilia and interior photos, 170 archive photos
Takes the reader through every section of a combat U-Boat, giving a comprehensive view of what it was like to live, and fight, in a combat U-boat. With extensive specially commissioned photos and over 100 first-hand accounts.

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The secret in building 26

by - Debrosse. Jim
The Untold Story of America's Ultra War Against the U-boat Enigma Codes
2004, Random House
ISBN 0375508074
Hardcover, 304 pages
For the first time, the inside story of the brilliant American engineer who defeated Enigma and the Nazi code-masters.

Much has been written about the success of the British 'Ultraā'¯ program in cracking the German Enigma code early in World War II, but few know what really happened in 1942, when the Germans added a fourth rotor to the machine that created the already challenging naval code and plunged Allied intelligence into darkness.

Enter one Joe Desch, an unassuming but brilliant engineer at the National Cash Register Company in Dayton, Ohio, who was given the task of creating a machine to break the new Enigma settings. It was an enterprise that rivaled the Manhattan Project for secrecy and complexity and nearly drove Desch to a breakdown. Under enormous pressure, he succeeded in creating a 5,000-pound electromechanical monster known as the Desch Bombe, which helped turn the tide in the Battle of the Atlantic but not before a disgruntled co-worker attempted to leak information about the machine to the Nazis.

After toiling anonymously "it even took his daughter years to learn of his accomplishments" Desch was awarded the National Medal of Merit, the country's highest civilian honor. In The Secret in Building 26, the entire thrilling story of the final triumph over Enigma is finally told.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

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Thetis down

by - Booth, Tony
The Slow Death of a Submarine
2009, Pen and Sword
ISBN 1844158594
Hardcover, 240 pages
On 1 June 1939 His Majesty's Submarine Thetis sank in Liverpool Bay while on her diving trials. Her loss is still the worst peacetime submarine disaster the Royal Navy has yet faced when ninety-nine men drowned or slowly suffocated during their last fifty hours of life.

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In which they served

by - Brian Lavery
The Royal Navy Officer Experience in the Second World War
2008, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591144019
Hardcover, 416 pages
Brian Lavery's extensively researched study takes an in-depth look at the officers of the Royal Navy and the various routes they took from initial recruitment and training to their role in the fighting.

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Ultra versus u-boats

by - Roy Conyers Nesbit
Enigma Decrypts in the National Archives
2009, Pen and Sword
ISBN 1844158748
Hardcover, 256 pages

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Escape from the deep

by - Kershaw, Alex
A Legendary Submarine and Her Courageous Crew
2008, Da Capo Press
ISBN 0306815192
Hardcover, 288 pages
The adrenaline-soaked story of nine men who fought the Japanese from America's deadliest submarine, survived its sinkage, and endured months of brutal torture in captivity.

By October, 1944, the U.S. Navy submarine Tang was legendary--she had sunk more enemy ships, rescued more downed airmen, and pulled off more daring surface attacks than any other Allied submarine in the Pacific. And then, on her fifth patrol, tragedy struck--the Tang was hit by one of her own faulty torpedoes. The survivors of the explosion struggled to stay alive in their submerged "iron coffin" one hundred-eighty feet beneath the surface. While the Japanese dropped deadly depth charges, just nine of the original eighty-man crew survived a harrowing ascent through the escape hatch.

But a far greater ordeal was coming. After being picked up by a Japanese patrol vessel, they were sent to a secret Japanese interrogation camp known as the "Torture Farm." They were close to death when finally liberated in August, 1945, but they had revealed nothing to the Japanese--not even the greatest secret of World War II.

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Raising the Red Banner

by - Yakubov, Vladimir
The Pictoral History of Stalin's Fleet 1920-1945
2008, The History Press
ISBN 1862274509
Hardcover, 288 pages

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Battleship Oklahoma BB-37

by - Phister, Jeff
2008, University of Oklahoma Press
ISBN 0806139366
Paperback, 256 pages
The comprehensive history of the USS Oklahoma from its christening in 1914 to its final loss in 1947. The authors tell how the Oklahoma served in World War I, participated in the Great Cruise of 1925, and evacuated refugees from Spain in 1936. But the most memorable event of the ship's history occurred on December 7, 1941.

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Down to the Sea

by - Henderson, Bruce
An Epic Story of Naval Disaster and Heroism in World War II
2008, Collins
ISBN 0061173177
Paperback, 400 pages
This epic story opens at the hour the Greatest Generation went to war on December 7, 1941, and follows four U.S. Navy ships and their crews in the Pacific until their day of reckoning three years later with a far different enemy: a deadly typhoon. In December 1944, while supporting General MacArthur's invasion of the Philippines, Admiral William "Bull" Halsey neglected the Law of Storms, placing the mighty U.S. Third Fleet in harm's way. Drawing on extensive interviews with nearly every living survivor and rescuer, as well as many families of lost sailors, transcripts and other records from naval courts of inquiry, ships' logs, personal letters, and diaries, Bruce Henderson finds some of the story's truest heroes exhibiting selflessness, courage, and even defiance.

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Danger's Hour

by - Kennedy, Maxwell Taylor
The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her
2008, Simon & Schuster
ISBN 0743260805
Hardcover, 528 pages

 

Death at a Distance

by - Michael Sturma
The Loss of the Legendary USS Harder
2006, US Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591148456
Hardcover, 246 pages

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Gallipoli

by - Rudenno, Victor
Attack from the Sea
2008, Yale University Press
ISBN 0300124406
352 pages, hardcover
The Gallipoli campaign of 1914–15 is one of the events of the First World War that continues to seize imaginations today. The first modern seaborne landing of British, French, Australian, New Zealand, and Indian forces on a hostile—and what proved to be a well-defended—peninsula, the attack has been remembered for its many acts of individual heroism as well as its unprepared leaders.

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U-Boat Century

by - Showell, Jak Mallmann
2006, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591148928
Hardcover, 224 pages
History and of German AU-Boats and submarine warfare, 1906-1006

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The Encyclopedia of U-Boats

by - Müller, Eberhard
From 1904 to the Present
2006, Greenhill Books
ISBN 1853676233
Hardcover, 250 pages

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A Blue Water Navy

by - WAB Douglas, R. Sarty, M. Whitby et al.
The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1943-1945, Volume II, Part II
2007, Vanwell Publishing Limited
ISBN 1551250691
Hardcover 650pp 7 x 9.5
Based on extensive research, Blue Water Navy follows the RCN's path to victory from 1943 to 1945 as Canadian warships engage the enemy across the globe in the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific Oceans, covering: * the Allies' North Atlantic triumph over the German submarine arm * the RCN's combined operations role in Dieppe, Africa and Sicily * the procurement of large fleet destroyers and their operations * culmination of the RCN's overseas buildup with Operation Neptune * multi-function capabilities from MTBs, minesweeping and anti-submarines activity * acquisition of cruisers and Canadian manned escort carriers Thoroughly explores the world-wide scope of the Royal Canadian Navy's involvement in the Second World War and its transition from a small-ship navy into a balanced force.

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Wolf Pack

by - Williamson, Gordon
The Story of the U-boat in World War II
2005, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846031419
Hardcover, paperback, 272 pages.
Wolf Pack tells the story of the U-bootwaffe in WWII. It covers detailed descriptions of the boats, the men and other various elements of the U-boat War.

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The Nazi: Coming of Age in Hitler's Germany and the Voyage of the U-859

by - Baudzus, Arthur
2006, Riverdale Books
ISBN 1932606130
Trade Paperback, 148 pages, 10 page of photographs
Arthur Baudzus has produced a first-rate memoir, telling a compelling, insightful story of growing up in inter-war Germany, and of the rise of the Nazi regime. He relates the ill-fated voyage of U-859 from Kiel to the approaches to Penang, and the harrowing aftermath of her sinking as only a survivor can.

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Battle of the Atlantic

by - Milner, Marc
2002, Vanwell St Catherines Ontario
ISBN 1550681257
Written by Prof. of History at Uni of New Brunswick. Gives good account of the Canadian activities and particularly what happened on the other side of the pond.

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Silent Warriors

by - Ron Young & Pamela Armstrong
Submarine Wrecks of the United Kingdom, Volume-1
2006, Tempus Publishing, Ltd., The Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Gloucestershire, GL52QG.
ISBN 075243876X
Soft cover, 350 pages, lots of maps/charts and B&W photos
All the submarines lost around the UK (about 150). Volume-1 covers the English east coast from the Scottish borders and down to Kent. It includes lots and lots of original archive material that has never seen the light of day until now. Forewards by Axel Niestle and Michael Lowrey. £19.99 and available from Amazon and all major book shops and of course our the publisher.

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Spadefish

by - Moore, Stephen L.
On Patrol With a Top-scoring World War II Submarine
2007, Atriad Press
ISBN 1933177071
Trade Paperback, 463 pages including notes, many photographs
Essentially a biography of a submarine with the records of missions, crews, personal stories of crew members, pictures, and a discussion of the boat's place in the war in the Pacific. Includes appendices with many statistics and historical records to balance the personal stories. Well written by a recognized, well published historian.

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The Starvation Blockades

by - Hawkins, Nigel
Naval Blockades of WW1
2002, Leo Cooper
ISBN 0850529085
Hardcover, 262 p., 23 illustr., in-text maps
Fairly balanced account of the British naval blockade of Germany 1914-18 and the German counter-blockade, which culminated in the unrestricted U-boat campaign in 1917. Explores political, strategic, economic, legal and military aspects. Illustrates the fateful spiral of reprisals and counter-reprisals and the effects on neutrals, especially the US.

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With A Flower Upon The Ocean

by - Edward T Wilkins
2004, Countyvise
ISBN 1901231445
Paperback 172 pages
History of HMS Corvette "Columbine".

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One Common Enemy

by - McLoughlin, Jim
The Laconia Incident: A Survivor's Memoir
2006, Wakefield Press, 1 The Parade West, Kent Town, South Australia 5067
ISBN 1862546908
Softcover 200 pages; 13 pages of photographs
The author recounts the chaos and carnage of war at sea that led him to a fateful rendezvous with a much loved ship from his boy-hod, the passenger liner Laconia. Nostalgia turns to disaster when Loconia was torpedoed by U-156 in the South Atlantic. Despite a remarkable rescue attempt by a courageous compassionate foe, the author was condemned to a drifting lifeboat and a harrowing voage of death and madness. It is a story of a desperate personal battle for survival, but also a moving narrative of innocence lost and a lifelong battle with confronting memories. Publisher's Web Site: www.wakefieldpress.com.au

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Between Human and Machine

by - David A. Mindell
Feedback, Control and Computing before Cybernetics
2002, The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2715 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363.
ISBN 0801868955
Hardcover, 450 pages
Although not dealing directly nor exclusively with naval warfare, the book is interesting insofar as it describes in detail the history and development of feedback and control systems in the US before and during WWII. In particular it details the Naval Control Systems from 1916 onwards: rangekeepers, gyrocompass, servo control systems and the shipwide fire control system that thus became possible. We get a description of the 'Ford Rangekeeper', a specialized version of which was used as Torpedo Data Computer on US submarines. Systems covered include: land and sea-based antiaircraft fire control, signal transmission in phone networks, representation of power systems, development and integration of radar into fire control.

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Erich Raeder: Admiral of the Third Reich

by - Bird, Keith
2006, US Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1557500479
Hardcover 282 pages, photos
Describes the naval career and leadership of Grossadmiral Erich Raeder, chief of the German navy from 1928-1943 in the context of the navy's long-term naval goals and strategy in the Third Reich

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Good Shipmates The Story of the Restoration of the Liberty Ship John W. Brown

by - Ernest F. Imhoff
2006, Glencannon Press
ISBN 1889901369
Softcover, 416 pages, photos
Volume 1 of a narrative of the restoration of the SS John W. Brown, the last surviving Liberty Ship. Arriving in Baltimore in 1988, the ship was brought back to life by an all-volunteer crew. Also featured are oral histories of the WWII merchant marine and navy crew members.

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Rum Runners, U-Boats, & Hurricanes

by - Bryan Galecki
The complete history of the Coast Guard cutters Bedloe and Jackson
2005, Pine Belt Publishing
ISBN 0976922304
Softcover, 305 pages
Recounts the loss of the Bedloe and the Jackson while assisting the liberty ship George Ade after being torpedoed by U-518

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