Royal Navy and
Maritime Book Reviews PROVIDED BY - Rob Jerrard
Conway Maritime
Press
The Destroyer Campbeltown
Edition:
2004 (1st Published 1990)
Author:
Al Ross
ISBN:
0851779972
Publishers:
Conway Maritime Press
Price
£25
Publication
Date: This Edition 2004
This is the story of one of
the 'Gift-horses'. One of the obsolete flush-decked destroyers transferred to
the Royal Navy in exchange for extended leases on a number of British bases
along the Atlantic seaboard. Even if
you didn’t serve on a 'Town' you will have some idea of what a flush-decker is
if you served in a British Battle Class.
This is about one particular ship of a class called 'Towns'. A factual account of the service of all
these ships, which were acquired in late 1940 can be found in 'Destroyers for
Great Britain' (A History of 50 Town Class Ships Transferred from the United
States to Great Britain in 1940) by Arnold Hague, published by the Naval
Institute Press in 1990 (revised and extended edition).
All of the towns were names
common to both countries eg Leeds, Newport, Leamington, Reading, Salisbury and
of course perhaps the best known HMS Campbeltown (ex-USS Buchanan), which is
the subject of this book.
Like all books of this
series, there is a very complete and detailed introduction which covers, design
history, service history of USS Buchanan (DD 131), service history of HMS
Campbeltown, general arrangement and hull structure, boilers, particulars of
ship’s machinery, turbines, steering, fuel tank capacity, ground tackle, fire
control, Sonar (she was fitted with ASDIC in the UK), searchlights, gun
armament, torpedo arrangement, depth charges and projectors, ship’s boats,
camouflage, and alterations for the St Nazaire raid.
This is followed by a very
detailed list, which contains cross-reference of USN-RN names and pennant
numbers of all the towns and their fates.
It is notable that only seven were sunk by U-boats.
There are 26 large black and
white photographs, many of which are probably rare and make this book worth
owning. It has to be acknowledged how
difficult it must have been to acquire photographs. Indeed Arnold Hague in his book tells us that some shots were
illicitly taken by crew members. I
would like to believe that there are still some out there undiscovered. I was recently sent a brief cine-camera film
of a few seconds frame of HMS Apollo passing through Tower Bridge out of the
Pool of London; so it does happen.
The rest of the book is
taken up by drawings to a scale of 1/256 3 /64" = 1ft.
One of the boats is
familiar, the good old 27 foot whaler, which, with it’s centreboard is well
known to older Royal Naval personnel.
The notes do admit that it is not actually known that she carried the 27
foot RN version, it could have been a USN 24 foot type.
This book is worth having
and of course if you are a model maker, a must.
Rob Jerrard
Anatomy
of a Ship Bismarck
Author:
Jack Brower
ISBN:
0851779824
Publishers:
Conway Maritime Press
Price
£30 RRP UK
Publication
Date: 2005
As
a boy in the 1950s I can vividly remember family visits to my paternal
grandmother's house being dominated by the adults having whispered
conversations, the subject of which appeared to be a proud young sailor whose
smiling and carefree portrait hung in pride of place above the living room
hearth. We children were never privy to these mysterious huddled conferences,
and it was only much later I learned that the young sailor was, in fact, my father's
elder brother George who, in May 1941, had been a Telegraphist on the staff of
ViceAdmiral L E Holland on board HMS Hood. Tragically, at 06.01 hrs on 24 May
1941, along with 1,415 other members of her ship's company, he perished in the
freezing waters off Greenland's Cape Farewell, when the elderly battlecruiser
was quickly dispatched by the infinitely more powerful German battleship
Bismarck, This revelation has given me a lifelong personal interest in all
aspects of the tragic events which took place over 60 years ago and which
brought terrible sadness to the lives of thousands of families in both Britain
and Germany.
This
highly acclaimed series of books, with the battleship Bismarck being the latest
ship to be dissected and examined in detail, provides a most comprehensive
insight into the vessel whose name today is synonymous with that of HMS Hood.
The Canadian author has spent many months in Germany researching the
Bundesarchiv Kriegsmarine and poring over the original records of the Blohm and
Voss shipyard. Without doubt it was time well spent, for we have the ship's
history in the form of a chronological schedule, which covers events from the
laying of the keel, right through to the discovery of the wreck of the Bismarck
on 8 June 1989. Surprisingly, this section includes a great deal more
information than one would normally expect of such a schedule, and in respect
of "Operation Rheintibűng", the codename for the breakout of
Bismarck and Prinz Eugen into the Atlantic Ocean to conduct a surface campaign
against British mercantile shipping.
The events are recorded on a 24-hour basis. The descriptions of
Bismarck's action against Hood and Prince of Wales are vivid and in the final
battle, when Bismarck was faced with the overwhelming superiority of the Royal
Navy and after her steering gear had been irreparably damaged by aircraft from
HMS Ark Royal, the author gives us what is virtually a minute-by-minute account
of events.
The
second section of the book covers the design specifications and every aspect of
Bismarck's building, down to the most detailed measurements, covering her hull,
armour, armament and machinery, as well as all her boats and most of the
specialist equipment aboard what was in 1941 one of the most modem and powerful
battleships afloat. Although the pages contain a wealth of technical
information, the author has written it in an easy and straightforward style and
one does not need any specialist knowledge to understand all there is to know
about Bismarck.
For
many readers one of the highlights of this book will be the photographic
section which, although confined to six pages, contains 12 superb photographs
of the ship or on-board scenes. Two of them are particularly fascinating and
dramatic, the first of which, taken only minutes after the sinking of Hood,
shows Bismarck in the half-light of dawn in the Denmark Strait, firing
devastating broadsides at Prince of Wales. The second shows 16-inch salvoes
from HMS Rodney falling astern of what is now the blazing wreck of Bismarck.
Just to the right of the shell splashes, thick black smoke can be seen belching
from the once proud battleship.
By
far the biggest section of the book are the 30 pages of scale drawings which,
in previous volumes of the series have been the model-makers' "bible".
They will certainly not be disappointed with this volume. Apart from the
modellers, the drawings are of great interest to the general reader, and it is
both fascinating and exciting to be able to browse through the pages of
detailed plans and see exactly where everything was in the ship, from the
Admiral's Day Cabin and the messdecks, right down to superb scale drawings of
all the ship's main and secondary armament. The detail extends to intricate
drawings of specialist equipment, and even to the ship's scuttles. For me the
most interesting were the side-section cutaway plans of the main gun turrets,
barbettes and ammunition hoists, and the detailed deck plans showing the ship's
company accommodation. As an additional bonus the book's dust jacket hides a superb
fold-out 1:500 general arrangement and hull structure plan. A shame that it has been folded to function
as the dust jacket.
Perhaps
the final words on Bismarck - Hood should go to Admiral-of-the-Fleet Lord
Chatfield who, in a letter to The Times of 28 May 1941 summed up the power of
Bismarck, and the relative weakness of Hood, thus: "The Hood was destroyed
because she had to fight a ship 22 years more modem than herself. This was not
the fault of the British seamen. It was the direct responsibility of those who
opposed the rebuilding of the British Battle Fleet until 1937, two year before
the second Great War started. It is fair to her gallant crew that this should
be written." There must be, in that quotation, a lesson for the
politicians of today.
This
totally comprehensive and visually exciting book, "The Battleship
Bismarck", is a must for historians, warship buffs and model-makers alike,
and it comes highly recommended to grace any bookshelf.
Neil
McCart.
The
Ships of Trafalgar The British, French and Spanish Fleets October 1805
Edition:
1st
Author:
Peter Goodwin, Keeper and Curator of HMS Victory
ISBN:
1844860159
Publishers:
Conway
Price
£35 RRP UK
Publication
Date: September 2005
Press
Release
‘A
must for serious students of Nelson and one which will set the standard for
years to come’. Julian Stockwin, author of the best-selling Thomas Kydd series.
The
first major work to examine, in detail, every single British, French and
Spanish vessel that was present at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Based
almost entirely on new primary research and interpretation by a leading expert.
The
Battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805, remains one of the defining actions in
naval history. The decisive nature of the engagement, the death of Nelson and
the outpouring of national grief in the aftermath have inspired a wealth of
literature on the battle and many narratives have retold this famous action.
However, until now no work has attempted to provide an in-depth history of each
of the British, French and Spanish vessels that were at the engagement.
Dividing the fleets into the relevant classes by their rating, this keystone
work then proceeds to provide a service history of each individual vessel,
including specification tables, list of commanders, casualty lists and refit
histories. Each class of vessel is illustrated by original plans drawn
specially by the author alongside contemporary and modern images of the ships.
Vital
contextual information is included, on design and construction, styles,
relative merits between the British and Combined fleets, trends and
developments in armament and fighting techniques, and a comparison of the
pound-for-pound effectiveness of the rival fleets. This book is a complete
standard-setting guide to the essence of the greatest naval battle, the ships
at Trafalgar.
About
the author
Peter
Goodwin has been Keeper and Curator of HMS Victory for over 10 years and is
placed in an ideal position to write this definitive work. His previous
publications include the widely-acclaimed Nelson's Ships, The Construction and
Fitting of the Sailing Man of War: 1650-1850 and most recently, Nelson's
Victory: 101 Questions and Answers about HMS Victory.
Review
This
is a book which I had very much looked forward to owning. We cannot know the history, the fate of all
the men who fought, but of the ships we know much more, what became of Pickle? (“I have urgent dispatches"),
Temeraire (the fighting Temeraire, I’ll thank you Captain Harvey to keep your
proper station, which is astern of the Victory), Belleisle (defiant and
dismasted), Britannia (showed an inability to get into the thick of the
action), Bellerophon (became a prison ship) and Mars, Royal Sovereign et al?
As
you read the full history of each ship you learn so much more. The extracts from the ships logs at
Trafalgar make exciting reading in some cases, others are routine entries. Some questions will never be answered, eg Northesk's inability to get Britannia
into the thick of the action where her guns could have made such a difference.
Some
of the ships that served so well at Trafalgar seem to have had the same
fate. We are reminded of this with
Bellerophon laid out near the hulk Retribution (a prison ship) in the Thames,
"Like your wicked Noah's Ark cribbed and barred and moored by massive
rusty chains". What a pity we
could not have preserved at least one more of the Trafalgar fleet (up until
1949 we did indeed have the opportunity), we do retain at least one other link
to sailing ship days, HMS Trincomalee, which for a time was called Foudroyant
after Nelson's flagship of that name.
That was the name she bore all the years I remember her in Portsmouth
Harbour. Sailing into this same Harbour
90 years ago you could have seen the impressive sight of HMS St Vincent near
the Gosport side. She was in fact the boys’ training ship launched in 1815
during the lifetime of John Jervis. HMS
St Vincent returned to Gosport in 1927 when the shore establishment was opened
at the old RMLI Barracks in Forton Road.
British
built ships fought on both sides; this was because of the taking of
prizes. Listed in the French fleet are
Berwick and Swiftshore, these were captured from the British. The Berwick was lost in the storm because
their crew cut the cables and she was driven onto the shoals of San Lucar.
The
final fate of the French ship Dauguay Trouin is described as "an act of
destruction infamous in the annals of maritime ship preservation", and so
it should be, to our shame in 1949 we actually blew this ship up; captured at
Trafalgar she served in the Royal Navy under the name HMS Implacable, quite
rightly the motto of the World Ship Trust is "Never Again".
This
is a magnificent book and no serious student of Trafalgar can afford to be
without it
Rob
Jerrard 18th Nov 2005
The
Battle of Trafalgar
Edition
First
Author
Martin Robson
ISBN
0851779794
Publishers
Conway Maritime Press
Price
£20
Publication
Date August 2005
In
the Introduction the author asks the question, perhaps trying to pre-empt any
reviewer’s comment, "this begs the question, one that all historians working
in this field must asks themselves, is there room for another book?" The author then goes on to give us his
answer, his reasons. Amongst his
reasons are:-
"Many
of the existing studies are out of date; since their publication new material
has come to the fore, allowing us to approach the battle from a more complete
viewpoint. Biographies of Nelson, appearing with increasing regularity over the
past few years, concentrate on his role in the battle without examining the
wider experience of the French, Spanish and British crews who fought and died
that day. Of course one cannot examine
Trafalgar without the shadow of Nelson looming over the subject. Nearly 200
years after his death he remains one of the greatest Britons, an iconic, larger
than life character, whose story still has many things to say to the
twenty-first century. Yet, as this book
will prove, there is much more to Trafalgar than the story of Nelson. Recent
studies that attempt to examine the battle as a whole do just that, without any
reference to the wider strategic context of the campaign. The events that led to Trafalgar began
several years before, and the effects of the battle have echoed down through
almost 200 years of naval history."
I liked this book right from the start.
If you want to consider all the factors which led up to Trafalgar then
this approach of the Introduction, with maps and boxed-out themes to explain
the persons involved and key issues is easy and relaxing to absorb.
The maps on the Introduction pages set the scene, however only one has
Cape Trafalgar indicated. I would have
liked to have seen a large scale map of the area because I would be interested
to know, if questions regarding the location of Cape St Vincent and Cape
Trafalgar were posed on a television programme, how many people would know
where they are? Does it matter? Well it mattered very much to severely
damaged ships that faced a four-day storm trying to get back home to
England.
Before
reading about Trafalgar, the scene had to be set in the mind of the reader with
knowledge of previous major fleet battles - the Glorious 1st of June
(1794), St Vincent (14 February 1797),
Camperdown (11th October 1797),
Nile (1st October 1798), Copenhagen (2nd April 1801)
and finally Trafalgar (21st October 1805). The chapter entitled "The British Defence Against
Invasion" does just that, with a boxed-out theme on Admiral Sir William
Cornwallis and a very good boxed-out theme on sailing ships ie what is a First
Rate down to an unrated ship. Victory
was of course a First Rate.
It
is enlightening to have the opportunity to read of the exploits of names that
are familiar because they now bear the names of ships or classes of ships eg,
Sir Henry Blackwood (1770-1832), Blackwood Class 14 Anti-submarine frigate, and
Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy, again this was a Blackwood Class. Two others
were Dundas, Captain Thomas Dundas of Naiad (38 guns) in Collingwood’s
lead column and Pellew, Sir Israel Pellew (Lord Exmouth) (1758-1832).
Whoever
drew the painting of the naked French woman from the French ship picked up by
the crew of HMS Pickle, must have had some imagination. She doesn’t look the type to have been
onboard a ship masquerading as a man.
Nelson’s
death and funeral are well covered.
Since Portsmouth is my home town I have of course been on board HMS
Victory, but I wondered as I read this book, how many ex-RN men have stood in
the Great Crypt at St Paul’s before the great hero? I must admit my first time was a bit casual. As a City of London Policeman on duty at St
Paul’s, I had gone down the Crypt for a break and wandering around I found
myself in his presence. I thought,
"Well here we are at last and you were right all along St Paul’s is still
standing, but then again, so is Westminster Abbey".
What
a difference a rank makes. Most of the
dead were thrown overboard and many of the survivors were to become victims of
the Vagrancy Act 1824, when the Government of a grateful Nation made offences
of, sleeping rough, wandering abroad and begging,
and wandering abroad and exposing wounds.
Part
of Nelson’s Prayer for Victory was,".May no misconduct in anyone tarnish
it; and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature of the British
Fleet." The Crews kept their part.
Cuthbert
Collingwood later joined Nelson in the crypt.
I
hope we all remember them on the 21st October 2005. All those killed or wounded and those who
carried on afterwards. They do not lie
in Gray’s Country Churchyard as they should have, " Let not Ambition mock
their useful Toil, Their homely joys and Destiny obscure; Nor Grandeur hear
with a disdainful Smile, The short and simple Annals of the Poor. The Boast of
Heraldry, the Pomp of Pow'r, And all that
Beauty, all that Wealth e'er gave, Awaits alike th'inevitable Hour. The Paths
of Glory lead but to the Grave."
I
thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is one
you don’t necessarily need to read front to back. You can just select items which interest you.
I
look forward to the other planned books in this series and hope they keep to
the same format.
Rob
Jerrard
The
Island Nation
Author:
Brian Lavery
ISBN:
1844860043
Publishers:
Conway Maritime Press
Price
£20 RRP UK
Publication
Date: 2005
PRESS
RELEASE
Foreword
by Ellen MacArthur
Official
book of the SeaBritain
From
invasion to Empire and World War, the story of the British and the Sea
Author
Brian Lavery is one of the UK's leading maritime historians and a curator at
the National Maritime Museum
Throughout
her history, Britain has been defined by the sea. Giving the British people protection and reinforcing their sense
of separateness and isolation, our island geography has defined our national
character and produce our most memorable characteristics of insularity,
individualism, eccentricity and our distinctness from our European neighbours.
So
what lies behind our complex relationship with the sea and our coastal
heritage? In this age of globalisation, European integration, and increasing
migration is it any longer possible to talk about an Island Nation. Brian Lavery looks at the key events in our
maritime history from early invasion that introduced the English people to
trade, empire, emigration and World War.
Coming right up to the present day with an examination of Britain and
her place in the global world. The
Island Nation explores how the sea inspired artists, scientists, inventors, and
heroes like Brunel, Nelson, Britten and Turner.
Including
a Gazetteer of over 100 heritage sites to visit (all part of the 2005 Sea
Britain festivities) this is both a celebration and examination of a unique
people and their heritage. The Island
Nation is published as part of the major SeaBritain 2005. Partners include The National Maritime
Museum, The National Trust, English Heritage, the Royal Navy, the RNLI with the
support of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
The
Author:
Brian
Lavery is a Curator at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, and a renowned
expert on the history of the Navy. His earlier title for Conway, Jack Aubrey
Commands, was an international bestseller. Brian was the technical adviser to
Peter Weir and his crew during the filming of Patrick O'Brien's novel, 'Master
and Commander.
What
does it mean to be an island nation and why is it so important to Britain?
There never was a time when the boundaries of state coincided with its
coastline, even if one ignores the small offshore islands. Yet for all our cultural differences, the
island, peoples of Britain became for a while the most successful maritime
nation in modern history, creating the largest empire of all time, backed for
more than 200 years by the strongest navy and the largest merchant fleet. And Britain is still a maritime nation.
This
magnificent volume explores our rich and complex relationship with the sea
through several thousand years of history.
Author Brian Lavery moves with consummate skill between topics as
diverse as the rise of the Royal Navy or the development of specialised
fisheries, the motives behind exploration and emigration or the protection' of
our shores from invasion, to deliver an all-encompassing account that is
accessible and revealing,.
The
book expresses the British seafaring spirit, not just remembering the legendary
figures of Drake and Cook, but continued in our Olympics successes in sailing
and epitomised in Ellen Arthur's record-breaking, single-handed round-the-world
voyage that so captured the public imagination.
And
beyond this the sea has been a vital inspiration to so many artists and
writers, which is beautifully reflected in the wealth of paintings from the
collection of the National Maritime Museum that illustrate the book. Additional photographic imagery comes
principally from the picture archives of VisitBritain and Conway Maritime Press.
Each
chapter includes features on preserved ships, classic boats, museums and other
notable sites, both coastal and inland, such as lighthouses and canals, and the
book is rounded off with a Gazetteer listing attractions. For sailors and landlubbers alike, The Island Nation is a glorious
reminder that our maritime heritage is, something we can all engage with.
The
Sailor’s Word-Book
Author:
W H Smyth
ISBN:
0-85177-972-7
Publishers:
Conway Maritime Press
Price
£9.99
Publication
Date: This Edition 2005
This
book was first published in 1867. You
would have to read it with that in mind. The reader
of English literature who is unfamiliar with the development of the language
often fails to recognize that a word in use today may have had a totally
different meaning for its sixteenth-, seventeenth-, eighteenth- or even
nineteenth-century writer. The difficulty
is not with those words that have dropped out of normal circulation but with
those words whose meanings have undergone considerable change through the
centuries.
Take the following as an example.
This is an undated newspaper cutting, which I came across.
"The deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester has
received an unusual kind of publicity because he said in a public statement 'I
wish to refute here and now . . .'something he wanted to deny. Refuting is not denying, say the
critics. Refuting is disproving;
producing evidence that something is wrong. 'Refute' has come under attack as
'the prime weasel-word of our day,' which probably means that it's a word in
the process of taking on an additional meaning. There's a lot about 'refute' in
the big Oxford English. Dictionary, and if the deputy chief constable's critics
had looked at that they might have been warier as to its developing meaning.
If refute doesn't mean deny today, it pretty soon will,
considering the speed and variety of changes going on in our ever-changing
language. Anyway what (you might ask)
is a 'weasel-word'? It's a word used to
dodge a question; and it comes from the weasel's reputed habit of getting all
the contents out of an egg without changing the egg's appearance. Living as we do in times when any instrument
seems designed for belabouring or pelting the police, and the police themselves
issue more and more public statements, any word can be a weasel-word and any
kind of target can be a communicator"
I am not sure where that came from but I think it was CH Rolph
writing in Police Review at least 20 years ago. Well what does ‘refute’ mean now?
THE SAILOR'S WORD-BOOK is an incomparable alphabetical digest of
nautical terms - some 14,000 in all.
It defines a huge range of common and rare words, some of which, though
now antiquated or obsolete, nevertheless appear regularly in contemporary
works, because it remains one of the principal sources for many of the foremost
writers of maritime non-fiction and fiction of our times.
With the change in meaning firmly in mind take page 1 and the term
AB
The rating of Able Seamen on the ship's
books: these two letters are often used as an epithet for the person so rated. He must be equal to all the duties required
of a seaman in a ship-not only as regards the saying to "hand, reef, and
steer," but also to strop a block, splice, knot, turn in rigging, raise a
mouse on the mainstay, and be an example to the ordinary seamen and landsmen.
This definition is as we see completely out-of-date since ordinary
seamen are carried on ship’s books and during my service in the Royal Navy, so
were junior seamen, presumably these days AB’s do not reef, or splice as we
did, and the only mouse they are likely to raise wasn’t even dreamt of in 1867,
not even Jules Verne thought of that one. This Word-Book does not of course
define,'Submarine', Was it Jules Verne who said of it, ‘In god’s good time all
this will come to pass’? Or was that just made up for the film? It may be hard to tell since the original
translation of the book left so much out. Landsmen these days keep their feet
firmly on land, now that the Press-Gangs are no longer about.
However anyone interested in the sea will welcome a copy of
this book in which the author deals with every aspect of ships and the sea -
with warships, merchant vessels, small craft, seamanship, navigation,
meteorology, naval architecture, ship construction and fittings - the author
included 'galley slang', relevant natural history terms and even birds and
fishes which were considered good eating.
Much more than a period piece, this new edition is an invaluable
tool for maritime historians, model-makers, sailors and indeed anyone with
enthusiasm for all things maritime.
What’s in a
word? The author puts it this way in
his Introduction.
"WHAT'S in a word? I
s a question which it is held clever to quote and wise to think unanswerable:
and yet there is a very good answer, and it is-a meaning, if you know it. But there is another question, and it
is. What's a word in? There is never a poor fellow in this world
but must ask it now and then with a blank face, when aground for want of a
meaning. And the answer is-a
dictionary, if you have it. Unfortunately,
there may be a dictionary, and one may have it, and yet the word may not be
there. It may be an old dictionary,
and the word a new one; or a new dictionary, and the word an old one; a grave
dictionary, and the word a slang one; a slang dictionary, and the word a grave
one; and so on through a double line of battle of antitheses. Such is assuredly matter for serious
cogitation: and voluntarily to encounter those anomalous perplexities requires
no small amount of endurance, for the task is equally crabbed and onerous,
without a ray of hope to the pioneer beyond that of making himself humbly
useful".
If of course you are in any doubt you can always revert to Alice
'When I use a word,'
Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather scornful tone,' it means just what I choose it
to mean, neither more nor less.'
'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can make words mean so many different
things.'
'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, 'which is to be master -
that's all.'
Alice was too much puzzled to say anything; so after a minute
Humpty Dumpty began again. 'They've a temper, some of them - particularly
verbs: they're the proudest - adjectives you can do anything with, but not
verbs - however, I can manage
the whole lot of them! Impenetrability! That's what I say!'
'Would you tell me, please,' said Alice, 'what that means?'
'Now you talk like a reasonable child,' said Humpty Dumpty,
looking very much pleased. 'I meant by "impenetrability" that we've
had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you'd mention what
you mean to do next, as I suppose you don't mean to stop here all the rest of
your life.'
'That's a great deal to make one word mean,' Alice said in a
thoughtful tone.
'When I make a word do a lot of work like that,' said Humpty
Dumpty, 'I always pay it extra.'
'Oh!' said Alice. She was too much puzzled to make any other
remark.
Rob Jerrard
Nelson's Victory, 101 Questions & Answers about HMS Victory
Author: Peter Goodwin
ISBN: 0851779883
Publishers: Conway Maritime Press
Price £9.99 RRP UK
Publication Date: December 2004
As the Publishers point out, “with the approach of the 200th
anniversary of the Royal Navy's greatest battle off Cape Trafalgar on October
21st 1805, much attention will be given to our most tangible symbol of that
most ferocious engagement, Nelson's fully preserved flagship HMS Victory”.
I have a number of books about Nelson and the Victory, but
Peter Goodwin’s 101 Questions & Answers about HMS Victory is such a handy
reference that it fills a gap I think was much needed.
Myths and stories do abound about
Nelson. Perhaps Portsmouth being my
hometown and joining the Royal Navy at fifteen brought me into contact with
memories of these tales.
Even in the Navy I served in from 1956 – 1968, Nelson or his
memory lived on and there was always a feeling that he was still around.
Do you know, why is rum called grog? What did they preserve Nelson’s body in? What really were his last words? Is HMS Victory still in commission? What did the crew drink and what were
slops? Where is Trafalgar?
Do you know, or do you just think you know the answers?
The inevitable problem with 101 Questions & Answers is there
will always be somebody (a British Matelot) who will ask question 102, eg was
it Nelson who had a patent bridge for boarding enemy ships or was that the
other Horatio?
A lot will be said in the lead-up to the 200th
Anniversary of Trafalgar. Peter Goodwin
we are told is hard at work on his next book, (The Ships of Trafalgar” to be
published in 2005. I look forward to
that book and in the meantime if there is ever anything you are not sure of
concerning Nelson or Victory there is a strong possibility it will be found in
this book.
The Author:
Peter Goodwin is widely acknowledged as one of the leading writers
on the sailing warship. His published
titles include the classic The Construction and Fitting of the Sailing Man of
War (Conway, 1990), The Naval Cutter Alert' (in the Conway Anatomy of the Ship
series) and the acclaimed Nelson's Ships (Conway, 2002). He is Keeper and Curator of HMS Victory, in
HM Naval Base Portsmouth, and lives in Southsea, Hants.
Rob Jerrard
THE SEA CHART
Author: John Blake
ISBN: 085177945x
Publishers: Conway Maritime Press
Price £30 RRP UK
Publication Date: 2004
In his note and acknowledgement the author quotes, "How
inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is clearly Ocean Sir Arthur C
Clarke, English fiction writer, Nature, 1990".
The author then goes on to say, "Sailing the Seven Seas in
the Royal Navy has given me an essential experience of our planet, which no
amount of armchair research could have done. The story of mankind's expansion
across the globe is bound up in the history of the sea, with the spectrum of
emotions, good and bad, that drove the explorers to discover, understand or
exploit the lands beyond. The tool was the chart. But dogma has no place in the
face of Nature's elements. Galileo Galilei, after his enforced recantation in
1632 that the Earth moves around the Sun, reverted to his belief when he said
‘Eppur si muove’ (but it moves). In understanding our world we can start to
understand ourselves" as the historian Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) noted
‘Civilization is a movement and not a condition, a voyage and not a harbour’.
The world took shape through the development of the sea chart and
its visual representation of European exploration and trade, conquest and
colonization. While the early maps and charts are interesting in their often
fantastic and distorted views of newly discovered lands, the surveying work in
the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by men such as Cook, Vancouver
and Flinders, in small open boats along treacherous stretches of coastline, are
fascinating in their acute level of accuracy.
This book examines the history of the sea chart in both aesthetic
and scientific terms. Chapters are organized along chronological and
geographical lines. Each one opens with a succinct history of the charting of a
particular area, and is followed by a sumptuous plate section of significant
charts that support the text. Stand alone feature boxes explain key figures and
themes.
What makes this book so impressive is the outstanding selection of
charts that the author, John Blake, has carefully gathered together from some
of the most important archives in the world. The collection includes the early
portolan charts of the fifteenth century, original manuscript charts of Europe,
India and the Orient, and nautical maps that show the medieval view of the
known world.
Others illustrate the ships' tracks of the Arctic and Antarctic
explorers, the buccaneer's view of Colonial South America, and the meticulous
surveys of the coastlines of North America and Australia. Pages are further
enhanced with navigational views, extracts from masters' remark books and
sailing directions, and accounts of voyages.
This volume features examples from famous sets of charts, such as
The Mariner's Mirrour, the English translation of the celebrated Spieghel der
Zeevaerdt, Dell' Arcano del Mare, Le Neptune Franlois, and the Atlantic
Neptune, together with rare examples of individual charts, such as Benjamin
Franklin's Chart of the North Atlantic. Collections represented include the
Hydrographic Office and The Admiralty Library Manuscript Collection in the UK;
the Hispanic Society of America, the South Street Seaport Museum and Library of
Congress in the USA.
This certainly is a extraordinary book full of coloured charts, it
will make interesting reading for those who served in what was the Executive
(seaman) Branch as Officers, and perhaps also Radar Ratings, since both were
involved in navigating the ship; Officers from the bridge backed up by a small
team of Radar people one deck below in the operations room, bent over the PPI
and the plot table – memories of the rule by which we could tell the officer of
the watch how close a ship would pass by working out its course and speed
relative to our own, what was it now?
Something to do with six minutes and 10 comes to mind.
It was always warmer in the operations room wasn’t it? Before you contact me – I did the sea boat
as well.
If you sail boats or still have an interest in navigation this is
a book for you.
The Author LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JOHN BLAKE served nearly twelve
years as a sea-going officer in the Royal Navy, followed by five years in the
Reserve, with extensive service in ships across the world. Born in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, educated at
Brighton and Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, he left the service in
1973 and opened his own sizeable gift stores, Naturally British, in Covent
Garden, London, Boston, Massachusetts and Osaka, Japan.
In 1996 he and his wife initiated the licensing of the archives of
maritime cartography in the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, producers of
Admiralty charts, gaining a comprehensive knowledge of them.
John writes and lectures on maritime history and is an
enthusiastic small boat sailor. He is married with four children, and a
granddaughter, and lives in Wiltshire.
Conway Maritime Press
Naval Weapons of World War II
John Campbell
Hardback £45.00 Published October 2002
• In depth descriptions of every
weapon, its characteristics, design history and performance
• Summary of factor
affecting naval armament design and procurement
• Technical introductions to each weapon
type, covering fire-control, propellants and projectiles
Over 350 specification tables and more than 500 illustrations
including detailed plans and drawings.
There is no shortage of reference books on the warships that
fought the Second World War, but the weapons they carried have often been
ignored. This situation is rectified in this classic work, which is
encyclopaedic in scope and largely based on original research. Divided by
country (including minor powers not directly involved in the war), the book
covers all the major weaponry of the period. Weapons of earlier vintage that
were employed during the war, and those that were at an experimental, trial or
design stage in 1945 are also included.
The size, scope and originality of this work make it one of the
most important reference works available on naval warfare during the Second
World War.
The late John Campbell was an authority on naval weaponry and this
book is the culmination of a lifetime's research. He was a regular contributor
to the Warship journal and is the author of Jutland: An Analysis of the
Fighting as well as works on Queen Elizabeth class battleships, First World War
battlecruisers and he was a major contributor to the Conways All The Worlds
Fighting Ships series.
CONWAY MARITIME PRESS
THE HISTORY OF THE SHIP
THE
COMPREHENSIVE STORY OF SEAFARING FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY
Richard Woodman
The Story of Seafaring from the Earliest Times to the Present Day
An important best-selling source (over 20,000 copies) for maritime
enthusiasts - NOW AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK
Highly-acclaimed award winning author drawing on over 30 years of
maritime experience
Fully illustrated using world-wide sources.
PUBLICATION DATE October
2002
ILLUSTRATIONS 250 colour
and b&w
BINDING Paperback FULL PRICE £ 19.99 352 pages
Ships have been among the most powerful artefacts produced by the
hand of man. They have transcended mere practical use and become instruments of
great influence, furthering causes for good or evil, acting as manifestations
of political power, of military puissance, or of commercial exploitation.
The purpose of this new volume is to present the informed reader
who has an interest in ships, with a full account of the development of this
most fascinating, important and influential invention. The book in general
follows the arguments propounded in Conway's highly-praised twelve-volume
History of the Ship series: these are underpinned with the author's many years
of sea-going experience and numerous writings on maritime topics. Whilst
dealing with a hugely complex subject the author presents his truly
international thesis in a highly readable manner. The book is complete with
over 250 colour and black and white illustrations ranging from ship plans,
engravings and diagrams to marine oil paintings and photographs of both ships
and ship models.
Richard Woodman qualified as a navigating officer with Blue Funnel
serving in cargo-liners trading principally to the Far East, before joining
Trinity House in 1967 working on Corporation's lighthouse tenders. After 31
years at sea he now works in operations management. His first historical novel
was published by John Murray in 1981. Since then his popular Nathaniel
Drinkwater series has grown to twelve volumes. Along with six other novels
Richard has also produced a number of highly successful non-fiction titles including
View from the Sea (1985) and the widely acclaimed Arctic Convoys (John Murray,
1994). In 2001 he was awarded the Desmond Wettern Maritime Media Award for his
contributions to maritime history.
The Ship is one of the greatest accomplishments of the human race.
That we have used it to travel to new and mysterious, lands, vanish our enemies
an trade for exotic goods in distant
ports makes its history very rich indeed. The purpose of this book is to
present the informed reader, who has an interest in ships, wit full account of
both the technical and cultural development of this most fascinating and
influential invention. The auth Richard Woodman, has drawn together the
historical strands of each ship-type to produce a thoroughly compelling account
culminating in a summary of contemporary developments and speculation about the
future.
Whether for good or evil, we have used the ship in our struggle to
dominate the world around us, accomplishing spectacular feats of courage and
exploration, exploitation and destruction. From the development of the dugout
canoe the very large crude (oil) carrier (VLCC), we have created the largest
mobile structures on the planet. The book starts w descriptions of primitive
craft, leading to the early trading vessels and warships. From there the
transition to the first f rigged ship, the carrack, is discussed. The
introduction of steam is clarified with details on how this gradual proc,
although finally allowing the steamship to usurp the sailing ship in many of
her former roles, allowed sailing vessels reach their final and prolonged
heyday in the colourful tea clipper races. The upheavals of the twentieth
century with arrival of the big-gun battleship, aircraft carrier and the
nuclear submarine arc given comprehensive coverage.
Throughout the book, the impact of technology on the evolution of
the ship is dealt with logically to t developments in their economic and
political contexts, and changes in the design of both warships and merchantmen
; outlined. Entwined with this history are the stories of the characters who
influenced ship design and the men w commanded them.
The book in general follows the arguments propounded in Conway's
highly-praised twelve volume History of the Ship series: these arc underpinned
with the author's many years of seagoing experience and numerous fiction and
nom-fiction writings on maritime topics. Whilst dealing with a hugely complex
subject, the author presents his truly international thesis in a highly
readable and enlightening manner. The book is complete with a full glossary and
extensive bibliography and illustrated with more than 250 colour and black and
white images ranging from ship plans, engravings and diagrams toy marine coil
paintings and photographs of both ships and ship models.
FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT Rob Jerrard on robjerrard@aol.com
All the World's Fighting Ships
Publisher's title Information
The four volumes of Conway’s All the World's Fighting Ships cover
the whole history of iron and steel warships, from the first ironclad to the
present day, and between them give a degree of detail and completeness hardly
matched by a whole library of previously published naval books.
As well as detailing every ship, type by type and class by class,
introductions and extended texts give the reader a deeper understanding of why,
as well as how and when, naval developments took place.
This volume covers the period 1860-1905 which witnessed the
introduction of armour plate, breech loading guns, the turbine and the
torpedo. It saw the victory of steam over sail and iron and steel over wood;
and by its close there were signs that the submarine and aeroplane would change
the face of naval warfare still further. This volume represents the only
standard work on the period and is likely to remain the reference work for many
years to come.
"Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1860-1905 must rank
with the all-time great naval reference books ... the size and originality of
the undertaking is immediately apparent.' The
Navy
"The importance of this book cannot be over-estimated, for it
tills a huge void in naval knowledge . . : ' Defence
"Now and again a really superlative book comes along, one
that stands apart from the rest either because of its authoritative content or
sheer quality of printing and packaging. Conway's World's Fighting Ships fills
all these conditions." Scale Models
"This volume will undoubtedly be the standard reference
work." Navy International
' ... impressive, well-printed and beautifully laid out ... much
new data included ... one of the most important reference books yet published."
Ships, Monthly
"An invaluable and impressively produced reference
book . . . " Navy
News
The first volume was also the Library Association's joint
'Reference Book of the Year' in 1979, and was chosen by the US Naval Institute
Proceedings as one of the 'Notable Naval Books' of the year.
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships is an important series
which involves both a major revaluation of published information and the wide-scale
use of unpublished sources now becoming available for the first time. With the
advantages of hindsight it is now possible to put this detailed and reliable data
into its proper historical context, and this information is complemented by
extensive illustrations, with photos and/or accurate standard-scale drawings
for most classes. Each volume covers a logical period in a degree of detail and
completeness hardly matched by a whole library of previously published naval
books, and is written by an international team of naval experts.
Review
Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1860-1905
Roger Chesneau
ISBN: 0-85177-133-5
Conway Maritime Press
Published 3 September 2003
A complete
reference library in one book.
Conway’s All the World’s
Fighting Ships 1860-1905 is the first in a series of 4 books which, as the
title suggests, lists all the worlds fighting ships built in that period
between the first ironclad warship and the Dreadnought battleship. This was a
time when the world’s first great arms race was running at full speed. In short, as one country built a big
battleship, so another would simply design one that was even bigger.
Conway Maritime Press are
well known for their factual books on ships; especially warships, in which they
provide the finest technical documentation. "All the World’s Fighting Ships
1860-1905" is hardback measuring 12½" x 8¾" with 440 pages of detailed and
factual information. After a brief foreword and an explanation of abbreviations
used, the navies of the world are divided into three main headings, 'the
world’s great powers', 'coast defence navies' and 'minor navies'. Under each of
these headings all the relevant ships are then listed by country. Displayed by
"class," each section then commences with the largest battleships and
progresses all the way down to the smallest torpedo boats (or whatever) with
the oldest vessels mentioned first. For each class there is one or more of
those profile line-drawings which have become Conway’s trademark. These are
followed by all the usual technical details such as; Displacement, dimensions,
machinery, armour, armament and complement followed by the names of each ship
within that class; its builder, date laid down, date completed and fate. These
are accompanied by a very "readable" text from which we learn of the political
intrigue of the day, variations between vessels, refits, new equipment,
whatever defects or other problems that beset either the class or a specific
ship and a short résumé of the fate of each vessel.
Altogether, the book is well
illustrated with an excellent selection of historic black and white original
photographs throughout with at least one picture on almost every page.
In summary, this is an
excellent technical work of reference and one which will continue to stand the
test of time. Put another way, this is one of those books you will wish you had
bought; after it becomes out of print.
NM
Conway’s All the World’s
Fighting Ships 1922-1946
Roger Chesneau
ISBN: 0-85177-146-7
Conway Maritime Press
Published 16 September 2003
Review
Conway’s All the World’s
Fighting Ships 1922-1946 is the third in a series of 4 books which, as the
title suggests, lists all the worlds fighting ships built during the period in
question. Initially, these were post
WW1 years in which some countries favoured disarmament whilst others harboured
expansionist plans. This was also a time when the Aircraft Carrier would
totally eclipse the mighty Battleship as "King of the Seas." Eventually, the
advent of WW2 and the way in which the USA entered that war added a whole new
dimension to warship design and production.
Conway Maritime Press are
well known for their factual books on ships; especially warships, in which they
provide the finest technical documentation. "All the World’s Fighting Ships
1922-1946" is hard-back measuring 12½" x 8¾" with 456 pages of detailed and
factual information. After a brief
foreword and an explanation of abbreviations used, the navies of the world are
listed by country in order of their size and importance at the beginning of the
period in question - i.e. Great Britain and Empire Forces, USA, Japan, Germany,
etc and continuing right down to the world’s smallest navies from the Middle
East, Far East and Latin America. Each country’s ships are then displayed by
"class" commencing with the largest capital ships and progressing all the way
down to the smallest torpedo boats (or whatever) with the oldest vessels
mentioned first. For each class there
is one or more of those profile line drawings which have become Conway’s
trademark. These are followed by all the usual technical details such as;
Displacement, dimensions, machinery, armour, armament and complement followed
by the names of each ship within that class - it’s builder, date laid down,
date completed and fate. These are accompanied by a very “readable” text from
which we learn of the political intrigue of the day, variations between
vessels, refits, new equipment, whatever defects or other problems beset either
the class or a specific ship and a short résumé of the fate of each vessel.
Altogether, the book is well
illustrated with an excellent selection of historic black and white original
photographs throughout with at least one picture on almost every page.
In summary, this is an
excellent technical work of reference and one which will continue to stand the
test of time.
NM
Conway’s All the World’s
Fighting Ships 1947-1995
Various Editors
ISBN: 0-85177-605-1
Conway Maritime Press
And finally the last complete reference library in on