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Naval Warfare
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Books - Naval Warfare
 Frigates, Sloops and Brigs, James Henderson. Originally published as two separate books, this single volume edition looks at the frigates and smaller ships that served in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic and Revolutionary Wars. Tales of daring successes mix with stories of bold actions that ended in defeat to produce an picture of life and death in the small ships. [read full review] |
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The Line upon a Wind, Noel Mostert. This is an excellent account of the greatest naval war of the age of sail. Mostert covers a wider range of topics than most books on this subject, while always remaining readable. There is a good section on the rise of American naval power and the War of 1812 [see more] |
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 Through all the Changing Scenes of Life, ed Susan Harrison. The memories of William Edward Jones, a career Navy man who joined up in 1899 and served during the First World War. An interesting account of life in a navy that still had some old 'three deckers' (mainly as training ships) operating alongside turbine driven destroyers and the great dreadnoughts. [read full review] |
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 Warspite, From Jutland to Cold War Warrior, Iain Ballantyne. A history of the super-dreadnaught HMS Warspite, a warship that played a major part in both World Wars, fighting at the battles of Jutland and of Cape Matapan. An interesting story, well supported by a large number of quotes from sailors who served on the Warspite. Also includes brief histories of the other seven warships to carry the same name. [read full review]
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Official History of the War, Naval Operations Vol. I, Sir Julian Corbett. Volume one of five in the British Official History of the First World War at sea, this book covers the first five months of the war, from the period of tension before the fighting began to the battle of the Falklands. This was the period that saw the most action on the surface outside the North Sea, with a number of German cruisers at large. [see more] |
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US Destroyers 1934-45 Pre-war classes, Dave McComb. A look at the design, construction and service record of the ten classes of destroyers built for the US Navy between the resumption of destroyer construction in the early 1930s and the American entry into the Second World War, from the Farragut class of 1934 to the massive Gleaves class, of which sixty-six were funded between 1938 and 1942. [read full review]
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Yamato Class Battleships, Steve Wiper. Aimed at the modeller, this volume contains reviews of the best kits of the massive Yamato class of battleships and book reviews written from the point of view of their usefulness for the modeller. Also contains a good section on the design, construction, service record and eventual fate of the two battleships and one aircraft carrier in the class. [read full review]
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Black Flag: The Surrender of Germany's U-Boats, 1945, Lawrence Paterson. A fascinating and well balanced look at the surrender of the German U-boat force, the only part of the German armed forces still to be stretched out around the world at the end of the Second World War. Paterson covers the surrenders at sea and in Allied ports, the Allied occupation of the remaining U-boat bases in France, Norway and Germany and the surrender of those men from the U-boat force who found them selves involved in the fighting on land in the last days of the war. [read full review]
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The Ultimate Sacrifice, David Turner. Written by a nephew of one of the officers lost on HMS Royal Oak, this book looks at the loss of that battleship, sunk at anchor in Scapa Flow on 14 October 1939. After setting the sinking in context, Turner focuses on the fate of the crew of the Royal Oak, reminding us of the terrible price paid by the 833 victims of the sinking. [see more] |
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| The Design and Construction of British Warships 1939-1945 - the Official Record Vol I: Major Surface Warships , D.K.Brown, RCNC |
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| The Design and Construction of British Warships 1939-1945 - the Official Record Vol III: Amphibious Warfare Vessels and Auxiliaries , D.K.Brown, RCNC |
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| Battleships : Allied Battleships of World War Two , Robert O Dulin |
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| Battleships : Axis and Neutral Battleships of World War Two , Robert O Dulin and William H Garzke |
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| Battleships : United States Battleships of World War Two , Robert O Dulin and William H Garzke |
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 The Battle-Cruiser HMS Renown 1916-1948, Peter C. Smith. Built as a First World War battlecruiser, the Renown survived to become one of the most important British warships of the Second World War. Making extensive use of the memories of the crewmen who served in her, this book tells the tale of a fast, happy, but vulnerable ship that despite her thin battlecruiser armour surivied to play a major part in the most British naval successes, especially in the Mediterranean. [read full review] |
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The Battle of Quiberon Bay 1759, Nicholas Tracy. Written for the 250th anniversary of this battle, won at night, in a storm, and in a difficult bay on the French coast, Tracy looks at the wider context of a battle that ended a real threat of French invasion, with sections on the strategy of naval warfare in the period, the career of Admiral Hawke as well as on the battle itself [read full review]
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 Naval Miscellany, Angus Konstam. This is an entertaining collection of Naval snippets that would be a great 'bluffer's guide' for anyone who wants to learn about many of the most famous or significant aspects of naval history. Konstam has selected a good mix of the better known admirals, ships and battles and some obscure but interesting ones, as well as some suitably miscellaneous aspects of naval lore. [read full review]
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The Story of HMS Revenge, Alexander Stilwell. This book looks at the ten British warships to have borne the name Revenge, starting with one of the most famous Elizabethan warships and ending with a recently de-commissioned nuclear submarine. In between we find powerful sailing ships of the Anglo-Dutch and Napoleonic Wars, and a super-dreadnaught that fought at Jutland and took part in the hunt for the Bismarck. [read full review]
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The Four Days Battle of 1666, Frank L Fox. This is a detailed study of the longest major battle of the age of sail, using English and Dutch accounts of the fighting to produce a clear but detailed account of the battle, the events that led up to it and its aftermath. An excellent study of a battle often described as the 'Greatest Sea Fight of the Age of Sail', and one that came just as the old melee tactics were being replaced by the line of battle [read full review]
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French Battleships, 1922-1956, John Jordan & Robert Dumas. A very detailed look at the generation of French battleships built or designed between the world wars, looking at the design, construction and military careers of the Dunkerque, Strasbourg, Richelieu, Jean Bart, Clemenceau and Gascogne, supported by an impressive number of plans and photographs. [read full review] |
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 Fireship: The Terror Weapon of the Age of Sail, Peter Kirsch. A lavishly illustrated look at one of the most feared weapons of the age of sail. This is a very impressive piece of work – well written and researched, wide ranging in scope and with detailed accounts of most of the key fireship attacks from the sixteenth century wars against Spain to the Greek War of Independence. An essential read for anyone interested in naval warfare in the age of sail. [see more] |
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Scorpion Down, Ed Offley. An interesting book that provides an alternative theory about the sinking of USS Scorpion, an American submarine lost in 1968. Offley suggests that the submarine was actually sunk by the Soviets in revenge for the possible sinking of a Soviet submarine [see more] |
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Young Nelsons - Boy Sailors during the Napoleonic Wars, D.A.B. Ronald. A fascinating book that looks at the boy sailors of the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars, casting an interesting light on a group of sailors who only otherwise seem to appear in early volumes of long running series of naval novels.
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Fishermen Against the Kaiser 1: Shockwaves of War, 1914-1915, Douglas d'Enno. The first part of a two-part examination of the role of British fishermen and their boats during the First World War. As well as the obvious risks of fishing in a war zone, the fishermen served as minesweepers, in home-waters and at Gallipoli and in the Adriatic, and on anti-submarine duties, suffering very heavy losses of men and ships. [read full review]
The Great Edwardian Naval Feud: Beresford's Vendetta against 'Jackie' Fisher, Richard Freeman. Admiral 'Jackie' Fisher was one of the greatest naval reformers in British history, but his first term as First Sea Lord was effectively ended by his feud with Admiral Charles Beresford. This book traces the relationship between the two men, from its friendly beginnings in the Victorian navy to its dramatic end in the years before the First World War [read full review]
Official History of the War, Naval Operations Vol. II, Sir Julian Corbett. Volume two of five in the British Official History of the First World War at sea covers the naval attack on the Dardanelles and early months of the Gallipoli campaign. On the home front it includes the German raid on the Yorkshire coast of December 1914 and the battle of Dogger Bank [see more] 
British Destroyers From Earliest Days to the Second World War, Norman Friedman. A very detailed look at the design of British destroyers from their earliest roots as torpedo boat destroyers, though the First World War and up to the start of the Second World War, supported by vast numbers of plans and well chosen photographs [read full review]
Business in Great Waters: The U-boat Wars 1916-1945, John Terraine. This is a classic account of the struggle between the German U-boat and the Allied navies during the First and Second World Wars, seen from both sides of the battle, and with excellent coverage of the intelligence and technological aspects of the fighting. [read full review]
Survivors: British Merchant Seamen in the Second World War, G. H. and R. Bennett. This fascinating book looks at the fate of those Merchant Seamen whose ships were sunk by enemy action during the Second World War. It follows the survivors of those sinkings from the moment their ship was first hit to their final rescue. Each stage of the process is illustrated in the survivor's own words [see more] 
De Ruyter, Dutch Admiral, ed Jaap R. Bruijn, Ronald Prud'homme van Reine and Rolof van Hövell tot Westerflier. A collection of interesting essays written by Dutch historians and that examines different aspects of de Ruyter’s life and the wider world of the Dutch Republic. This is a valuable piece of work that helps explain the important of de Ruyter as a European figure (not just as a commander during the Anglo-Dutch Wars). [read full review] 
Historical Dreadnoughts - Arthur Marder, Stephen Roskill and Battles for Naval History, Barry Gough. An unexpectedly absorbing look at the careers of two of the twentieth century's greatest naval histories and the rivalry that developed between them when they were at the height of their fame. Should be of value to anyone interested in the writing of history, or in British naval history during the world wars [read full review]
Tudor Sea Power - The Foundation of Greatness, David Childs. A wide ranging study of the Tudor navy from its rise under Henry VIII to the more famous clash with Spain under Elizabeth I, looking at every aspect of the fleet from the smallest details of equipment up to the great clashes with the French and Spanish. [read full review]
The Fourth Force: The Untold Story of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary since 1945, Geoff Puddefoot. A look at the development and deployment of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, which provides support services (including transporting fuel, ammunition and supplies) to the Royal Navy, from 1950 to the present day, a period in which the RFA was involved in the retreat from Empire, the Korean, Falklands and Iraq wars and a series of less well known operations, playing a vital role on each occasion. [read full review] 
British Warships in the Age of Sail 1603-1714: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates, Rif Winfield. A very impressive reference work that gives details of the design, construction and reconstruction, service careers and when possible the captains of every warship to serve in the English and Royal Navies from 1603 to 1714, the period the three Anglo-Dutch Wars and the real beginnings of British naval power. [read full review]
Captain Cook's War and Peace: The Royal Navy Years 1755-1768, John Robson. This interesting study fills a gap in our knowledge of Cook's career, and makes it very clear why he was chosen to command the Endeavour on her expedition into the Pacific, as well as providing a view of the Royal Navy in the period that saw it win command of the seas. [read full review]
Spanish Armada: The Great Enterprise against England 1588, Angus Konstam. A useful book that places the Armada campaign in its wider context, with a focus on the two fleets, their ships, commanders, men and fighting styles, and some interesting material on the Spanish Galleon and the English Race-built Galleon [go to full review] 
