Entering service between 1937 and 1939, the ten British “Town” class cruisers were the most modern vessels of their type in the Royal Navy when World War II began. Built in response to large 6-inch gunned cruisers in the U.S. and Japanese navies and primarily designed for the defense of trade, they saw arduous service in a wide range of ...
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British Town Class Cruisers
"Southampton and Belfast Classes: Design, Development and Performance"
Available Formats: Hardcover
Cruiser Birmingham
Detailed in the Original Builders' Plans
The technical details of British warships were recorded in a set of plans produced by the builders on completion of every ship. Known as the “as fitted” general arrangements, these drawings documented the exact appearance and fitting of the ship as it entered service.
Today these plans form part of the incomparable collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
"Dutton's Nautical Navigation, 15th Edition"
As paper navigational charts are replaced by vector images on computer screens, magnetic compasses enhanced by digital flux gate technology, and chronometers joined by atomic clocks, the demand has been mounting for an extensive update to the classic reference known worldwide as Dutton's. To meet the varied needs of today's recreational, naval, and commercial navigators the Naval Institute introduces this ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
The Royal Navy and Battle of Britain
This persuasive study attacks the key myths surrounding the Battle of Britain to revise the relative status of maritime and aviation factors in the defense of Britain. Without denigrating the heroism of the fighter pilots, Anthony Cumming challenges the effectiveness of the Royal Air Force in 1940 and gives the Royal Navy much greater prominence than others have. He vigorously ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
Joshua Barney
Hero of the Revolution and 1812
Little has been published about the life of Baltimore’s Commodore Joshua Barney, a man who earned a commission in the nascent Continental Navy, sailed as a privateer, and served as a commodore in both the French and American navies. Louis Norton’s biography scrutinizes Barney's colorful life and critically analyzes events that forged his character.
Available Formats: Softcover
Prelude to Tragedy
"Vietnam, 1960-1965"
Foreword by Richard Holbrooke
Five American and three Vietnamese participants in the early days of U.S. involvement in southeast Asia compellingly argue that the failure of American policy in Vietnam was not inevitable. The common theme of their individual essays suggests that the war in Vietnam might have had a much different—and far less tragic—outcome if U.S. policy makers had ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
Sisterhood of Spies
The Women of the OSS
The daring missions of America's World War II intelligence agency, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), are the stuff of legend, yet the contributions made by the 4,000 women—including Julia Child and Marlene Dietrich—who served in the OSS are largely unheralded. To tell their fascinating stories, McIntosh, a veteran of sensitive OSS and CIA operations, draws on her own experiences ...
Available Formats: Softcover
Rules of Game
Jutland and British Naval Command
Foreword by Admiral Sir John Woodward. When published in hardcover in 1997, this book was praised for providing an engrossing education not only in naval strategy and tactics but in Victorian social attitudes and the influence of character on history. In juxtaposing an operational with a cultural theme, the author comes closer than any historian yet to explaining what was ...
Available Formats: Softcover
Battleship Missouri
An Illustrated History
Now available in paperback, this book traces the complete story of the Missouri from her keel-laying in 1941, her participation in the Japanese surrender in 1945, and her contribution to the Persian Gulf War. Through extensive interviews and research with records from the Naval Heritage and History Command, National Archives, Harry S. Truman Library, and other repositories, author Paul Stillwell ...
Available Formats: Softcover
British Fiji Class Cruisers and their Derivatives
The Fiji-class, often called the “Colony” class, cruisers were a class of eleven light cruisers of the Royal Navy that saw extensive service throughout World War II. They were an attempt to incorporate the characteristics of the preceding “Town” class within the reduced 8,000-ton limit agreed under the 1936 London Treaty. In general layout, Colony class resembled the earlier ...
Available Formats: Hardcover