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
Atlantic Escorts
"Ships, Weapons and Tactics in World War II"
Winston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the World War II that really frightened him. If the lifeline to North America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of U.S. and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the ...
Available Formats: Softcover
First Team and Guadalcanal Campaign
Naval Fighter Combat from August to November 1942
From huddled command conferences to cramped cockpits, John Lundstrom guides readers through the maelstrom of air combat at Guadalcanal in this impressively researched sequel to his earlier study. Picking up the story after Midway, the author presents a scrupulously accurate account of what happened, describing in rich detail the actual planes and pilots pitted in the ferocious battles that helped ...
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
"A Pitiful, Unholy Mess"
"The Histories of Wheeler, Bellows, and Haleiwa Fields and the Japanese Attacks of 7 December 1941"
A Pitiful, Unholy Mess is a detailed combat narrative of the 7 December 1941 Japanese attacks on O‘ahu’s Wheeler, Bellows, and Haleiwa Fields. Since these bases comprised O‘ahu’s fighter defenses, the Japanese needed to neutralize these bases (particularly Wheeler Field) to prevent U.S. aircraft from interfering with attacks on the Pacific Fleet. Although the loss of life at the three fields was less than that sustained by the ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
No One Avoided Danger
NAS Kaneohe Bay and the Japanese Attack of 7 December 1941
“No One Avoided Danger” is a detailed combat narrative of the 7 December 1941 Japanese attacks on NAS Kaneohe Bay, one of two naval air stations on the island of O‘ahu. Partly because of Kaneohe’s location—15 air miles over a mountain range from the main site of that day’s infamous attack on Pearl Harbor—military historians have largely ignored the station’s ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
This is No Drill
The History of NAS Pearl Harbor and the Japanese Attacks of 7 December 1941
“This Is No Drill” is a detailed combat narrative of the 7 December 1941 Japanese attack on NAS Pearl Harbor—then one of two naval air stations on the island of O‘ahu. Since the station served as a base for long-range patrol aircraft, the Japanese aimed to put NAS Pearl Harbor out of action to prevent U.S. planes from searching for ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
First Team
Pacific Naval Air Combat from Pearl Harbor to Midway
Hailed as one of the finest examples of aviation research, this comprehensive 1984 study presents a detailed and scrupulously accurate operational history of carrier-based air warfare. From the earliest operations in the Pacific through the decisive Battle of Midway, it offers a narrative account of how ace fighter pilots like Jimmy Thach and Butch O'Hare and their skilled VF squadron ...
Available Formats: Softcover
Atlantic Escorts
"Ships, Weapons and Tactics in World War II"
Winston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the World War II that really frightened him. If the lifeline to North America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of U.S. and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the ...
Available Formats: Softcover