Battleships (WW 2) - Great Britain: Books - History (1/2)

British Battleships 1939-45 (1) - Queen Elizabeth and Royal Sovereign Classes (Osprey)

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 ten of the 12 battleships were already over 20 years old, having served in World War I, and required extensive modifications to allow them to perform a vital service throughout the six long years of conflict.

This title offers a comprehensive review of the development of these British battleships of the Queen Elizabeth and Royal Sovereign Classes, from their initial commissioning to their peacetime modifications and wartime service, with detailed descriptions of the effectiveness of the main armament of individual ships. With specially commissioned artwork and a dramatic re-telling of key battleship conflicts, 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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HMS Royal Sovereign & Her Sister Ships - Battleships at War

This is the wartime history of the battleship HMS Royal Sovereign, along with the story of her four sister ships HMS Revenge, HMS Resolution, HMS Royal Oak and HMS Ramillies.
These ships were built and launched during World War I and although old and slow, and bitterly criticised by Churchill and others as being "Coffin Ships", the Royal Sovereign class battleships in fact played a valiant and doughty role in World War II.

The Royal Oak was an early loss, thanks mainly to pre-war Government parsimony, the other four ships played a full part, at Norway, bombarding the German invasion fleet in the Channel; escorting North Atlantic convoys; in the Mediterranean, in the Indian Ocean, the occupation of Madagascar and at Normandy and the South of France invasions.

HMS Royal Sovereign herself, was handed over to the Soviet Union for several years and her service there is also detailed along with their final demise post-war. Many original eyewitness accounts and photographs enhance the book.

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British Battleships 1939-45 (2) - Nelson and King George V Classes (Osprey)

Offers a comprehensive review of the seven British battleships of the Nelson and King George V classes from their initial commissioning to their peacetime modifications and wartime service. Moreover, with specially commissioned artwork and a dramatic re-telling of key battles, such as the duel between the Bismark and HMS Rodney, 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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HMS Rodney - Slayer of the Bismarck and D-Day Saviour

The Royal Navy battleship HMS Rodney was one of the most famous warships of the Second World War and remains a legend in the pantheon of naval history. In May 1941 Rodney turned Bismarck, the pride of Hitler's navy, into twisted metal, then participated in hard-fought Malta convoys and later supported the D-Day landings.
Rodney's vital role, via formidable naval gunfire support, in breaking the morale of German troops during the battle for Normandy, is outlined here.

Through the eyewitness accounts of her sailors and marines we discover what it was like to live and fight in a battleship at war. We learn of the many famous fighting admirals who served in, or commanded, Rodney, including Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham and Admiral Sir John Tovey.
The stories of previous British warships to carry the name Rodney, dating back to the 1750s, are covered too, including the vessel that took on the batteries at Sevastopol during the Crimean War.

In addition to a fresh perspective on Bismarck's destruction, the author seeks to present new insights into the inter-war mutiny that saw Rodney dubbed 'the Red Ship' and a bomb hit in 1940 that nearly destroyed her.
There is even an account of how a group of HMS Rodney's sailors took part in a trailblazing British commando raid. It all makes for a thrilling, epic account of naval warfare.

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King George V Class Battleships (Ship Craft)

The 'ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sister-ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings and scale plans.
The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.

The five battleships of the class covered by this volume were the most modern British capital ships to serve in the Second World War. They were involved in many famous actions including the sinking of both Bismarck and Scharnhorst, while Prince of Wales suffered the unfortunate distinction of being the first capital ship sunk at sea by air attack.

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The Last British Battleship : HMS Vanguard 1946-1960

The ninth HMS Vanguard, bearing one of the most illustrious names in the Royal Navy with honours from the Armada to Jutland, was the last and largest of Britain's battleships and was commissioned in 1946. Her design evolved from of the King George V class and incorporated much of the fully developed design for the two battleships, Lion and Temeraire, that were laid down in 1939 but never completed.

At 813ft length overall and 42,300 tons, she was the last battleship to be built in the world and the only ship of her class. She was built during the Second World War and incorporated existing twin 15in mountings, and was part of the Royal Navy's response to the combined and increasing number of German and Japanese battleships in the early 1940s.

She was immediately recognisable by her transom stern and high flared bow and had fine sea keeping ability. Her appearance after the end of hostilities, however, and her huge crew requirements proved a conundrum for the Royal Navy, her most significant role being that of Royal Yacht during the royal family's tour of South Africa in 1947. She was broken up at Faslane in 1960.

In this book by R A Burt her design, construction and career are all covered. Armour, machinery, power plants and weaponry are examined in detail and the author has produced some 35 superb plans, profiles and other line drawings for which he is renowned. The text is further enhanced by the addition of some 80 colour and black and white photographs from his collection.

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