Wednesday, July 31, 2019

HMS Albatross (1898)

HMS Albatross (1898) was a C class destroyer that was originally ordered as a 33-knot special, but that failed to achieve her target speed in normal service. During the First World War she served with the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla on the Humber from 1914-1918 and the Lowestoft Local Flotilla in 1918.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

USS Fox (DD-234)

USS Fox (DD-234) was a Clemson class destroyer that served in Alaskan waters for most of the Second World War, mainly on escort and patrol duties.

Monday, July 29, 2019

York’s Military Legacy, Ian D. Rotherham

A look at the military history of a city that was for many years the most important in the north, effectively the northern capital of England for much of the medieval period, as well as sitting on a river that made it accessible from the sea, and on one of the two key routes between England and Scotland. Focuses on events that took place in and around the city, so we get plenty on 1066 or the English Civil War, but relatively little on the World Wars
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The Defence of Sevastopol 1941-1942 - The Soviet Perspective, Clayton Donnell

A look at the prolonged siege of Sevastopol, which saw the Soviet garrison pin down an increasingly sizable German force at a key point during their invasion of the Soviet Union, only finally falling in July 1942, after the start of the main German offensive of the year. A detailed study of the impressive Soviet defence of a city that had not really been prepared to be attacked from the land, but that sucked in a large German army and kept Manstein, one of Hitler’s most able generals, tied up in a side theatre at a key point in the war
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Lutzen and Bautzen - Napoleon's Spring Campaign of 1813, George Hafziger

A very detailed account of the spring campaign of 1813, starting at the end of the retreat from Moscow, tracing the creation of a fresh French army, Napoleon’s victories at Lutzen and Bautzen, and his inability to turn either of them into a war winner. This was Napoleon’s last realistic chance of saving his Empire, and thus a more significant campaign than is often acknowledged. Once the campaign ended in an armistice and Austrian joined the war against him, Napoleon’s last real chance of surviving had gone, so this campaign and its two main battles deserve this detailed examination
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Thursday, July 25, 2019

Focke Wulf Fw 190G

The Focke Wulf Fw 190G was a long range fighter bomber, based on the Fw 190A and originally produced with dedicated racks for fuel drop tanks under the wings.

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

HMS Vigilant (1900)

HMS Vigilant (1900) was a C class destroyer that served with the Eighth Destroyer Flotilla in 1914-1918 before becoming the only destroyer in the Portland Local Flotilla during 1918. After the war she remained in use into 1919, when she was used to ferry a British diplomat home from Copenhagen.

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

USS Gilmer (DD-233/ APD-11)

USS Gilmer (DD-233/ APD-11) was a Clemson class destroyer that served as a fast transport, taking part in the New Guinea campaign, the invasions of Saipan and Taipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Focke Wulf Fw 190F

The Focke Wulf Fw 190F was an armoured ground attack version of the aircraft, produced to replace the obsolete Ju 87 Stuka.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Eisenhower's Thorn on the Rhine - The Battle for the Colmar Pocket, 1944-45, Nathan N. Prefer

Looks at the fighting on the southern end of the Allied front in France in 1944-45, where American and French troops attempted to reach the Rhine, while the Germans held on to Colmar and parts of southern Alsace. Traces the course of the battle as well as the problems faced by the commanders on both sides of this hard fought backwater, at a time when both sides were running short of men but still had ambitious aims
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Air Combat – Dogfights of World War II, ed. Tony Holmes

A collection of four Ospreys, looking at the Spitfire vs Bf 109, F4F Wildcat vs A6M Zero, La 5/7 vs Fw 190 and F4U Corsair vs Ki-84 Frank, an interesting cross section of the fighter battles of the Second World War. Some are more crucial than others, but all are interesting, and the book costs less than buying any two of the existing volumes, so is good value for money
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The Two Handed Sword – History, Design and Use, Neil Melville

A detailed history of the European two handed sword, a surprising agile but still fairly rare weapon that was used in some numbers during the later Middle Ages and early modern periods. Looks at the development of the weapon (a surprisingly complex subject), its use in combat, the many regional variations, the evidence for how it was wielded, and its evolution into a prestige, non-combat weapon
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Thursday, July 18, 2019

HMS Thorn (1900)

HMS Thorn (1900) was a C class destroyer that began the First World War with the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla on the Humber, before moving to Scapa Flow at the end of 1914. In February 1915 she was used to found the North Channel Patrol, based at Larne, where she spent the rest of the war.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

USS Brooks (DD-232/ APD-10)

USS Brooks (DD-232/ APD-10) was a Clemson class destroyer that was converted into a fast transport, and took part in the New Guinea campaign and the invasion of the Philippines, before being badly damaged by a kamikaze attack and never repaired.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Focke-Wulf Fw 190E

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190E may have been a designation for a dedicated reconnaissance version of the aircraft, but none were produced under that designation.

Monday, July 15, 2019

HMS Ostrich (1900)

HMS Ostrich (1900) was a C class destroyer that served with the Eighth Destroyer Flotilla on the Firth of Forth in 1914-1918 and the Lowestoft Local Flotilla in 1918.

Thursday, July 11, 2019

USS Hatfield (DD-231)

USS Hatfield (DD-231) was a Clemson class destroyer that spent most of the Second World War on escort duties in Alaskan waters, before being used as an auxiliary.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Focke-Wulf Fw 190D

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190D was a high altitude version of the aircraft, powered by an inline engine hidden behind an extended version of the normal fuselage, making it look like a radial powered aircraft.

Tuesday, July 09, 2019

HMS Falcon (1899)

HMS Falcon (1899) was a C class destroyer that served with the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla based at Dover throughout the First World War before being sunk in a collision with the naval trawler John Fitzgerald in 1918.

Monday, July 08, 2019

USS Paul Jones (DD-230)

USS Paul Jones (DD-230) was a Clemson class destroyer that survived the disastrous campaign in the Dutch East Indies in 1941-42, and spent most of the rest of the war on escort duties or working with hunter-killer anti-submarine groups.

Thursday, July 04, 2019

Focke Wulf Fw 190C

The Focke Wulf Fw 190C would have been powered by the Daimler-Benz DB 603 engine, but it never got past the development stage.

Tuesday, July 02, 2019

HMS Vixen (1900)

HMS Vixen (1900) was a C class destroyer that served with the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla on the Humber from 1914 to 1917, with the East Coast Convoys formation in 1917 and the Nore Local Defence Flotilla in 1918.

Monday, July 01, 2019

Clemson class destroyer

USS Truxtun (DD-229) was a Clemson class destroyer that served in Pacific waters for ten years then in home waters, before being lost when she ran aground early in 1942.