USS James K Paulding (DD-238)

USS James K Paulding (DD-238) was a Clemson class destroyer that had a short career, mainly serving in US home waters during the 1920s, before being decommissioned on 31 October 1930.

HMS Fame (1896)

HMS Fame (1896) was a D class destroyer that spent almost her entire career on the China station, from 1897 to 1921 when she was broken up.

Taylorcraft O-57/ L-2 Grasshopper

The Taylorcraft O-57/ L-2 Grasshopper was one of three models of commercial light aircraft that served as liaison and artillery spotter aircraft for the USAAF, filling a gap left by the slow development of the Stinson O-49/L-1 Vigilant

USS McFarland (DD-237/ AVD-14)

USS McFarland (DD-237/ AVD-14) was a Clemson class destroyer that was converted into an aircraft tender, taking part in the fighting at Guadalcanal where she was damaged by Japanese bombing.

HMS Desperate (1896)

HMS Desperate (1896) was a D class destroyer that spent the entire First World War with the Portsmouth Local Defence Flotilla.

Stinson O-49/ L1 Vigilant

The Stinson O-49/ L1 Vigilant was the first slow flying liaison aircraft to be ordered by the USAAC, but turned out to be too large and too expensive for the role, which was eventually carried out by a variety of military versions of civilian light aircraft

The Last British Battleship – HMS Vanguard 1946-1960, R A Burt

Looks at the long development and brief service career of the last British battleship (and the last battleship launched anywhere in the world), designed early in the Second World War but not completed until after the war had made battleships effectively obsolete. This book completed Burt’s study of the British battleship, filling the one gap left in his work. The lack of any really service record for the ship means that this is effectively a large design study, but an interesting one
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Malta Strikes Back - The Role of Malta in the Mediterranean Theatre 1940-1942, Ken Delve

Looks at the wider role of Malta during the defensive period of the war in the Mediterranean, a period normally dominated by accounts of the siege and the constant air attacks. Here we also get the offensive role of the island, the function that made Malta so valuable to the British cause. The focus is on the air war – this is part two of a three part history of the air war in the Mediterranean – so we learn about the medium bombers and torpedo bombers based on the island, sometimes operating in the middle of some of the heaviest enemy bombing
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To War with the 4th, Martin King, Michael Collins and Jason Nulton

A history of the US 4th Infantry Division, focusing on the First and Second World Wars, where the division fought in some of the most important American battles in Europe, with material on the Vietnam War and War on Terror. A good split between a clear narrative of the fighting and eyewitness accounts that gives both a clear history of the division’s role in the fighting, and a good feel for the nature of the battles
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USS Humphreys (DD-236)

USS Humphreys (DD-236) was a Clemson class destroyer that took part in the campaign in the Aleutains, New Guinea, New Britain, the Admiralty Islands, the return to the Philippines and Okinawa.

HMS Velox (1902)

HMS Velox (1902) was the Navy’s third turbine destroyer, and although her turbines were a success she wasn’t terribly sea-worthy.

USS Kane (DD-235/ APD-18)

USS Kane (DD-235/ APD-18) was a Clemson class destroyer that took part in US reconquest of the western Aleutians, and the invasions of New Guinea, the Admiraly Islands, Saipan, Guam, Leyte and Okinawa

Focke-Wulf Fw 190S

The Focke-Wulf Fw 190S was the designation given to a small number of dedicated two-man trainers produced to help convert pilots from two-seat bombers to the single seater Fw 190.

Confederate Artillery Organizations: An Alphabetical Listing of the Officers and Batteries of the Confederacy 1861-1865, F. Ray Sibley Jr

A very specialised book, giving an alphabetical listing of all known artillery units to serve in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, with a list of their commanding officers, and brief notes about most of them, mainly in the footnotes. If you need this information this book with be invaluable
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Fight Like the Devil - The First Day at Gettysburg, July 1, 1863, Chris Mackowski, Kristopher D. White, Daniel T. Davis

A detailed examination of the first day of the battle of Gettysburg, looking at how the battle developed on both sides, the many myths and debates of the first day, the role of the key officers on both sides, and the eventual result of the fighting. This was an encounter battle, with both sides pouring troops into the fight as the day went on, with limited interventions by Lee or Meade, so the emphasis is on the role of key commanders at a lower level, and the results of their efforts
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Dawn of Victory - Breakthrough at Petersburg, March 25-April 2, 1865, Edward Alexander

A look at the final week of the long sieges of Richmond and Petersburg, between Lee’s failed assault on Fort Stedman on 25 March and the evacuation of Richmond on 2 April. Although the retreat to Appomattox is more famous, it was these battles that really sealed the fate of Lee’s army, preventing him from making the clean break he needed if he had any chance of escaping into the south. This is a good clear account of that crucial last week
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