Thursday, April 30, 2020

HMS Afridi (1907)

HMS Afridi (1907) was a Tribal class destroyer that served with the Dover Patrol during the First World War, and had a number of possible clashes with U-boats, although no recorded successes.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

USS Toucey (DD-282)

USS Toucey (DD-282) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Atlantic Fleet and the Scouting Force in the 1920s before being scrapped because of her badly worn boilers

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Tribal class destroyers

The Tribal class destroyers were a class of 33-knot destroyers that were significantly faster than the previous River class, but lacked their endurance and were used with the Dover Patrol during the First World War.

Monday, April 27, 2020

USS Sharkey (DD-281)

USS Sharkey (DD-281) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Atlantic Fleet during the 1920s, taking part in many of the early Fleet Problems, before being scrapped because of her badly worn boilers.

Sunday, April 26, 2020

Sovereign of the Seas 1637, John McKay

A rather technical, but also lavishily illustrated, examination of Charles I’s famous flagship, split into a very technical first half discussing the details of the ship and her construction and the methods used to fill the gaps in our knowledge, and an impressive section of 2D, 3D and isometric plans that cover just about every part of the ship in great detail
(Read Full Review)

Postcards of the Army Service Corps 1902-1918, Coming of Age, Michael Young

A collection of postcards sent home by members of the Army Service Corps, from the corps’ formation to the end of the First World War, so largely dominated by pictures of groups of men from the corps, showing how it developed from fairly small roots into a massive formation. Also helps illustrate how the army mechanised, going from the earliest motorvehicles introduced in tiny numbers to the vast fleets that supported operations on the Western Front
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The Battleships of the Iowa Class, Philippe Caresse

An impressive history of the Iowa class battleships, translated flawlessly from French, and with the space within its 500 pages to contain a detailed technical history of the ships, accounts of each of their long service careers and to have more photographs than most pictorial guides could ever hope to have! The photographs benefit greatly from the survival of all four of these ships, to show us fascinating views of their interioirs, of the type that almost never survive for their contemporary warships (Read Full Review)

Thursday, April 23, 2020

HMS Nith

HMS Nith was a River class destroyer that served with the Ninth Destroyer Flotilla in 1914-15 and the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla from 1915-19, spending the entire First World War operating along the East Coast

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

USS Doyen (DD-280)

USS Doyen (DD-280) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet in the 1920s before being scrapped because of badly worn boilers.

Tuesday, April 21, 2020

HMS Ness (1905)

HMS Ness (1905) was a River class destroyer that served with the Ninth Destroyer Flotilla in 1914-15 and the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla from 1915-19, spending the entire First World War operating along the East Coast

Monday, April 20, 2020

USS Meyer (DD-279)

USS Meyer (DD-279) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet during the 1920s before being scrapped because of badly worn boilers.

Sunday, April 19, 2020

Company of Heroes, Eric Poole

. Looks at the tragic story of Leslie Sabo, jr, conscripted to serve in Vietnam just after his marriage, and who was killed during Nixon’s futile incursion into Cambodia. Covers Sabo’s family’s earlier experiences, starting in Hungary, his life before the military, he and his company’s experiences in Vietnam, including the disastrous battle in which he was killed, the survivor’s experiences after the war, and finishes with the story of how Sabo was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor some four decades later
(Read Full Review)

Victoria Crosses on the Western Front – 1917 to Third Ypres, 27 January 1917-27 July 1917, Paul Oldfield

Continues this series looking at all of the Victoria Crosses of the First World war, covering the period between the end of the battle of the Somme and the start of the third battle of Ypres, including the Arras offensive and the battle of Messines. Combines a narrative of the events leading to the award, a guide to the battlefield and detailed biographies of the individuals involved
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Black Swan Class Sloops, Les Brown

An excellent look at the Black Swan and Modified Black Swan class sloops using the Navy’s original high quality working drawings, to give an incredibly detailed view of the layout and internal arrangements of these high quality anti-submarine warfare vessels. Provides plans from four different ships, including the Amethyst, famously trapped in the Yangtze after coming under fire from Chinese Communist forces
(Read Full Review)

Thursday, April 16, 2020

HMS Colne (1905)

HMS Colne (1905) was a River class destroyer that was on the China station at the outbreak of war in 1914, but moved to the Mediterranean late in the year. She took part in the Gallipoli campaign, and spent the rest of the war in the Mediterranean.

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

USS Henshaw (DD-278)

USS Henshaw (DD-278) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet in the 1920s, before being decommissioned because of badly worn Yarrow boilers.

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

HMS Chelmer (1904)

HMS Chelmer (1904) was a River class destroyer that was on the China station at the outbreak of war in 1914, but moved to the Mediterranean late in the year. She took part in the Gallipoli campaign, and spent the rest of the war in the Mediterranean.

Monday, April 13, 2020

USS Moody (DD-277)

USS Moody (DD-277) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet for most of the 1920s, before being struck off in 1930 because of her worn Yarrow boilers.

Sunday, April 12, 2020

The Thames 1813 - The War of 1812 on the Northwest Frontier, John F. Winkler

A rather biased account of the campaign that led to the battle of the Thames of 1813, seen from a rather old fashioned American perspective, especially towards the Native Americans. The campaign and battle accounts are the best part of the book, although still rather unbalanced in the amount of space given to each side, with the bulk of the text looking at the American campaign. On the plus side it gives a very good idea of how difficult it was to campaign in what was then a very remote area, and covers the entire campaign in the area in 1812-13 (especially good as the battle itself isn’t terribly interesting)
(Read Full Review)

Courage without Glory – The British Army on the Western Front 1915, ed. Spencer Jones

A series of articles looking at the problems faced by the rapidly expanding BEF during 1915, the year in which the pre-war Regular army had to be replaced with new recruits, Territorial divisions and the first of Kitchener’s New Army. An interesting view of the problems caused by the massive expansion of the army, and the battles that the newly formed force had to fight to support their French Allies.
(Read Full Review)

Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, Martin Derry and Neil Robinson

Combines a history of the Ju 87 Stuka with a detailed modeller’s guide, including colour schemes, reviews of the many models available, and pictures of many of those models assembled and painted by experts. Combines the technical and operation histories in a series of chapters looking at each major sub-type, before moving on to the impressive guide to the kits, which takes up the last third of the book!
(Read Full Review)

Wednesday, April 08, 2020

USS McCawley (DD-276)

USS McCawley (DD-276) was a Clemson class destroyer that served two periods in commission with the Pacific Fleet during the 1920s, before being struck off in 1930.

Tuesday, April 07, 2020

HMS Kennet (1903)

HMS Kennet (1903) was a River class destroyer that was on the China station at the outbreak of war in 1914, but moved to the Mediterranean late in the year. She took part in the Gallipoli campaign, and spent the rest of the war in the Mediterranean.

Monday, April 06, 2020

USS Sinclair (DD-275)

USS Sinclair (DD-275) was a Clemson class destroyer that had a fairly active career with the Pacific Fleet during the 1920s, before faulty boilers prevented her conversion into a target ship

Sunday, April 05, 2020

King's African Rifles Soldier vs Schutztruppe Soldier - East Africa 1917-1918, Gregg Adams

Looks at the role played by the British and German units raised in their East Africa colonies using African soldiers during the long East African campaign. Demonstrates that the Germans had an early advantage, after expanding their forces quickest, but that the KAR soon rose to a similar level. Also gives a good idea of the problems of bush warfare.
(Read Full Review)

Sniper of the Skies- The Story of George Frederick 'Screwball' Beurling DSO DFC DFM*, Nick Thomas

 Looks at the career of the Canadian fighter ace George Beurling, who made his name during the desperate battles over Malta. Traces his early life, with his great enthusiasm for flying, his determination to join the RAF, but then problems fitting in, before he finally found his place in Malta. Most unusually his career actually ended before the war was over, and sadly he never seems to have adapted to life after the excitement of Malta
(Read Full Review)

Retribution – The Soviet Reconquest of Central Ukraine 1943, Prit Buttar

A detailed history of the fighting on the southern part of the Eastern Front, from the aftermath of the failure of Operation Citadel to the end of the year, and covering the final liberation of Kharkov, the central Ukraine and Kiev, and with it several key industrial areas, marking the start of the series of Soviet offensives that would eventually end in Berlin
(Read Full Review)

Thursday, April 02, 2020

HMS Test (1905)

HMS Test (1905) was a River class destroyer that served with the Ninth Destroyer Flotilla in 1914-15, taking part in the attempt to stop the Hartlepool raid, and the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla in 1915-1918.

Wednesday, April 01, 2020

USS Meade (DD-274)

USS Meade (DD-274) was a Clemson class destroyer that had a very brief career in the US Navy before going to Britain as part of the Destroyers for Bases deal, where she became HMS Ramsey. In British service she served on convoy escort duties, but her turbines proved to be unreliable and in August 1943 she was chosen for use as an air target ship