No.1 Squadron, RCAF

No.1 Squadron, RCAF, was part of Canada's pre-war Permanant Force, and moved to Britain early in the Second World War, where it fought in the Battle of Britain, before being renumbered as No.401 Squadron in March 1941.

HMS Redpole (1910)

HMS Redpole (1910) was an Acorn class destroyer that served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla with the Grand Fleet in 1914-15 and at Devonport later in 1915, then moved to the Mediterranean and served with the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla from December 1915 to the end of the war.

USS Melvin (DD-335)

USS Melvin (DD-335) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet during the 1290s before being scrapped because of her badly worn boilers.

Curtis-Wright C-113 Commando

The Curtis-Wright C-113 Commando was an unsuccessful test bed for a new General Electric turbo-prop engine, and was written off after an ground accident early in its test career.

Touring the Sedan Campaign, Maarten Otte

Focuses on the Sedan campaign, but also includes two chapters on how the French got into the mess that led them to that disaster, as well as the march to Sedan and the battle itself, turning it into a useful history of the first part of the Franco-Prussian War, combined with a good guide to the campaign and battle areas, built around two car tours and three walking tours. 

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The Territorial Air Force – the RAF’s Voluntary Squadrons 1926-1957, Dr Louise Wilkinson

A detailed analysis of the RAF’s three different attempts to provide a volunteer reserve in the interwar period – the Auxiliary Air Force, the Special Reserve and the RAFVR, the first two formed as an experiment to see which method worked best and the third in the immediate pre-war period after it became clear that the AAF. Quite specalised, but the author’s research is impressive and they argue their case well

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Dambuster-in-Chief – The Life of Air Chief Marshal Sir Ralph Cochrane, Richard Mead

A fascinating biography of an officer best know as the commander of 5 Group in Bomber Command for much of the Second World War, turning it into a semi-independent force, as well as helping with the formation of 617 Squadron. Demonstrates how he earned his reputation as one of the most original thinkers in the higher ranks of the wartime RAF, in the process turning 5 Group into a devastating precision weapon. 

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HMS Nymphe (1911)

HMS Nymphe (1911) was an Acorn class destroyer that served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla with the Grand Fleet in 1914-15 and at Devonport in late 1915-early 1916, then with the Paravane Department at Portsmouth in 1917 before moving to the Mediterranean to join the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla in May 1918.

USS Corry (DD-334)

USS Corry (DD-334) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet during the 1920s before being scrapped because of her badly worn boilers.

Curtiss R5C Commando

The Curtiss R5C Commando was the US Navy designation for the C-46A Commando, and was used by the US Marine Corps in the Pacific.

HMS Nereide (1910)

HMS Nereide (1910) was an Acorn class destroyer that served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla with the Grand Fleet in 1914-15 and at Devonport from late 1915 to late 1916. She then moved to the British Adriatic Squadron attached to the Italian Fleet, but was based at Malta from March 1917 until July 1918 when she joined the main Fifth Destroyer Flotilla at Brindisi.

USS Sumner (DD-333)

USS Sumner (DD-333) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet during the 1920s then as a barracks ship and test ship in the early 1930s before being sold for scrap in 1934.

Curtiss NC (Navy-Curtiss)

The Curtiss NC (Navy-Curtiss) was a flying boat originally designed in 1917 to be able to cross the Atlantic to reach the war zone, but that became most famous for making the first successful trans-Atlantic flight in May 1919, a few months before Alcock and Brown’s more famous first non-stop flight.

Operation Bodenplatte (1 January 1945)

Operation Bodenplatte (1 January 1945) was a large Luftwaffe attack on Allied airfields in Belgium, Holland and France in which a large number of Allied aircraft were destroyed on the ground, but the Luftwaffe lost a large number of irreplaceable veteran pilots, a blow from which its fighter force never recovered.

Battle Tactics of the American Revolution, Robbie MacNiven

An impressive look at the tactics used by the four major combatants in North American – the British, American Patriots, Germans and French – covering their regular forces and the various militias, with sections on infantry, cavalry and artillery. Covers both the theoretical organisation of these units, and how they actually performed in combat

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Armies of Ancient Italy 753-218 BC, Gabriele Esposito

An impressive array of full colour, full page pictures showing enactors with reconstructed ancient Italian arms and armour, supported by a text split between a fairly uncritical narrative of Roman military history that rather skips over the general doubts about the accuracy of later Roman accounts of the early period, and a series of chapters looking at the individual peoples of ancient Italy and how they fought 

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Storm-333 KGB and Spetsnaz seize Kabul, Soviet-Afghan War 1979, Mark Galeotti

Looks at one of the most successful elements of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the successful attack on Hafizullah Amin’s palace outside Kabul, which saw the Afghan leader captured and killed by a force that included Soviet troops that were part of his own garrison. An interesting account of a skilfully conducted operation that only cost nine Soviet lives, although one that didn’t live up to its long term expectations 

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HMS Nemesis (1910)

HMS Nemesis (1910) was an Acorn class destroyer that served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla with the Grand Fleet in 1914-15 and at Devonport later in 1915 and for most of 1916. At the end of 1916 she joined the British Adriatic Squadron, attached to the Italian fleet, before moving to Malta. From September 1917 she was in Japanese hands, as the Kanran, but was still based at Malta. 

USS Farenholt (DD-332)

USS Farenholt (DD-332) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet during the 1920s, before being scrapped because of her badly worn boilers.

Curtiss HS-3

The Curtiss HS-3 was an improved version of the HS-1 and HS-2 patrol flying boats, but only six were built before development stopped after the end of the First World War.

Operation Stosser (17-23 December 1944)

Operation Stosser (17-23 December 1944) was the last German airborne operation of the Second World War, and was a failed attempt to capture and defend a key road junction just behind the American front line.

The Galatians – Celtic Invaders of Greece and Asia Minor, John D. Grainger

A detailed history of the Galatians, tracing their development from Balkan raiders to part of the Hellenistic state system, and on to their relationship with the expanding power of Rome. Does an excellent job of looking at events from the Galatian perspective, rather than as they were seen by their Greek enemies, so we see them evolve from a raiding force into a more or less regular part of the Hellenistic state system, before eventually succumbing to the power of Rome.  

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SAS Combat Vehicles 1942-91, Gavin Mortimer

Focuses as much one the uses made of the vehicles as the vehicles themselves, although does have plenty of details on the Willys Jeep and the other vehicles used by the SAS. A good way to approach the missions of the SAS, which were so often dependent on their vehicles for success. Also good that it covers more than just the familiar actions in North Africa, but follows the SAS to Italy, France and into Germany, as well as into the post-war Land Rover period. 

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Lepanto 1571- The Madonna’s Victory, Nic Fields

Takes an unusual but effective approach to the battle, starting with eleven chapters looking at some of the participants, before moving on to look at the ships, guns and soldiers and sailors, and only finally examining the battle itself, which was a famous victory with surprisingly limited results. An excellent book on a battle fought in a rather unfamiliar style, combining oar powered galleys with gunpowder weapons including bow mounted cannons and handguns. 

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HMS Minstrel (1911)

HMS Minstrel (1911) was an Acorn class destroyer that served with the Second Destroyer Flotilla with the Grand Fleet in 1914-15 and at Devonport in late 1915. She moved to the Mediterranean at the start of 1916 and was based at Malta, at first in British hands, but from September 1917 onwards as the Japanese manned Sendan.