Tuesday, December 03, 2019

HMS Wear (1905)

HMS Wear (1905) was a River class destroyer that served with the Ninth Flotilla on the Tyne in 1914, at the Dardanelles in 1915 where she supported both the naval and land phases of the battle, then remained in the Mediterranean as part of the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla for the rest of the war.

Monday, December 02, 2019

Stinson O-54

The Stinson O-54 was the designation given to six Stinson Voyagers ordered for evaluation by the USAAC. More aircraft were ordered during the Second World War, and others taken over from civilian owners, becoming the L-9, and the basic design became the basis of the very successful Stinson L-5 Sentinel.

Sunday, December 01, 2019

The Irish Brigade 1670-1745 – The Wild Geese in French Service, D P Graham

An excellent history of the Irish troops who went on to form the Wild Geese, the exiled Irish forces fighting for the French. At its best when looking at the Williamite War in Ireland in 1678-81 when the Irish troops were fighting directly for James II after he had been expelled from England, and on the period before that, when Irish troops served the French and Spanish because the Test Acts prevented most Catholics from joining the British forces
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Runways to Freedom - The Special Duties Squadrons of RAF Tempsford, Robert Body

A splendid history of Nos.138 and 161 Squadrons, the Special Duties squadrons that carried agents in and out of occupied Europe, dropped supplies and generally supported the work of the resistance movements. Highly secret during the war, their records were declassified fairly quickly, but this is a rare full length study of the two squadrons, and is well overdue! Not quite a day-by-day history, but not far off, with coverage of just about every lost aircraft as well as many successful missions
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The True Chronicles of Jean le Bel, 1290-1360, trans. Nigel Bryant

The first English translation of the True Chronicles of Jean le Bel, one of the most important primary sources for the reign of Edward III and the early part of the Hundred Years War, written at the time by someone who actually participated in Edward’s early campaigns in Scotland, and who talked to participants in the events that he described. A remarkable and surprisingly readable source that gives us a rare insight into how the participants in these events saw them
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Thursday, November 28, 2019

USS Rodgers (DD-254)/ HMS Sherwood

USS Rodgers (DD-254)/ HMS Sherwood was a Clemson class destroyer that was transferred to the Royal Navy as part of the destroyers for bases deal. In British service she took part in the search for the survivors from the AMC Jervis Bay and the hunt for the Bismarck, but was mainly used on convoy escort duties.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

HMS Ure (1904)

HMS Ure (1904) was a River class destroyer that served with the Grand Fleet in 1914, with the Sixth Destroyer Flotilla at Dover in 1915-16 when she helped sink U-8, the Portsmouth Escort Flotilla then the Seventh Flotilla on the Humber in 1917 and the First Destroyer Flotilla at Portsmouth in 1918.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Curtiss O-52 Owl

The Curtiss O-52 Owl was a large, advanced two-man observation aircraft that had been made obsolete by the nature of the fighting in the Low Countries and France in 1940, and mainly saw use as a trainer.

Monday, November 25, 2019

USS McCalla (DD-253)/ HMS Stanley

USS McCalla (DD-253)/ HMS Stanley was a Clemson class destroyer that went to Britain in 1940 and served on escort duties in the Atlantic during 1941 before being sunk by U-574 on 19 December 1941.

Friday, November 22, 2019

HMS Swale (1905)

HMS Swale (1905) was a River class destroyer that served with the Grand Fleet in 1914, at Portsmouth in 1915-1917, escorting troop ships across the Channel, the Seventh Destroyer Flotilla on the Humber in 1917-1918 before moving back to Portsmouth for most of 1918.