The M4 Carbine, Chris McNab

A look at a weapon originally designed for rear echelon troops and other secondary uses but that has become one of the standard issue weapons in the US Army. Looks at its controversial early years and the prolonged series of improvements that turned it into a gun that is reliable, accurate and highly regarded by most who use it. 

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HMS Lyra (1910)

HMS Lyra (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 1917. She was with the Fifth Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean from January-July 1918 then based at Gibraltar from August to the end of the war.

USS Bruce (DD-329)

USS Bruce (DD-329) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Pacific Fleet in 1921 then with the Scouting Fleet in the Atlantic as well as spending a year in European waters.

Felixstowe/ Porte Baby

The Felixstowe/ Porte Baby was a three engined flying boat  that was developed as an alternative to the Curtiss H-4 ‘Small America’, but that was only produced in small numbers after the success of the Felixstowe F.2A.

Battle of St Vith (18-23 December 1944)

The battle of St Vith (18-23 December 1944) was a delaying action early in the battle of the Bulge that denied the Germans access to a key part of the road network in the Ardennes, and prevented them from moving the Sixth Panzer Army south once their own attack on the Elsenborn Ridge had failed.

Hitler’s Attack U-Boats – The Kriegsmarine’s WWII Submarine Strike Force, Jak P. Mallmann Showell

Focuses on a physical description of the three main U-boat models in German service during the Second World War, the Type II, Type VII and Type IX. Includes good sections on their development, but the main strength are the three chapters on the external features, internal features and crew positions on these boats, which include many details I hadn’t seen elsewhere, and which give a fascinating picture of life in these cramped and dangerous weapons

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Bayonet to Barrage – Weaponry on the Victorian Battlefield, Stephen Manning

Looks at the dramatic changes in weaponry during Queen Victoria’s reign, which saw the main infantry weapon go from smoothbore muzzle loading musket to the bolt-action magazine loaded Lee-Metfords and the introduction of the machine gun and the artillery barrage transformed the battlefield. Focuses on the way increases in accuracy, range and speed of firing gave the British an ever increasing advantage against most of their opponents, at least until they came up against the equally well equipped Boers 

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Ia Drang 1965 – the Struggle for Vietnam’s Pleiku Province, J.P. Harris & J. Kenneth Eward

Looks at a campaign that included two of the most famous small battles of the Vietnam War, at I Drang, looking at the original Vietnamese plan, the American response and the many flaws with that response that led to the famous battles. Benefits greatly from using sources from both sides, so we know what the Vietnamese were attempting to achieve as well as the Americans. Also acknowledges the many flaws with the US plan, which saw a small force dropped into the middle of an enemy held area, and then split in two! 

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HMS Larne (1910)

HMS Larne (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, with the British Adriatic Squadron attached to the Italian fleet in late 1916-early 1917, the Malta Flotilla for most of the rest of the war and the main Fifth Destroyer Flotilla from July 1918 onwards.

USS Lamson (DD-328)

USS Lamson (DD-328) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Atlantic Fleet during the 1920s, and spent a year in European waters, before being scrapped because of her badly worn boilers.