Brunel’s Great Western Steamship by Helen Doe The Great Western is the least known of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s three ships, being overshadowed by the later careers of the Great Britain and the Great Eastern. However, the Great Western was the first great success, confounding the critics to be the fastest ship to steam continuously across the Atlantic. By 1826, steam...

Nine Days that Saved an Army By John Grehan, Alexander Nicoll The ‘miracle’ of Dunkirk is one of the most inspiring stories of all time. The British Expeditionary Force had been all but surrounded and, with the French armies collapsing on all sides, it appeared that Britain was about to suffer the heaviest defeat in its history. When Winston Churchill’s...

The Forgotten Victims of the Fatal Voyage By Julie Cook When Titanic foundered in April 1912, the world’s focus was on the tragedy of the passengers who lost their lives. Ever since, in films, dramatisations, adaptations and books, the focus has mostly continued to be on the ones who died. The Titanic and the City of Widows it Left Behind...

The Harwich - Zeebrugge Train Ferry Story by Kevin Hoggett This informative, bilingual book is a long overdue history of the train ferry service between Harwich and Zeebrugge, its precursors and its legacy. The author, Kevin Hoggett was intimately involved with the service as British Rail’s Rolling Stock Inspector in Zeebrugge, and in researching this book, he has also drawn...

Celebrating the First Decade 2010 – 2019 by Richard Kirkman & Richard Bastow Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) celebrates a decade of operations this year, growing from a fleet of two ships in 2010, to become acknowledged as the UK’s leading independent cruise line with a choice of six small to medium-sized vessels and further expansion planned. CMV pride themselves...

When war broke out in August 1914, France had only two dreadnoughts in service, with a second pair running trials. The main body of the elite Arm e Navale was made up of the eleven battleships of the Patrie and Danton classes, both of which were intermediate designs with two main gun calibres. Older ships included survivors of the notorious...

A History by Simon Wenham Hobbs of Henley is not only one of the best-known businesses in Henley-on- Thames it also boasts one of the most exclusive and recognisable fleets of boats playing the river today. Simon Wenham’s illustrated history, written to mark the firms 150th anniversary, shows how this now prominent business grew from a riverside pub in the...

The Life, Last Voyage and Wreck of Titanic’s Tragic Twin by Simon Mills Launched in 1914, two years after the ill-fated voyage of her sister ship, RMS Titanic, the Britannic was intended to be superior to her tragic twin in every way. But war intervened and in 1915, she was requisitioned as a hospital ship. Just one year later, while...

U-Boat Ace Hans Rose by Markus F Robinson & Gertrude J Robinson Hans Rose was one of Germany’s most successful WWI U-boat aces, and its most successful ace during the convoy period when attacks by U-boats were most difficult and dangerous. This meticulously researched, carefully documented and lively biography examines German WWI submarine operations through the eyes of Hans Rose,...

And the World of Lieutenant W P Lucy DSO RN by David Hobbs Among all the celebrations of the RAF’s centenary, it was largely forgotten that the establishment of an independent air force came at a cost - and it was the Royal Navy that paid the price. In 1918, it had been pre-eminent in the technology and tactics of...

The Second World War and After by Norman Friedman Since the Second World War the old categories of destroyer and frigate have tended to merge, a process that this book traces back to the radically different Tribal class destroyers of 1936. It deals with the development of all the modern destroyer classes that fought the war, looks at the emergency...

In Two World Wars by Norman Friedman Although the Royal Navy did not invent the submarine, Norman Friedman’s new book demonstrates how innovative the service was, to an extent which few will recognise. Its submarines performed well in combat in both World Wars, and often in unheralded ways. Few will be aware that in 1914, Britain had the largest submarine...

Brunel’s Great Western Steamship by Helen Doe The Great Western is the least known of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s three ships, being overshadowed by the later careers of the Great Britain and the Great Eastern. However, the Great Western was the first great success, confounding the critics to be the fastest ship to steam continuously across the Atlantic. By 1826, steam...

by Conrad Waters Now moving into its second decade, The Seaforth World Naval Review 2020 provides an affordable yet authoritative summary of global naval developments over the past twelve months. Regional surveys of fleet evolution and procurement by editor Conrad Waters are supplemented by in-depth articles from a range of subject experts focusing on significant new warships, technological advances and...

Knight’s Cross Holders 1939 – 1945 by Jeremy Dixon The Knight’s Cross (Ritterkruez) was one of the highest decorations given for extreme acts of valour to all ranks of the German armed forces during the Second World War. Few awards captured the respect and admiration of the German public as the Knight’s Cross – it was the greatest honour one...

1913 – 1975 by Nick Robins Although there have been a number of fleet lists published for Coast Lines Limited in recent years, an accurate account of the company’s activities has not previously been recorded. The history of Coast Lines is complicated by its evolving relationship with its owners until the mid-1930s, and with its various subsidiary companies throughout its...

From Mutiny to Scapa Flow by Nicholas Jellicoe On 21 June 1919, the ships of the German High Seas Fleet – interned at Scapa Flow since the Armistice – began to founder taking their British custodians completely by surprise. In breach of agreed terms, the fleet dramatically scuttled itself in a well-planned operation that consigned nearly half a million tons...

Captain Cook claimed the honour of being the first man to sail into the Antarctic Ocean in 1773, which he then circumnavigated the following year. Cook, though, did not see any land, and he declared that there was no such thing as the Southern Continent. Fifty years later, an Irishman who had been impressed into the Royal Navy at the...

The Paddle Steamer Preservation Society was founded in 1959 at a time when this familiar and much-loved class of ship was in steep decline and faced possible extinction. Now, 60 years on, this fascinating book records the previously untold history of one of Britain’s oldest and most successful maritime preservation societies; one which has succeeded in saving not one but...

Tugs are workhorses of the maritime world. Their main work is shiphandling, but they have many other roles too. They are popular with enthusiasts and with the general public. In this book, the author takes a close look at tugs in the South Wales ports of Swansea, Port Talbot, Barry, Cardiff and Newport. He follows the changes as tug ownership...

This well researched book is a testimony to the skill of the men who built the ships and to the many men and women who may have sailed or served on them. This history is brought together in vol 1 of a three-volume series about the almost-forgotten part that Leith played in our great maritime heritage and is the culmination...

In 1900 the US Navy took into its first submarine, the Holland VI, into service. With a single torpedo tube, it had a crew of six, weighed 82 tons and travelled submerged at 6.2mph at a depth of up to 75 feet. Contrast this to the 18 Ohio Class nuclearpowered submarines which entered service in 1981. Weighing 21,000 tons with...