Coastal Convoys 1939–1945

Coastal Convoys 1939–1945
Author: Nick Hewitt
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 505
Release: 2009-04-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1844685969

Using official records from the National Archives personal accounts from the Imperial War Museum and other sources, Coastal Convoys 1939 1945: The Indestructible Highway describes Britains dependence on coastal shipping and the introduction of the convoy system in coastal waters at the outset of the war. It beings to life the hazards of the German mining offensive of 1939, the desperate battles fought in coastal waters during 1940 and 1941, and the long struggle against German air and naval forces which lasted to the end of the Second World War. Reference is also made to the important role played by coasters during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940 and the Normandy landings in 1944.

Naval Warfare in the English Channel, 1939–1945

Naval Warfare in the English Channel, 1939–1945
Author: Peter C. Smith
Publisher: Casemate Publishers
Total Pages: 526
Release: 2007-11-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1781596352

This WWII history examines how the Royal Navy defended the English Channel from the first Dover Patrols to the liberation of the Channel Islands. The English Channel has always provided Great Britain with a natural defensive barrier, but it was never more vital than in the early days of World War Two. This book relates how the Royal Navy maintained control of that vital seaway throughout the war. Military historian Peter Smith takes readers from the early days of the Dover Patrols, through the traumas of the Dunkirk evacuation and the battles of the Channel convoys; the war against the E-boats and U-boats; the tragic raids at Dieppe and St Nazaire; the escape of the German battle-fleet; coastal convoys; the Normandy landings and the final liberation of the Channel Islands. Many wartime photographs, charts and tables add to this superb account of this bitterly contested narrow sea.

Normandy: the Sailors' Story

Normandy: the Sailors' Story
Author: Nick Hewitt
Publisher: Yale University Press
Total Pages: 476
Release: 2024-05-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 0300277385

The first account of the Allied navies’ vital contribution to the success of the D-Day landings and the Normandy campaign The Allied liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe is one of the most widely recognised events of modern history. The assault phase, Operation Neptune, began with the D-Day landings in Normandy—one of the most complex amphibious operations in history, involving 7,000 ships and nearly 200,000 men. But despite this immense effort, the wider naval campaign has been broadly forgotten. Nick Hewitt draws on fascinating new material to describe the violent sea battle which mirrored the fighting on land, and the complex campaign at sea which enabled the Allied assault. Aboard ships ranging from frail plywood landing craft to sleek destroyers, sailors were active combatants in the operation of June 1944, and had worked tirelessly to secure the Seine Bay in the months preceding it. They fought battles against German submarines, aircraft, and warships, and maintained careful watch to keep control of the English Channel. Hewitt recounts these sailors’ stories for the first time—and shows how, without their efforts, D-Day would have failed.

The Gathering Storm

The Gathering Storm
Author: Geirr H. Haarr
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Total Pages: 561
Release: 2013-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 1612519318

This is a superb survey of the fierce naval struggles, from 1939 up to the invasion of the Norway in April 1940. Beginning with the sinking of the German fleet at Scapa Flow in 1919, it then covers the rebuilding of the Kriegsmarine and parallel developments in the Royal Navy, and in the European navies. Focusing on the actions at sea after the fall of Poland, this history covers the sinking of Courageous, the German mining of the British East Coast, the Northern Patrol, the sinking of Rawalpindi, small ship operations in the North Sea and German Bight, the Altmark incident, German surface raiders and the early stages of the submarine war in the Atlantic. Researched extensively in German, British, and other archives, the work is intended to paint a balanced and detailed picture of this significant period of the war when the opposing naval forces were adapting to a form of naval warfare quite different to that experienced in WWI.

The War for England's Shores

The War for England's Shores
Author: G H Bennett
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
Total Pages: 306
Release: 2023-12-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1399077937

The War for England's Shores examines the Kriegsmarine's S-Boat offensive along the English Channel and the North Sea from 1940 to 1945, together with British and, later, Allied responses to nullify that threat. Very fast, and armed with torpedoes and mines, S-Boats posed a serious threat to the convoys that were forced to run close along the British coast on a daily basis. Despite the significance of this campaign and the real threat to the whole British war economy, it has been, until now, strangely overlooked by historians. Indeed, the book highlights issues around the maritime identity of those states and navies that see themselves in oceanic terms, at the expense of engagement with, and operations in, coastal waters. Using an array of archival materials from Britain, Germany and the USA, The War for England’s Shores examines why the Germans failed to make the most of this opportunity to disrupt British trade. G H Bennett analyzes how the British slowly countered the threat by embracing new technologies and developing a system of sea control that gradually forced the German S-Boat arm from the offensive against Britain's coastal convoys, and on to the defensive in the months leading up to the invasion of France. The author also looks at the S-Boat campaign along these convoy routes in the context of present-day interest in littoral warfare, so that the work has a vital and current appeal and offers significant and surprising insights. The book offers an unparalleled exploration of a key moment in the development of coastal warfare, and will appeal to historians and enthusiasts as well as defense analysts and naval personnel.

From Yorkshire To Archangel: A Young Man's Journey To PQ.17

From Yorkshire To Archangel: A Young Man's Journey To PQ.17
Author: David Wherrett
Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2017-05-16
Genre: History
ISBN: 1788032551

David's father was a young man of seventeen when he joined the Merchant Navy in the early spring of 1939. He may well have been imagining a new life of excitement, and long voyages overseas to faraway places. Within six months of him beginning work as a 'bellboy' on the grand P & O luxury liner, Strathallan, Britain found itself at war with Germany once again. This story centres around his experiences of this long hard conflict. Along the way, memories of war operations in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Indian Ocean are all recounted; and then of course, there was that Arctic convoy, PQ.17. He was very fortunate to serve on one of the few vessels to make it safely back home, the little rescue ship, Zamalek. Accounts of Zamalek's experiences on that Russian bound convoy (PQ.17), time spent stranded in Archangel, and the return passage (QP.14) are a central feature of the story, and so they should be.

The Defeat of the Enemy Attack upon Shipping, 1939–1945

The Defeat of the Enemy Attack upon Shipping, 1939–1945
Author: Eric J. Grove
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 612
Release: 2019-08-21
Genre: History
ISBN: 0429622252

This book was originally published in 1957. During the First World War, German use of unrestricted submarine warfare, supported by extensive mining and surface raids, very nearly forced Britain out of the war in 1917. The island’s heavy dependence on seaborne supplies was gravely threatened again in 1939, supplemented this time by air attacks on shipping. After the war, Commanders Waters and Barley wrote a Naval Staff History which has long been recognised as an authoritative study of the impact of the German campaign and its ultimate defeat by Britain and her allies. It remains an indispensable basis for any serious study of the Battle of the Atlantic and has here been updated and revised by Dr Grove, who also contributes a perceptive introduction outlining its significance.