If the employment of destroyers during peace time and war time is of interest to you, this is a must-read book. The authors have crafted one of the finest ship histories this reviewer has encountered. HMS Venomous was one of the 67 V and W class destroyers built by the Royal Navy during the last
The story of the Royal Navy during World War II often centers around one of the five battleships of the King George V Class (KGV): HMS King George V, HMS Prince of Wales, HMS Duke of York, HMS Anson, and HMS Howe. The author of this book has crafted a tour de force that examines
Imagine chaos raging from France through Germany that surrounded the end of the slaughter on the Western Front in the fall of 1918. Or the new rounds of killings that accompanied the revolution in Russia through 1924 and engulfed the Baltic States, ravaged Poland and ripped East Prussia from Berlin. As well, the privation of
James P. Delgado is a maritime archaeologist, explorer, story-teller, acclaimed author, television host, and explorer who spent nearly four decades in underwater exploration. A native of California, he earned his doctorate in Archaeology from Simon Fraser University, has an M.A. in Maritime Studies from East Carolina University, and took his B.A. in History from San
Immediately before and after the outbreak of the First World War, Britain seriously considered sending its fleet into Heligoland Bight and seizing an island base off the German coast – Borkum perhaps. The goal was to force the German fleet out to fight, or bottle it up with mines, submarines and destroyer flotillas, instituting a
The Millionaires’ Unit tells the story of several Yale undergraduates in the early 1900s whose foresight helped open the United States Navy up to the utility of aerial operations. American military aviation was woefully behind that of the European militaries when the US entered World War I. The Yale Unit was one of the critical
In all of WWII, there are few greater contrasts than between the perfect organization and astounding creative engineering of the D-Day landings and of Germany’s “Operation Sea Lion”, its planned invasion of England – impromptu, cobbled-together, and in the end mostly bluff. “Mulberry” artificial harbors, cross-channel underwater fuel pipelines, concrete “Phoenix” floating caissons, swimming tanks,
By William J. Brown. Self-Published (2017) Reviewed by Charles H. Bogart This book was written by the son-in-law of Emil Rezek who, in 1917 at the age of 18, joined the U.S. Navy. Not finding the Navy to his liking, Emil left his ship, changed into civilian clothes and joined the U.S. Army. In August
By Matthew Eng “History never repeats itself. Sometimes, it rhymes” – Dr. Sean McMeekin A packed crowd huddled into the MacArthur Memorial Theater in Norfolk, VA yesterday to listen to several well-known authors and historians speak on various topics surrounding the First World War. The Memorial graciously hosted the World War I Centennial Symposium (2014-2018) in
The Naval Historical Foundation recently received some very interesting pieces of naval aviation memorabilia from the descendants of Ensign Dudley C. Lunt, USNRF. Lunt enlisted in the Naval Reserve in March 1918 and was called into active service shortly thereafter. He found himself at a ground school for aviation cadets at the Massachusetts Institute of
This conference (16-18 July 2014) aims to explore the Anglo-German naval arms race during the early twentieth century and the Great War at sea with an emphasis prior to the Battle of Jutland. Any methodological approach and any aspect of the naval history of this period will be very welcome, including papers addressing French, Austro-Hungarian,
By Robert Shenk, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD. (2012). Reviewed by David F. Winkler, Ph.D. I wrote the dust-jacket promotion blurb for this book where I suggested this book be considered for the CNO’s reading list – for good reasons – this book provides a historical account of the post-World War I history where revolutionary
