Download or read book E Boat Alert written by James F. Tent and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 344 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining newly released top-secret Admiralty reports, rare photographic materials, and extensive interviews with eyewitnesses from three nations, James Tent has produced a comprehensive study of a little-known episode of World War II - the campaign to defend the Normandy invasion fleet from Germany's high-performance motor torpedo boats or Schnellboote, known to the Allies as "E-boats". Besides presenting a detailed account of naval operations at a crucial stage of the war in Europe, this history integrates many facets of modern warfare: the development of fast coastal craft; the creation of precision bombing units; the interaction of naval, air, and ground forces among both the Allies and the Germans; the harnessing of science and technology to meet changing military needs; and the use of various forms of intelligence - cryptanalysis, prisoner interrogation, photoreconnaissance, and photo-interpretation. While tracing these important technical considerations, the study also examines the human dimension of the forces arrayed against each other. In addition, it offers historical precedents for weapons and warships in which there is now renewed interest, namely, deep-penetration bombs and high-speed coastal combatants.
Download or read book E Boat Alert written by James F. Tent and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 1996 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Combining newly released top-secret Admiralty reports, rare photographic materials, and extensive interviews with eyewitnesses from three nations, James Tent has produced a comprehensive study of a little-known episode of World War II - the campaign to defend the Normandy invasion fleet from Germany's high-performance motor torpedo boats or Schnellboote, known to the Allies as "E-boats". Besides presenting a detailed account of naval operations at a crucial stage of the war in Europe, this history integrates many facets of modern warfare: the development of fast coastal craft; the creation of precision bombing units; the interaction of naval, air, and ground forces among both the Allies and the Germans; the harnessing of science and technology to meet changing military needs; and the use of various forms of intelligence - cryptanalysis, prisoner interrogation, photoreconnaissance, and photo-interpretation. While tracing these important technical considerations, the study also examines the human dimension of the forces arrayed against each other. In addition, it offers historical precedents for weapons and warships in which there is now renewed interest, namely, deep-penetration bombs and high-speed coastal combatants.
Download or read book The E Boat Threat written by Bryan Cooper and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2015-02-28 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the major lessons of World War II was the importance of coastal waters. It was not widely recognised beforehand just how vital the control of such waters would become, both in defending essential convoys as well as attacking those of the enemy, and in paving the way for amphibious landings.??While land based aircraft could carry out offshore operations by day and destroyers and cruisers patrolled deeper waters, the ideal craft for use in coastal waters were motor boats armed with torpedoes and light guns. But with the exception of Italy, none of the major powers had more than a handful of these boats operational at the outbreak of war.??From a small beginning, large fleets of highly maneuverable motor torpedo boats were built up, particularly by Britain, Germany and the USA. They operated mainly at night, because they were small enough to penetrate minefields and creep unseen to an enemy's coastline and fast enough to escape after firing their torpedoes. They fought in every major theatre of war, but the first real threat came in the North Sea and English Channel from German E-boats, crossing to attack Britain's vital convoys. Ranged against them in the 'battle of the little ships' were British MTBs and MGBs and, later, American PT boats. They often fought hand to hand at closer quarters than any other kind of warship in a unique conflict that lasted right to the end of the war.??The E-boat Threat describes the development of these deadly little craft, the training of their crews who were usually volunteers and the gradual evolution of tactics in the light of wartime experience. Methods of defence are also related, which included the use of aircraft and destroyers as well as motor gunboats, sometimes acting under a unified command.
Download or read book All Hands written by and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 600 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book German S Boats written by Steve Wiper and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2012-01-19 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 'ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sister-ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings and scale plans. The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit. This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites. The subject of this volume is the Second World War German Navy's motor torpedo boats called Schnellboote, known to the Allies as E-Boats. One of the most effective coastal attack craft of the time, the type was built in large numbers and constantly improved as the war progressed, giving many variants to interest modellers. With its unparalleled level of visual information - paint schemes, models, line drawings and photographs - it is simply the best reference for any modelmaker setting out to build one of these famous boats.
Download or read book Weapons and Warfare 2 volumes written by Spencer C. Tucker and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2020-03-26 with total page 826 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This work covers major weapons throughout human history, beginning with clubs and maces; through crossbows, swords, and gunpowder; up to the hypersonic railgun, lasers, and robotic weapons under development today. Weapons and Warfare is designed to provide students with a comprehensive and highly informative overview of weapons and their impact on the course of human history. In addition to providing basic factual information, this encyclopedia will delve into the greater historical context and significance of each weapon. The chronological organization by time period will enable readers to fully understand the evolution of weapons throughout history. The work begins with a foreword by a top scholar and a detailed introductory essay by the editor that provides an illuminating historical overview of weapons. It then offers entries on more than 650 individual weapons systems. Each entry has sources for further reading. The weapons are presented alphabetically within six time periods, ranging from the prehistoric and ancient periods to the contemporary period. Each period has its own introduction that treats the major trends occurring in that era. In addition, 50 sidebars offer fascinating facts on various weapons. Numerous illustrations throughout the text are also included.
Download or read book Hot Straight and Normal written by Ron Martini and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2001 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hot Straight and Normal is a submarine bibliography with over 6000 references to books, videos, articles and Internet sources. It is designed to assist reseachers, historians, students, teachers, collectors and others with an interest in submarines, their history, construction and use in wars worldwide. It's unique format of listing the books by title, will assists the researcher and casual reader alike in finding or searching for familiar words and subjects. Fiction book titles are also included. Each listing contains title, author, date published, publisher, page count, ISBN number and other informative descriptions if known. This is the only submarine bibliography currently in publication. The article index includes all articles in all issues of Naval Submarine League’s Submarine Review and Naval Institute’s Naval Proceedings magazine. There are Web sites and other Internet sources listed and even information on obtaining more information through the Freedom of Information Act. Also included is how to find materials inside government archives. Collected and edited by a former U.S. submariner and member of U.S. Submarine Veterans Inc.
Download or read book German S Boats in Action in the Second World War written by Hans Frank and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2007-01-17 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A detailed narrative of S-boat, or schnellboot, actions during World War II in all the theatres where they were deployed. The author, describes, with the help of a multitude of maps and photographs, all the incidents that these 45-knot fast attack craft were involved in. The German motor torpedo boat (German: S-boot, English: E-boat) was a controversial subject in the pre-war period of German naval rearmament. As late as 1938, the Fleet Commander recommended that S-boot building be terminated on the grounds that the craft was merely a 'weapon of opportunity' without a defined role. This outlook changed dramatically after the first wartime successes. Soon the S-boot was required on all fronts, and the area of operations. In this volume the operational deployment of the S-Boot in these theatres is given comprehensive treatment for the first time, and not purely from the isolated viewpoint of S-Boot warfare, but as an integral part of the overall military objectives of the time. This study of the effectiveness of the S-Boot, its successes and failures, is based on war diary entries and previously unseen original sources. It is a first-class account of this German naval arm in which survived to be the last class of German surface warship still carrying the offensive to the enemy.
Download or read book The Polish Underground Army the Western Allies and the Failure of Strategic Unity in World War II written by Michael Alfred Peszke and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2005 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Poland was the first country to stand up to Germany in 1939, and maintained an underground army during the years of World War II. The underground army was organized in occupied Poland in October 1939 and worked until April 1945, hoping to establish a legitimate authority in post-war Poland while liberating territory with the aid of Polish Forces from the west. This military history covers the attempts of General Wladyslaw Sikorski and his successor (General Kazimierz Sosnkowski) to integrate the Polish forces into Western strategy, and trying to have their clandestine forces (the Armia Krajowa) declared an allied combatant and legitimized by the Western powers before the eyes of both Germans and Soviets who sought Poland's destruction. The work opens with some general remarks on the inter-war period of 1919-1939, and then concentrates on the period of October 1939 through January 1945 and V-E Day. It covers such topics as Poland's part in the Norwegian and French Campaigns, the Battle of Britain, Polish Intelligence Services, Military Radio Network, Feluccas, the creation of the Polish Parachute Brigade, the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Bomber Offensive, the Katyn graves, Polish air crews in RAF Transport Command, Tehran, Polish Wings in the 2nd Tactical Air Force, the Bardsea Plan, the invasion of Normandy, the Pierwsza Pancera, the Warsaw Uprising, Operation Freston, the disbanding of the Polish Home Army, and Yalta. A conclusion and several appendices (including a chronology, costs of the Polish forces based in the UK, list of Polish squadrons in UK, and the texts of Polish-British agreements) close the work.
Download or read book The Sea and the Second World War written by Marcus Faulkner and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2019-12-10 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth study of World War II’s naval operations. “Rarely does a collection of essays offer so many new and persuasive assessments. Well done!”—Professor David Snead, Liberty University The sea shaped the course and conduct of World War II, from the first moments of the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, to the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The impact could be felt far beyond the shoreline, as the arms and armies carried across the oceans were ultimately destined to wage war ashore. Populations and industries depended on the raw materials and supplies in a war that increasingly became a contest of national will and economic might. Ultimately, it was the war at sea that linked numerous regional conflicts and theaters of operation into a global war. As the war grew in complexity and covered an increasingly larger geographical area, the organization of the maritime effort and the impact it had on the formulation of national strategy also evolved. This volume illustrates the impact of naval operations on the Second World War by highlighting topics previously neglected in the scholarship. In doing so, it provides new insights into political, strategic, administrative, and operational aspects of the maritime dimension of the war. “A fine collection of essays by some of the leading scholars in the field. The book addresses comprehensively the vital importance of the sea across a range of theaters during the Second World War through a diverse selection of case studies. The examinations and re-examinations in this volume will be of interest to both scholars and practitioners.”—Dr. Steven Paget, University of Portsmouth
Download or read book Normandy s Nightmare War written by Douglas Boyd and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2019-01-30 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The toll that both Nazi occupation and Allied liberation took on this northern French region during World War II, told through eyewitness accounts. Famous for Calvados apple brandy and Camembert cheese, Normandy is a green and pleasant land now dotted with thousands of British-owned second homes. Its coastline is also dotted with thousands of indestructible reinforced-concrete bunkers and gun emplacements that formed part of the Atlantic Wall of Hitler’s Fortress Europe. Tourists passing through the ferry ports like Boulogne, Cherbourg and Dunkirk may wonder why there are so few old buildings. Few know that the demolition which preceded the extensive urban renewal of the ancient town centers was affected by British bombs during four years of hell for the people living there. Before its belated liberation three ghastly months after D-Day, the sirens in Le Havre wailed 1,060 times to warn of approaching British and American bombers. After one single Allied raid, over 3,000 dead civilians were recovered from the city’s ruins, without counting the thousands of injured, maimed and traumatized survivors. So, whom did the Normans regard as the enemy: the German occupiers who shot a few hundred civilians or the Allied airmen who killed as many neutral citizens of northern France as died in Britain from German bombs during the whole war? Told largely in the words of French, German and Allied eyewitnesses—including the moving last letters of executed hostages—this is the story of Normandy’s nightmare war. “Boyd . . . uncovers some remarkable facts . . . A fascinating look at a region that has played a huge part in our own history.” —Books Monthly
Download or read book D Day written by Spencer C. Tucker and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-11-03 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This outstanding overview of D-Day makes clear its great importance in military and world history, identifies mistakes committed on both sides, and explains all aspects of the 1944 Allied invasion of France and the Normandy Campaign that followed. The beach landings at Normandy, France, in June of 1944 were of critical importance in the outcome of World War II, and as a consequence, served to determine the economic and political state of the modern world as we know it. This latest reference book edited by esteemed historian Spencer C. Tucker supplies easy-to-understand overview entries on the Normandy Invasion ("Operation OVERLORD") and the European Theater in World War II as well as entries treating specific topics such as key individuals, technical innovations, weapons systems, command structures, terrain and logistical difficulties, and the role played by weather. Readers will come to understand why the eventual success of the Allied forces in the D-Day operations was so hard-fought and came at a tremendous cost of life. The book addresses the immense difficulty of supplying tens of thousands of soldiers—many of them inexperienced in combat—and countless tons of equipment and vehicles to the invasion force from over the beaches, after most of the teams landed in the wrong locations, and when many command structures were wiped out almost immediately upon landing; and it explains how these factors impacted the combat on the ground and resulted in the Allied forces' careful planning going awry. The book also describes the elaborate deception carried out by the Allies regarding the invasion landing site and how these efforts impacted battle developments, and it presents nine primary documents that treat various aspects of the battle, including the lengthy Allied plan for the invasion and primary sources of directives regarding the battle and technical innovations.
Download or read book The Naval Cutter Alert written by Peter Goodwin and published by Conway Maritime Press. This book was released on 2004-02-26 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes bibliographical references (page 27).
Download or read book Naval Warfare 1919 45 written by Malcolm H. Murfett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2008-11-04 with total page 648 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Naval Warfare 1919–45 is a comprehensive history of the war at sea from the end of the Great War to the end of World War Two. Showing the bewildering nature and complexity of the war facing those charged with fighting it around the world, this book ranges far and wide: sweeping across all naval theatres and those powers performing major, as well as minor, roles within them. Armed with the latest material from an extensive set of sources, Malcolm H. Murfett has written an absorbing as well as a comprehensive reference work. He demonstrates that superior equipment and the best intelligence, ominous power and systematic planning, vast finance and suitable training are often simply not enough in themselves to guarantee the successful outcome of a particular encounter at sea. Sometimes the narrow difference between victory and defeat hinges on those infinite variables: the individual’s performance under acute pressure and sheer luck. Naval Warfare 1919–45 is an analytical and interpretive study which is an accessible and fascinating read both for students and for interested members of the general public.
Download or read book Neptune written by Craig L. Symonds and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-04-10 with total page 441 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seventy years ago, more than six thousand Allied ships carried more than a million soldiers across the English Channel to a fifty-mile-wide strip of the Normandy coast in German-occupied France. It was the greatest sea-borne assault in human history. The code names given to the beaches where the ships landed the soldiers have become immortal: Gold, Juno, Sword, Utah, and especially Omaha, the scene of almost unimaginable human tragedy. The sea of crosses in the cemetery sitting today atop a bluff overlooking the beaches recalls to us its cost. Most accounts of this epic story begin with the landings on the morning of June 6, 1944. In fact, however, D-Day was the culmination of months and years of planning and intense debate. In the dark days after the evacuation of Dunkirk in the summer of 1940, British officials and, soon enough, their American counterparts, began to consider how, and, where, and especially when, they could re-enter the European Continent in force. The Americans, led by U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall, wanted to invade as soon as possible; the British, personified by their redoubtable prime minister, Winston Churchill, were convinced that a premature landing would be disastrous. The often-sharp negotiations between the English-speaking allies led them first to North Africa, then into Sicily, then Italy. Only in the spring of 1943, did the Combined Chiefs of Staff commit themselves to an invasion of northern France. The code name for this invasion was Overlord, but everything that came before, including the landings themselves and the supply system that made it possible for the invaders to stay there, was code-named Neptune. Craig L. Symonds now offers the complete story of this Olympian effort, involving transports, escorts, gunfire support ships, and landing craft of every possible size and function. The obstacles to success were many. In addition to divergent strategic views and cultural frictions, the Anglo-Americans had to overcome German U-boats, Russian impatience, fierce competition for insufficient shipping, training disasters, and a thousand other impediments, including logistical bottlenecks and disinformation schemes. Symonds includes vivid portraits of the key decision-makers, from Franklin Roosevelt and Churchill, to Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, and Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay, who commanded the naval element of the invasion. Indeed, the critical role of the naval forces--British and American, Coast Guard and Navy--is central throughout. In the end, as Symonds shows in this gripping account of D-Day, success depended mostly on the men themselves: the junior officers and enlisted men who drove the landing craft, cleared the mines, seized the beaches and assailed the bluffs behind them, securing the foothold for the eventual campaign to Berlin, and the end of the most terrible war in human history.
Download or read book A Manual of Yacht and Boat Sailing written by Dixon Kemp and published by . This book was released on 1884 with total page 850 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Coastal Convoys 1939 1945 written by Nick Hewitt and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2009-04-20 with total page 505 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.
