Download or read book The Last Big Gun written by Brian Lavery and published by Pool of London Press. This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As she lay in dry dock, devastatingly damaged by one of Hitler’s newly deployed magnetic mines after barely two months in service, few could have predicted the illustrious career that lay ahead for the cruiser HMS Belfast. After three years of repairs to her broken keel, engine- and boiler-rooms, and extensive refitting, she would go on to play a critical role in the protection of the Arctic Convoys, would fire one of the opening shots at D-Day and continue supporting the Operation Overlord landings for five weeks. Her service continued beyond the Second World War both in Korea and in the Far East before she commenced her life as one of the world’s most celebrated preserved visitor ships in the Pool of London. Her crowning glory however came in December 1943 when, equipped with the latest radar technology, she was to play the leading role in the Battle of the North Cape sinking the feared German battlecruiser Scharnhorst, the bête noir of the Royal Navy. In doing so the ship’s crew made a vital contribution to, what was to be, the final big-gun head-to-head action to be fought at sea. In The Last Big Gun Brian Lavery, the foremost historian of the Royal Navy, employs his trademark wide-ranging narrative style and uses the microcosm of the ship to tell the wider story of the naval war at sea and vividly portray the realities for all of life aboard a Second World War battleship. The book is lavishly illustrated with photographs and illustrations and will appeal to all those with an interest in military history and life in the wartime Royal Navy. • The illustrious survivor of the last big-gun head-to-head ‘broadside’ engagement at sea • The very first complete ‘biography’ of HMS Belfast • Exhaustively researched from primary sources and interviews and written in the matchless narrative style of the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author Brian Lavery • An original work of popular history juxtaposing an in-depth technical understanding with an highly evocative use of quote and anecdote

Download or read book Big Guns written by Steve Israel and published by Simon & Schuster. This book was released on 2019-04-23 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From Steve Israel, the Congressman-turned-novelist who writes “in the full-tilt style of Carl Hiaasen” (The Washington Post), a comic tale of the mighty firearm industry, a small Long Island town, and Washington politics: “Congress should pass a law making Big Guns mandatory reading for themselves” (Nelson DeMille). When Chicago’s Mayor Michael Rodriguez starts a national campaign to ban handguns from America’s cities, towns, and villages, Otis Cogsworth, the wealthy chairman and CEO of a huge arms company in Asabogue, Long Island, is worried. In response, he and lobbyist Sunny McCarthy convince an Arkansas congressman to introduce federal legislation mandating that every American must own a firearm. Events soon escalate. Asabogue’s Mayor Lois Leibowitz passes an ordinance to ban guns in the town—right in Otis Cogsworth’s backyard. Otis retaliates by orchestrating a recall election against Lois and Jack Steele, a rich town resident, runs against her. Even though the election is for the mayor of a small village on Long Island, Steele brings in the big guns of American politics to defeat Lois. Soon, thousands of pro-gun and anti-gun partisans descend on Asabogue, and the bucolic town becomes a tinderbox. Meanwhile, Washington politicians in both parties are caught between a mighty gun lobby and the absurdity of requiring that every American, with waivers for children under age four, carry a gun. What ensues is a discomfiting, hilarious indictment of the state of American politics. “New York congressman-turned-novelist Steve Israel delivers a second brilliant political satire” (Booklist, starred review). “An entertaining satire” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review), Big Guns is “a wonderfully irreverent satire about the fractured and fractious American political and lobbying system…a rollicking comedic trip” (Publishers Weekly).

Download or read book The Last Big Gun written by Brian Lavery and published by Pool of London Press. This book was released on 2015-10-19 with total page 299 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As she lay in dry dock, devastatingly damaged by one of Hitler’s newly deployed magnetic mines after barely two months in service, few could have predicted the illustrious career that lay ahead for the cruiser HMS Belfast. After three years of repairs to her broken keel, engine- and boiler-rooms, and extensive refitting, she would go on to play a critical role in the protection of the Arctic Convoys, would fire one of the opening shots at D-Day and continue supporting the Operation Overlord landings for five weeks. Her service continued beyond the Second World War both in Korea and in the Far East before she commenced her life as one of the world’s most celebrated preserved visitor ships in the Pool of London. Her crowning glory however came in December 1943 when, equipped with the latest radar technology, she was to play the leading role in the Battle of the North Cape sinking the feared German battlecruiser Scharnhorst, the bête noir of the Royal Navy. In doing so the ship’s crew made a vital contribution to, what was to be, the final big-gun head-to-head action to be fought at sea. In The Last Big Gun Brian Lavery, the foremost historian of the Royal Navy, employs his trademark wide-ranging narrative style and uses the microcosm of the ship to tell the wider story of the naval war at sea and vividly portray the realities for all of life aboard a Second World War battleship. The book is lavishly illustrated with photographs and illustrations and will appeal to all those with an interest in military history and life in the wartime Royal Navy. • The illustrious survivor of the last big-gun head-to-head ‘broadside’ engagement at sea • The very first complete ‘biography’ of HMS Belfast • Exhaustively researched from primary sources and interviews and written in the matchless narrative style of the award-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author Brian Lavery • An original work of popular history juxtaposing an in-depth technical understanding with an highly evocative use of quote and anecdote

Download or read book Big Gun Battles written by Robert C. Stern and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2015-01-30 with total page 535 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This naval history of WWII explores the advancing technology and tactics of battleships through a fascinating survey of ship-to-ship duels. While many naval battles of the Second World War were decided by the torpedo or the aerial bomb, there was a surprising number of traditional ship-to-ship engagements involving the big guns of battleships and cruisers. Big Gun Battles recounts some of the most significant and technically fascinating of these gunfire duels in a narrative that combines lively storytelling with an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing victory or defeat. Covering all theatres of the naval war from 1939 until the Japanese surrender, the selected incidents demonstrate the changing face of surface warfare under the influence of rapidly improving fire-control systems, radar, and other technologies. By 1945, battleships achieved the pinnacle of gunnery excellence.

Download or read book The Last Big gun Naval Battle written by Howard Sauer and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Battle of Leyte Gulf -- four major actions -- was the greatest sea battle in history. The Surigao Strait action is considered the Navy's greatest single triumph, a model of timing, coordination and execution. This is a unique, behind-the- guns view; a gripping eye-witness account riding the battle line at Surigao in the last Crossing of the 'T'.

Download or read book The Last Gun written by Tom Diaz and published by New Press, The. This book was released on 2013-03-26 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Newtown, Connecticut. Aurora, Colorado. Both have entered our collective memory as sites of unimaginable heartbreak and mass slaughter perpetrated by lone gunmen. Meanwhile, cities such as Chicago and Washington, D.C., are dealing with the painful, everyday reality of record rates of gun-related deaths. By any account, gun violence in the United States has reached epidemic proportions. A widely respected activist and policy analyst—as well as a former gun enthusiast and an ex-member of the National Rifle Association—Tom Diaz presents a chilling, up-to-date survey of the changed landscape of gun manufacturing and marketing. The Last Gun explores how the gun industry and the nature of gun violence have changed, including the disturbing rise in military-grade gun models. But Diaz also argues that the once formidable gun lobby has become a "paper tiger," marshaling a range of evidence and case studies to make the case that now is the time for a renewed political effort to attack gun violence at its source—the guns themselves. In the aftermath of Newtown, a challenging national conversation lies ahead. The Last Gun is an indispensable guide to this debate, and essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we can finally rid America's streets, schools, and homes of gun violence and prevent future Newtowns.

Download or read book Big Gun Monitors written by Ian Buxton and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-03-30 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Extremely well researched . . . a total account of the design, building, service, refits, and fates of the big gun monitors built for WW1 and WW2.” —Malcolm Wright, author of British and Commonwealth Warship Camouflage of WWII In the history of naval warfare probably no type of ship has provided more firepower per ton than the monitor—indeed they were little more than a huge gun mounting fitted on a simple, self-propelled raft. Designed and built rapidly to fulfil an urgent need for heavy shore-bombardment during World War I, they were top secret in conception, and largely forgotten when the short-lived requirement was over. Nevertheless, they were important ships, which played a significant role in many Great War campaigns and drove many of the advances in long-range gunnery later applied to the battle fleet. Indeed, their value was rediscovered during the Second World War when a final class was built. Monitors were largely ignored by naval historians until Ian Buxton produced the first edition of this book in 1978. Although published privately, this became an established classic and copies of the first edition are now almost unobtainable, so this new edition will be welcomed by many. It has been completely revised, extended and redesigned to a generous large format which allows material deleted from the original edition for lack of space to be restored. “This book looks in detail at the technical and economic aspects of the 42 monitors built, and is, without a doubt, the definitive work on the subject.” —Ships Monthly “Ian Buxton’s work has set the standard in celebrating these big gun ships . . . It makes an invaluable contribution to the study of naval and land operations.” —Warships International

Download or read book Big Gun Battles written by Robert C Stern and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2015-01-30 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The outcome of much of the maritime warfare in the Second World War was decided by the torpedo or the aerial bomb, making relatively recent warship types, the submarine and aircraft carrier, the new arbiters naval conflict. Yet despite this, there was a surprising number of traditional ship-to-ship engagements involving the big guns of battleships and cruisers. This book recounts some of the most important, technically interesting, or obscure of these gunfire duels in a narrative that combines pacy storytelling with an in-depth understanding of the factors influencing victory or defeat.??Covering all theatres of the naval war from 1939 until the Japanese surrender, the incidents are selected to demonstrate the changing face of surface warfare under the influence of rapidly improving fire-control systems, radar and other sensors. By 1945 this allowed big ships to open fire at great ranges with a high probability of hitting with the first salvo. This success was the pinnacle of gunnery excellence, but also heralded the end of naval gunnery as a major factor in sea warfare _ facing such deadly accuracy, navies looked to longer-ranged, and smarter, ship-killing weapons like surface-skimming missiles and homing torpedoes.

Download or read book Naval Weapons of World War One written by Norman Friedman and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2011-12-12 with total page 1531 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An in-depth reference to the naval weapons used by Britain, Germany, the US, and the other combatants in the Great War, with photos: “Superb…invaluable.”—History of War Although the Great War might be regarded as the heyday of the big-gun at sea, it also saw the maturing of underwater weapons, the mine and torpedo, as well as the first signs of the future potency of air power. Between 1914 and 1918 weapons development was both rapid and complex, so this book has two functions: on the one hand it details all the guns, torpedoes, mines, aerial bombs and anti-submarine systems employed during that period; but it also seeks to explain the background to their evolution: how the weapons were perceived at the time and how they were actually used. This involves a discussion of tactics and emphasizes the key enabling technology of fire control and gun mountings. In this respect, the book treats the war as a transition from naval weapons which were essentially experimental at its outbreak to a state where they pointed directly to what would be used in World War II. Based largely on original research, this sophisticated book is more than a catalogue of the weapons, offering insight into some of the most important technical and operational factors influencing the war at sea.

Download or read book Big Gun Monitors written by Ian Buxton and published by Seaforth Publishing. This book was released on 2008-03-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the history of naval warfare probably no type of ship has provided more firepower per ton than the monitor – indeed they were little more than a huge gun mounting fitted on a simple, self-propelled raft. Designed and built rapidly to fulfil an urgent need for heavy shore-bombardment during World War I, they were top secret in conception, and largely forgotten when the short-lived requirement was over. Nevertheless, they were important ships, which played a significant role in many Great War campaigns and drove many of the advances in long-range gunnery later applied to the battle fleet. Indeed, their value was rediscovered during the Second World War when a final class was built. Monitors were largely ignored by naval historians until Ian Buxton produced the first edition of this book in 1978. Although published privately, this became an established classic and copies of the first edition are now almost unobtainable, so this new edition will be welcomed by many. It has been completely revised, extended and redesigned to a generous large format which allows material deleted from the original edition for lack of space to be restored.

Download or read book Battleships The First Big Guns written by Philip Kaplan and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-04-15 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new addition to the Images of War series takes as its focus the early Big Gun battleships that saw development and deployment during the First World War. Iconic ships such as HMS Warspite and Malaya feature amidst this pictorial history that is sure to appeal to fans of the series, and naval enthusiasts in particular. Vessels featured include the battleship Royal Sovereign, the aircraft carrier HMS Eagle, the cruiser HMS Gloucester, the Queen Elizabeth class battleship HMS Barham and the Italian battleships Littorio, Cesare, Duillo, Vittorio Veneto, Conte di Cavour and Doria, amongst many others. British and international battleships feature side by side in a publication that offers a truly representative selection of the kind of vessels in action at this time.

Download or read book Big Guns in the Atlantic written by Angus Konstam and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2021-08-19 with total page 81 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the outbreak of World War II the German Kriegsmarine still had a relatively small U-boat arm. To reach Britain's convoy routes in the North Atlantic, these boats had to pass around the top of the British Isles - a long and dangerous voyage to their "hunting grounds". Germany's larger surface warships were much better suited to this kind of long-range operation. So, during late 1939 the armoured cruiser Deutschland, and later the battlecruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were used as commerce raiders, to strike at Allied convoys in the North Atlantic. These sorties met with mixed results, but for Germany's naval high command they showed that this kind of operation had potential. Then, the fall of France, Denmark and Norway in early 1940 dramatically altered the strategic situation. The Atlantic was now far easier to reach, and to escape from. During 1940, further moderately successful sorties were made by the cruisers Admiral Scheer and Admiral Hipper. By the end of the year, with British mercantile losses mounting to surface raiders and U-Boats, plans were developed for a much larger raid, first using both cruisers, and then the two battlecruisers. The climax of this was Operation Berlin, the Kriegsmarine's largest and most wide-ranging North Atlantic sortie so far. Scharnhorst and Gneisenau remained at sea for two months, destroying 22 Allied merchant ships, and severely disrupting Britain's lifeline convoys. So, when the operation ended, the German commander, Admiral Lütjens was ordered to repeat his success - this time with the brand new battleship Bismarck. The rest, as they say, is history. These earlier Atlantic raids demonstrated that German surface ships could be highly effective commerce raiders. For those willing to see though, they also demonstrated just how risky this strategy could be. Covering a fascinating and detailed analysis of the Kriegsmarine's Atlantic raids between 1939 and 1941, this book will appeal to readers interested in World War II and in particular in Germany's naval operations.

Download or read book Our big guns written by Frederick Joseph Bramwell and published by Good Press. This book was released on 2020-12-08 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the text of a speech delivered in the city of Birmingham UK in 1886. Sir Frederick began his speech by declaring that the Commandment 'Thou shalt not covet' is arguably one of the most important. For, he argues, it is covetousness that leads to stealing and stealing that leads to gaol. What a better world it would be if everyone obeyed this edict.

Download or read book Outgunned written by Peter Harry Brown and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ours is a nation in the grip of a strange kind of mania. Why after President Reagan was shot was there virtually no handgun legislation? Why after the Columbine massacre in Littleton, Colorado, was nothing done to regulate the tools that children most frequently use to kill one another? Why was there no legislative response after a six-year-old in Flint, Michigan, shot a classmate with a .32 caliber "pocket rocket"? Tragedy follows tragedy, with twelve children shot dead every day in America, but guns remain less regulated than automobiles. Why? As authors Peter Harry Brown and Daniel G. Abel in this powerful book demonstrate, it is because of the terrible power of the gun coalition. Outgunned begins with the story of Wendell Gauthier, the "master of disaster" attorney, who brought down the tobacco industry to the tune of billions and then turned his attention to guns. He struck fear into the hearts of the gun manufacturers as he set out to make gunmakers bear some liability for the killings caused by the often poorly made, inaccurate handguns they marketed to criminals. Coauthor Daniel G. Abel worked for Gauthier, along with other attorneys, as the gun-control campaign gathered momentum. This legal initiative seemed to be about to make history and change the face of violence in America, but sadly, Wendell Gauthier died of cancer before meaningful gun control could be established. More than thirty class-action suits against gun manufacturers now languish in courtroom paralysis while as many Saturday night specials as ever are being made. What happened? Brown and Abel demonstrate how the pro-gun forces once again curbed the will of a nation. This book shows the enomous power of the NRA -- how it killed pending legislation in Congress, hijacked the Campaign Act to fund the George W. Bush presidential election victory, and eviscerated the American Shooting Sports Council. That association and the gun manufacturers actually wanted to compromise and agree to new handgun laws, implicitly accepting some liability, but the NRA leadership, with Charlton Heston as their president, crushed them. In Outgunned, Brown and Abel uncover how NRA lobbyists were instrumental in stopping Smith & Wesson in its tracks. They show how the tendrils of the NRA reach into the Christian Alliance and Republican Party, and how men like John McCain have fought back and been undermined. Outgunned reveals how the NRA began dealing with President George W. Bush when he was still governor of Texas -- prodding him into signing a shocking prohibition against the kind of suits Gauthier brought against the gun manufacturers. Outgunned is the story of a legal crusade with up-close accounts of the people who fought every step of the way. For those who believe in the importance of stopping unnecessary bloodshed, this book is essential, powerful, and urgent.

Download or read book Johnny Got His Gun written by Dalton Trumbo and published by Kensington Publishing Corp.. This book was released on 2013-11-15 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Searing Portrayal Of War That Has Stunned And Galvanized Generations Of Readers An immediate bestseller upon its original publication in 1939, Dalton Trumbo?s stark, profoundly troubling masterpiece about the horrors of World War I brilliantly crystallized the uncompromising brutality of war and became the most influential protest novel of the Vietnam era. Johnny Got His Gun is an undisputed classic of antiwar literature that?s as timely as ever. ?A terrifying book, of an extraordinary emotional intensity.?--The Washington Post "Powerful. . . an eye-opener." --Michael Moore "Mr. Trumbo sets this story down almost without pause or punctuation and with a fury amounting to eloquence."--The New York Times "A book that can never be forgotten by anyone who reads it."--Saturday Review

Download or read book Gun Lap written by Robert Wolgemuth and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2021-05-25 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You may think you’re too old to run fast, but you’re not too old to run well. When the lead runner starts his final lap in a long-distance race, the starter fires his pistol for the second time. This signals the start of the gun lap—the last chance to leave it all out on the track. “Gun Lap” is for men who are running their last lap. Or maybe younger men who are looking ahead to their gun lap, but want to live the rest of their lives with purpose and strength. This is no small thing. In fact, it’s a big deal, because we only get one chance at this life. The author of the New Testament book of Hebrews agrees...wrote, “Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us” (12:1 CSB). Perseverance. No word better describes the goal of this race…every lap…including the last one. “Gun Lap” will help you pay close attention to the strides you have left.

Download or read book Conway s Battleships written by Ian Sturton and published by US Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Fully updated with an extended introduction by Ian Sturton and an outstanding selection of images, Conway's Battleships is a comprehensive study of the world's capital ships from the emergence of HMS Dreadnought in 1906. In their day, these mighty ships represented a country's military pride. They served with distinction in two World Wars and threatened and impressed in equal measure. Superseded by the aircraft carrier and finally rendered obsolete in the missile age, a few of these ships, nevertheless, continued in service to the end of the twentieth century, with two of the US Iowa class present at the Gulf War in 1990-91." "Organized by nation, type and class, each entry describes the sister-ships of the class in detail, with specification tables, diagrams of ships in profile and career histories. A wealth of visual information can be gained from browsing through the many photographs and artworks, showing hull and deck details, ships in port, underway and in action. Fully international in its scope and extensive in its coverage, this is an essential addition to the library of any naval historian or warship enthusiast."--BOOK JACKET.