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The Merchant Navy
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 98

The Merchant Navy

At one time British ships carried half of the world's trade, transporting every conceivable type of freight from and to all four corners of the globe – and in times of crisis the merchant fleet has also offered military assistance. In fact, the merchant convoys and armed cruisers that defied the German blockades to supply Britain in the First World War were so pivotal that they were recognised as a second 'navy' – the Merchant Navy. This fleet again saw service in the Second World War, continuing to keep Britain provisioned even in its darkest hour. Richard Woodman here relates the Merchant Navy's colourful history and brings to life the day-to-day experiences of the seamen.

An Eye of the Fleet
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 195

An Eye of the Fleet

Nathaniel Drinkwater's life at sea begins with the HMS Cyclops' capture of the Santa Teresa during Admiral Rodney's dramatic Moonlight Battle of 1780. Subsequently, Drinkwater's courage and initiative are put to the test as the Cyclops pursues American privateers threatening British trade and is later dispatched to the swamps of South Carolina, where many lives are lost both at sea and ashore. Gradually, Drinkwater matures into a capable and self-assured sailor. As he contends with enemy forces, the tyranny of the Cyclops' midshipmen, and the stark contrast between the comfort of home life and the brutality of naval service, he finds strength and sustenance in the love of his beloved Elizabeth.

Malta Convoys, 1940-1943
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 560

Malta Convoys, 1940-1943

From the day Mussolini's Italy declared war on Britain in June 1940, the island of Malta was under siege. Its strategic importance was obvious to both sides, blocking as it did the supply route across the Mediterranean from Italy to the Axis armies in North Africa. It had to be bombed out of existence by the Axis powers and preserved at all costs by the British. That Malta survived was due to the courage and fortitude of her people and to the dauntless determination of the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy. Here Richard Woodman tells the full, terrifying story of how - at fearsome cost - the impossible was achieved.

The Bomb Vessel
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 223

The Bomb Vessel

A young captain Nathaniel Drinkwater is given command of an old ship, the Virago, to be sent to the Baltic as a bomb vessel. Drinkwater’s ambition is to turn the Virago back into a fighting ship, but his plans are thwarted. At the same time, Drinkwater’s brother appeals for help in his desperate attempt to escape the gallows. As Sir Hyde Parker’s fleet approaches the Danish coast, the Virago joins the battle. Amid gales and ice, Drinkwater strives to save his ship and his brother. It is 1801 and Napoleon is reaching supreme power in France and has allied himself with Tsar Paul of Russia. Against this hazardous backdrop, Drinkwater’s actions in the complex and bloody battle of Copenhagen are crucial.

A King's Cutter
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 177

A King's Cutter

It is 1792 and Nathaniel Drinkwater is back in the Royal Navy, this time appointed to the 12-gun cutter Kestrel, commanded by the inscrutable Madoc Griffiths. With the gathering menace of the French Revolution, he is involved in secret and dangerous operations off the French Coast, including the rescue of émigrés and the landing of agents. As Europe plunges deeper into war, Kestrel takes part in the struggle for supremacy in the Channel and Drinkwater has some sinister encounters with Edouard Santhonax, a man who is stirring up interest with British government agents. Through Drinkwater’s initiative the network of intrigue is discovered, but the Royal Navy is paralyzed by mutiny. Will Kestrel have to stand alone between the Dutch Fleet and disaster? Events come to a climax at Camperdown, and in the aftermath of the bloody battle Drinkwater and his opponent come face to face.

The Guineaman
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 421

The Guineaman

  • Type: Book
  • -
  • Published: 2000
  • -
  • Publisher: Unknown

Featuring William Kite and the slave ship Enterprize.

The History of the Ship
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 302

The History of the Ship

This book takes a comprehensive look at the ships of all ages, from dugout canoes to Nelson's ships-of-the-line, from great battleships and ocean liners to today's most sophisticated container ships, aircraft carriers, and supertankers. Intertwined with the history of ships and the men who sailed them is the story of the technological, political, and economic developments that have shaped the evolution of nautical vessels, which Woodman succinctly places within their proper contexts, creating one of the most fascinating histories of man as inventor, trader, and warrior ever written.

Ebb Tide
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 241

Ebb Tide

It is 1843 and Captain Nathaniel Sir Drinkwater embarks on the paddle-steamer Vestal for an inspection of lighthouses on the west coast of England. Bowed with age and honors, the old sea officer has been drawn from retirement on half-pay to fulfill his public duty. The following day, tragedy strikes, and Drinkwater is confronted with his past life: his sins and follies, his triumphs and his disasters. Drawing on a true incident, Richard Woodman deftly concludes the career of his sea hero. Drinkwater’s complex character is revealed in its entirety. Far from being the reminiscences of an old man, the novel skillfully weaves the past with the present; the personal tensions below decks, the straining creak of a man-of-war under sail, the crack of a cannon shot, and the plaintive mews of the trailing gulls are never far away. To the end, Nathaniel Drinkwater’s life is full of incident and the unexpected, so typical of the sea officers of his day.

Cold War Command
  • Language: en
  • Pages: 408

Cold War Command

A British nuclear submariner sheds critical light on the Royal Navy’s Cold War operations in this revealing military memoir. The role played by the Royal Navy's submarines throughout the Cold War remains largely shrouded in secrecy. In Cold War Command, Captain Dan Conley, RN (Ret.), offers an insider’s look at commanding nuclear hunter-killer submarines. As captain of the HMS Courageous and HMS Valiant, Conley was tasked with covertly following Soviet submarines in order to destroy them should there be any outbreak of hostilities. Conley recounts his early career in diesel submarines, as well as his exceptional success against the Soviet Navy at the height of the Cold War. He was involved in the initial deployment of the Trident nuclear weapon system and divulges previously unknown facets of nuclear weapons strategy and policy during this period. He also describes the Royal Navy's shortcomings in ship and weapons procurement, assessing how these failures led to the effective bankrupting of the Defense budget as it entered the 21st century.