A Ship of War


Book Description

A Ship of War is a stunning new maritime adventure from Top Ten bestselling author Sean Thomas Russell, following the great success of A Battle Won and Under Enemy Colours. For fans of Bernard Cornwell and Patrick O'Brian, A Ship of War is the third instalment in the electrifying historical series of Charles Hayden and the Themis. 'Hayden kept his eye fixed upon the chasing ship...The screech of an iron ball passed narrowly by. There was no room now for error' 1794. As the terror rages in France, Captain Charles Hayden leaves Plymouth with orders to gather intelligence from a spy off the Le Havre coast. But the enemy lies in wait. In the foulest of weather, Hayden's seamanship is tested to the limit and a terrifying cat and mouse chase begins. Faced with a powerful French squadron Hayden knows he must elude capture at any cost. In his possession are details of an imminent attack on British soil which must be delivered before all is lost.Ahead lie shipwrecks, storms, battles and dramatic escapes - and at the centre of it all, the courage and heroism of a lone captain . . . A Ship of War is the brilliant third tale in the epic maritime adventures of Charles Hayden. A masterpiece already rivalling the stories of Bernard Cornwell and Patrick O'Brian. Praise for Sean Thomas Russell: 'An unqualified seal of approval. This is gloriously readable stuff.' The Bookseller 'Russell's encyclopaedic command of nautical lore, joined to his rare ability to spin a ripping yarn, combine to place the reader right in the middle of the action, of which there is plenty.' Neal Stephenson (author) 'Well-written, plenty of adventure . . . places the reader in the midst of the action of battle.' Marine Society Sean Thomas Russell is a lifelong sailor whose passion for the sea - and his love of nautical history - inspired the adventures of Charles Hayden. A Ship of War follows bestsellers A Battle Won and Under Enemy Colours. Sean lives on Vancouver Island.







The Boats of Men of War


Book Description

In the age of sail, the boats were an essential part of any ship's equipment. They moved stores, towed the ship in calms and in confined water, and, for warships, were an extention of their armament. Over the centuries there were almost countless sizes, hull forms and rigs employed, so the exact details have always been a problem to modelmakers, marine artists and even those building replicas.




Dazzle Ships


Book Description

A visually stunning look at innovative and eye-popping measures used to protect ships during World War I. During World War I, British and American ships were painted with bold colors and crazy patterns from bow to stern. Why would anyone put such eye-catching designs on ships? Desperate to protect ships from German torpedo attacks, British lieutenant-commander Norman Wilkinson proposed what became known as dazzle. These stunning patterns and colors were meant to confuse the enemy about a ship's speed and direction. By the end of the war, more than four thousand ships had been painted with these mesmerizing designs. Author Chris Barton and illustrator Victo Ngai vividly bring to life this little-known story of how the unlikely and the improbable became just plain dazzling. "[A] conversational, compelling, and visually arresting story . . ."—starred, Publishers Weekly "Barton's lively text is matched by Ngai's engrossing artwork, which employs dazzle techniques throughout her inventive spreads."—The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books New York Public Library Best Books for Kids Children's Book Committee at Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year




Take, Burn or Destroy


Book Description

Master and Commander Charles Hayden returns in the riveting seafaring adventure by bestselling author S. Thomas Russell. In 1794, the French Revolution rages, and Charles Hayden sets off aboard the HMS Themis with orders to destroy a French frigate and to gather intelligence from a royalist spy. Upon discovering French plans for an imminent invasion of England, Hayden must return to Portsmouth to raise the alarm before it’s too late. But the enemy is laying in wait—and so begins a dangerous chase out into the Atlantic and into the clutches of a powerful French squadron. With no chance of fighting their way through, Hayden and his officers are taken prisoner. Shipwrecked in a storm on the French coast and mistaken for a French sea officer, Hayden must attempt a desperate escape to warn the Lords of the Admiralty. Failure will mean the invasion of England—and the guillotine for Hayden.




The Archaeology of Ships of War


Book Description

One of two books based on the proceedings of the First International Conference on The Archaeology of Ships of War held at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, from the 31st October to the 1st November 1992.




Ships of Oak, Guns of Iron


Book Description

The War of 1812 is typically noted for a handful of events: the burning of the White House, the rise of the Star Spangled Banner, and the battle of New Orleans. But in fact the greatest consequence of that distant conflict was the birth of the U.S. Navy. During the War of 1812, America’s tiny fleet took on the mightiest naval power on earth, besting the British in a string of victories that stunned both nations. In his new book, Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron: The War of 1812 and the Birth of the American Navy, author Dr. Ronald Utt not only sheds new light on the naval battles of the War of 1812 and how they gave birth to our nation’s great navy, but tells the story of the War of 1812 through the portraits of famous American war heroes. From the cunning Stephen Decatur to the fierce David Porter, Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron relates how thousands of American men and boys gave better than they got against the British Navy. The great age of fighting sail is as rich in heroic drama as any epoch. Dr. Utt’s Ships of Oak and Guns of Iron retrieves the American chapter of that epoch from unjustified obscurity, and offers readers an intriguing chronicle of the War of 1812 as well as a unique perspective on the birth of the U.S. Navy.




The Arming and Fitting of English Ships of War, 1600-1815


Book Description

Gives precise details of the wooden warships built by the Royal Navy between 1600 and 1815, with exact information on sizes and scantlings.




War at Sea


Book Description

From the sinking of the British passenger liner Athenia on September 3, 1939, by a German U-boat (against orders) to the Japanese surrender on board the Missouri on September 2, 1945, War at Sea covers every major naveal battle of World War II. "A first-rate work and the best history of its kind yet written".--Vice Admiral William P. Mack, U.S.N. (Ret.). 30 photos.




Atlantic Escorts


Book Description

Winston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the Second World War that really frightened him. If the lifeline to north America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of US and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the war until the final German surrender, making it the longest and arguably hardest-fought campaign of the whole war. The ships, technology and tactics employed by the Allies form the subject of this book. Beginning with the lessons apparently learned from the First World War, the author outlines inter-war developments in technology and training, and describes the later preparations for the second global conflict. When the war came the balance of advantage was to see-saw between U-boats and escorts, with new weapons and sensors introduced at a rapid rate. For the defending navies, the prime requirement was numbers, and the most pressing problem was to improve capability without sacrificing simplicity and speed of construction. The author analyses the resulting designs of sloops, frigates, corvettes and destroyer escorts and attempts to determine their relative effectiveness.