BOOK REVIEW
The History of HMS Queen:
A World War II Lend Lease Escort Aircraft Carrier
Author: David Weaver
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Publisher:
David Weaver
ISBN-10: 9889727218
Copies can be purchased directly from Mr.
Weaver - please
e-mail for details.
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This extraordinary book tells the story of one of the
Lend-Lease American built escort aircraft carriers supplied
to the Royal Navy during World War Two.
A self published work released in December 2004, this is
more than a just book; it is presented as a boxed set of
materials about HMS Queen. The Set comprises of a 260 glossy
page hard back B4 size landscape format book, a DVD film of
853 Royal Naval Air Squadron operating onboard the ship in
early 1945 and a CD-Rom which contains an Adobe Acrobat
version of the book. The box also contains a set of
large-scale deck-by-deck plans of a Ruler class escort
carrier.
In addition to telling the story of the ship drawing on
official documents and the reminiscences of the crew David
delves into the building and modification process which saw
HMS Queen, and all but four of her class, transformed from
merchant hulls into warships. Unprecedented levels of detail
and a wealth of photographs and maps make this a work the
definitive account of HMS Queen and her squadrons. |
BOMB ALLEY, FALKLAND ISLANDS 1982:
Aboard HMS Antrim at War
Author: David Yates
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Publisher:
Pen &
Sword Books
ISBN-10: 1844154173 |
In his book David Yates recalls his experiences in the Royal
Navy as a Leading Catering Accountant aboard HMS Antrim
despatched to the South Georgia at the start of the
Falklands War. David conveys the humour, spirit and
traditions of life in the Royal Navy, vividly describing the
daily routines of life aboard ship and what matelots expect
when in port.
The author successfully conveys to the reader how the normality
of his peacetime navy was thrown into turmoil on Friday
April 2nd 1982, as Antrim prepared for war. In particular the
description of the traditional ‘crossing the line’ ceremony
is well described. You can almost taste the pill that is
thrust down each initiates throat, and imagine the terror at
being roughly, and repeatedly dunked by the ‘bears’.
The book is easy to read and. while well researched, is not
top heavy with facts and figures, this semi-autobiographical
work makes for fascinating reading offering a peek at life
below decks and off duty as well as in the uncertain days
that were the Falklands conflict. The book is well
illustrated with a 38 images and has two comprehensive
glossaries, one of naval terms and a second devoted to terms
specific to naval ‘cooks’, a must for those not familiar
with the naval catering branches. |
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Order direct from the author using this form
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MOVING BASES: ROYAL NAVY MAINTENANCE CARRIERS AND MONABS
Author: DavidHobbs
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Publisher:
Maritime Books
ISBN-10: 1904459307 |
This is another in David Hobbs
list of detailed history books covering aspects of the Royal
Navy, this time he focuses on Maintenance Carriers and
Mobile Air Bases which were planned and constructed both
during the Second World War and since.
Many previous works on the
subject of the Fleet Air Arm tend to focus on the fighting
ships and overlooked the important role played by RN
aviation support elements. This book covers the development
and implementation of the specialist maintenance carrier and
the land based equivalents that were the MONABs; much of the
material and many of the black & white photos appear in
print for the first time.
Also covered are is the role of
the smaller Escort Carriers which were pressed into service
as stop-gap repair ships during the war in the Pacific,
working with the MONABs to maintain a supply of serviceable
aircraft to the British Pacific Fleet.
Note :Some of the material
on MONABS and escort carriers is drawn from websites that
form part of the RN Research Archive, and are credited as
www.faahistoryweb
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Lieutenant R.M.Pratchett M.B.E. and His Experiences During World War II: Member of the 30th Assault Unit Under Ian Fleming
Author: Geraldine Hultkrantz
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Publisher: ELSP, St Helier
ISBN-10: 1906641099
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Geraldine Hultkrantz has produced a small volume about her
father, Lieutenant Richard Maurice Pratchett RNVR MBE, and
his experiences during World War 2. It tells of her father’s
pre-war career in the chemical industry and his
determination to gain academic qualifications in his own
time, to his enlisting as an ordinary Seaman in 1940. In
1942 while serving on the destroyer HMS Sikh he was selected
for officer training under the Commissions and Warrants (CW)
scheme and emerged from HMS King Alfred with a commission as
an Tempy. Sub Lieutenant RNVR in August 1942.
He chose to work in the dangerous world of mine disposal and
worked as a bomb disposal officer with the Land Incident
Section of the Torpedoes and Mining Department of the
Admiralty, travelling around the UK defusing unexploded
mines. In the run=up to D-Day he was employed in
preparations for the deployment of the Mulberry harbours
before being recruited by the Naval Intelligence Division
for duties with the new 30 (Commando) Assault Unit. During
his time with 30AU he travelled to liberated territories to
recover captured enemy technology for return to the UK,
initially in Europe and later in the Far East.
The book is easy to read and is well researched providing
background information on the units, ships, and operations
with which Lt. Pratchett was involved. |
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Availability: Check
Amazon.co.uk
Contact the author:
hultkrantz2@hotmail.com
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Many thanks to the authors of the above books for
kindly donating a copy of their work to the Royal Navy
Research Archive. If you have written a book on an aspect to Royal
Navy history we would be pleased to review it and add it to the
archive -
please contact the editor for more
information.
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