British Aircraft Carriers 1939 45

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 50 pages
File Size : 44,6 Mb
Release : 2012-12-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9781849080804

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British Aircraft Carriers 1939–45 by Angus Konstam Pdf

With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these carriers battled the Axis powers in every theatre, attacking Italian naval bases, hunting the Bismark, and even joining the fight in the Pacific. This book tells the story of the small, but resilient, carriers and the crucial role they played in the British war effort.

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 78 pages
File Size : 43,8 Mb
Release : 2012-12-20
Category : History
ISBN : 9781782008415

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British Aircraft Carriers 1939–45 by Angus Konstam Pdf

With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these carriers battled the Axis powers in every theatre, attacking Italian naval bases, hunting the Bismark, and even joining the fight in the Pacific. This book tells the story of the small, but resilient, carriers and the crucial role they played in the British war effort.

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 84 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 2023-04-27
Category : History
ISBN : 9781472856890

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British Aircraft Carriers 1945–2010 by Angus Konstam Pdf

The history of the Royal Navy flagships that led the fleet through the Cold War, ensured victory in the Falklands War, and saw action in Iraq and the Balkans. In 1945, at the end of World War II, the Royal Navy's carrier fleet proved essential to the post-war world. Royal Navy carriers fought in the Korean War with the UN fleet, in the debacle at Suez, and in British operations in the last days of Empire, in Malaya, Borneo and Aden. But most famously, they were the key to the Royal Navy's victory in the Falklands campaign, and they went on to fight in the two Iraq wars. Illustrated throughout with new profiles of the key carriers and their development, as well as a cutaway of HMS Victorious and superb new illustrations of the carriers in action, this book explains how the Royal Navy's air power changed throughout the Cold War and beyond. Renowned naval historian Angus Konstam explains how the World War II carriers were rebuilt in a pioneering modernization that allowed them to operate a new generation of naval jets. As carriers became more expensive to operate, the Royal Navy had to scrap its conventional fast jets and introduce a new generation of light carriers designed for the innovative Harrier 'jump jet'. When the Falklands War broke out, it was one of these new carriers and one veteran carrier from World War II that gave the Task Force the fighters it needed to defend itself in hostile waters and retake the islands. Covering a period of dramatic change for the Royal Navy, this book is a history of the Royal Navy's most important ships throughout the Cold War, the retreat from Empire, and the Falklands and Iraq wars, up to the moment Royal Navy fixed-wing air power was temporarily axed in 2010.

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 49 pages
File Size : 55,5 Mb
Release : 2019-09-17
Category : History
ISBN : 9781472836250

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British Escort Carriers 1941–45 by Angus Konstam Pdf

This is the fully-illustrated story of the Royal Navy's escort carriers which battled against deadly U-Boats during the Battle of the Atlantic, giving vital air cover to the convoys that kept Britain alive in World War II. In 1941, as the Battle of the Atlantic raged and ship losses mounted, the British Admiralty desperately tried to find ways to defeat the U-Boat threat to Britain's maritime lifeline. Facing a shortage of traditional aircraft carriers and shore-based aircraft, the Royal Navy, as a stopgap measure, converted merchant ships into small “escort carriers.” These were later joined by a growing number of American-built escort carriers, sent as part of the Lend-Lease agreement. The typical Escort Carrier was small, slow and vulnerable, but it could carry about 18 aircraft, which gave the convoys a real chance to detect and sink dangerous U-Boats. Collectively, their contribution to an Allied victory was immense, particularly in the long and grueling campaigns fought in the Atlantic and Arctic. Illustrated throughout with detailed full-color artwork and contemporary photographs, this fascinating study explores in detail how these adaptable ships had such an enormous impact on the outcome of World War II's European Theater.

Author : Gordon Swanborough
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 123 pages
File Size : 45,7 Mb
Release : 1997
Category : Airplanes
ISBN : 0953142108

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British Aircraft at War 1939-45 by Gordon Swanborough Pdf

Author : John Winton
Publisher : Sapere Books
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 51,5 Mb
Release : 2022-07-11
Category : Electronic
ISBN : 1800555210

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Find, Fix and Strike! by John Winton Pdf

A full examination of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm from the beginning of World War Two until final operations off Japan in August, 1945. Perfect for lovers of naval and aviation history. At the beginning of the Second World War the Royal Navy had only seven aircraft carriers and a couple of hundred obsolete aircraft. Six years later it had more than fifty aircraft carriers of various types and thousands of frontline aircraft. John Winton provides a thorough record of Fleet Air Arm's activities during the war, from the initial setbacks of the Norwegian campaign in the spring of 1940 to the long campaign against Tirpitz in 1944 and finishing with the triumphant operations of the British Pacific Fleet as part of the US 3rd Fleet off the mainland of Japan in the summer of 1945. Find, Fix and Strike! The Fleet Air Arm at War, 1939-45 charts how naval air power came to hold an increasingly important position in the Royal Navy through the course of the war. Uncovering the operations of British aircraft carriers and shore bases, catapult fighters from merchant ships, support given to the British army in North Africa, escort carrier and catapult-launched floatplane activities, as well as numerous instances of individual heroism has allowed Winton to demonstrate the true importance of Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. 'interesting, clear and accurate account ... deserves attention by all naval history enthusiasts.' Warship International

Author : Adrian Stewart
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
Page : 358 pages
File Size : 53,6 Mb
Release : 2013-06-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781783469321

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Carriers at War, 1939–1945 by Adrian Stewart Pdf

The author begins this fascinating book by tracing aircraft carrier development between the Wars. Eschewed by the Germans and Italians and with Britain squandering her early lead, the Americans and Japanese became front-runners.The Royal Navy learnt the hard way in the early stages of WW2 with the loss of HMS Courageous and Glorious but, following successes at Taranto and Matapan, the value of carriers was no longer in doubt. The sinking of Bismarck and the cataclysmic Pearl Harbor attack signaled the end of the Battleship era. Stung by such spectacular losses the US Navy threw its weight behind the carrier concept and the naval war in the Pacific (Guadalcanal, East Solomon Islands, Santa Cruz, Midmay and Leyte Gulf) revolved round carrier-borne aircraft.Meanwhile the carrier became pivotal in protecting vital convoys in the Atlantic, Arctic and Mediterranean. The author backs his arguments with copious examples of naval and air action.

Author : Ron Mackay
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 64 pages
File Size : 43,6 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Aircraft carriers
ISBN : 0897474325

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Fleet Air Arm by Ron Mackay Pdf

Beskriver det engelske flåde-flyvevåben.

Author : David Hobbs
Publisher : Seaforth Publishing
Page : 402 pages
File Size : 46,8 Mb
Release : 2014-09-30
Category : History
ISBN : 9781848321380

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British Aircraft Carriers by David Hobbs Pdf

This book is a meticulously detailed history of British aircraft-carrying ships from the earliest experimental vessels to the Queen Elizabeth class, currently under construction and the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy. Individual chapters cover the design and construction of each class, with full technical details, and there are extensive summaries of every ship's career. Apart from the obvious large-deck carriers, the book also includes seaplane carriers, escort carriers and MAC ships, the maintenance ships built on carrier hulls, unbuilt projects, and the modern LPH. It concludes with a look at the future of naval aviation, while numerous appendices summarise related subjects like naval aircraft, recognition markings and the circumstances surrounding the loss of every British carrier. As befits such an important reference work, it is heavily illustrated with a magnificent gallery of photos and plans, including the first publication of original plans in full colour, one on a magnificent gatefold.??Written by the leading historian of British carrier aviation, himself a retired Fleet Air Arm pilot, it displays the authority of a lifetime's research combined with a practical understanding of the issues surrounding the design and operation of aircraft carriers. As such British Aircraft Carriers is certain to become the standard work on the subject.

Author : Ingo Bauernfeind
Publisher : Casemate
Page : 240 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 2021-08-04
Category : History
ISBN : 9781612009353

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U.S. Aircraft Carriers 1939–45 by Ingo Bauernfeind Pdf

A detailed and fully illustrated account of the development of American aircraft carriers up to and during World War II. This extensively illustrated volume tells the dramatic yet successful story of U.S. aircraft carriers in World War II by class, ranging from early pre-war designs to escort carriers built from destroyer hulls, to the gigantic fleet carriers serving as the predecessors of modern-day super carriers. Besides covering the famous great carrier battles in the Pacific, this book also tells of the equally important actions of U.S. flat tops hunting and destroying German U-boats in the Atlantic, making an enormous contribution to the elimination of the U-boat dangers and the safe arrival of transatlantic supplies, so desperately needed for the launch of D-Day. Including profiles and explanatory text boxes, the concise text gives a clear overview of each ship’s career, its fate and its significance in American naval history. Moreover, the reader learns about the technical evolution of U.S. carriers throughout the war, and the various aircraft launched from these magnificent vessels to engage their Japanese or German foes. This volume provides an overview of preserved World War II flat tops serving as floating museums for future generations as well as a dive to the sunken U.S.S. Saratoga at Bikini Atoll. Praise for U.S. Aircraft Carriers 1939–45 “Bauernfeind brings to the reader a fitting conclusion to a superb historical portrait of these capital warships that carried naval aviation to victory in World War II. This is an exemplary work and is recommended as an introductory reference for readers not already steeped in World War II ship history.” —Air Power History “The coverage of the CVEs and CVLs, coupled with the book’s first-rate graphics, profuse and precisely captioned photographs, well-written text, and reasonable price make it a very good choice for readers looking for an overview of U.S. carriers in World War II.” —Naval Historical Foundation

Author : David K. Brown
Publisher : US Naval Institute Press
Page : 170 pages
File Size : 50,6 Mb
Release : 1995
Category : History
ISBN : STANFORD:36105019201859

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The Design and Construction of British Warships, 1939-1945: Major surface vessels by David K. Brown Pdf

This new three-volume set presents the official view of the wartime design effort as written by those actually involved. The volumes offer authoritative, firsthand insight into the performance of every ship that served in the Royal Navy during World War II and shed light on the design rationale and procedures. Battleships, monitors, carriers, cruisers, fast minelayers, and destroyers are fully examined.

Author : David Hobbs
Publisher : Seaforth Publsihing
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 2020-08-19
Category : History
ISBN : 1526785447

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The British Carrier Strike Fleet After 1945 by David Hobbs Pdf

In 1945 the most powerful fleet in the Royal Navy's history was centred on nine aircraft carriers. This book charts the post-war fortunes of this potent strike force; its decline in the face of diminishing resources, its final fall at the hands of uncomprehending politicians, and its recent resurrection in the form of the Queen Elizabeth class carriers, the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy.After 1945 'experts' prophesied that nuclear weapons would make conventional forces obsolete but British carrier-borne aircraft were almost continuously employed in numerous conflicts as far apart as Korea, Egypt, the Persian Gulf, the South Atlantic, East Africa and the Far East, often giving successive British Governments options when no others were available. In the process the Royal Navy invented many of the techniques and devices crucial to modern carrier operations angled decks, steam catapults and deck-landing aids while also pioneering novel forms of warfare like helicopter-borne assault, and tactics for countering such modern plagues as insurgency and terrorism.This book combines narratives of these operations with a clear analysis of the strategic and political background, benefiting from the author's personal experience of both carrier flying and the workings of Whitehall. This new paperback edition will be welcomed by historians and enthusiasts and has now particular significance as Britain once again embraces carrier aviation.

Author : Angus Konstam
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
Page : 49 pages
File Size : 46,5 Mb
Release : 2019-09-19
Category : History
ISBN : 9781472836267

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British Escort Carriers 1941–45 by Angus Konstam Pdf

In 1941, as the Battle of the Atlantic raged and ship losses mounted, the British Admiralty desperately tried to find ways to defeat the U-Boat threat to Britain's maritime lifeline. Facing a shortage of traditional aircraft carriers and shore-based aircraft, the Royal Navy, as a stopgap measure, converted merchant ships into small 'escort carriers'. These were later joined by a growing number of American-built escort carriers, sent as part of the Lend-Lease agreement. The typical Escort Carrier was small, slow and vulnerable, but it could carry about 18 aircraft, which gave the convoys a real chance to detect and sink dangerous U-Boats. Collectively, their contribution to an Allied victory was immense, particularly in the long and gruelling campaigns fought in the Atlantic and Arctic. Illustrated throughout with detailed full-colour artwork and contemporary photographs, this fascinating study explores in detail how these adaptable ships had such an enormous impact on the outcome of World War II's European Theatre.

Author : Witold Koszela
Publisher : Top Drawings
Page : 128 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2017-03-19
Category : History
ISBN : 8365437090

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The British Aircraft Carrier HMS Ark Royal by Witold Koszela Pdf

The British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal was one of the most famous and recognizable Royal Navy vessels of the Second World War. Built as the first large and modern aircraft carrier she was a true pride of Albion's fleet, equal to the mightiest warship of her time - the battlecruiser HMS Hood. Moreover, her design and construction introduced entirely new standards in construction of aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy, giving her a specific place in shipbuilding history.

Author : J. D. Brown
Publisher : Pen and Sword
Page : 463 pages
File Size : 51,7 Mb
Release : 2009-05-21
Category : History
ISBN : 9781783469307

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Carrier Operations in World War II by J. D. Brown Pdf

Between 1939 and 1945 the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm grew from a small force into a powerful strategic weapon. British carrier-based aircraft fought throughout the world and David Brown here describes their activities in the Home, Mediterranean, Eastern and British Pacific Fleets, together with Forces created for specific operations, listing aircraft and units embarked during the various phases.He goes on to describe carrier operations in the Pacific between 1941 and 1945, the greatest maritime war in history. Both the United States and Imperial Japanese Navies watched the Royal Navy's early carrier operations in the European Theatre and benefited from the lessons. American aircrews and sailors learnt quickly in action until, by March 1945, the United States Fifth Fleet with its associated Marine Corps formations was probably the most efficient and effective instrument of war deployed in the pre-nuclear age.This new work contains material from two volumes, first published in 1968 and 1974, merged with notes for a third which David Brown prepared but never published before his death. They appear for the first time together, providing the most detailed single-volume account currently available of the operation of British, American and Japanese aircraft carriers in World War II.