Naval History

HMS Crescent was the flagship of Rear Admiral Dudley Rawson Stratford de Chair, CB, MVO, commanding the 10th Cruiser Squadron, the 'Northern Patrol'. whose task was to prevent the passage of enemy warships and merchant shipping between Iceland and the north of Scotland, and to intercept contraband on board neutrals.

This extract from an official account of the events of 11 November 1914 described how the sea conditions west of Shetland forced the Squadron to heave-to. HMS Edgar was also damaged, besides losing a seaman overboard. De Chair gave an extended and more graphic description of this event in a posthumous memoir.

Crescent was a protected cruiser, completed at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1893, with her 'sister' ship. Royal Arthur Crescent displaced 7.700 tons: she was 387 feet long, with a beam of 60 2/3 feet, and she had three-cylinder, triple-expansion engines which developed 12.000 horse power and 19 1/2 knots. She was aimed with one 9.2-inch, and twelve б-inch 21ms with others of smaller calibre, and two 18-inch torpedo tubes.

Her complement was 520-550 officers and men. The other members of the 10th CS. the eponymous Edgar. Endytnion. Grafton and Theseus, were of similar vintage and design, but with two 9.2-inch and ten 6-inch guns. One, Hawke, was torpedoed and sunk in the North Sea by U-9 on 15 October with the loss of 560 lives...

An excellent and very interesting reading, elected the best book of Amazon resource in June 2015 and also one of the best books of same year by Chicago Tribune. The book by Robert Kurson is a thrilling adventure, a mix of danger, historic mystery and suspense. We can say that one of the most difficult things to do under the surface of the sea is to find and identify a pirate vessel.

Two men - John Mattera and John Chatterton - are risking everything trying to find the famous ship of the infamous pirate of the past, Joseph Bannister, called the Golden Fleece. In the Golden Age of Piracy - in the XVII century - he should have been immortalized in the lore of the sea... The book is face-paced indeed and filled with suspense, it is a really unputdownable story going so deep to discover souls and truths long believed lost.

The book shall be highly recommended to all readers delighting in sea adventures. The readers all around the world have highly rated this book and found it to be a non-fiction volume with the trademarks of an excellent and fascinating sea novel, saying that the narration presented by the authors was just as engrossing as the subject of the book. What the author did is that he took all his professional knowledge of the whole underwater world and applied it to the famous Golden Age of Piracy, and this has resulted in a great thriller.

The Outlaws of the Atlantic is one of the most popular publications on the naval history touching so dramatic world of the maritime adventures. Written by the award-winning naval historian, the book literally turns the marine industry upside down - it shows the history from the viewpoint of commoners - pirates, sailors, slaves and other outlaws of the sea from late XVII to the early XIX century.

With a keen eye for these characters, the author shows how the maritime actors shaped the history. The reader will know how merchant sailors organize, inspired and maintained the democratic structures both outside and within the laws at the time. It all resulted in the book exploring the maritime history "from below". According to the readers review, this book is really awesome and containing huge number of information that would be very difficult in other ones. A great reading for all people interested in naval history and very informative source from a very well known and world respected historian.

The readers will definitely enjoy the background history of the present volume providing them with the detailed information on how the merchant seafarers used to organize, inspire and maintain the democratic structures within and also outside the laws for more than three centuries. In fact, this volume presents an excellent collection of the specific historical papers.

All historians who have been involved in the researches of the Mediterranean has paid particular attention to the historical period between 1450 and 1700, and there was a good reason for that. In the early modern centuries, navigators adopted the small vessels and sailing techniques in use at those times to change the whole character of maritime trade together with the naval warfare.

The changes occurred in the competitions marking the Mediterranean seafaring have been considered equally important. After centuries of dominating of the Orthodox Christian and Latin powers in the region, the subsequent rise of the Empire of Ottomans did lead to the great clash between two most powerful human civilizations, namely Christian and Muslim. Subject struggle involved a whole set of religious, cultural, political and commercial aspects, with the diverse people of the Mediterranean region being the major players at first...

The historical overview presented in this publication will trace all the associated developments, mainly relying on the historical scholarship focusing on the early modern period of Mediterranean region. The list of topics covered by the author includes the navies and the Mediterranean in different historical periods including the early modern period mentioned above, era of the world wars, and others; note that the contemporary issues of the maritime strategy and policy in the region have also been addressed in detail.

This remarkably detailed book is a very good source of information to be used for the naval history enthusiasts who will definitely enjoy the story of one of the most famous Naval Officers in the whole history who served in the Submarine Service. The author of this publication has a life-long interest in the naval history and particularly the VC, standing for the Victoria Cross award - he spent much time with the British Royal Navy and either wrote or contributed in a number of maritime publications - he was quite fortunate to be given an opportunity to research the naval life of Rear Admiral Godfrey Place VC - in the present volume he starts as the Lieutenant in command of X7 submarine.

The content of this interesting publication written by Paul Watkins is supplemented with the thirty-six black and white photos placed together somewhere in the middle part of this book. The author offers its readers a truly great story of this remarkable Naval Officer. It shall be taken into account that the content of this volume has been prepared mainly on the basis of the relevant information taken from the sources not published earlier, and the list of references includes the author's personal recollections on the attack done on the Tirpitz and also in prison.

Another publication covering the naval warfare of the past times. All readers with the interest in the history will find the answers to the most common questions, they will get to know hot the medieval navies were organized and how the rulers used them. The publication gives readers a real wealth of relevant information addressing both tactics and strategy of the fleets of those times and also the extent to which people managed to understand, explore and exploit the possibilities of sea.

The present interesting and fascinating account was prepared to bring to life all difficulties and dangers of the seafaring of medieval times. Particularly, the author of the book reveals the exploits of France, England and Italian city states, examining why there the naval battles took place, and how they were fought. The readers will find the information about the logistical back up required to maintain a navy fleet and the battles from the North Sea to the Mediterranean.

The book is really excellent taking into account the quality and depth of the performed analysis and coverage of the documents, it is considered a good reading companion for every naval historian and maritime archaeologist. A book is full of very illustrative examples showing how the warships were deployed and depicting the uses and limitations of the sea power of medieval period.

Really worthwhile volume that should definitely be read by all people with the serious interest in the Greek trade and economy of the ancient time. The book has been deservedly treated as a very important and valuable contribution to the understanding oh the maritime trade activities of those times. The content of the publication is well-balanced and sensible.

The author is dealing directly with the subject and the introduction to the book has been mainly devoted to the point of organization and procedure. All of the passages and terms covered within this documents have been translated from Greek to English; however, when reproducing the original Greek the author has resorted to two scripts - ancient Greek and the one transliterated into English, with corresponding decisions being made depending on the nature of the particular passage.

The sections covering the abbreviations and providing the references to the Greek terms have also been provided. The books provide all required information on the classical exchange patterns and modes, juridical place and wealth of the maritime traders of the ancient times, as well as the official and unofficial attitudes towards the maritime traders and archaic exchange modes. There are several appendices with additional information. In short, a good one for naval historians and enthusiasts...

The people of Scotland have always been close to the sea. It is impossible to live more than 40 miles from salt water except on the heights of the Cairngorms. The sea forms most of the boundaries of Scotland, though these have not always been fixed - in the past the Western Isles have been ruled from Ireland and Norway, Orkney and Shetland by Norway. Sea transport has always had a vital role in holding the country together, across its innumerable rivers, channels and sounds.

It has also opened up the possibilities of international trade, allowing Scotland to develop relations with many places without going through its old rival, England. Nearly a third of Scotland's population lives in the four great cities, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and Aberdeen, all of which are seaports; though this was not achieved without some effort, for Edinburgh had to create a satellite port at Leith, while Glasgow used enormous resources in deepening the Clyde. The cultural difference between Edinburgh and Glasgow is great for two cities so close together.

This is partly explained by the fact that they face in different directions - Edinburgh towards England and the Continent, Glasgow towards Ireland, the Western Isles and America. Throughout the centuries Scotland has maintained independent relations with Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Ireland, France and North America. According to Professor Donaldson: "'From the Firth of Forth, Bremen and Bergen are no further away than Antwerp and Dieppe; from Aberdeen, the Kattegat is as near as the English Channel and the nearest continental country is Norway". Without the maritime dimension, England is seen as Scotland's only neighbour and that country seems to dominate Scotland's history.

This book attempts to take an overall view of Scottish maritime history, archaeology and building and monuments, uniting the different themes of passenger and cargo shipping, fishing, shipbuilding and naval history, each of which is well covered by its own specialists, with little reference to how it relates to the others. Because of pressures of space, it is regrettably not possible to do full justice to all aspects of the subject - yachting, the seaside, lifeboats and shipwrecks, for example, are barely mentioned...