Roger Branfill Cook: 4 books

The torpedo was the greatest single game-changer in the history of naval warfare. For the first time it allowed a small, cheap torpedo-firing vessel-and by extension a small, minor navy-to threaten the largest and most powerful warships afloat. The traditional concept of seapower, based on huge fleets...

The ‘X’ stood for experimental, but it might equally have meant extraordinary, exotic or extravagant, as this giant submarine attracted superlatives – the world’s largest, most heavily armed, and deepest diving submersible of the day. X.1 was a controversial project conceived behind the backs...

The torpedo was the greatest single game-changer in the history of naval warfare. For the first time it allowed any small, cheap torpedo-firing vessel – and by extension a small, minor navy – to threaten the largest and most powerful warships afloat. The

The first recorded engagement by a steam-powered warship took place on a river, when in 1824 the Honourable East India Company's gunboat _Diana_ went into action on the Irrawaddy in Burma. In the 150 years that followed river gunboats played a significant part in over forty campaigns and individual...