Pen Sword: 3374 books
Midget Submarine Commander
The Life of Godfrey Place VC
Language: English
Release Date: January 19, 2013
Of all the acts of gallantry in World War II few were as audacious as the attack by midget submarines on the pride of the German fleet, the battleship Tirpitz, lying in her fortified mooring in a Norwegian fjord. Lieutenant Godfrey Place was in command of submarine X7 in September 1943 and traveled...
The Battle of Quiberon Bay, 1759
Hawke and the Defeat of the French Invasion
Language: English
Release Date: August 19, 2010
Revered naval theorist, Alfred Thayer Mahan, thought the Battle of Quiberon Bay (20 Nov 1759) was as significant as Nelson's victory in 1805, calling it 'the Trafalgar of this war [the Seven Years War]'. Arguably it was even more vital. Britain in 1759 was much less well-defended, with virtually no...
Admiral Lord St. Vincent – Saint or Tyrant?
The Life of Sir John Jervis, Nelson’s Patron
Language: English
Release Date: September 18, 2006
This biography of John Jervis, who became Admiral Lord Vincent, makes compelling reading. It throws an oblique light on Nelson’s personality. St Vincent, who was born twenty-three years before Nelson, and survived for eighteen years after Trafalgar, fundamentally influenced the younger man’s career...
British Warships 1860-1906
A Photographic Record
Language: English
Release Date: August 20, 2009
Illustrated with 200 official admiralty photographs, many of them previously unpublished, this book traces the development of Royal Naval ship design in a period of immense change. Opening with the Crimean War, this period saw the gradual transition from sail to steam and screw propulsion; from wood...
by John Barratt
Language: English
Release Date: June 25, 2009
Language: English
Release Date: June 25, 2009
Sieges determined the course of the English Civil Wars, yet they receive scant attention. In contrast, the major set-piece battles are repeatedly analyzed and reassessed. As a result our understanding of the conflict, and of its outcome, is incomplete.
John Barratt, in this lucid and perceptive...
by Stephen Howarth
Language: English
Release Date: December 19, 2003
Language: English
Release Date: December 19, 2003
The official volume marking the centenary of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, known as the 'Wavy Navy' because of the distinctive wavy gold stripes on the reservists' uniforms, from its formation in 1903 through its unification with the mercantile Royal Reserve in 1958, and on to its present complete...
by Stephen McGreal
Language: English
Release Date: April 20, 2009
Language: English
Release Date: April 20, 2009
It is often said “The first casualty of war is the truth” and there is no better example of this than the furore caused by the claims and counterclaims of the British and German Governments at the height of the First World War. Wounded allied personnel were invariably repatriated by hospital ships,...
Admiral Byng
His Rise and Execution
Language: English
Release Date: October 19, 2009
Born the son of George Byng, a favorite of the king and himself an admiral and member of the admiralty board (and later First Lord of the Admiralty), John Byng seemed destined for a shining career in the Royal Navy. He saw his first fleet action at Cape Passaro, the elder Byng's finest hour, as a...
by T Heathcote
Language: English
Release Date: November 19, 2005
Language: English
Release Date: November 19, 2005
This is a biographical dictionary of the two flag officers and captains of 27 battleships, four frigates and two minor combatant vessels that were present under Nelson's command at the historic battle of Trafalgar, 21 October 1805. Each officer's family background and naval career will be covered...
Life of General George Monck
For King and Cromwell
Language: English
Release Date: October 23, 2008
General George Monck is famous for the key role he played in the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. His actions changed the course of British history, but his statesmanship in the dangerous time between the death of Cromwell and the bloodless return of Charles II distracts attention from his extraordinary...
Admiral of the Blue
The Life and Times of Admiral John Child Purvis (1747 – 1825)
Language: English
Release Date: November 19, 2005
Admiral John Child Purvis was a contemporary naval officer of Nelson, who never disobeyed an order and did his job well. His ability as a fighting commander was proved in a bloody duel between his sloop-of-war and a French corvette during the War of American Independence. As a battleship Captain,...
HMS Fearless
The Mighty Lion
Language: English
Release Date: June 15, 2006
The Seventh ship to bear the name, the Assault Ship and Commando Carrier HMS Fearless was first commissioned in 1965. Over the next 37 years she was seldom far from the actions in which British forces were engaged world-wide, be they in Aden, Malaysia and Borneo, Northern Ireland, the Cold War (Norway),...
Seven Seas, Nine Lives
The Valour of Captain A.W.F. Sutton, CBE, DSC and Bar, RN
Language: English
Release Date: June 19, 2006
Captain Alan William Frank Sutton's enthralling biography starts when, as a young midshipman he was in command of a small rowing cutter returning a potentially mutinous crew to the battle-cruiser HMS Repulse in which he served. Amazingly it ends in the open cockpit of a Fairy Swordfish torpedo bomber...
North American Mustang P-51
Long-range Fighter
Language: English
Release Date: December 13, 2011
The Mustang was born from a British WW2 specification to North American during 1940. The prototype was completed within 117 days but the RAF was not happy with the aircraft's performance and suggested replacing the V-12 Allison with the more powerful RR Merlin. The result was a superbly fast and maneuverable...