David Wragg: 27 books

The London Midland & Scottish Railway was the largest of the Big Four railway companies to emerge from the 1923 grouping. It was the only one to operate in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as having two short stretches of line in the Irish Republic, and was also the world's...

For many the GWR was synonymous with vacations by the sea in the West Country, but it was originated to serve as a fast railway line to London, especially for the merchants and financiers of Bristol. Its operations stretched as far as Merseyside, it provided most services in Wales, and was the main...

Above the Waves is the history of the first century of British Naval aviation, with personal accounts adding color to the achievements both in technology, such as angled flight decks, mirror deck landing systems, helicopter assault and vertical take-off, and in operations, including the sinking of...

This is a narrative account of the operations of the Fairey Swordfish throughout World War Two. The most famous of these was the attack on the Italian fleet at Taranto, crippling three battleships and damaging several other ships as well as the seaplane base and an oil storage depot. The Swordfish...

Formed on 1 April 1918 from the merger of the Royal Naval Air Service with the Royal Flying Corps, the Royal Air Force was the first fully autonomous military air arm in the world. This book is a comprehensive, single source reference on the RAF and the vital part it played in the Second World War....

During the Summer of 1940, Hitlers Germany appeared unstoppable. The Nazis were masters of mainland Europe, in alliance with Stalins Russia and only the English Channel prevented an immediate invasion. Britain stood alone. The BEF had been routed but, due to the Dunkirk miracle, most of her...

World War I is often thought of as just being a land war with men entrenched across the Western Front, but this "war to end all wars" was won as much at sea and in the air, as it was on land. This accessible guide takes readers through all the major naval battles of World War I, as well as exploring the stories of the ships and men that fought in them.

Operation BARBAROSSA, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, was a turning point second only to Pearl Harbor. Russia became an ally overnight but a most difficult, dangerous and demanding one. Stalin desperately needed oil, equipment and modern technology but the only practical route was...

Compiled by the author of Jane’s Air Forces of the World, this book is a must for naval experts and enthusiasts. In one volume the reader will find the composition and details of all naval elements of a staggering 137 nations’ armed forces including paramilitary organizations as the US Coast Guard...

From the American Civil War onwards, railways have been an important aspect of war. So important were the railways that in the First World War, the state took control of the railways, and then repeated this exercise in the Second World War. Wartime on the Railways describes the part played by Britain's...

The Pacific Naval War 1941-1945 is an account of the war between the Allies and the Japanese. This was primarily a naval war as sea power allowed the Japanese to mount their attack on Pearl Harbor and then advance westwards and southwards, and it was sea power that enabled the Allies to strike back...

To the US Navy they were CVEs! To the Royal Navy auxiliary carriers! To crews of endangered merchantmen in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans they were heaven-sent protection! To their crews they were Combustible, Vulnerable, Expendable!The need for air cover against enemy aircraft and submarines brought...

Without the aircraft carrier, the Japanese would not have brought the United States into the Second World War through their attack on Pearl Harbour; without the carrier, the United States could not have rolled back the Japanese forces spread across the wide reaches of the Pacific and carried the war...