Search results for ""Fonthill Media Ltd""

An aviation legend designed in the mid-1940s, the Canberra entered service in 1951 with RAF Bomber Command. It served in the conventional, interdictor and nuclear bomber role with the RAF, in the UK, Germany, the Middle East and Far East. Its performance and adaptability made it ideal as a reconnaissance aircraft, and the final version, the Canberra PR9, only finally retired in July 2006! The Canberra was used in many support roles, especially in signals / electronic warfare. The Canberra was adopted by air forces from South America to Africa and India, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and license-built as the Martin B-57 served. It was involved conflicts from the Suez War and Malaya Confrontation, and various other hot spots with the RAF, to the Australian and USAF ops in Vietnam, and even the India-Pakistan War when both sides used Canberras, and the 1982 Falklands War. Used in trials and evaluation the Canberra held various height and speed records, and NASA's High Altitude Research Program WB-57s are still active. The Canberra has also had dedicated enthusiasts, and aircraft (or cockpits) still survive in museums, as well as some in flying condition.

Read more less

Jowett Cars were built in Bradford, from 1906 to 1954. All pre-war cars up to 1935 were powered by a twin-cylinder horizontally opposed 7hp engine. In 1935 a new four-cylinder horizontally opposed engine was introduced with a 10hp rating running alongside the original twin-cylinder model which had been increased to an 8hp rating. Little changed during this pre-war period, many of the models were made in very small numbers, and sadly, there are no survivors today. The Jowett brothers experimented in the mid-1930’s with a new in-line power unit which did not go into production. The post-war period saw massive changes in the Jowett company, with both Jowett brothers retiring by the end of the war. The first all-new model was the Javelin saloon, launched in 1947 and the Jupiter sportscar in 1950. By 1951 there should have led to a completely new range of cars, vans, pick-up and estate cars, known as the Bradford CD range. There were plans for a racing Jupiter known as the R1 and to re-vamp the Jupiter for road use known as the R4. Sadly, none of these models materialised and Jowett’s history could have been so different had fate been kinder to them.

Read more less

The British Rail corporate image and its Rail Blue livery was one of the longest-lived colour schemes carried by the trains of Britain in the forty-eight-year life of the nationalised railway network. Launched in 1965, after Beeching, the then new corporate image was an attempt by the BR design panel to raise the profile of the railway system countrywide and to sweep away the dull steam-era image as the swinging sixties got underway. By the mid-1970s, virtually all BR locomotives and multiple units were carrying Rail Blue livery, while most of the passenger coaches were in matching blue/grey. As the British Rail network was sectorised from the late 1980s in preparation for eventual privatisation, new bold, bright livery schemes for the fleet swept away the familiar, but by then somewhat jaded BR image. The BR blue era is now looked upon with affection as a golden age when the system was operated by an immense variety of locomotives and rolling stock, all now part of history in the same way that the steam era was viewed when the BR blue era ruled on Britain’s railways.

Read more less

This book contains a history of all United States Air Force Tactical Air Command flying units that were resident in the United Kingdom during the period 1950 to 1992. ‘From the cockpit’ testimony from aircrew who were assigned to the individual squadrons and wings is an integral part of the narrative; which is supported by 467 illustrations, 168 of which are in colour. The tactical nuclear mission was central to the operations of many of the UK based units and is covered in detail from its beginnings in 1952 with the arrival the 20th TFW and the 47th Bombardment Wing, to the adoption by NATO of the doctrine of ‘Flexible Response’ and the eventual end of the Cold War. Also Included also are sections on the units which were temporarily deployed to the United Kingdom in support of the USAF and NATO operations. The comprehensive Appendices contain essays on individual aircraft development, international events which had a direct bearing on the missions and deployments of the individual units, the support aircraft used by the wings, and Maps, Tables and Profiles.

Read more less

Rodolfo Graziani, Marshal of Italy, Viceroy of Ethiopia and one of Mussolini's most valued generals remains to this day a divisive figure in his homeland. Revered by some Italians as a patriot and vilified by others a murderer, his reputation abroad remains one of infamy. To the people of Libya, he's the man who hanged Omar al-Mukhtar. In Ethiopia, the one behind the poison gas bombings. To the British, he is the buffoon-like Italian general whose troops surrendered en masse. But what is the true story of Rodolfo Graziani? This rigorously researched biography draws on private letters and secret communications to reveal a fascinating portrait of Fascist Italy's most notorious military leader. What emerges is a man of glaring contradictions. A Doting family man and a violent soldier. Graziani was a key figure of Italy's momentous 1930s, enjoying widespread popularity during the height of Mussolini's dictatorship, his exploits in Libya and Ethiopia captured the public's imagination. After his death he was largely forgotten. But in 2012, the mausoleum erected in his honour has sparked fresh controversy.

Read more less

This book illustrates a journey through Amberdale, as it might have been in the 1890s. Encompassing a wide variety of scene, Amberdale is nevertheless the smallest of the dales—by far, for Amberdale is a model, dreamt up in the mind of its creator and built over a period of some 60 years. Following the river and the railway through the dale, the pictures bring to life the half forgotten age of the horse and the steam engine, the unspoiled countryside, the quiet charm of the villages, the bustle of a market town and the industrial urgency of late Victorian England. The book describes an extensive and impressive model, yet emphasises that it is not dependant on particular modelling skills or extensive academic research, but on imagination and enthusiasm. It suggests an adventure of any extent open to anyone, and it is hoped that the pictures will entertain and inspire those who build models and. those who do not. The trains wind through the valley, the trams rattle along the streets, the mill wheel turns under the elms.… Welcome to Amberdale.

Read more less

In May 1945 with the war in Europe at an end, Britain had to play her part in the occupation of the defeated Germany. The near-bankrupt country was hard-pressed to maintain such a military presence on the continent and still manage our other out commitments across the Mediterranean, Middle and Far East. As the immediate post-war years came to pass, Britain and other western powers found themselves reviewing their relationship with the key victor in the east: the USSR. A defining moment came in 1948 when the Soviet Union attempted to starve the people of West Berlin to the point of being relinquished to their fate by the Western allies. Following a sterling and stubborn effort to keep the city supplied with the minimum materials and food the Soviet exercise ended in 1949. But the parameters were now set, the Iron Curtain had descended across the continent, and the RAF were to maintain a constant vigil with nuclear-armed aircraft on station ready to respond to Soviet aggression for the next four decades while politicians tried desperately to preserve the peace.

Read more less

Over the centuries, proximity to major routes---the Great North Road, the Icknield Way, and Watling Street---has made Bedfordshire strategically important. Iron Age hillforts occupied significant locations, and castles consolidated Norman control after 1066. In later medieval times, two major events occurred: in 1224, the siege of Bedford Castle marked Henry III’s attempt to reimpose royal authority after the chaos of John’s reign; and the Second Battle of St Albans in 1461 was a major defeat for the Yorkists. During the wars of the twentieth century, the county’s industrial base supported the armies fighting overseas. In the First World War, the county contributed significantly to the birth of the RAF as well as provided the base for the Home Defence armies. In the Second World War, its airfields despatched RAF and USAAF bombers over the continent, but the major activity was the secret war largely associated with the Bedford Triangle. After 1945, aeronautical research continued at RAF Thurleigh/Twinwood Farm and electronic intelligence-gathering was developed at Chicksands. 'Defending Bedfordshire' seeks to explain the significance of this dense concentration of military sites to be found in a relatively small county.

Read more less

This volume focuses on the influence of America’s Second World War aviation development and experience, subsequent aviation technological advances, and world events, in shaping American choices in military aircraft and associated weapons’ development during the few years following the war. It shows how air warfare weapons from the last conflict were carried forward and altered, how new systems evolved from these, and how the choices fared in the next war—Korea. The period was one of remarkable progress in a short span of time via a great many aircraft and weapons programs, and associated technological progress. These systems were of immense importance influencing and growing the engineering, production, and operational capabilities to be exploited for the next generation of weapons that soon followed. Emphasized is the innovative features or new technology and how these contributed to advancing American military aviation, influencing the evolution of follow-on models or types. Included are military prototype, experimental, and research aircraft that are equally important in understanding the history of American aircraft development. Combat employment, progress, and equipment adaptation during the Korean Conflict is then highlighted. Tabulated characteristics are provided of those aircraft that entered production or represented significant technological advances influencing others that follow.

Read more less

Every week the TV news highlights the routine use of drones and guided missiles against terrorist enemies and the recreational use of drones has become commonplace. The Nazi WWII development of guided missiles and bombs is often given credit for America's Cold War success in this realm. However, it was during that war that America, and the Air Force, in particular, also began the development of systems and weapons that laid the foundation for today's technology. 'Off Target' relates in detail the then "Secret" research, development, and combat employment of these early guided bombs, missiles, and drones from 1917 to 1948. Using formerly Secret/Confidential manuals, reports, microfilm print outs, and photos, collected over 40 years, author Wolf, gives the air war historian and enthusiast a detailed look at this unknown topic that progressed from biplane drones to sophisticated post-WWII guided missiles. Among the subjects discussed are Sperry's aerial torpedo and the Kettering "Bug" of WWI to WWII's early rudimentary GB Series Glide Bombs to the more sophisticated VB Series that evolved from radio, heat, light, or television guidance. The Aphrodite/Joseph Kennedy B-17, BQ, TDR, and target drones are discussed as are the SWOD, GLOMB, GORGON, and JB Jet bomb series.

Read more less

The popular image of the Japanese tanks which faced the markedly superior tanks fielded by the Allies during the Second World War is one of poorly armed and armoured Lilliputian tin cans which failed to make any impression upon the battlefield. In this absorbing new history, David McCormack looks beyond widely held and unchallenged misconceptions to create a new narrative in which Japan's rightful place as a leading innovator in tank design and doctrine is restored. Why did Japan produce tanks in such limited numbers? What contribution did Japanese tanks make to the war effort? Why did it take Japan so long to develop heavier tanks capable of meeting the Allies on more equal terms? Drawing from primary and secondary sources, the author's meticulous research provides the reader with an objective appraisal of both the successes and failures of the Empire of the Sun's tank forces.

Read more less

‘American Panther Tanks’ sounds a strange title for a book, but currently there are five surviving WW2 German Panther tanks in America. It is believed that fourteen captured Panzer V Panther tanks were shipped to the United States after the Second World War. Most were cut up and scrapped after being used for testing and targets on live firing ranges. The Panzer V Ausf.A Panther tank at the American Heritage Museum, Hudson, Massachusetts, near Boston, has been completely restored to a very high standard. The other four Panther tanks are at Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia, under the care of the U.S. Army Armor and Cavalry Collection (U.S. AACC). They are awaiting their turn to be restored. The first four chapters briefly cover the development and production of the Panzer V Panther tank from the first version, the Ausf.D, to the second version the Ausf.A and to the final production version the Ausf.G, using photographs from other surviving Panther tanks around the world. The fifth chapter explores the design history of the Panther II prototype hull. Only one was built. The remaining chapters are dedicated to a photographic walk-around of the surviving Panther tanks in America.

Read more less

Reflections' is an intimate and joyful portrait of life in Trevignano Romano, a village on the shores of the glimmering Italian lake whose waters spurt from Rome’s fountains. Along this Roman Riviera, only an hour from the Colosseum, are the remains of the largest Stone Age village ever found in Europe, plus ruins of summer palaces built by ancient Roman Emperors and one of Italy's most splendid castles. Judith Harris, journalist and former diplomat, introduces you to many of the remarkable citizens who have left their imprint upon the town: the medieval saint whose miracle fish haul fed a starving town, the Orsini prince accused of murdering his wife, the blind postman who delivered the mail on foot, the pioneer teacher of the hearing impaired, the retired international bureaucrat who is 108 years of age. What is now modern Italy’s prizewinning, cosmopolitan resort town has also seen barbarian invaders, Renaissance warfare, German military occupation, and an amazing cast of past and contemporary residents. She explores local dialects and shares gastronomical secrets and the finer points of the coffee shop culture.

Read more less

No musical partnership has enjoyed greater success during its time span, or bequeathed a more powerful and enduring legacy, than that of Gilbert and Sullivan in the later nineteenth century. Even before their first successful collaboration in 1875, both William Schwenk Gilbert (1836-1911) and Arthur Seymour Sullivan (1842-1900) had already forged considerable reputations for themselves. Thereafter, between 1877 and 1896, Gilbert wrote the librettos, and Sullivan the music, for no fewer than a dozen Savoy operas, among them the still regularly performed ‘H.M.S. Pinafore’ (1878), ‘The Pirates of Penzance’ (1879), ‘Iolanthe’ (1882), ‘The Mikado’ (1885), ‘The Yeomen of the Guard’ (1888) and ‘The Gondoliers’ (1889). Not only are the plots ingenious, the lyrics witty and the music compelling, the operas also present modern audiences with splendidly rich and satirical evocations of Victorian England and its society: the prime subject matter of this book!

Read more less

Having been classified by the Air Ministry as a ‘Master Diversion’ airfield, RAF Manston was for many years open twenty-four hours a day and available to both civil and military aircraft 365 days a year. It was also later equipped with the Pyrene foam system, which both civil and military aircraft could use when they had problems with their undercarriage: there is no doubt that the foam carpet saved many lives. The most spectacular occasion that it was used was on 20 April 1967 when a British Eagle Britannia made a complete wheels-up landing. It is claimed that Manston was the only station to serve in every command of the RAF and until its closure in 1999; it probably dealt with more diverse types of aircraft than any other station. During its eighty-three years as a Royal Naval/ RAF airfield, it played host to the Sopwith Camel, Spitfire, Bf 109, He 111, B-29, B-47, Tu-104, F-84 and Concorde, plus many other types that are too numerous to mention.

Read more less

When the Nazis started to threaten the world with their efficient machine of propaganda, the main concern of European governments was the overwhelming reaction of panic that the expected bombing of the Luftwaffe might cause within the civil population. During the Munich Agreement in 1938, the democracies were defended by old biplanes and a bunch of modern fighters: 50 Hurricanes, 20 Morane-405 and 5 Fokker D.XXI. France and Great Britain took up the production of USA airplanes and cancelled exports to small countries, which were forced to design and build their own PANIC FIGHTERS with the intelligence and skill that desperation provides. When nothing seemed able to contain the German advance, France, Great Britain and the USSR developed several programs of emergency fighters, as did Australia, to face the Japanese expansion. At the time the course of events switched, it was the Axis powers that had to create their own PANIC FIGHTERS, some of them suicidal. The present book includes several last resource designs of fighters that are practically unknown and that were developed in times of tribulation by Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Japan, Yugoslavia, Latvia, Netherland, Poland, Romania, Sweden and Switzerland.

Read more less

The end of the First World War brought with it the closure most of the military aerodromes in Scotland. It, however, retained its links with naval aviation with aircraft carriers frequently exercising off the coast. In the latter part of the decade Auxiliary Air Force squadrons were formed at Edinburgh and Glasgow manned by civilians. With the rise of the Nazis in Germany, the RAF responded by building new airfields or re-opening former First World War sites. They included armament practice camps at Evanton and West Freugh where pilots could practice their skills in bombing and firing their weapons. RAF flying boats also visited various coastal locations around Scotland in the years leading up to the War. The inter-war services also saw the development of scheduled airline services within the country. They were, however, not between major towns but linked remote islands with major towns of the mainland. An air ambulance service was also created to serve isolated communities. All of these developments are covered as well as private flying and gliding. There is also a section on aerodromes that were planned but never built.

Read more less

Scottish Railways in the 1960s makes a broadly clockwise journey around the country visiting many long-closed railways, branch lines, a few industrial locations, plus the locomotives that worked over them. Locations seen include: Alloa, Alva, Auchtermuchty, Ayr, Ballachulish, Beattock, Brechin, Burghead, Dumfries, Callander, Carstairs, Castle Douglas, Coalburn, Douglas, Drongan, Duns, Edinburgh, Elgin, Fort William, Georgemas Junction, Glasgow, Gleneagles, Greenock, Hawick, Helmsdale, High Blantyre, Inverness, Killin, Kilmarnock, Larkhall, Lennoxtown, Lesmahagow, Lugar, Montrose, Muirkirk, Paisley, Rannoch, Stonehouse, Stranraer, Tburso, & Turriff. The time period is mainly between 1958 and 1966. Steam motive power largely dominates except in the far north. Scottish Railways in the 1960s will appeal to railway enthusiasts, modellers and those interested in local history. Virtually all of the photographs, a mixture of black & white and colour, have never previously been published and all were taken by the author, his father, and their friend Alan Maund. An extensive and informative commentary accompanies the photographs.

Read more less

‘Shellac and Swing!’ tells the story of the gramophone’s ‘golden age,’ from 1900-1955, when it helped to shape Britain’s culture from the arts to warfare. The story focuses on the gramophone, the invention of Emile Berliner in the 1880s, but begins with a brief outline of the first attempts to record the human voice and of Edison’s invention of the cylinder and the phonograph. It uses primary evidence, images and interviews with DJs, fans, musicians and historians to explore this fascinating and often eccentric tale. Each chapter ends with ‘On the Record,’ a discussion of a record that relates to the chapter’s themes. Although the gramophone and its fragile shellac discs were vital to Britain’s music scene—opera and music hall, the Jazz Age, the crooners, early rock’n’roll—its impact was far more extensive. Its place in British history encompasses advertising and design, fraud and piracy, phallic symbols, talking books, the threat from radio and TV, the contrasting worlds of the Salvation Army and adult ‘party’ discs, the creation of a parliamentary insult, new political strategies and the seditious activity of the Mau Mau. From the establishment of the Gramophone Company in London in the late 1890s to the end of shellac record production in the 1950s, the British public bought the machines and the discs in their millions and the record labels made stars of performers like Caruso, Harry Lauder, Al Bowlly and Dame Nellie Melba. ‘Shellac and Swing!’ explores the ways in which the gramophone helped these singers to achieve stardom but it also explores in detail and for the first time many other stories of not-so-famous performers, of the gramophone in political electioneering and of forgotten technology: the first pirate radio broadcasters, the soldiers who took their ‘Trench Decca’ portables to the Western Front, the invention of the Flame-O-Phone, the People’s Budget recordings and the pioneering label owner and producer of ‘blue’ discs. The gramophone’s heyday ended with the rise of rock ’n ’roll, teenagers, the 45 rpm single, the LP and the record player, but it survives today as part of a vibrant contemporary music, fashion and lifestyle scene.

Read more less

Edward Jenner is perhaps the world’s most famous doctor. He developed a vaccination for smallpox beginning in 1796, long before the world knew about bacteria and viruses. He has been described as `the man who saved more lives than anyone else’. He bought The Chantry at Berkeley in 1785 and modified it to make a home fit for his beloved wife, Catherine. This book is the result of a three-year investigation that set out to discover the house that Jenner prepared for Catherine. It traces the origin of the house, which was built in 1707, and the many changes throughout the next 300 years. It turns out that the site has a history going back to Anglo-Saxon times. Edward Jenner lived there for only thirty-six years, but the house has been much changed since. The investigation set out to define the house that Edward Jenner lived in, separating it from the original and many changes afterwards. The book includes a great deal of information and stories about the people involved, including Edward Jenner and his family and estate. It also includes the inventory of Jenner’s goods in 1823 and profiles of the internal plasterwork, which may be of interest to restorers and historians.

Read more less

Low level flying in military aircraft at speeds of up to 500 mph and as low as 100 feet above the ground is as challenging for the pilot as it is for the photographer wishing to capture the action. This is two books in one, the main subject is about military low flying; the skills, reasons and dangers from a pilot's perspective. The writer also talks about the challenges faced, revealing how and where the images were taken from mountainsides and desert canyons to cockpits for air to air. Pilots describe their training, mission planning, systems and the aircraft they love to fly; from A-7 Corsairs and F-4 Phantoms to Tornados, Typhoons, F-15 Eagles and Gripen. They fly low to deliver weapons or gather data and evade Radar. Pilots from air forces across Europe and the United States talk about the skills they need to be effective in very dangerous flying environments, discussing the challenging conditions they face when flying fast and low over snow, the sea or through mountain ranges at night. Commanders with years of low level flying give a fascinating insight in to their most memorable sorties.

Read more less

"My first telegram came Sep. 3 1942 that my son was missing in action. And the next telegram came Aug. 18 1943 that he was Declared Dead. Till this day I do not know what happened to him." Mrs. Ann M. Lyons, August 7, 1957. Between 1942 and 1944, nearly four hundred Marines virtually vanished in the jungles, seas, and skies of Guadalcanal. They were the victims of enemy ambushes and friendly fire, hard fighting and poor planning, their deaths witnessed by dozens or not at all. They were buried in field graves, in cemeteries as unknowns, or left where they fell. They were classified as "missing," as "not recovered," as "presumed dead." And in the years that followed, their families wondered at their fates and how an administrative decision could close the book on sons, brothers, and husbands without healing the wounds left by their absence. 'Leaving Mac Behind' reconstructs the lives, last moments, and legacies of some of these men. Original records, eyewitness accounts, and recent discoveries shed new light on the lost graves of Guadalcanal's missing Marines--and the ongoing efforts to bring them home.

Read more less

This first-ever biography of of Lt. Cdr. Mike Cumberlege DSO & Bar, Greek Medal of Honour, murdered in Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in Feb/March 1945, recalls a man who was `truly Elizabethan in character-a combination of gaiety and solidity and sensitiveness and poetry with daring and adventurousness-and great courage.' Cumberlege came from a maverick sea-going family. He was highly resourceful and lived by his wits, skippering ocean-going yachts for wealthy Americans before the war. In 1936 he married Nancy; their relationship was close and, with the sea, forms a thread in the book. From 1940 Cumberlege and served in undercover roles in the Royal Navy in Marseilles and Cape Verde and was on the staff of General de Gaulle in London. Posted to Egypt in 1941 in the SOE, he formed a para-naval force of fishing vessels, took part in fighting in Greece, attacked the Corinth Canal, escaped from Crete, was wounded and returned three times to Crete clandestinely. On a second operation to destroy the Corinth Canal in 1943 he was captured. Tortured in Mauthausen concentration camp, he was transferred to Sachsenhausen and spent 21 months in solitary confinement. The book contains unique material gathered from the family and from well-wishers in places as far apart as Ukraine, Australia and the USA.

Read more less

Throughout most of the twelve years between their formation and disbanding after the death of drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin were regarded as arguably the most influential group in popular music since The Beatles. While seen as pioneers of British heavy rock, their sound also embraced blues, psychedelia and folk music. Earlier in his career Jimmy Page had been one of the most highly sought-after session guitarists, while John Paul Jones was a versatile multi-instrumentalist and experienced arranger, and Robert Plant was one of the most individual vocalists of the era. A deal signed with Atlantic Records allowed them total musical control, and a deliberate policy of not allowing any tracks to be released as singles in Britain helped to ensure maximum demand for their albums as well as huge ticket sales every time they toured. Initially unpopular with critics, they were much loved by fans on both sides of the Atlantic and indeed throughout much of the world. This book provides a thorough examination of each track on all the group's studio albums, additional songs on official live releases and compilations of BBC sessions material.

Read more less

This is the quite remarkable and true story of Squadron Leader Derek J. Sharp AFC BSc Dip Comp JP RAF and his incredible adventures. Nothing perhaps was more astonishing than his survival after meeting a Mallard duck at 500 mph and his subsequent fight back to become a pilot in command once again. That he survived to age 30 was amazing, that he continued unashamedly on to a ripe old age was nothing short of a miracle. Conceivably he followed the advice written on a fridge magnet in his kitchen `Never drive faster than your Guardian Angel can fly'. Those who knew him would say not a chance! This fascinating book follows the adventures of Sharp from spotty schoolboy to highly respect aviator. He flew everything from fighters to heavy transport, wise old navigators and Her Majesty The Queen. He joined a flying club called the Royal Air Force and unexpectedly found himself at war. That mirrored his namesake, Pilot Officer Derek Sharp who lost his life in a Lancaster in WW2. He lived in a time long before Political Correctness, the Breathalyser and motorcar safety checks. He achieved all that he set out to do, and more. That would undoubtedly be his epitaph.

Read more less

`Victorian Cornwall’ is a tour around the county from the north coast on the Devon border right around to Land’s End, out to the Scillies and back up the south coast with a few inland villages interspersed. The book is illustrated by photographs taken from the 1850s right through to 1901—a large span of Queen Victoria’s reign. The photographs used where practicable are as early as possible in an effort to save these rare and treasured images for generations to come. The photographs all come from the author’s personal collection and will take the reader back to Cornwall of 150 years ago; included in the book are photographs of characters, customs, villages, harbours, mines and buildings of note. This fascinating book is well researched using the knowledge of many local people.

Read more less

Starting weeks after Hitler declared war on the United States in mid-December 1941 and lasting until the war with Germany was all but over, 73 German U-Boats sustainably attacked New England waters, from Montauk New York to the tip of Nova Scotia at Cape Sable. Fifteen percent of these boats were sunk by Allied counter-attacks, five surrendered in the region, and three were sunk off New England--Block Island, Massachusetts Bay, and off Nantucket. These have proven appealing to divers, with a result that at least three German naval officers or ratings are buried in New England, one having killed himself in the Boston jail cell. There were 34 Allied merchant or naval ships sunk by these subs, one of them, the 'Eagle', was not admitted to have been sunk by the Germans until decades later. Over 1,100 men were thrown in the water and 545 of them made it ashore in New England ports; 428 were killed. Importantly, saboteurs were landed three places: Long Island, Frenchman's Bay Maine and New Brunswick Canada, and Boston was mined. Very little was known about this.

Read more less

The author came to London from Lancashire as a nine-year old having developed an interest in his local buses and Blackpool trams at a very early age. He remained in south-west London living in the Wandsworth and Wimbledon areas for the next 45 years. As a young teenager he took up locospotting joining a small group of fellow enthusiasts who met regularly by the lineside just west of Clapham Junction and for roughly ten years avidly followed his hobby. For the first half of that decade, his hobby was centred largely close to London because of age and money restrictions except for rare trips often family visits - further afield. In this second book, he describes his experiences from about 1960: visiting stations; lineside observations; and more official trips to depots and works, often with the RCTS. He gives us a spotters-eye view of the changes to British Railways at the time: the final steam locomotives arriving; the increasing impact of the Modernisation Plan; seeing elderly locomotives at work or at the end of their service life on scrap lines. After 1958, when he acquired his first camera it was used regularly to build up a library of photographs as finances allowed. Some of these, taken at a later date, have been used to illustrate his travels and exploits in the earlier years of his hobby and later, colour views are used to cover the preservation era.

Read more less

The Gothaer Waggonfabrik (GWF), originally a German rail vehicle manufacturer, entered the aircraft industry in 1913. The driving force behind this major change in production in this small Thuringian duchy in central Germany was a member of the British royal family. Gotha aircraft managed to make a name for themselves internationally. As with ‘Fokker’ regarding fighter aircraft, the name ‘Gotha’ is synonymous with German bomber aircraft of the Great War. Even successful seaplanes and the world’s first asymmetric aircraft were a part of GWF’s production at this time, and lasted until the post-war Treaty of Versailles forced the abandonment of aircraft production. Aircraft could not be built in Gotha again until 1933. GWF did get development contracts for the Luftwaffe, but they were essentially incidental side issues and not of the lucrative mass construction variety. In 1939 a world altitude record on the sports aircraft Gotha Go 150, provided GWF with a small though internationally significant highlight. During the war the GWF developed cargo gliders and, under licence, built the Messerschmitt Bf 110. In 1945 Gotha was supposed to undertake batch production of the flying wing jet fighter, Horten Ho 229, and even designed its more radical successor. In 1954 the aircraft construction finally ended and once again, the production consisted of gliders and one last proprietary design was created.

Read more less

'A Round of Boxing' is a journey through time looking at the many astonishing feats which have taken place inside the square ring over the years. From the first world heavyweight title fight which took place under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules in 1892 between John L. Sullivan and James J. Corbett to the present time. The Fascinating facts are presented in chronological order in an easy to read way .The features inside the book include not just the world champions but the many other fighters both male and female who have hence put on the gloves and graced the professional and amateur rings during their careers. The many facts include highlights from every weight division from the strawweight to the heavyweight poundage. Details of when the various fight organizations who thus control the sport came in to existence. The book is Illustrated by a number of photographs both action and portrait. A knockout read which the regular and casual follower's of boxing will find to be of great interest thus adding to their knowledge about the sport.

Read more less

This is the story of Southern Rhodesia, from a time of its earliest known inhabitants, the Bushmen, to their displacement by the Bantu; the invasion by the Matabele under King Mzilikaze; the advent of the white missionaries; and the arrival of Cecil Rhodes and his Pioneer Column of early settlers, up to the time of independence in 1980. This is the romantic land of the high veld; of teeming game; of the great river Zambezi and the mighty Victoria Falls, and of enormous mineral wealth. This was the country that Robert Mugabe—its future leader—referred to as `the jewel of Africa’. And yet in this land of plenty, tensions in the mid-twentieth century were mounting between its black inhabitants and the whites, including those of British and Afrikaner stock: tensions which would one day boil over into a civil war in which Southern Rhodesia’s neighbours would also become involved. The author has first-hand knowledge of the country, having arrived there with his parents in 1956. He describes what it was like to arrive in a British colony, in the last decades of the colonial era; the wonders of Wankie Game Reserve (now Hwange National Park); a schoolboy expedition to the Eastern Districts in search of the elusive `stone door ruin’; and a personal friendship which developed between himself and his family’s black servant Timot, at a time of racial segregation.

Read more less

Charming, erudite, and the very personification of the English gentleman, Dennis Price was without doubt also one of the most promising and talented newcomers to the world of theatre and film in the late 1930s, and he arguably reached his screen best in the classic Ealing comedy 'Kind Hearts and Coronets'. Huge praise was lavished upon him and he was compared alongside theatrical contemporaries Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson as being destined for great things. Scene-stealing performances followed over the next few decades in such differing films as 'The Dancing Years', 'The Intruder', 'Private's Progress', 'The Naked Truth', 'Tunes of Glory', 'Tamahine' and 'Theatre of Blood', to name but a few. Though whilst his career was blossoming his private life was going through turmoil when, after one of his several affairs was discovered by his wife, he faced the shame of divorce, separation from his two children and when coupled with significant tax bills, it all proved too much and the actor attempted suicide. Eventually bouncing back, he reinvented himself as a character actor and appeared in scores of notable films—and was often the best thing in them!

Read more less

Founded in 1925 in Warnemunde, Arado-Flugzeugwerke, from the outset, produced civil aircraft as well as developing prototypes for the clandestine armament programme of the Reichswehr. From 1933 when the licensed production of military aircraft commenced, the factory also built a number of their own designs. Best known are the training aircraft Ar 66 and Ar 96, the catapult float-plane Ar 196 and the record-breaking sporting aircraft Ar 79. With the two- or four-engined Ar 234, the world's first operational jet-bomber was born. At the end of the war Arado initiated the project of the first supersonic experimental aircraft. This book charts the development of all Arado aircraft between 1925 and 1945 as well as the development and capabilities of the factory. It also gives an overview of the licence-productions and other projects. The information is based on original documents and will rectify some of the speculation and fantasy that has been published about the Arado-Flugzeugwerke.

Read more less

Led By Lions--MPs and Sons Who Fell in the First World War tells the story of over 100 men who went to war and did not return. Whether it be Charles Pollock, who was killed whilst carrying a severely wounded man through a hail of machine-gun fire, Wilfred Nield who, despite having his hand blown off, continued to lead his men forward, or Harold Cawley who when given a job behind the lines protested that he should be fighting and dying with his men. He got his wish. Each individual story is a unique embodiment of sacrifice. This lavishly illustrated book is a tribute to those MP's and their sons who went to war--never to return.

Read more less

The assumption is that most of what we know about the Romans and their history comes from Roman and Greek historians. While this is true up to a point, the reality is that there are many other primary sources which combine to give us the composite picture we have today of the Romans and their world. The Romans had in effect their own brand of social media, engineered to disseminate information, legislation, propaganda and misinformation to state and religious officials, citizens, the military and to the enemy, wherever they be. We know what the Romans did for us: roads, central heating and so on. But, just as importantly, they developed and perfected records and record-keeping and other methods of information storage and communication. It is the Roman preoccupation with record keeping and dissemination that informs the picture we have today of Roman civilisation. This is the first book to analyse what is in effect Roman social media: the keeping of records and archive material, and ways of communicating it. Uniquely, it assesses the impact this information had on and in Roman history and on our appraisal of that history.

Read more less

British RAF wireless operator/air gunner Bill `Enoch’ Kirkness of Horsforth, Yorkshire, flew thirty-two B-24 Liberator bomber sorties, twenty-eight of which were against Japanese targets in Burma. He was credited with downing the night fighter that killed a crewmate and severely damaged his Liberator in April 1944; his aircraft’s crash-landing abruptly ended his first tour of operations. He was awarded a prestigious Distinguished Flying Medal for his heroism. Bill’s memoir of Wellington ferry flights, Liberator training, and operations with 159 Squadron typifies aspects of the human spirit—including fear and anxiety, focused determination, numbing boredom, brotherly camaraderie, heart-wrenching anguish, and comic relief—which any young man immersed within such a conflict would have likely experienced. Bill wore his heart, not just his sergeant’s stripes, on his sleeve. Bill’s story is a compelling, dignified account of an average man’s war from 1942 to 1944 in the UK, the Mediterranean, Africa, and onward through his first operational tour based in India. Matt Poole, an expert on 159 Squadron and RAF Liberator activities against the Japanese, seamlessly enhances Bill’s narrative with added historical detail. Although Bill passed away in 1994, Matt vowed to help bring the memoir to a wider audience.

Read more less

St George's Day has become a topic of debate as more and more organizations promote celebrations on 23 April and more people wave the flag of St George to proclaim their allegiance and identity. But who was St George? How did this Near Eastern martyr become England's patron saint and an icon of English culture? And what is his relevance for today's secular, multicultural England? New research reveals that from the third century St George was revered as a healer, protector of women and the poor and patron of agriculture and metal-working more than a military dragon-slayer. Discover the origin of the cross of St George and the roles of Richard I, Edward III and Henry VIII in making St George the patron saint of England. With a foreword by Professor Emeritus Dan Brown, this richly-illustrated celebration of English culture shows how St George can be reinterpreted for our times while remaining true to our English heritage. St George can be enlisted in the cause of ecology, the campaign against FGM, and the fight to end modern slavery and resettle refugees. English yet international, revered both by Christians and Muslims, St George is a multicultural figure who symbolizes universal values.

Read more less

Ocean-going U-boats, each one not much longer than four European articulated lorries with up to sixty men inside them, sailed the far-off seas to reap havoc in hot inhospitable waters. The air forces and navies from Britain, the United States and other colonial countries followed to make this a daring and death-threatening venture. The facts of what the U-boats achieved against massive odds have been told before, but 'U-Boats of the Second World War: Their Longest Voyages' is different. It concentrates more on how it was done. How the men survived, how they lived and died and how they still found time to carry out their orders. The book is based on masses of previously unpublished documents from the German U-boat Museum, many of them written during or shortly after the war by men who survived this bitter conflict. This is the story of how specially built long-range ocean-going U-boats started out one step ahead of the Allied navies and air power, how they fell one step behind and how they finally vanished into the depths of the biggest and deepest oceans.This is a remarkable story of endurance, courage and comradeship that terrified the world for the most critical period of the Second World War. The author, Jak P. Mallmann Showell, is the son of a U-boat diesel mechanic who disappeared in those warm waters two months before the author was born.

Read more less

Following the Casablanca Conference in January 1943, at which the Americans refused to back Britain's plan to invade the Dodecanese Islands in the Aegean, to be followed by an invasion of the Greek mainland, a weakened British attempt was made with disastrous results. The Americans wished to concentrate all their forces in capturing Sicily and then invading southern Italy. In this first comprehensive account of aerial operations over the Eastern Mediterranean/Aegean, the first chapter covers the disastrous Hurricane attack on Crete (Operation Thesis), an attempt to divert Axis attention from Sicily; subsequent chapters deal with British landings on the islands of Kos and Leros when Spitfires vainly attempted to hold the Luftwaffe at bay. Meanwhile, Beaufighters flying from North Africa and Cyprus roamed over the Aegean attacking shipping and aerial transports with success but at a heavy cost, until the Germans withdrew from the Aegean and the Greek mainland. In addition, specially modified Spitfires are detailed to combat pressurised high-altitude Ju 87 spy planes used by the Luftwaffe based on Crete, and the Fleet Air Arm with its Seafires, Wildcats and Hellcats over the Aegean. Also, the book includes many first-hand accounts from both British and German aircrew extracted from official reports and memoirs.

Read more less

The legendary Battle of the Denmark Strait, which saw the mighty German battleship Bismarck sink Britain's HMS Hood in an epic duel of the titans, has been dogged by controversy to this day. Was the doomed HMS Hood really sunk by a shell that penetrated her wooden decks to explode in one of her magazine compartments? Others believe that Bismarck's fortunate shell detonated in Hood's cordite supply-the powder that propelled 82-lbs shells some staggering 17,700 yards-suggesting that damage examined on the wreck indicates a more distinct explosion. Or was the Hood's destructive and violent demise a new, and until now, unexplained act of war? The sinking of HMS Hood on Empire Day, 24 May 1941, resulted in the single largest loss of life for the Royal Navy during the Second World War: 1,415 lives were lost. There were absolutely no traces of any crewmen save three survivors. Bismarck and Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait - A Technical Analysis is a controversial and electric study of this infamous battle. The author, a rear admiral in the Italian Navy, is a leading expert in gunnery and his book, a work of over two decades of study, further investigates this battle in an attempt to attain a more credible explanation. The events and tactics leading up to the battle are explained within their various contexts and a cinematic and ballistic model of the battle was developed, essential for a statistical analysis of Hood's sinking. Certainly, no one will ever be able to confirm what exactly happened in the Denmark Strait on that fateful day, but this fascinating book disposes of myths and falsehoods to give a more definitive and realistic interpretation of this iconic battle between HMS Hood and Bismarck.

Read more less

The Soviet T-35A is the only five-turreted tank in history to enter production. With a long and proud service history on Soviet parade grounds, the T-35A was forced to adapt to the modern battlefield when the Second World War broke out. Outclassed and outdated, the T-35A tried to hold its own against the German invaders to no avail. Very little is known about these strange vehicles, beyond their basic shape and photographs of them on parade grounds and battlefields. For the first time, actual battlefield photographs have been cross-referenced with maps and documents to bring about the most complete look at the T-35A in the Second World War to date. It is a grim depiction of the aftermath of the giants that were the Soviet T-35A tanks.

Read more less

'The Sexual Offences Act of 1967 was ground-breaking in the UK and this book marks the fiftieth anniversary of its successful path to the statute book. The act was not without controversy and was fiercely fought over by the likes of Mary Whitehouse and right-wing reactionary Tories who in typical style fought to impose their narrow-minded blue-rinse views. Now, in 2017, Western Europe leads the way in LGBT rights. Thirteen out of the twenty one countries that have legalised same-sex marriage worldwide are situated in Europe; a further thirteen European countries have legalised civil unions or other forms of recognition for same-sex couples. This civilised state of affairs was not always the case and in Politics, Society and Homosexuality in Post-War Britain: The Sexual Offences Act of 1967 and its Significance Keith Dockray charts in a short and pithy manner the difficult path the Bill followed and records those who supported it and were against it.

Read more less

From the lessons of the First World War, the RAF developed a fleet of modern monoplane aircraft in time for hostilities in 1939; a force that consisted of Hampdens, Whitleys, Wellingtons, Blenheims, and Battles. These aircraft and their crews were pitted against the German war machine from day one-flying into storms of flak shells and swarms of Messerschmitt fighters in their flimsy, and often poorly armed, bombers. From theatres as far apart as Norway and Syria, Java and France, the crews and their aircraft were at the front of every military operation without adequate fighter escorts and with poor equipment against stiff opposition. They were the few who bravely went on 'one way ticket' missions, that saw operational life expectancy as only a matter of hours, without hesitation or complaint.

Read more less

The North-West of England is a diverse and fascinating part of the country with a varied landscape. This area was once the powerhouse of the industrial revolution, and was the location for the World's first true 'Intercity' railway, spawning a complex network of routes that served the various towns which were once hives of industry. The famous coastal resorts-Southport, Blackpool, and Morecambe were all products of the railway age, when a day trip to the seaside broke the monotony of the daily grind. However, areas and times change-heavy industry was on the wane by the late 1960s, and the last of the Lancashire Collieries disappeared in the early 1990s, reflecting the decline of traditional industries nationwide. The North-West railway network has adapted, becoming a predominantly passenger railway, with busy commuter services feeding Liverpool and Manchester daily. This book chronicles many of the changes since the late 1970s, including scenes, routes, and rolling stock that have altered beyond recognition.

Read more less

On 27 May 1942, SS General Reinhard Heydrich was assassinated by British-trained Czech agents who had parachuted into Czechoslovakia. He died of his wounds on 4 June 1942. Two days later, Gestapo Captain Horst Kopkow's department at Reich National Security HQ was given fresh directions. From 6 June 1942 until the end of the war, Kopkow was responsible for coordinating the fight against Soviet and British parachute agents dropped anywhere in Germany or German-occupied territories. This new direction for Kopkow made his name. Within months the "Rote Kapelle" Soviet espionage ring was uncovered in Belgium, who could be traced directly to Berlin and Paris. A new counter-espionage fight had begun, and any agents caught would pay with their lives. In France and Holland the Gestapo caught many Special Operations Executive agents trained in Britain. By spring 1944 almost 150 British agents had been caught and deported to German concentration camps, and almost all had been murdered without trial by the December. Kopkow was directly involved in these murders. Arrested by British forces after the war, Kopkow was extensively interrogated due to his counter-espionage experience. For the next 20 years, Kopkow was a consultant for Britain's Secret Intelligence Service.

Read more less

Karel Kuttelwascher may have had a German surname, but he was a Czech who became the scourge of the Luftwaffe bombers operating from France and the Low Countries in 1942. Flying with the RAF's legendary No. 1 Squadron, his destruction of fifteen aircraft in only three months earned him the DFC twice in a mere forty-two days, and made him the RAF's top night intruder ace. After his daring escape from German-occupied Czechoslovakia, he flew in the ferocious Battle of France and participated in the final weeks of the Battle of Britain as one of Churchill's 'Few'. During the early circus operations, he clocked up his first three kills before playing a part in the famous Channel Dash. However, it was in the lauded but lonely night intruder role that his individualistic skills came to the fore. Flying a long-range Hawker Hurricane IIC armed with 20-mm cannon, the man the wartime media dubbed the 'Czech Night Hawk' unleashed a reign of terror that included shooting down three Heinkel bombers in just four minutes.

Read more less

The only British-born boxer to have won the world heavyweight crown was Bob Fitzsimmons, who reigned from 1897-1899. Since then, a host of challengers had attempted to duplicate Fitzsimmons' success and bring the championship back to British shores. They were duly turned back by the defending title-holders, who were vastly superior in every department. Many fans had come to the depressing conclusion that they would never see a Briton wear the crown in their lifetime. When Frank Bruno emerged, followed later by Lennox Lewis, it appeared that Britain finally had two fighters who could compete with the elite in the division, succeed where others had failed, and win the big prize. Bruno and Lewis: The Boxing Years gives an account on how these two fighters changed the global image of British heavyweights by their respective successes inside the square ring. The road to the top was not always easy, and both men had to overcome setbacks along the way. The pair eventually clashed in an exciting historical contest in 1993-a fight which pitted two Britons against each other to contest the world heavyweight crown for the first time.

Read more less

For the past three years, since he finished writing his children's book 'The Nine Lives Of Bella Simkins', Jack Swaab has carried round a battered leather notebook. In it, he has recorded the thoughts, memories, reflections and insights that the world around him bring to this remarkable author. It is a broad canvas that attracts his urbane and witty mind's eye-covering everything from footballers to birdsong, churchyards to ancient cricketers, boy scouts to Brexit. Some of what he writes is funny, other parts are tinged with melancholy. At times, banality, brutality or injustice stir him to the edge of anger. Everything he writes, though, comes with the warmth, wisdom and generosity of spirit that the past 98 years have bestowed on him. It is a very different world in which he now lives, and seeing that world through the vivid lens of so many years and so rich a life brings it to life for us too in unexpected and rewarding ways.

Read more less