Her Majesty's Top Gun: and the Decline of the Royal Navy PDF Download

Author: 'Sharkey' Ward
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781631298677
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 516

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Author: Nigel David MacCartan-Ward
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
ISBN: 1036106608
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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This work demonstrates how maritime deterrence strategy in a challenging world is critically underpinned by strategic air power at sea and on land. In this book, the history and utility of land- and carrier-based strategic airpower is brought to life by the gallant exploits and photographs of B-17 aircraft “Quittin’ Time” and of its Navigator, “Fred” Julian in the Second World War, and by the unforgiving and unswerving dedication of “Sharkey” Ward and his Sea Harrier team in the Falklands war. The overarching message is that the strategic airpower lessons of the past eight decades underpin the urgent need for the UK government to invest more wisely in its Fleet so that the latter may work effectively in conjunction with the US Navy on the global mission to deter those that would harm us, and to maintain the freedom of passage of all shipping throughout the global commons. The authors show how a maritime deterrence strategy in a challenging world is critically underpinned by strategic air power at sea and on land.

Author: Commander 'Sharkey' Ward, DSC, AFC, RN
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 0850523052
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 326

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Sharkey Ward commanded 801 Naval Air Squadron, "HMS Invincible", during the Falkland War of April to June 1982, and was senior Sea Harrier adviser to the command on the tactics, direction and progress of the air war. He flew over 60 war missions, achieved three air-to air kills, and took part in or witnessed a total of ten kills; he was also the leading night pilot, and was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross for gallantry. But what, after all, could 20 Sea Harriers, operating from a flight-deck bucketing about in the South Atlantic, do against more than 200 Argentine military aircraft flown by pilots who, as the raids against the British shipping proved, displayed enormous skill and almost suicidal gallantry? The world knows the answer - now. What is puzzling, therefore, is this book's truthful depiction of the attitudes of some senior non-flying naval officers, and of the RAF, towards the men (and indeed the machine) that made possible the victory in the Falklands. This first-hand account charts, in detail, the naval pilots' journey to the South Atlantic, and how they took on and triumphantly conquered the challenges they faced. It is a dramatic story, leavened with accounts of the air-to-air fighting and of life in a squadron at sea and on a war footing. But it is also a tale of inter-Service rivalry, bureaucratic interference, and the less-than-generous attitudes of a number of senior commanders who should certainly have known better; indeed, some of them might even have lost the war through a lack of understanding of air warfare. The author attempts to put the record straight.

Author: Stephen Bridgman MBE
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 1477218025
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 677

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In May 2000 the British nuclear hunter-killer submarine HMS Tireless limped into Gibraltar using emergency propulsion and with her nuclear reactor shut down. Days earlier, while traversing the Straits of Sicily the crew had discovered a crack in one of the nuclear reactor pipes, requiring the immediate shutting down of the reactor to prevent a potential reactor accident, an operation never before conducted on a British submarine at sea. Th e previous six days had been a difficult time for the crew of the submarine. Initial indications of a nuclear reactor defect had quickly escalated into a full scale potential nuclear reactor accident at sea, requiring decisive action by the crew to make the reactor safe, to identify the defect and attempt to repair the reactor, and then to surface the submarine and to sail her safely back to the nearest safe harbor using emergency propulsion machinery designed for very limited use. The resulting lack of electrical power resulted in the crew having to sacrifice lighting, air-conditioning, bathing facilities and even hot food until their return to harbor, and to suffer in the excessively hot interior of the boat. Throughout, there remained the fear of exposure to deadly radiation and the uncertainty that the reactor might still be one step away from a major accident. For one man onboard, this episode formed the culmination of a 25 year naval engineering career almost fated for this moment. Charge Chief Stephen Bridgman, the senior nuclear propulsion technician, had needed all of his engineering knowledge and experience in the identification and eventual repair of the submarine reactor, subsequently being awarded an MBE together with a colleague for his services to naval engineering for his actions. This book provides an insight into a remarkable naval career starting as a 16 year old Stoker on the final proper British aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal in 1977, through the Falklands War, being selected for naval technician training and submarine service, submarine training, submarine patrols in the supposed post cold-war period, the Kosovo conflict, progression through the ranks, submarine refi t and refueling through to the nuclear reactor accident onboard HMS Tireless. While there are countless accounts of naval life during wartime, this book tells the unique story of life as a British naval rating in the modern era, starting from the lowest level at a time of decline for the Royal Navy in the late 1970s, and paralleling the major political and military events of the 1980s and 1990s.

Author: Frederick Leslie Robertson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Author: Mike Vouri
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 124

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The occupation of San Juan Island by the Royal Marines between 1860 and 1872 marked the last time "redcoats" would be stationed in lands south of the 49th parallel. Following the nearly disastrous "Pig War" crisis, their primary mission with their U.S. Army counterparts was keeping the peace on an island considered ripe for the taking by Britons and Americans alike. Drawing on historical, archaeological and photographic research, Outpost of Empire offers an intriguing glimpse of a frontier garrison in the Victorian age. Mike Vouri is the San Juan National Park historian and author of The Pig War.

Author: Alastair Finlan
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136188673
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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This book explores and compares the contemporary military cultures of the United States and the United Kingdom. The last decade has witnessed astonishing global events, from 9/11 and military operations in Afghanistan in the same year, to the military intervention in Libya in 2011. Western military forces have been involved in all of these campaigns and have been engaged in continuous military operations for over ten years. It is therefore now apt to focus a spotlight on the military cultures of these state-based armed forces. This book examines how contemporary American and British military culture is formed, focusing explicitly on the six major military institutions. The author dedicates a chapter to each of these institutions with each one sharing a unifying analytical framework. These chapters explore the formation and sustenance of US/UK military culture under the rubric of common themes that include social origins, transformative events, leaders, approaches to war, technology and contemporary identity. To conclude, the book considers the impact of the War on Terror on the military cultures of the US and UK, as well as likely directions for the future. This book will be of much interest to students of military studies, strategic studies, security studies and comparative politics.

Author: Sir William Laird Clowes
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Great Britain
Languages : en
Pages : 730

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Author: Mike Farquharson-Roberts
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857726978
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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World War I is one of the iconic conflicts of the modern era. For many years the war at sea has been largely overlooked; yet, at the outbreak of that war, the British Government had expected and intended its military contribution to be largely naval. This was a war of ideologies fought by and for empires. Britain was not defending simply an island; it was defending a far flung empire. Without the navy such an undertaking would have been impossible. In many respects the Royal Navy fought along the longest 'front' of any fighting force of the Great War, and it acted as the leader of a large alliance of navies. The Royal Navy fought in the North and South Atlantic, in the North and South Pacific, its ships traversed the globe from Australia to England, and its presence extended the war to every continent except Antarctica. Because of the Royal Navy, Britain could finance and resource not only its own war effort, but that of its allies. Following the naval arms race in the early 20th century, both Britain and Germany were equipped with the latest naval technology, including revolutionary new vessels such as dreadnoughts and diesel-powered submarines. Although the Royal Navy's operations in World War I were global, a significant proportion of the fleet's strength was concentrated in the Grand Fleet, which confronted the German High Seas Fleet across the North Sea. At the Battle of Jutland in 1916 the Royal Navy, under the command of Admiral Jellicoe, fought an iconic, if inconclusive battle for control of shipping routes. The navy might not have been able to win the war, but, as Winston Churchill put it, she 'could lose it in an afternoon'. The Royal Navy was British power and prestige. 43,244 British navy personnel would lose their lives fighting on the seas in World War I. This book tells their story and places the Royal Navy back at the heart of the British war effort, showing that without the naval dimension the First World War would not have been a truly global conflict.

Author: Duncan Redford
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857723464
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 384

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Since 1900, the Royal Navy has seen vast changes to the way it operates. This book tells the story, not just of defeats and victories, but also of how the navy has adjusted to over 100 years of rapid technological and social change. The navy has changed almost beyond recognition since the far-reaching reforms made by Admiral Fisher at the turn of the century. Fisher radically overhauled the fleet, replacing the nineteenth-century wooden crafts with the latest in modern naval technology, including battleships (such as the iconic dreadnoughts), aircraft carriers and submarines. In World War I and World War II, the navy played a central role, especially as unrestricted submarine warfare and supply blockades became an integral part of twentieth-century combat. However it was the development of nuclear and missile technology during the Cold War era which drastically changed the face of naval warfare - today the navy can launch sea-based strikes across thousands of miles to reach targets deep inland. This book navigates the cross currents of over 100 years of British naval history. As well as operational issues, the authors also consider the symbolism attached to the navy in popular culture and the way naval personnel have been treated, looking at the changes in on-board life and service during the period, as well as the role of women in the navy. In addition to providing full coverage of the Royal Navy's wartime operations, the authors also consider the functions of the navy in periods of nominal peace - including disaster relief, diplomacy and exercises. Even in peacetime the Royal Navy had a substantial role to play. Covering the whole span of naval history from 1900 to the present, this book places the wars and battles fought by the navy within a wider context, looking at domestic politics, economic issues and international affairs. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in naval history and operations, as well as military history more generally.