“The dramatic career of the Queen Elizabeth class super-dreadnought, which fought with such distinction throughout two World Wars . . . a great story.” —White Ensign Association No warship name in British naval history has more battle honors than HMS Warspite. While this book looks at the lives of all eight vessels to bear the name (between 1596 and the 1990s), it concentrates on the truly epic story of the seventh vessel, a super-dreadnought battleship, conceived as the ultimate answer to German naval power, during the arms race that helped cause WW1. Warspite fought off the entire German fleet at Jutland, survived a mutiny between the wars and then covered herself in glory in action from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean during WW2. She was the flagship of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham when he mastered the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean, her guns inflicting devastating damage on the enemy at Calabria in 1940 and Matapan in 1941. She narrowly avoided destruction by the Japanese carrier force that devastated Pearl Harbor. She provided crucial fire support for Allied landings in Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Walcheren. A lucky ship in battle, she survived dive-bombers off Crete and glide bomb hits off Salerno. But this is not just the story of a warship. Wherever possible the voices of those men who fought aboard her speak directly to the reader about their experiences. Warspite is also the story of a great naval nation which constructed her as the ultimate symbol of its imperial power and then scrapped her when the sun set on that empire.

Using previously unpublished material, the author presents the fullest and most accurate account to date of the British battleship Warspite and her valiant crews throughout two world wars.

Arguably one of the finest capital ship designs of all time, Warspite and her sister ships were the prototypes of the modern fast battleship, the ultimate development of the dreadnought type. Warspite's fighting career spanned two generations -- from the last great surface engagement between battle fleets at Jutland in 1916, to the dawn of the missile age (she was badly damaged by a guided bomb in 1942), with battle honours that also included Narvik, Matapan, and the D-Day landings. Book jacket.

Beginning with a pictorial essay on battleship construction in the 1930s and 1940s, this new book looks at the various design facets of the last great capital ships of the world's navies. Kaplan offers us a glimpse into those massive American and German navy yards and construction facilities that were put to use during this time, acquainting us with the arenas in which these final examples of battleship technology were laid down, built up, launched, fitted out, commissioned and taken out to sea. The book roots itself in a period of monumental change within the history of contemporary warfare. With the baton being passed from the battleship community to that of the aircraft carrier, the iconic battleship was gradually superseded by a new and even more threatening weapons system. It was destined to be consigned to the history books, whilst newer, slicker and more efficient fighting machines took precedence. This publication serves as a tribute to a lost legend of naval warfare. There is a look at some of modern history's most significant battleships, relaying their thrilling stories, defining characteristics and eventual fates. Ships featured include Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Warspite, Tirpitz and Yamato. The book is completed with 'Fast and Last', a visit on board the four final examples of battleship technology and design, the last serving battleships USS Iowa, USS New Jersey, USS Wisconsin, and USS Missouri. Their Second World War careers are recounted, as are the qualities that made them special.

The technical details of British warships were recorded in a set of plans produced by the builders on completion of every ship. Known as the 'as fitted' general arrangements, these drawings documented the exact appearance and fitting of the ship as it entered service. They were very large - more than 12 feet long for capital ships - highly detailed, annotated and labelled, and drawn with exquisite skill in multi-coloured inks and washes. Today these plans form part of the incomparable collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, which is using the latest scanning technology to make digital copies of the highest quality. This book is the first of a series based entirely on these draughts which will depict famous warships in an unprecedented degree of detail - complete sets in full colour, with many close-ups and enlargements that make every aspect clear and comprehensible.