Armed Forces

‘A no holdout account of the Falklands War from a man who was in the fight.’ Andy McNab

Tony Hoare always knew he wanted to be in the SAS and so, after working his way through the ranks, he passed arduous SAS selection in 1978.

Less than four years later, Tony and his team were sent to the Falklands, just off the coast of Argentina, where tensions were rising and war was on the horizon. Nothing could have prepared him for what happened over the course of the next 12 weeks, as the Falkland Islands became a battleground between the British and Argentinians. As helicopters crashed and ships sank, Tony battled across treacherous terrain to help reclaim the islands from a fearsome enemy.

This is a thrilling account of the Falklands from a trooper who saw it all.

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For centuries, battleships provided overwhelming firepower at sea. They were not only a major instrument of warfare, but a visible emblem of a nation’s power, wealth and pride. The rise of the aircraft carrier following the Japanese aerial strike on Pearl Harbor in 1941 highlighted the vulnerabilities of the battleship, bringing about its demise as a dominant class of warship.
This book offers a detailed guide to the major types of battleships to fight in the two World Wars. Explore HMS Dreadnought, the first of a class of fast, big-gun battleships to be developed at the beginning of the 20th century; see the great capital ships that exchanged salvos at the battle of Jutland, including the German battlecruiser Derfflinger, which sank the British battleship Queen Mary; find out about the destruction of HMS Hood, which exploded after exchanging fire with the Bismarck, which itself was sunk after a trans-Atlantic chase by a combination of battery fire and aircraft-launched torpedoes; and be amazed at the ‘super-battleship’ Yamato, which despite its size and firepower, made minimal contribution to Japan’s war effort and was sunk by air attack during the defence of Okinawa.
Illustrated with more than 120 vivid artworks and photographs, Technical Guide: Battleships of World War I and World War II is an essential reference guide for modellers and naval warfare enthusiasts.

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This is a must-buy for the Royal Navy and Submarine enthusiast, being a complete directory of RN submarines from the outset to the present day. There is a wealth of detail on each class. Every entry contains the specification, launch dates of individual boats, details of evolving construction and armament and other salient information in a compact form. The high quality of the drawings of the majority of classes adds to the value of this work which includes the very latest Astute submarines currently coming into service. This book is a complete directory of submarines and will be widely welcomed by all with an interest, professional or lay, in the subject.

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‘The Armchair General team has done it again. An absorbing read for Christmas.’
Peter Caddick-Adams

‘Brilliant and immersive.’
Harry Sidebottom

The second book in the Armchair General series, where YOU choose the fate of the First World War

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HISTORY IS WRITTEN BY THE VICTORS. WILL IT BE YOU?

TAKE THE HOTSEAT
Assume the role of real historic decision-makers: general, leaders, soldiers and intelligence officers of the Allied Forces during World War I.

EXAMINE THE INTELLIGENCE
Explore eight key moments from the First World War, using real contemporaneous intelligence: including the July Crisis, the Battle of the Somme, and the Russian Revolution.

CONSIDER THE SCENARIO & MAKE YOUR DECISION
From battlefields to the Royal Courts, each tactical and strategic decision you make leads to a different outcome.

Will you follow the path of the past – or shape a new history…?
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PRAISE FOR THE ARMCHAIR GENERAL SERIES

‘An original and exciting approach…The Armchair General adds enormously to our understanding of the conflicts’ JAMES HOLLAND

‘A reminder that history is a never ending now, a relentless and endless present that comes without the luxury of hindsight’ AL MURRAY

‘Wonderfully original…putting readers at the heart of the decision-making process and allowing them, literally, to change the course of history. This is counterfactual history at its very best’ SAUL DAVID

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From the first recorded mention of British ships protecting of fishing vessels in the late fourteenth century through to recent controversies over the change in emphasis to border patrols and overseas deployments, the story of the Royal Navy’s ‘Cinderella Fleet’ involves many dramatic incidents; until now, however, there has never been a book dedicated to the subject. Naval historian Jon Wise’s new work will rectify this omission. Historically there have been two main reasons why protecting fishing vessels was so important: first, fish have always constituted an essential part of the nation’s diet while, secondly, fishermen have been an important source of skilled personnel for the Royal Navy itself. It is claimed that the Fishery Protection Squadron (FPS) is the oldest in the fleet, pre-dating the formal creation of the Navy itself in the early part of the sixteenth century, yet it still remains comparatively little-known. The Squadron’s most famous operations were the ‘Cod Wars’ of 1958–76, but for six centuries it has been engaged in the many important tasks of protection and policing of fishing fleets, though more recently it has turned its attention to patrolling oil and gas fields, overseeing quotas and sustainability, and policing the ongoing disagreements over who can fish where and when. The author covers subjects as diverse as the battles with the Dutch for dominance in the North Sea, the protection of fishing on the eastern seaboard of America, and the role of the Squadron in the two World Wars. Containing many first-hand accounts, this thought-provoking narrative will be of particular interest to all those RN personnel who have served in the Squadron, and is set to become the definitive account of this vital but often unsung component of Britain’s naval forces, and its impact on national life.

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An incisive account of the Arctic convoys, and the essential role Bletchley Park and Special Intelligence played in Allied success
 
Between 1941 and 1945, more than eight hundred shiploads of supplies were delivered to the Soviet Union protected by allied naval forces. Each journey was a battle against the elements, with turbulent seas, extreme cold, and the constant dread of torpedoes. These Arctic convoys have been mythologized as defenseless vessels at the mercy of deadly U-boats―but was this really the case?
 
David Kenyon explores the story of the war in the Arctic, revealing that the contest was more evenly balanced that previously thought. Battles included major ship engagements, aircraft carriers, and combat between surface ships. Amid this wide range of forces, Bletchley Park’s Naval Section played a decisive role in Arctic operations, with both sides relying heavily on Signals Intelligence to intercept and break each other’s codes. Kenyon presents a vivid picture of the Arctic theater of war, unearthing the full-scale campaign for naval supremacy in northern waters.

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The United States built the best strategic bombers of World War II, and by the end of the conflict America’s bombers dominated the skies in both Europe and the Pacific. American Bomber Aircraft of World War II is a detailed guide to all the bombers deployed by the USAAF and US Navy from 1941 to 1945.
Organised chronologically, this book includes all the great types of the era, such as the B-17 Flying Fortress, which led the daylight bombing campaign against German industrial targets; the B-24 Liberator, which carried out the famous raid on the Ploesti oil refinery in Romania in 1943; the rugged Grumman TBF Avenger torpedo bomber, flown by US Navy pilots at the Battle Midway in that key turning point in the Pacific War; and the B-29 Superfortress, the aircraft most responsible for degrading Japan’s ability to wage war with their constant aerial attacks throughout 1944 and 1945.
The guide is illustrated with profile artworks and three-views, as well as two-page dynamic artworks of some of the more famous aircraft in service, such as the highly- adaptable B-25 Mitchell, which served in every theatre in a variety of roles, the Douglas Dauntless SBD naval scout plane, and the Martin B-26 Marauder, one of the fastest medium bombers of its era.
Illustrated with more than 100 authentic artworks with accurate markings and camouflage, American Bomber Aircraft of World War II is an essential reference guide for modellers and military aviation enthusiasts.

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A superbly illustrated examination of how the US Navy’s most powerful fleet fought the Vietnam War, covering all of its elements from aircraft carriers and heavy cruisers to minesweepers and oilers.

The US Navy’s Seventh Fleet was at the forefront of America’s campaign in Vietnam for a decade, from the Gulf of Tonkin Incident that began it all to the final evacuation of South Vietnam. Its mission was highly strategic, and while its primary role was to provide carrier-based air power over North Vietnam – from Rolling Thunder through Linebacker – the fleet’s operations were complex, sensitive, and varied, and required all the capabilities of the fleet.

This book is the first overall examination of how US Navy’s most powerful fleet fought and operated in Vietnam. Distilled from thousands of declassified secret documents by renowned US Navy specialist Dr Edward J. Marolda, it offers a unique new portrait of how the Seventh Fleet fought the Vietnam War, from the offensive strike power of naval aviation to the vital role of fleet logistics. As well as the carrier operations, he examines the surface combatant fleet’s gunfire support role, and its raids against the North Vietnamese coast. Dr Marolda also looks at amphibious warfare, fleet air defense, search-and-rescue, and mining and interdiction operations.

Illustrated throughout with archive photos, 3D diagrams and spectacular new artwork, and informed by never-before-translated official documents, publications, and personal accounts from North Vietnamese, Soviet, and Chinese sources, this is the real story behind the US Navy’s Vietnam War.

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An illustration-packed new account of the powerful Royal Navy fleet that fought alongside the US Navy throughout the last year of the Pacific War.

The British Pacific Fleet was the Royal Navy’s primary contribution to the direct defeat of Japan in 1945, and is among the most powerful fleets Britain has ever sent into action. With naval supremacy in home waters achieved by 1944, many of the best and most modern ships in the Royal Navy could be sent to the Pacific, including battleships, submarines, light forces, replenishment groups, and shore establishment. However, the main striking force was the fast carrier force.

Illustrated throughout with dramatic new artwork, 3D diagrams, maps and archive photos, this book explains how the Royal Navy joined the Pacific carrier war, and how the fleet adopted the US Navy’s ruthlessly effective fast carrier doctrine. With ships optimized for short-range operations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean, the BPF had to rapidly adapt to the long-range, high-tempo warfare of the Pacific, and the story is often one of inspired improvisation. The BPF shared the US Navy’s terrifying experience of kamikaze strikes, and famously its armoured carriers proved tougher than the US counterparts.

With discussion of the ships, their technology, how the fleet was organized and commanded, and how it fought the campaign, this book is a fascinating exploration of the Royal Navy’s part in the victory over Japan.

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