News, Articles and Comment

Ed. The author points to the inevitable consequences of rising sea surface temperatures for fleet maintenance and operations, and concludes that preparing the operational USN for hotter oceans is a warfighting necessity. Originally published in the USNI’s Proceedings, January edition. A 15 minute read.

Ed. The author, former Conservative MP and Shadow Defence Minister, outlines Russian and Chinese activities in the Arctic as part of his forthcoming book on the subject, The Arctic: Land of the Great Bear. A 15 minute read.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers a reprint of a biography of Admiral Beaufort, originally published in 2002.

Ed. This article follows Arthur Nicholson’s ‘Some thoughts on that Battle off Malaya’ [113/2, p. 287], focusing on the contemporary controversies surrounding the salvage of HMS Prince of Wales and Repulse: The last resting places for 842 sailors are still not at peace. With an Afterword by Professor Steven Haines. A 20 minute read.

Ed. Originally published in 1949-1950, this three-part series on Admiral Charles Napier and his controversial command in the Baltic in 1854 during the Crimean War is here compiled as a complete text. Reproduced from the NR’s archives [37/4, p. 381; 38/1, p. 65; 38/2, p. 125]. A 60 minute read.

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers a book exploring the role of hydrographers supporting the Royal Navy in the Napoleonic Wars. The author is also a member of The Naval Review.

Ed. With renewed focus on mass and scaling in terms of force employment, the author considers potential options for the RNR’s expansion in wartime. A 15 minute read.

Ed. Many leading Arctic nations are engaging programmes to build more icebreakers or to otherwise modernise or refit their icebreaking capability. China is an emerging polar nation with icebreakers and an overall presence in the Arctic only set to increase – and perhaps to overtake existing Russian Arctic dominance. A 20 minute read.

Ed. The author notes the danger of assuming unimpeded access for the RFA’s Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance Ships (MROSS) to contested waters in the Indo-Pacific and elsewhere.