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The latest news and views in the UK Military Maritime Arena.

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55
Book Reviews, General, Merchant Navy, Naval History, People, Second World War
0 minutes, 3 seconds

Latest Book Reviews, 5 September

05 Sep 23

BRE. The latest book reviews are now available. The two reviews both consider books by Robin Knight, one on Mike Cumberlege and his exploits in the Second World War, the other looks at those who were pupils at Pangbourne before joining the armed forces, particularly the Royal Navy.

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71
Air Power, Battle of the Atlantic, Book Reviews, Convoy Operations, Doctrine, Indo-Pacific, Maritime Strategy, Merchant Navy, Naval Aviation, Naval History, Second World War, Strategic Bombing, United States Navy
0 minutes, 4 seconds

Latest Book Reviews, 18 August

18 Aug 23

BRE. The latest book reviews are now available. One considers a reprint of a 1946 memoir of convoy and corvette operations in the Battle of the Atlantic. The other looks at the US approach the neutralisation of the Japanese bastion of Truk in the Pacific during the Second World War.

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531
Book Reviews, Convoy Operations, Merchant Navy, Naval History, Russia, Second World War
0 minutes, 2 seconds

Latest Book Review, 4 August

04 Aug 23

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It considers the official Staff History of the Arctic Convoys with an added introduction by G H Bennett and foreword by Vice-Admiral Sir Simon Lister.

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342
4
Air Power, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Convoy Operations, Dockyards & Ports, Learning From The Past, Logistics, Maritime Strategy, Maritime Trade, Merchant Navy, Naval History, Naval Warfare, Strategic Bombing, Strategy, Trade Interdiction and Protection
16 minutes, 53 seconds

Malta and the Mediterranean Fleet, 1940-1943: A Dissenting Perspective

By ROGER PLUMTREE,
18 Jun 23

Ed. In his analysis of strategic lessons to be drawn from the Second World War [40/4. p. 432], Captain S. W. Roskill, RN, wrote, “It took much ‘sad experience’ to show that Malta could have been properly defended and could have been kept in use as a base.” Roger Plumtree reconsiders the Maltese narrow margin with the question in mind: was Roskill wrong? A 15 minute read.

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104
Book Reviews, Merchant Navy, Naval History, Second World War
0 minutes, 1 second

Latest Book Review, 16 June

16 Jun 23

BRE. The latest book review is now available. It covers a book detailing the role and contribution of the Norwegian merchant fleet to the Allied war effort in the Second World War.

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285
2
Battle of the Atlantic, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Convoy Operations, Doctrine, Leadership, Learning From The Past, Maritime Trade, Merchant Navy, Naval History, Naval Tactics, People, Trade Interdiction and Protection
41 minutes, 0 seconds

Leader/follower synergy: Escort group commanders and their subordinate ship commanders in the Battle of the Atlantic

By BRUCE PASCOE,
27 May 23

Ed. The author examines the leadership styles of Vice Admiral Sir Peter Gretton, Captain Donald Macintyre, and Captain Frederick ‘Johnny’ Walker during their Battle of the Atlantic convoy commands. Cultivating a high degree of trust among well-trained officers and crews enabled battle-winning delegation and initiative to develop. A 40 minute read.

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169
8
Anti-Submarine Warfare, Battle of the Atlantic, Convoy Operations, First World War, Learning From The Past, Maritime Strategy, Maritime Trade, Merchant Marine, Merchant Navy, Naval Aviation, Naval History, Naval Staff, Operational Art, Operational Research, Second World War, The Naval Review, Trade Interdiction and Protection
18 minutes, 4 seconds

Some Reflections upon the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945 – II

By DAVID WATKIN WATERS,
14 May 23

Ed. In this second instalment of his reflections on the Battle of the Atlantic [84/1, p. 68], former Naval Staff historian David Waters, wary of the pernicious abuses of language so frequent in military affairs, asked the difficult question of why the convoy lessons of the First World War were not learnt before the Second. Republished here as part of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. A 20 minute read.

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249
Air Power, Anti-Submarine Warfare, Battle of the Atlantic, Convoy Operations, First World War, Historiography, Learning From The Past, Maritime Strategy, Maritime Trade, Merchant Marine, Merchant Navy, National Defence, Naval Aviation, Naval History, Naval Staff, Naval Tactics, Naval Warfare, Operational Research, Professional Military Education, Strategy, The Naval Review, Trade Interdiction and Protection
12 minutes, 44 seconds

Some Reflections upon the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939-1945 and Historical Maritime Operational Research (I)

By DAVID WATKIN WATERS,
06 May 23

Ed. In 1995 staff historian David Waters began publishing in the NR [83/4, p. 349] a series of commentaries on the Battle of the Atlantic, a subject he had mastered while working on The Defeat of the Enemy Attack upon Shipping (1957). He was inspired in this case by the renewed naval history discourse, evident in a review of S. Howarth and D. Law, eds., The Battle of the Atlantic 1939-1945 (1994), the International Naval Conference on the battle held in Liverpool in 1993, and related writings in the NR [83/1, p. 84 & 83/2, p. 159]. Republished here as part of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. A 15 minute read.

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304
1
Anti-Submarine Warfare, Battle of the Atlantic, Convoy Operations, Diversity & Inclusion, Geopolitics, Merchant Navy, Naval History, Naval Tactics, Nuclear Weapons, Operational Research, People, Russia, Strategy, Trade Interdiction and Protection, Ukraine, Women's Royal Naval Service
11 minutes, 21 seconds

Understanding our Enemy – Why it Matters

By CLIVE JOHNSTONE,
04 May 23

Ed. Originally presented at St. Nick’s Church, Liverpool, on International Women’s Day, 8 March 2023, as part of the 80th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic NR Chairman Vice Admiral Sir Clive Johnstone examined the conflict in Ukraine today, and emphasized how the WRNS of the Second World War were vital to the defeat of the U-boat threat. A 10 minute read.

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