Maurice Cocker

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.

A revised and updated second edition of a title previously published in 1981 expanded with new information to bring it up to date. In 1870 the Admiralty commended to Parliament the weapon known as the ‘Hydrostatic Torpedo’; a weapon of surprise and stealth, the torpedo required a small, speedy craft to launch it, and thus came to be built HMS Lightning, the first torpedo boat for the Royal Navy. The potential for the weapon was soon realised and the Admiralty was forced to find a new design to accommodate it. In 1873 a new design known as the ‘torpedo boat destroyer’ was born. The TBD became indispensable to the navies of the world and in two world wars its importance both as an offensive and defensive weapon for fleet and convoy escort duties showed that no task at sea was too much for the destroyer. Maurice Cocker charts the history of the destroyer, providing much new information and a comprehensive record of the history and appearance of each class.

Within ten years of man's first flight, the armies and navies of the world had seen the potential of the flying machine. This book looks at the ships of the Royal Navy which have carried and used aircraft since the first aircraft-carrier was built in 1912. It includes small lighters, battleships with runways on their turrets, and submarines.

This illustrated portfolio is produced upon the 50th anniversary of cessation of hostilities and as a remembrance of the ships of Task Group 96.8. Through extensive research the author has gleaned information about the multi-national taskforce, including numerous photographs. Ships of the Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal New Zealand Navy, Royal Netherlands Navy, Royal Thai Navy, and the Republic of Colombia Navy all served in the West Coast Support Group known as Task Group 96.8 with the authority and resolution of the Security Council of the United Nations. That so many nations rallied to the cause was proof of the worth of that newly-formed organization. Britain and the older nations of the Commonwealth rapidly legislated for their reserves to be mobilized, and so largely from Europe and the West came those who would assist the USA to liberate the Republic of South Korea from the aggression of its northern neighbour. Many ships had fought in World War II with the most recent combatant being HMS "Amethyst", whose ship's company, and also that of HMSs "London" and "Conrad", suffered fatalities and wounds.

From the early wooden-walled steamships to coastal destroyers, the fleets of coastal vessels grew to become a major part of the naval armoury. It was the introduction of the internal combustion engine in the twentieth century that saw the development of fast patrol craft and torpedo boats. This book looks at almost all of these vessels.