Military History Blog on the Web

P.Z.L. 18

2021-08-10T07:24:00.003+01:00

The P.Z.L. 18 was a design for a heavy torpedo-bomber that never got beyond the design stage.

German Tank Destroyers, Pierre Tiquet

2021-08-08T10:59:00.000+01:00

An excellent collection of photographs of the main German tank destroyers of the Second World War, with a somewhat less satisfactory text that wanders between excellent sections analysis the performance of the vehicles and otheres that can be rather too congratulationary in tone and appears to use wartime Nazi propaganda for many of its eyewitness accounts, without explaining where each source came from.

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U.S. Aircraft Carriers 1939-45, Ingo Bauernfeind

2021-08-08T10:58:00.001+01:00

A photographic history of the US Aircraft Carrier of the Second World War, covering the Fleet, Escort and Light carriers with a background history of each class, and a brief history and at least one photograph for every carrier that saw service during the war. Also includes a detailed diving tour of the Saratoga, a guided tour of the Hornet (now a museum ship) and a look at the post-war career of the Essex class carriers

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Kongo-Class Battleships, Lars Ahlberg and Hans Lengerer

2021-08-08T10:56:00.002+01:00

An excellent photographic history of the Kongo class of battleships, originally built as pre First World War battlecruisers but modified twice to turn them first into battleships, then into fast battleships with the distinctive Japanese pagoda foremasts. This book combines a good history of the ships with an excellent selection of photographs, including good details on the layout of their distinctive pagoda foremasts and an honest assessment of the results of their reconstructions.

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HMS Jackal (1911)

2021-08-05T08:12:00.003+01:00

HMS Jackal (1911) was an Acheron class destroyer that served with the First Destroyer Flotilla, fighting at Heligoland and Dogger Bank, then with flotillas based at Portsmouth, Devonport and Ireland from late 1916 to the summer of 1918, before ending the war in the Mediterranean.

USS Farragut (DD-348)

2021-08-04T12:21:00.001+01:00

USS Farragut (DD-348) was the name ship of the Farragut class destroyers, and fought in the Pacific, taking part in the battle of the Coral Sea, the Guadalcanal campaign, the Aleutian campaign, the invasion of the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, the landings at Hollandia, the Mariannas and the battle of the Philippine Sea, the Philippines, Iwo Jima and Okinawa.

P.Z.L. P.8

2021-08-03T07:26:00.003+01:00

The P.Z.L. P.8 was a design for an improved inline engine powered of Zygmunt Pulawski’s gull wing fighters, but which never progressed beyond the prototype stage, and was abandoned in favour of the inline powered P.11.

No.409 Squadron (RCAF)

2021-08-02T09:52:00.003+01:00

No.409 Squadron (RCAF) was a Canadian night fighter squadron that took part in the defence of Britain in 1941-44, then supported the D-Day landings, flew intruder missions over France and took part in the campaign against the V-1 flying bomb.

No Moon as Witness, - Missions of the SOE and OSS in World War II, James Stejskal

2021-08-01T08:47:00.002+01:00

A nice mix of a history of the SOE and OSS, allowing to compare these two fairly similar British and American organisations, and see how they interacted, as well as looking at their individual histories, training systems and operations. Greatly benefits from covering both organisations, and from selecting a number of less familiar agents and operations, so we get a broader picture of the two organisation’s operations than is often the case

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SOE: Churchill's Secret Agents, Terry Crowdy

2021-08-01T08:46:00.007+01:00

A short history of SOE, starting with a look at its formation, organisation, the famous training regime, before spending the second half looking at SOE’s actual operations. A good introduction to the work of SOE, with a nice mix of familiar and unfamiliar operations, along with a big enough introduction to get a feel for the nature of the organisation. Good for the casual reader who doesn’t have any real prior knowledge of SOE and its operations

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Spitfire Aces of the Channel Front 1941-43, Andrew Thomas

2021-08-01T08:46:00.003+01:00

Covers the costly three years of ‘leaning over France’, where Fighter Command attempted to dominate the air over France but suffered persistent losses, including many aces and experienced leaders. Mostly filled with short accounts of each day’s fighting, focuses on the experiences of the aces, with some longer descriptions built around eyewitness accounts from the participants. Also has a useful introduction and sections on general changes to the campaign, especially the arrival of new aircraft models on both sides

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HMS Hydra (1912)

2021-07-31T09:30:00.002+01:00

HMS Hydra (1912) was an Acheron class destroyer that served with the Harwich Force in 1914, fighting at Dogger Bank, at Rosyth in 1915-16, fighting at Jutland, at Devonport from late 1916-1917 and in the Mediterranean from September 1917 onwards.

USS Pruitt (DD-347)

2021-07-28T08:58:00.001+01:00

USS Pruitt (DD-347) was a Clemson class destroyer that served in the Aleutians and off Bougainville during 1943, but spent most of the rest of the war on training or escort duties.

P.Z.L. 3

2021-07-27T06:41:00.003+01:00

The P.Z.L. 3 was a Polish design for a heavy bomber that never got past the design stage, but that influenced the very similar Potez 41 in France, which did reach the prototype stage.

No.407 Squadron, RCAF

2021-07-26T06:58:00.002+01:00

No.407 Squadron, RCAF, was a Canadian squadron that served with Coastal Command from 1941-45, performing a mix of anti-submarine and anti-shipping missions, as well as taking part in the attempt to stop the 'Channel Dash' and the D-Day landings.

Remembrance Poems and Readings, David Roberts

2021-07-25T07:35:00.008+01:00

An impressive collections of poems, essays and speeches on the nature of war and the nature of remembrance, with a mix of items that would be of use at remembrance events and some that perhaps wouldn’t work if read out by anyone other than the author are still useful as thought provoking items for the reader. Includes works from the middle ages up to the modern world, with as you might expect a great many inspired by the two World Wars, but also more modern conflicts and just general thoughts on the nature and cost of war

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Ford M8 and M20 – The US Army’s Standard Armoured Car of WWII, David Doyle

2021-07-25T07:35:00.003+01:00

A pictorial history of the M8 armoured car and M20 utility vehicle, both of which saw service in Italy, Normandy and north-western Europe and to a lesser extent in the Pacific. Very good material on the development of the vehicle, and close up pictures of development and test vehicles as well as modern survivors, along with a useful chapter of pictures of the vehicle in service. Probably aimed more at the modeller than the historian, and will provide many useful details of otherwise hard to examine areas

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Yokosuka D4Y ‘Judy’ Units, Mark Chambers with Tony Holmes

2021-07-25T07:33:00.002+01:00

A well written look at the operational history of a dive bomber that arrived too late to be truly effective as a carrier based dive bomber, and that suffered heavy losses during the battle of the Philippine Sea, before spending the rest of the war as a land based bomber, achieving limited success in both the conventional and kamikaze roles.

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2021-07-22T08:38:00.003+01:00

HMS Hornet (1911) was an Acheron class destroyer that served with the Harwich Force, fighting at the battle of Dogger Bank, then supported the 3rd Battle Squadron into 1917, before being officially based at Portsmouth for the rest of the year, then moving to the Mediterranean during 1918.

USS Sicard (DD-346)

2021-07-21T08:29:00.004+01:00

USS Sicard (DD-346) was a Clemson class destroyer that served with the Asiatic Squadron in 1920s, in the Aleutians in 1942-43, Bougainville in 1943, on patrol and minelaying duties in South Pacific in the first half of 1944, then helped train submarines for the rest of the war.

P.Z.L. L.2

2021-07-20T07:12:00.004+01:00

The P.Z.L. L.2 was an observation and liaison aircraft designed for the Polish Air Force but that was only produced in small numbers after losing out to a Lublin design.

No.406 Squadron, RCAF

2021-07-19T09:30:00.002+01:00

No.406 Squadron, RCAF, was a Canadian night fighter squadron that was formed in the UK and after an early spell of defensive duties was mainly used as an intruder squadron and for low level sorties over France and later Germany.

Dornier Do 217 Units of World War 2, Chris Goss

2021-07-18T07:35:00.004+01:00

Actually a chronologically organised operational history of the Do 217, with the main focus being on its use as a bomber over Britain and as an anti-shipping weapon using the first guided missiles. The result is an interesting look at the record of a bomber that entered service after the Luftwaffe’s bomber forces had passed their peak, and that suffered consistent losses during operations that often don’t get a mention in general histories of the war

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SA80 Assault Rifles, Neil Grant

2021-07-18T07:35:00.000+01:00

A look at the original development, service record and repeated attempts to improve one of the most controversial series of infantry weapons to enter British service, with a deserved reputation for being unreliable and dangerously prone to jamming that eventually required a major rebuilding program to fix. As this book demonstrates, that modified version had turned into a perfectly reliable weapon, apparently popular with its users and one that will remain in service for some years to come

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Pioneers of Armour in the Great War, David A. Finlayson & Michael K. Cecil

2021-07-18T07:34:00.005+01:00

Based around an account of the history of the First Australian Armoured Car Section/ First Australian Light Car Patrol written by the unit’s commander Captain E.H. James soon after the war, supported by newspaper extracts and letters from the period, tracing the unit from its origins as a volunteer unit in Australia, to the western desert of Egypt then through its role in the campaign in Palestine and Syria. Followed by a shorter account of the first tank to reach Australia, a Mark IV that was sent to help with fundraising before ending up in the Australian War Memorial. A fascinating account of the use of mainly entirely un-armoured cars in the desert during the First World War, in a unit that reminds one of the LRDG and SAS

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