Battleship Warspite

Arguably one of the finest capital ship designs of all time, Warspite and her sister ships were the prototypes of the modern fast battleship, the ultimate development of the dreadnought type. Warspite's fighting career spanned two generations -- from the last great surface engagement between battle fleets at Jutland in 1916, to the dawn of the missile age (she was badly damaged by a guided bomb in 1942), with battle honours that also included Narvik, Matapan, and the D-Day landings. Book jacket.

“The dramatic career of the Queen Elizabeth class super-dreadnought, which fought with such distinction throughout two World Wars . . . a great story.” —White Ensign Association No warship name in British naval history has more battle honors than HMS Warspite. While this book looks at the lives of all eight vessels to bear the name (between 1596 and the 1990s), it concentrates on the truly epic story of the seventh vessel, a super-dreadnought battleship, conceived as the ultimate answer to German naval power, during the arms race that helped cause WW1. Warspite fought off the entire German fleet at Jutland, survived a mutiny between the wars and then covered herself in glory in action from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean during WW2. She was the flagship of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham when he mastered the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean, her guns inflicting devastating damage on the enemy at Calabria in 1940 and Matapan in 1941. She narrowly avoided destruction by the Japanese carrier force that devastated Pearl Harbor. She provided crucial fire support for Allied landings in Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Walcheren. A lucky ship in battle, she survived dive-bombers off Crete and glide bomb hits off Salerno. But this is not just the story of a warship. Wherever possible the voices of those men who fought aboard her speak directly to the reader about their experiences. Warspite is also the story of a great naval nation which constructed her as the ultimate symbol of its imperial power and then scrapped her when the sun set on that empire.

Using previously unpublished material, the author presents the fullest and most accurate account to date of the British battleship Warspite and her valiant crews throughout two world wars.

The technical details of British warships were recorded in a set of plans produced by the builders on completion of every ship. Known as the 'as fitted' general arrangements, these drawings documented the exact appearance and fitting of the ship as it entered service. They were very large - more than 12 feet long for capital ships - highly detailed, annotated and labelled, and drawn with exquisite skill in multi-coloured inks and washes. Today these plans form part of the incomparable collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, which is using the latest scanning technology to make digital copies of the highest quality. This book is the first of a series based entirely on these draughts which will depict famous warships in an unprecedented degree of detail - complete sets in full colour, with many close-ups and enlargements that make every aspect clear and comprehensible.

"Much has been written about this famous vessel, but Harry Plevy has found an abundance of unpublished reminiscences, and through correspondence and interview discovered even more fascinating new material. The result is a vivid inside story of an action-packed career, told in the words of those who served aboard Warspite, civilians who refitted the ship and entertained her crew, and even the enemies who fought against her."--BOOK JACKET.

No warship name in British naval history has more battle honours than Warspite. While this book looks at the lives of all eight vessels to bear the name (between 1596 and the 1990s), it concentrates on the truly epic story of the seventh vessel, a super-dreadnought battleship, conceived as the ultimate answer to German naval power, during the arms race that helped cause WW1. Warspite fought off the entire German fleet at Jutland, survived a mutiny between the wars and then covered herself in glory in action from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean during WW2. She was the flagship of Admiral Sir John Cunningham when he mastered the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean, her guns inflicting devastating damage on the enemy at Calabria in 1940 and Matapan in 1941. She narrowly avoided destruction by the Japanese carrier force that devastated Pearl Harbor. She provided crucial fire support for Allied landings in Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Walcheren. A lucky ship in battle, she survived dive-bombers off Crete and glider bomb hits off Salerno.The 'Spite' had a reputation for being obtuse at unexpected moments, running aground and losing her steering several times; she broke free from her towropes on the way to the breakers and ending up beached at St Michael's Mount where it took a decade to dismantle her. She had fought to the end.But this is not just the story of a warship. Wherever possible the voices of those men who fought aboard her speak directly to the reader about their experiences. The Warspite is also the story of a great naval nation which constructed her as the ultimate symbol of its imperial power and then scrapped her when the sun set on that empire.Iain Ballantyne is a much published naval author. His books for Pen and Sword include Warspite, London and Victory in the Famous Ships of the British Navy series as well as Strike From the Sea. He is editor of Warships International.

In 1906, the British launched one of the most revolutionary ships ever built HMS Dreadnought. Besides being a big ship powered by turbines the ship was constructed with "all big guns . This meant that the earlier battleships were typically equipped with just 4 main guns intended to engage other battleships plus an additional number of smaller guns to engage cruisers. The Dreadnought dispensed with the smaller weapons to increase her main battery to 10 12in guns, making her broadside twice as powerful as any other capital ship in the world. This design effectively rendered all other battleships obsolete, and sparked a naval shipbuilding race between the naval powers which consumed a huge portion of their industrial capacity up to and during WWI. Several battleships of different classes were built but learning that both Japan and the United States were implementing 14 inch guns decisive measures were taken to keep the Royal Navy ahead the Queen Elizabeth class with it s fearsome 15 inch guns were therefor introduced. In 1913 the British launched HMS Queen Elizabeth which was often described as a Super Dreadnought: bigger, faster, and more heavily armed and armored than any other ship. During the next few years 4 more ships where launched."