Angus Konstam

The Convoy represents a fresh approach to the story of the Battle of the Atlantic. It is also the first to deal with the more spectacular story of HG-76, a major turning point in the naval war. HG-76 sailed from Gibraltar to Britain in December 1941 and was specially targeted by the Germans. A wolfpack of U-boats was sent against...

A fascinating account of the last major Allied operation in the South-West Pacific, and the largest Australian military operation of World War II. A week after Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Japanese troops landed near Brunei on the South-East Asian island of Borneo. Within eight weeks, the entire island had been overrun, and its Dutch and British Indian defenders had...

Hunt the Bismarck by Angus Konstam is a gripping and meticulously researched narrative that delves into one of the most dramatic episodes of naval warfare during the Second World War. The book takes you through the intense and suspense-laden operation known as Rheinübung, undertaken by Nazi Germany's largest battleship, Bismarck, in May 1941, followed by her relentless pursuit by the...

A highly illustrated introduction to some of the greatest battles in world history, from the iconic encounters of the Ancient World such as Thermopylae and Cannae, through to the major clashes of the 20th century epitomised by Stalingrad and Khe Sanh. This concise study by renowned military historian Angus Konstam examines one hundred of the most famous battles from world...

A gripping account of the most famous convoy operation of the war, which marked a high-water mark for the German naval campaign in the Arctic. The Arctic was a vital conduit for transporting supplies directly from Great Britain to Russia. The British Home Fleet was tasked with protecting these convoys, which passed within range of the German bases in Norway....

World War I was Britain’s last moment as the world’s naval superpower, and its Grand Fleet was the most powerful ever seen. Fully illustrated, this explores its fighting power. At the start of World War I, the Royal Navy’s forces were amalgamated into a single entity, the Grand Fleet, and stationed in Scapa Flow, Orkney. The Grand Fleet was the...

An illustrated history of the American-built destroyers and frigates supplied to the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease, which played a crucial role in Britain's war in the Atlantic. As U-boat attacks on Britain’s vital sea lanes increased in ferocity, and Royal Navy warship losses mounted, the United States passed the Lend-Lease Act, the cornerstone of America’s wartime role as armourer to...

In September 1943, under the cover of darkness, six British midget submarines crept into the heart of enemy territory, penetrating a heavily guarded Norwegian fjord in an attempt to eliminate the threat of the powerful German battleship, the Tirpitz. Numerous previous attempts to attack the ship from both air and sea had failed, and this mission was carefully strategised, undertaken...

The Royal Navy's battleships at the turn of the 20th century were the most powerful battlefleet in the world and embodied one of the key periods in warship development—the development of the dreadnought battleship. The term 'pre-dreadnought' was applied in retrospect to describe the capital ships built during the decade and a half before the launch of HMS Dreadnought in...

A detailed account of the war-winning role that a handful of Harrier squadrons played in the Falklands War. On 5 April 1982, the British aircraft carriers Hermes and Invincible sailed for the South Atlantic at the heart of the task force that would retake the Falkland Islands, known to Argentina as the Islas Malvinas. Air power was essential to the...

Packed with illustrations, this is a new history and analysis of how the Royal Navy's most important fleet operated and fought the German Navy in the crucial first years of World War II. Throughout its history, the Royal Navy's most powerful fleet has been the one guarding home waters. In this book, naval historian Angus Konstam explores the fighting power,...

Formed to project British naval power from Gibraltar, Force H was the Royal Navy's unique strategic task force. This fully illustrated study explains its roles, organisation, and history. In June 1940, the fall of France and its powerful fleet completely changed the naval balance in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. To counter this, the Admiralty formed Force H, a...

A superbly illustrated history of the Royal Navy’s World War II monitors – gunboats armed with a single, large-calibre gun turret – and their roles and battles around the world. When World War II broke out, the Royal Navy possessed a sizeable fleet of battleships and battlecruisers. However, these formed the core of the battle fleets and were rarely free...

Super-Battleships of World War I by Angus Konstam takes you back to a pivotal moment in naval history, when the victors of World War I were developing a formidable new generation of 'hyper-dreadnoughts' and battlecruisers. This book, fully illustrated, delves into the big-gun warships that were conceptualised but never realised. In 1918, naval warfare was on the brink of significant...

The Second Battle of Sirte was a key naval clash in the Mediterranean, and a vital moment in the struggle for Malta's survival. Malta was the key to the hard-fought naval campaign being waged in the Mediterranean, a link in the vital Axis supply lines between Italy and North Africa. Struggling under a sustained Axis bombing campaign, Malta depended on...

This fully illustrated study explains the British Pacific Fleet’s campaign against the Japanese in the Sakishima Islands, its overlooked role in the battle for Okinawa. The invasion of Okinawa was, famously, the culmination of the United States’ island-hopping campaign. Less well known is the fact that it was also the greatest campaign of the British Pacific Fleet’s war against Japan,...

An in-depth look at one of the biggest set-piece battles and one of the most decisive in European history pre-WWI. Growing friction between the centuries-old Austrian Empire, self-styled guardian of Germany, and the smaller but more dynamic Prussian Empire led to war between the two countries. In June 1866, three Prussian armies crossed into Bohemia and brushed aside the hastily...

The story of the Norse Earls of Orkney, whose lands once covered much of Scotland, and whose reach extended as far as Scandinavia, continental Europe and even the Mediterranean. Lords of the Salt Road reveals the dramatic history of the Norse earls of Orkney, who owed their allegiance to the Kings of Norway and ruled their own semi-autonomous empire with...

The first history of how the aircraft of the British Pacific Fleet shattered Japanese oilfields in Sumatra, starving Japan of oil and proving how Anglo-American navies could fight together. With the war in Europe in its final stages, by 1944 the Royal Navy was able to put together a major force to join the campaign against Japan. The British Pacific...

In the summer of 793 AD, Viking raiders attacked and looted the monastic island of Lindisfarne, off the coast of Northumberland. This assault was only the beginning. Within 18 months, huge areas of the British coast were being devastated by terrifying ships and their fierce, destructive fighting men. Who were these mysterious raiders? In this book, veteran historian Angus Konstam...

With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier programme in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of...

In 1941, as the Battle of the Atlantic raged and ship losses mounted, the British Admiralty desperately tried to find ways to defeat the U-Boat threat to Britain’s maritime lifeline. Facing a shortage of traditional aircraft carriers and shore-based aircraft, the Royal Navy, as a stopgap measure, converted merchant ships into small ‘escort carriers’. These were later joined by a...

The idea of a heavy cruiser emerged in the aftermath of World War I and was closely linked to the limits set by the inter-war Washington Naval Treaty. The pre-World War I concept of armoured cruisers had been abandoned, but in their stead, the Admiralty saw a place for powerful cruisers. These were able to patrol the sea lanes of...

This detailed study of the naval Spanish Civil War describes how the Spanish Navy, torn in two and comprising a Republican and Nationalist part, fought a civil war at sea involving both Hitler's and Mussolini's navies. In July 1936, a pro-fascist coup orchestrated by General Franco tore Spain apart and plunged the country into a bitter civil war. Like Spain...

Three times during the 17th century, England and Holland went to war as part of an ongoing struggle for economic and naval supremacy. Primarily fought in the cold waters of the North Sea and the English Channel, the wars proved revolutionary in their impact upon warship design, armament, and naval tactics. During this time, the warship evolved into the true...