NAVAL HISTORY, WARSHIPS & WARSHIP LOSSES

1. Battles & Naval Campaigns

Bacon, Sir Reginald, Dover Patrol 1915-17, 1919 - a busy corner in those years with the German Flanders U-boat and destroyer flotillas not far away

Bell, A C, The Blockade of Germany, 1937 - an important part of Allied strategy which helped defeat Germany

Bennett, Geoffrey, Coronel and the Falklands, 1962 - the British defeat at the hands of Adm von Spee's East Asiatic Fleet off Coronel, Chile, and his destruction a few weeks later off the Falklands - both at the end of 1914

Burdick, C B, The Japanese Siege of Tsingtau: World War 1 in Asia, 1976 - the campaign confirming Japan as a true world power and bringing her control of the Pacific islands and groups that became household names in World War 2 - Marianas, Carolines, Marianas, Eniwetok, Truk, Saipan, Tinian, Palau, Peliliiu

Campbell VC, Rear Adm Gordon, My Mystery Ships, 1928 - some reviewers consider Adm Campbell too immodest in this personal account of Q-ships, but then he and his men did receive five VC's between them and sink three U-boats

Carr, W G, By Guess and by God: the Story of British Submarines in the War, 1939

Chatterton, E Keble, Seas of Adventures: The Story of Naval Operations in the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Aegean, 1936 - a good read

Coles, Alan, Three Before Breakfast: A True and Dramatic Account of How a German U-boat Sank Three British Cruisers in One Desperate Hour, 1979 - the tragic loss of armoured cruiser Aboukir, Crecy and Hogue due to the understandable underestimation of the effectiveness of the new submarine.

Dane E, British Campaigns in Africa and the Pacific 1914-18, 1919 - includes the Japanese capture of German naval base at Tsingtau

Davis, H W C, A History of the Blockade, 1920

Dixon, T B, The Enemy Fought Splendidly, 1983 - a diary of the Battle of the Falklands

Gibson, R H and M Prendergast, The German Submarine War 1914-18, 1931

Gray, Edwyn A, The Killing Time: the U-boat War 1914-18, 1972 - not sure about the accuracy of some of the more contentious losses

Halpern, Paul G, The Naval War in the Mediterranean 1914-1918, 1987 - doubtful if it could be bettered, using just about every English and non-English reference imaginable - detailed and scholarly

Hargrave, J, The Suvla Bay Landing, 1964 - the landing aimed at breaking the Gallipoli stalemate which underestimated the Turks ability to redeploy their forces.

Hoeling A A and M Hoeling, The Last Voyage of the Lusitania, 1956 - the British liner torpedoed in 1915 that did so much to start turning American public opinion against Germany

Hoyt, E P, The Last Cruise of the Emden, 1967

Jutland, Battle of

Bennett, Geoffrey, The Battle of Jutland (US), paperback, Wordsworth Editions Ltd

Campbell, John, Jutland (US), hardcover, Brassey's/Conway Maritime

Campbell, John, Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting, 1986 - technical but interesting

Corbett, Sir Julian, Naval Operations Volume III: Jutland (US), hardcover, Imperial War Museum

Costello, J and T Hughes, Jutland 1916, 1976

Fawcett, H W, The Fighting at Jutland: the Personal Experiences of Sixty Officers and Men of the British Fleet, 1921

Harper, Admiral J E T, The Truth about Jutland, 1927 - the battle was controversial then, and still is

MacIntyre, D, Jutland, 1957 - the author is a well-known Royal Navy escort group commander of World War 2

Rasor, Eugene L, The Battle of Jutland: A Bibliography (US), hardcover, Greenwood Pub Group

Tarrant, V E, Jutland (US), paperback, Cassell Military

Tarrant, V E, Jutland - the German View (US), hardcover, Cassell Military - getting on for nearly a century later and Jutland is still in dispute. An important book in the English language using German sources

Layman, R. D., The Cuxhaven Raid: The Worlds First Carrier Air Strike, 1985 - probably that - the first carrier raid, and a great accomplishment for the time

Lochner, The Last Gentleman-of-War: the Raider Exploits of the Cruiser Emden, 1988 - the cruiser detached from Adm von Spee's East Asiatic Squadron for independent and highly successful commerce raiding in the Indian Ocean in 1914

Milne, Admiral Sir A Berkeley, The Flight of the Goeben and Breslau, 1921

Moorehead, Alan, Gallipoli, 1989 - there seem to be more books about Gallipoli than most comparable campaigns, and this is a good one, covering both naval and land operations - the former in some detail. With all the criticism Gallipoli and the Dardanelles receive, I was struck by the bravery, dedication and professionalism of some of the Allied commanders who sought victory in the most difficult of circumstances. And in the end evacuated every last man without loss.

Nevinson, H W, The Dardanelles Campaign, 1918 - precursor of the Gallipoli campaign and the attempt to break through the Dardanelles and capture Constantinople solely using British and French naval power

Newbolt, Sir Henry, Submarine and Anti-Submarine, 1918

Siney, M C, The Allied Blockade of Germany 1914-16, 1957

Pitt, B, Zeebrugge: St George's Day 1918, 1958

Shankland, P and A Hunter, Dardanelles Patrol: the Story of Submarine E-11, 1964 - the account of Lt Cdr Naismith RN who broke through the Dardanelles defences in May 1915 with orders to run amuck in the Sea of Marmora, which he did, right up to the quaysides of Constantinople

Taffrail (Captain H Taprell Dorling), Endless Story, 1938 - RN destroyer actions in World War 1. A good read by a well-known short story writer of the time and someone who served (I believe) as a Royal Navy destroyer officer

Taffrail , Swept Channels: Minesweepers in the Great War, 1938

Terraine, John, Business in Great Waters - The U-boat Wars, 1916-45, 1989, Also Paperback edition - comprehensive and scholarly study of the U-boat campaigns

Usborne, Vice-Adm C V, Smoke on the Horizon: Mediterranean Fighting 1914-18, 1940 - a good read by one who was there

Vat, Dan van der, The Ship that Changed the World: The Escape of the Goeben to the Dardanelles in 1914, 1985 - with the arrival of Goeben Turkey joined the war on Germany's side, the Allies attacked the Dardanelles and landed on Gallipoli, their failure to take Constantinople and knock Turkey out of the war meant Russia could not be supplied through the Black Sea. This probably contributed to the Russian revolution and Russia sueing for peace with the Germans ..........

Warner, Philip, The Zeebrugge Raid, 1978 - that brilliant and heroic raid on the canal entrances at Zeebrugge and Ostend leading to the inland German U-boat and destroyer bases in Belgium. I preferred the earlier account by Captain Carpenter who planned the raids

2. Biographies & Personal Accounts

Bacon, Admiral Sir Reginald, The Life of John Rushworth, Earl Jellicoe, 1936

Bacon, Admiral Sir R H, The Life of Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, Admiral of the Fleet, 1929 - amazing man. The Battle of Jutland would have been lost without his pioneering and timely work to rebuild the Royal Navy

Barnes, J, editor, The Beatty Papers (1908-19), 1970 - Admiral Earl Beatty

Chalmers, Admiral W S, The Life and Letters of David, Earl Beatty, 1951

Fisher, Admiral Baron, Memoirs, 1919

Guepratte, Admiral P E, L'Expedition des Dardanelles 1914-15, Paris, 1935 - aggressive French Naval C-in-C at the Dardanelles

Keyes, Admiral Sir Roger, Naval Memoirs of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes, 1934-35 - including the Dardanelles, Dover Patrol command

Jellicoe, Admiral Earl, The Crisis of the Naval War, 1920

Jellicoe of Scapa, Admiral Viscount, The Grand Fleet 1914-16; Its Creation, Development and Work, 1919 - a great man and admiral and a good writer. So worth reading. There are those who still criticise him for Jutland. It's worth remembering (1) he was the only man who could lose the war for Britain and the Allies in an afternoon, (2) he had to command and control a vast array of warships belching out smoke on a grey North Sea covering many square miles of sea, while fighting a very skilful, well-equipped and trained enemy who could fall back on U-boats, minefields and heavily defended bases. And that without radar, aircraft and asdic/sonar.

Jellicoe, Admiral Earl, The Submarine Peril, 1914

Mackay, R F, Fisher of Kilverstone, 1973 - Admiral of the Fleet

Marder, A J, editor, Fear God and Dread Nought: the Correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher of Kilverstone, 1952-59

Patterson, A T, Jellicoe: A Biography, 1969

Patterson, A T, editor, The Jellicoe Papers, 1966

Roskill, S, Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty: The last Naval Hero, 1980

Scheer, Admiral R, Germany's High Seas Fleet in the World War, 1920 - commander battlecruiser Scouting Group at Jutland, C-in-C thereafter

Wester-Wemyss, Admiral Lord, The Navy in the Dardanelles Campaign, 1924 - one of the British commanders during the Dardanelles and Gallipoli campaigns. His last job there was to successfully evacuate all Allied forces without loss. He was First Sea Lord from January 1918

Winton, John, The Victoria Cross at Sea, 1978 - from the first naval VC's in the Crimean war through World War's 1 and 2. Good short reads and a useful reference source

3. Intelligence

Beesly, Patrick, Room 40; British Naval Intelligence 1914-18, 1982 - living in the shadow of World War 2 and Ultra, we forget how successful British codebreaking and its application was in World War 1

Deacon, Richard, The Silent War: A History of Western Naval Intelligence, 1978

4. Naval Histories - covering all 1914-18

Bennett, Geoffrey, Naval Battles of the First World War, 1983 - good one volume summary, especially the early operations in the Pacific, Indian and south Atlantic Oceans

Corbett, Julian S and Henry Newbolt, History of the Great War: Naval Operations, 5 vols, 1923-31 - not as good as Captain Roskill's World War 2 histories, but well worth reading and the maps are a pleasure to use

by Sir Julian Corbett:
Vol I: To the Battle of the Falklands, December 1914
Vol II: From the Falklands to the Entry of Italy, May 1915
Vol III: Jutland
by Henry Newbolt after Corbetts death:
Vol IV: June 1916 to April 1917
Vol V: April 1917 to November 1918

Evans A, The Royal Australian Navy, 1988 - including World War 1

Frothingham, Captain T G, The Naval History of the World War, 1924-26 - an American perspective

Halpern, Paul G, A Naval History of World War 1 (UK)/(US supplier), 1994 - the best one volume account of World War 1 naval operations that reaches parts other books fail to reach such as the Danube River campaign

Hoehling, A.A, The Great War at Sea, The Dramatic Story of Naval Warfare 1914-1918, 1965 - unlike World War 2, there are few accounts of the US Navy in World War 1. This one covers such events as the mysterious loss of the Cyclops and the sinking of other US warships in 1917/18.

Hough, Richard, The Great War at Sea 1914-1918, 1984 - a readable one volume account concentrating on British-German operations and battles

Howarth, Stephen, Morning Glory: A History of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1983 - not a lot on World War 1

Howarth, Stephen, To Shining Sea: A History of the United States Navy, 1991 - ditto

Hurd A, The British Fleet in the Great War, 1919

Hurd, A, Italian Sea-Power and the Great War, 1918

Hurd, Sir Archibald, The Merchant Navy, Volumes 1-3, 1921-29 - a valuable set of volumes. Surely World War 2 deserved as much.

Jenkins, E H, A History of the French Navy, 1973 - not a lot on World War 1

Liddle P, The Sailor's War 1914-18, 1985

Marder, Arthur J, From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow, Volumes 1-5,1961-70 - Vol 1: The Road to War, 1904-1914 - excellent works by the American naval historian with all five volumes a pleasure to read

Marder, Arthur J, From the Dreadnought to Scapa Flow: The Royal Navy in the Fisher Era, 1904-1919 :Victory and Aftermath - presumably a one volume summary

Massie, Robert K, Dreadnought: Britain, Germany, and the coming of the Great War, 1992 - interesting but I found it hard going as naval history

Mitchell, Donald W, A History of Russian and Soviet Sea Power, 1974 - as with most navies other than the British and German, there is not a lot on World War 1. The Russian Navy deserves more recognition for its sophisticated mining campaigns in both the Baltic and Black Seas, and its amphibious and carrier task force operations in the latter

Newbolt, Sir Henry, Naval History of the War, 1920

Perry, L, Our Navy at War, 1918 - the US Navy

Shrubb RN, Lt-Cdr R E A and Capt A B Sainsbury RNR, The Royal Navy Day by Day, 1979 - I like this book which covers all periods and includes the well-known and the obscure. Also nicely illustrated

Sims USN, Rear Admiral W S, The Victory at Sea, 1920

5. Warships - general, plus aviation and shipwrecks

(There are still World War 1 warship types that appear to lack adequate coverage in the literature - and on the Internet. British and German destroyers in particular come to mind)

Conway's All the Worlds Fighting Ships, 1860-1905 (UK)/(US supplier), Conway Maritime Press, 1979 - about the best reference books around, especially the introductions navy-by-navy and the warship career summaries

Conway's All the Worlds Fighting Ships, 1906-1921 (UK)/(US supplier), Conway Maritime Press, 1985 - ditto

Conway's All the Worlds Fighting Ships, 1922-1946 (UK)/(US supplier), Conway Maritime Press, 1980 - ditto

Compton-Hall, Richard, Submarines and the War at Sea 1914-18, 1991 - useful

Ferguson, David M, Shipwrecks of North East Scotland, 1991 - like all the wreck books, a useful supplement for researching warship losses

Ferguson, David M, Shipwrecks of Orkney, Shetland and Pentland Firth, 1988 - ditto

Gray, Edwyn, Few Survived: A History of Submarine Disasters, 1986

Hockings, Charles, Dictionary of Disasters at Sea During the Age of Steam 1824-1962”, 2 vols, Lloyds Register of Shipping - very useful.

Hudson, Kenneth and Ann Nicholls, The Book of Shipwrecks, 1979

Jane's Fighting Ships, various editions, especially 1914, 1919 - the warship reference book for the year in question, but Conways is probably more useful for those interested in naval history.

However, apart from their other uses, Jane's, especially the older ones are particularly interesting for their introductions to naval events, maps of naval bases, armament summaries and above all, I find, their advertisements. Skim the ads in the 1914 edition and it's a useful reminder how advanced are much of the equipment and systems

Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I (UK)/(US supplier) - a very useful summary, but I still prefer Conway's

Jane's Fighting Ships on Microfiche - 1897-1909 - 1910-1919

Johnson, Brian, Fly Navy: The History of Maritime Aviation, 1981

Jones, J Michael, Historic Warships: A directory of 140 Museums and Memorials Worldwide, with Histories, 1993

Larn, Richard and Bridget, Shipwreck Index of the British Isles, Vols 1-4, Lloyds Register of Shipping, 1995 - valuable and scholarly works of reference. How about a set for the entire world!

Vol 1: Isles of Scilly, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset (1995)
Vol 2: Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Sussex, Kent, Thames (1995)
Vol 3: The East Coast of England (1997)
Vol 4: Scotland (1998)

Larn, Richard, Shipwrecks of Great Britain and Ireland, 1981

Layman, R.D., Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849-1922, 1989 - an important naval aviation volume covering all nations and even the earliest of developments

Moir, Peter and Ian Crawford, Clyde Shipwrecks, 1988

Preston A, Battleships of World War 1: An Illustrated Encyclopaedia, 1972Moir, Peter and Ian Crawford, Argyll Shipwrecks, 1994

Warship, editor Robert Gardiner, Conway Maritime Press, various editions - excellent technical accounts of warships and classes, known and unknown

Williams, David, Wartime Disasters at Sea; Every Passenger Ship Loss in World War I and II, 1997 - similar to the Walter book above on German raiders, but with so many more ships to include, not so detailed. Particularly useful for those liners taken up into service as armed merchant cruisers

Zanelli, Leo, “Shipwrecks Around Britain: A Diver’s Guide”, 1970

Zanelli, Leo, “Unknown Shipwrecks Around Britain: A Diver’s Guide”, 1974 - If they are unknown, how do you know they are there? It took me a while to work out that finding a wreck and identifying it were two different problems. However, it does throw light on some warship losses.

6. Warships - British

Akerman, Paul, Encyclopaedia of British Submarines, 1901-50, 1989

Burt, R A, British Battleships of World War 1, 1986

Cocker, M P, Observers Directory of Royal Naval Submarines, 1901-1982, 1982

Colledge, J J, Ships of the Royal Navy (paperback) Vol 1 & 2, 1998 - very useful reference book for searching out the more obscure Royal Navy warships from the 16th century on

Colledge, J J, Ships of the Royal Navy, hardback edition, 1989

Evans, A.S, Beneath the Waves, A History of HM Submarine Losses 1904-1971, 1986 - the most comprehensive account of British submarine losses found so far

Fleming, H M Le, (British) Warships of World War 1, 1970 - like all the Ian Allan books in this series, valuable reference books. Reprint please

Gray, Edwyn, A Damned Un-English Weapon: The Story of British Submarine Warfare 1914-18, 1971

HMSO, British Vessels Lost at Sea, 1914-18, 1977 reprint - a must as a reference book, but inaccurate in the light of later research. And if only the naval section was as comprehensive as the merchantship part!

Kemp Paul, British Warship Losses of the 20th Century, c1999

Lipscomb, Cdr F W, The British Submarine, 1975

March, Edgar J, British Destroyers, 1892-1953, 1966 - much interesting technical detail

Manning, T.D., The British Destroyer, 1961

Ritchie, Carson I A, Q-Ships, 1985 - another valuable reference book I would like to see enlarged, developed and more carefully arranged and edited. By their very nature, sorting out the accounts of the many, highly secretive special service ships and their operations is no easy task, but deserves to be done

Thomas, David, Battles and Honours of the Royal Navy (UK)/(US supplier) - I only know the volume following by David Thomas - an important Royal Navy reference

Thomas, David, Companion to the Royal Navy, 1988

7. Warships - German, plus Zeppelins

Friedman, Norman, German Warships of World War I : The Royal Navy's Official Guide to the Capital Ships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Submarines and Small Craft, 1914-1918 (UK), Naval Institute Press Hardcover - Reprint of the Royal Navy's official assessment of the Imperial German Navy

George, S C, Jutland to Junkyard (US), Birlinn Limited Paperback

Gröner, Erich, German Warships, 1815-1945 : Major Surface Vessels Vol. 1 (UK), Naval Institute Press Hardcover; also Vol 2, 1983

Oh for a similar comprehensive set of volumes on the British, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, US etc warships down to this level

Herwig, Holger H, Luxury Fleet: The Imperial German Navy 1888-1918, 1980

Kemp, Paul, U-Boats Destroyed - German Submarine Losses in the World Wars (UK)/(US supplier), 1997 - a valuable and well-researched book that helps answer the often perplexing questions of which U-boats were lost, when, where and how. However question marks remain, and it would have been helpful if it had included the alternative accounts that are still found in even the most recent of books

Robinson, Douglas H, The Zeppelin in Combat: A History of the German Naval Airship Division, 1912-1918, 1971 - an important aspect of the German war at sea and a continuing threat to the British Grand Fleet

Ruge, Friedrich, Scapa Flow 1919, The End of the German Fleet, 1973 - a straightforward account

Taylor, John C, German Warships of World War 1, 1970 - same comments as for Fleming and the British Navy

Walter, John, The Kaisers Pirates: German Surface Raiders in World War One, 1994 - valuable, comprehensive, fairly detailed and well illustrated account of all German warship and auxiliary raiders of the war. The title The Kaiser's Pirates is a bit unnecessary, but should not detract from the book

8. Warships - Other Navies

Couhat, Jean Labayle, French Warships of World War 1, 1974 - another Ian Allan reference book worthy of reprinting

Fraccaroli, Aldo, Italian Warships of World War 1, 1970 - ditto

Gregar, René, Austro-Hungarian Warships of World War I, 1976 - ditto

Gregar, René, The Russian Fleet, 1914-1917, 1972 - ditto

US Government Printing Office, “Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships“ - Volume 2 (C-F), Volume 3 (G-K), Volume 6 (R-S), Volume 7 (T-V) in print - PLEASE would all navies of the world take on the same massive task, especially the Royal Navy which still remains The Silent Service in this regard

Watts, Anthony J, The Imperial Russian Navy, 1990

MILITARY and POLITICAL BACKGROUND

Baldwin, Hanson W, World War 1: An Outline History, 1963

Banks, Arthur, Military Atlas of the First World War (UK)/(US supplier), 1989 - interesting and useful reference work

Coppard, George, With a Machine Gun to Cambrai, Imperial War Museum, 1980

Farwell, Byron, The Great War in Africa, 1914-1918, 1987 - the German East African campaign, the fate of light cruiser Koenigsberg, the aborted Zeppelin supply mission - fascinating

Fletcher, David, Landships: British Tanks in the First World War, HMSO, 1984

Gilbert, Martin, First World War Atlas, 1985

Gleichen, Maj-Gen Lord Edward, General Editor, Chronology of the Great War, this edition by Greenhill Books, 1988 - valuable early reference book. Very detailed, except for the naval side

Hammerton, Sir J A, Editor, A Popular History of the Great War, 6 volumes, The Fleetway House

Hayes, Grace P, World War 1: A Compact History, 1972

Haythornthwaite, Philip J, “World War One Source Book (UK)/(US supplier), 1992 - useful reference for the war as a whole

Horrabin, J F, An Atlas of Current Affairs, 1938 - I just love this one for the simplicity of the maps

Hoyt Jnr, Edwin P, The Germans Who Never Lost, 1968 - more on German East Africa including light cruiser SMS Königsberg

Liddell Hart B H, History of the First World War, 1970 - compared with his one volume World War 2 account I found this one hard-going

Liddle, Peter H, The Airman's War 1914-18, 1987

Lloyd, Alan, The War in the Trenches, 1976

Middlebrook, Martin, The Kaiser's Battle - 21 March 1918: The First Day of the German Spring Offensive, Allen Lane, 1978 - few can match Martin Middlebrook's ability to take a single complex military event, add in many personal accounts from both sides and produce a very readable, interesting and understandable account

Nash, D.B, Imperial German Army Handbook 1914-1918, 1980

Norman, Terry, The Hell They Called High Wood: The Somme 1916, 1984

Robbins, Keith, The First World War, 1984

Sauvain, Philip, European and World History 1815 to 1919, 1985 - I found this small volume particularly helpful

Steel, Nigel and Peter Hart, Defeat at Gallipoli, 1994

Stokesbury, James L, Short History of World War 1 (UK)/(US supplier), 1982 - the best one volume account by this American author who has done the same for World War 2

Stone, Norman, The Eastern Front 1914-1917, 1975 - a good introduction to the many bloody battles of this little-understood but long front - far longer than the Western Front

Taylor, A J P, Editor-in-Chief, History of World War 1, Octopus Books, 1974

Thomason, J W Jnr, Fix Bayonets: With the U.S. Marine Corps in France 1917-1918, 1925, reprinted 1989 - a bibliography describes this as one of the finest accounts, with notable contemporary illustrations

Tuchman, Barbara, The Zimmerman Telegram, 1958 - the intercepted German telegram to Mexico that helped bring the United States into the war

Two Thousand Questions and Answers About the War, The Review of Reviews Co, New York, 1918 - a fascinating collection of - two thousand Q & A's - with helpful maps. If you can find it

Young, Brigadier Peter, Editor-in-Chief, Marshall Cavendish Encyclopaedia of World War One, Volumes 1 to 12, 1986 - long, fairly complete reference source by a well-known military editor, but not a lot about the war at sea other than the main battles