| ID | Description | Categories | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | JAMESON, William. Ark Royal 1939–1941. 371p., bibliog., illus. London: Hart Davis, 1957.
A full and scholarly account of the wartime career of one of the best-known ships in the Royal Navy. In her short career she saw service with the Home Fleet in the North Atlantic and hunted the Graf Spee in the South Atlantic, but her most famous exploits were when based on Gibraltar with Force H. |
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| 2003 | JENKINS, C. A. Days of a Dogsbody. 235p., illus. London: Harrap, 1946.
Only the last 20 pages cover the author's wartime career, but that makes the book no less enjoyable. In September 1939 he was Navigating Officer of Furious and stayed there until early 1942 when he moved to the Admiralty. Gives a good account of the carrier's role in the Norwegian Campaign. |
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| 2004 | JENKINS, C. A. HMS Furious/Aircraft Carrier 1917–1948 (Profile Warship, 23–24). 245–292pp., bibliog., illus. Windsor: Profile Publications, 1972.
A double issue of this series/part-work. The first part covers the first eight years of her life, giving much detail on her construction, while the second covers the years up to and including the war. |
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| 2005 | JONES, Albert H., & JONES, Michael H. No Easy Choices: A Personal Account of Life on the Carrier HMS Illustrious 1940–1943. ix, 228p., bibliog., illus. Worcester: Square One, 1994. ISBN: 1872017851.
A book by father and son. Albert joined up in 1939 and served as a stoker on Illustrious. An interesting account of the torrid early years of her service and the refit in the US after battle damage. |
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| 2006 | LAYMAN, R. D. Before the Aircraft Carrier: The Development of Aviation Vessels 1849–1942. 128p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Conway, 1989. ISBN: 0851775160.
A good description of the years when flight was in its infancy. |
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| 2007 | LYON, David. HMS Illustrious (Profile Warship 10). 217–240pp., bibliog., illus. Windsor: Profile Publications, 1971.
The story of the ship's design, construction and refits. |
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| 2008 | McCART, Neil. HMS Glory 1945-1961. v, 119p., illus. Liskeard: Maritime Books, 2002. ISBN: 0907771939.
A profusely illustrated operational history, with a good account of her short wartime career. |
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| 2009 | McCART, Neil. HMS Hermes 1923 & 1959. 192p., illus. Cheltenham: FAN, 2001. ISBN: 1901225054.
One quarter of the book is devoted to the first Hermes, with good if brief coverage of her wartime career. |
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| 2010 | McCART, Neil. The Illustrious and Implacable Classes of Aircraft Carrier: 1940–1969. 191p., illus. Cheltenham: Fan Publications, 2000. ISBN: 1901225046.
An excellent one-volume history of these hard-worked carriers. Each is covered from launch to disposal. |
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| 2011 | MACINTYRE, Donald. Aircraft Carrier: The Majestic Weapon (Purnell’s History of the Second World War, Weapons Book 3). 160p., bibliog., illus. London: Macdonald; New York: Ballantine, 1968. ISBN: 0345018435. A good general account of the origin and development of the carrier and its role in WWII. |
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| 2012 | MOORE, John. Escort Carrier. 48p., illus. London: Hutchinson, [1944].
A portrait of a "Woolworth" carrier. This is a composite picture of how a typical escort carrier is built, manned and operated. The carrier featured in the book is HMS Tracker. |
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| 2013 | MORGAN, Rex. Hermes Adventure. 288p., illus. Manly, N.S.W.: Runciman, 1985. ISBN: 0709034482.
A biography of the ship, mainly concerned with WWII, with extensive use of memories of survivors of the sinking off Ceylon by Japanese bombers. The last 50 pages describe a 1982 expedition to discover and dive on the wreck. |
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| 2014 | POOLMAN, Kenneth. Ark Royal. 202, [vi]p., illus. London: Kimber, 1956.
A popular biography of one of the most famous ships of WWII. |
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| 2015 | POOLMAN, Kenneth. The Catafighters and Merchant Aircraft Carriers. 128p., illus., index. London: Kimber, 1970. ISBN: 0718300521.
Examines the expedients adopted in an effort to provide at least some air cover for convoys in the Atlantic and Arctic through the use of MAC ships and CAM ships. |
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| 2016 | POOLMAN, Kenneth. Escort Carrier: HMS Vindex at War. xx, 216p., illus., index. London: Cooper, 1983. ISBN: 0436377055.
A detailed operational history, rich in anecdote, of one of the few British built escort carriers. Completed at the end of 1943 she served in the Atlantic and Arctic until VE Day then sailed east to join the Pacific Fleet Train as a replenishment carrier. |
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| 2017 | POOLMAN, Kenneth. Escort Carriers of World War Two (Warships Fotofax). 48p., illus. London: Arms & Armour, 1989. ISBN: 0853689520.
A brief photographic record. |
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| 2018 | POOLMAN, Kenneth. The Giant-Killers: A Documentary Story of the CAM Ships. 160p. London: Kimber, 1960.
The author uses the fiction of a composite hero and CAM ship to tell how the Merchant Ship Fighter Unit operated. Although largely a work of fiction, much accurate background is included and this was the first attempt to tell the story of the MSFU. Not to the standard of the author's later works. Reissued by White Lion in 1976 (ISBN: 0856171387). |
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| 2019 | POOLMAN, Kenneth. Illustrious. 246p., illus. London: Kimber, 1955.
A populist operational history. |
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| 2020 | REDGRAVE, Michael. In My Mind's Eye: An Autobiography. viii, 256p., illus., index. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson; New York: Viking, 1983. ISBN: 0297782789.
Includes 20 pages on his wartime career as an ordinary seaman in 1941–42, mainly spent on Illustrious during her American refit, before being invalided out. |
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| 2021 | ROBSON, John. Ruler's Reign: The Story of a Land Lease Escort Carrier and Her Squadron 1943-1946. 200p., illus. [n.p.], HMS Ruler & 885 Squadron Association, 2003. ISBN: 0954033205.
The story of the escort carrier and 885 squadron. |
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