Entries

MACDONALD, Rod. Force Z Shipwrecks of the South China Sea: HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse. xx, 156p., bibliog., illus. Dunbeath: Whittles, 2013. ISBN: 9781849950954.

Competent condensed descriptions of the ships and the fall of Singapore followed by a section on the state of the wrecks.

• The Loss of Force Z
• Shipwrecks & Sinkings

MACLEOD, M. K. The Prince Ships 1940-1945 (CFHQ Reports, No. 5). 200, [36] p., Ottawa: Combined Forces Headquarters, 1965.

A detailed official account of their RCN roles, including an evaluation of their effectiveness. Available online at http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/rep-rap/doc/cfhq/cfhq005.pdf .

• Royal Canadian Navy: Ships
• Canadian Merchant Marine

MACLEOD, Malcolm. HMCS Preserver (Fairmile Depot Ship 1942-1945). (CFHQ Reports, No. 10). 48, [4]p. Ottawa: Combined Forces Headquarters, 1966.

The first Preserver was employed as a depot ship supporting the Fairmile motor launch flotillas operating off Canada's East Coast during the Battle of the Atlantic. As a depot ship she provided services required to maintain, supply and refuel the motor launches assigned to patrol coastal waters and escort local convoys. The CO of Preserver controlled the operations of such flotillas, operating out of the bays and inlets of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Available online at http://www.cmp-cpm.forces.gc.ca/dhh-dhp/his/rep-rap/doc/cfhq/cfhq010.pdf .

• The Atlantic Battle Won
• Royal Canadian Navy: Ships

MALCOLM, Ian M. Shipping Company Losses of the Second World War. 272p., bibliog., illus., index. Stroud: History Press, 2013. ISBN: 9780752493428.

An excellent reference work covering the British Merchant Navy. Gives shipping losses from all causes arranged by shipping company and then alphabetically by ship name. Has a paragraph on cause of loss and fate of the crew.

• Reference Works
• Merchant Shipping Company Histories
• Shipwrecks & Sinkings

MASON, Alfred Grossmith. Arctic Warriors: A Personal Account of Convoy PQ18. 224p., illus. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2013. ISBN: 9781783030378.

The author was Navigation and Gunnery Officer on the ss Empire Baffin. This account is based on his contemporary diary.

• Convoy PQ18
• The Merchant Navy

MATTIN, W. G. A Sailor’s War. 224p., Ilfracombe: Stockwell, 2012. ISBN: 9780722342015.

He volunteered in 1940 and after training as an asdic operator joined London in the Mediterranean. He moved to Atlantic escorts and finally back to a cruiser in the Pacific. A rather slight tale.

• Royal Navy Autobiographies & Biographies

MILLAR, Andy. Lost At Sea: Found at Fukushima. viii, 251p., bibliog., illus. Newport, NSW: Big Sky, 2012. ISBN: 9781921941528.

The story of survivors of sinkings of merchantmen by the raider Thor and of their subsequent imprisonment in Japanese camps. Reprinted in 2017 by Pen & Sword Military (ISBN: 9781473878068).

• The Pacific Raiders
• Prisoners of War
• Shipwrecks & Sinkings

MILLER, David. Langsdorff and the Battle of the River Plate. 224p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2013. ISBN: 1848844905.

Focuses on the German experience, including a long section on commerce raiding in WW1.

• The Hunt for the <em>Graf Spee</em>

MORTIMER, Gavin. The SBS in World War II: An Illustrated History. 256p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2013. ISBN: 9781782001898.

A well illustrated introduction to their activities

• The Royal Navy
• Special Service Units

OLDFIELD, Paul. Cockleshell Raid. 240p., illus. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Military, 2012. ISBN: 1781592551.

Looks at the whole sequence of events from the planning of the raid to its aftermath, including the escape of Haslar and Sparks across occupied France.

• Operation FRANKTON (The Cockleshell Heroes)

OWEN, James. Commando: Winning World War II Behind Enemy Lines. xxxiii, 413p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Little Brown, 2012. ISBN: 9781408703021.

A history based on a mix of official documents and veterans reminiscences. Uses nineteen operations as a framework.

• The Commandos

PEARCE, M. J. Between Hostile Shores: Mediterranean Convoy Battles 1941-1942 (Britannia Naval Histories of World War II). 360p., bibliog., illus., index. Plymouth: University of Plymouth, 2013. ISBN: 1841023531.

Contains two Naval Staff History Battle Summaries, Nos. 18 and 32. These describe the major Mediterranean and Malta convoy operations, along with extracts from an unusual official document containing technical descriptions and plans of battle damage suffered by four Royal Navy warships escorting Mediterranean convoys - Nelson, Queen Elizabeth, Liverpool and Indomitable. Extracts from orders and despatches also give contemporary accounts of planning and the views of senior officers in command.

• The Battle for the Mediterranean
• Malta
• Royal Navy Battle Summaries

PEARCE, M. J. & PORTER, R. Fight for the Fjords: The Battle for Norway 1940 (Britannia Naval Histories of World War II). 378p., illus. Plymouth: University of Plymouth, 2012. ISBN: 9781841023052.

A reprint of Battle Summary No. 17 along with a German report prepared for the RN in 1948 with a good introduction by the editors.

• The Norwegian Campaign
• Royal Navy Battle Summaries

PEARSE, Anthony. From Stormy Seas to Calmer Waters: Sailor At Sea, Salesman Ashore. 68p., illus. Studley: Brewin, 2008. ISBN: 1858584272.

Brief memoir by a seaman officer who after Pangbourne served in Warspite as a midshipman which he joined on the west coast of Canada before she proceeded via Australia to join the Eastern Fleet.  He was with her at Salerno when she was struck by a German glider bomb.  After a navigation course at Dryad he served in Bermuda and West Africa before being sent home for his sub's courses.  As a Lieutenant he joined the Battle Class destroyer Gravelines, building at Cammell Laird's in Greenock.

• The Eastern Fleet Holds the Line
• Operation AVALANCHE: The Salerno Landing
• Royal Navy Autobiographies &amp; Biographies
• Battleships

PIKE, John G. Bamboo Years. 208p., illus. Grantham: Barny Books, 2009. ISBN: 1906542139.

He was a young midshipman who joined  Prince of Wales in May 1941. He served with her through the sinking of Hood to her own sinking in the Far East. He briefly joined Exeter until her sinking and was a POW for the rest of the war. A good tale simply but well told.

• The Hunt for the <em>Bismarck</em>
• The Loss of Force Z
• Royal Navy Autobiographies &amp; Biographies
• Prisoners of War

PIKE, Richard. Alfie’s War: A Fleet Air Arm Officer’s Exciting Exploits of HMS Illustrious in Greece and Crete. 189p., illus., index. London: Grub Street, 2012. ISBN: 1908117419.

In effect a second biographical volume giving an account of his experiences in the Eastern Mediterranean.

• Biography
• The Fall of Greece
• The Fall of Crete
• Fleet Air Arm

PREISLER, Jerome & SEWELL, Kenneth. Code Name Caesar: The Secret Hunt for U-Boat 864 During World War II. 304p., bibliog., illus. London: Souvenir Press, 2013: New York: Berkley, 2012. ISBN: 9780285642027.

Describes the undersea battle between U 864 and HMS Venturer off the Norwegian coast in February 1945, shortly after the Enigma code was uncovered, resulting in the only sinking of one submarine by another in underwater combat.

• Northern Europe to VE Day
• Submarines
• Kriegsmarine: U-Boats

REDFORD, Duncan. A History of the Royal Navy: World War II. 256p., bibliog., illus., index. London: I. B. Tauris, 2014. ISBN: 1780765460.

A well received general history.

• The War at Sea
• Royal Navy: General Works

READY, J. Lee. The Massacre of ABDACOM: The Destruction of the United States, British, Dutch and Australian Forces by the Japanese In World War II. 436p. Seattle: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2013. ISBN: 1492243787.

A substantial account of the sweeping Japanese victory which tries to name and shame those who failed on the Allied side.

• The ABDA Command Area

RIXON, Frank.  Malta GC Remembered: Servicemen and Civilians Recall the Siege of Malta in World War II. 184p. Bognor Regis: Woodfield, 2005. ISBN: 1903953944.

A collection of stories, hitherto unpublished in book form, reveals a wide range of experiences of soldiers, sailors, airmen and civilians on and around the island during World War Two.

• Malta