Category: Aircraft Carriers

An excellent account of the story of an escort carrier which contains in-depth material on the building and conversion process in the United States and Canada.

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.

A brief photographic record.

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).

A populist operational history.

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.

The story of the escort carrier and 885 squadron.

A history of the renowned carrier is intertwined with the contemporary story of the search for and discovery of her wreck.

A brief hagiographic account of the career of one of the most famous ships to serve in the Royal Navy in WWII. Due to its date of publication, it is far from explicit about many events. For example, the Norwegian Campaign is described in three sentences.

In praise of the aircraft carrier, "the ship of tomorrow." It includes a brief and unoriginal retelling of her wartime exploits.

Based heavily on the reminiscences of survivors and Reports of Proceedings this is an operational history of her three years of war before being sunk in the Pedestal convoy. Not his best book.

A huge quantity of information came to light after the publication of the author's previous book, The Tragedy of HMS Dasher, begging the question of the fine line between proper wartime secrecy and official cover-up. A fascinating exploration of an emotive subject. Although it differs substantially this claims to be a second edition. A paperback revised edition entitled The Secrets of HMS Dasher was published in 2002 (ISBN: 1902831756). It claims that the body of Major Martin, "the man who never was" may have been a member of Dasher's crew. A paperback version of this, described as a fourth edition, was published in 2004. A fourth revised edition entitled The American Connection to the Sinking of HMS Dasher appeared in 2010. (ISBN: 0953263711), published by North Shore.

A mish-mash of eyewitness and survivor accounts plus official reports and some connecting text.

A young sailor's account of WWII as seen from the lower deck of Victorious during 1942–44.

A very personal account of the last year of the war, covering travel from the UK to Australia and service with the Fleet Train. At times reads like a travel guide as it describes the ports and countries visited.

Design drawings and photographs are used to give a technical description of the ship.

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.

Mainly concerned with the tragic end of the carrier. Attempts an objective and therefore painful review of all the evidence.

A brief memoir with some information on other ships of the class.

HOOD, Jean. Carrier: A Century of First-Hand Accounts of Naval Operations in War and Peace. 448p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Conway, 2010. ISBN: 9781844861118.

A wide-ranging and enjoyable set of tales from a vast range of sources.

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.  

HOBBS, David. British Aircraft Carriers: Design, Development and Service Histories.384p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2013. ISBN: 1848321384.

A detailed history with substantial service records from the earliest aircraft carrying ships to the present

OMMANNEY, Francis D. Flat-Top: The Story of an Escort Carrier. 63p., illus. London: Longmans Green, 1945.

A propaganda account of life aboard a “Woolworth” carrier on an Arctic convoy. The author was the Meteorological Officer when she sailed north.

HOOD, Jean. Carrier: A Century of First-Hand Accounts of Naval Operations in War and Peace. 448p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Conway, 2010. ISBN: 9781844861118.

A wide-ranging and enjoyable set of tales culled from a vast range of sources.

FRIEDMAN, Norman. U.S. Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated Design History. xii, 427p., illus., index. London: Arms & Armour; Annapolis: NIP, 1983. ISBN: 0853685762 (UK); 0870217399 (US).

Includes information on the Lend-Lease CVEs which played a major role in the Battle of the Atlantic.

MacKAY, Charles E. Beardmore Built HMS Argus 1914 to 1947: The World's First Flat-Top Aircraft Carrier. 175p., bibliog., illus. Glasgow: A. MacKay, 2017. ISBN: 9780957344358.

The history of the carrier, ex Conte Rosso, built as an Italian liner, and of the development of the Fleet Air Arm from 1914. Includes Russian operations, the Chanak Crisis, Shanghai Intervention, Aircraft Deck Landing Training at Toulon and the Clyde, Operations Benedict and Torch and the invasion of Europe and it details the resupply of aircraft to Malta in Club Runs. This is an in-depth study covering the complete history of her evolution to her scrapping at Inverkeithing. Has over 300 rare photographs.

BARRETT, Paul. H.M.S. Glory: The History of a Light Fleet Aircraft Carrier 1942-1961 (Into Battle). x, 214p., bibliog., illus., index. Tunbridge Wells: Parapress, 1996. ISBN: 1898594368.

A detailed history of this hard-working light fleet carrier during her comparatively short but very active lifetime - from February 1945 until June 1956 when she finally decommissioned.

PARKER, Charles Joseph. Red Duster to White Ensign: My Life at Sea in Peace and War. xiv, 112p., illus. Spiderwize: Peterborough, 2018. ISBN: 9781912694747.

Written in the 1970’s and as edited by his son in the 1990’s, this is his autobiography. He joined the Merchant Navy in 1921, aged fifteen. In 1940 he transferred to the RN where he served as a Steward. He was first on the minelayer Port Napier until her grounding and sinking that November. In March 1941 he joined the AMC Laconia, but when she was returned to the Merchant Navy as a troopship in September 1941, he joined the A/A ship Alynbank until the end of 1943, first on Arctic convoys and then in the Mediterranean. In May 1944 he joined the carrier Speaker briefly for six months then finally joined the LSI Keren where he served until discharged in 1946.

HILLIER-GRAVES, Tim. Heaven High, Ocean Deep: Naval Fighter Wing at War. xii, 212p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Casemate, 2019. ISBN: 9781612007557.

From April 1944 to August 1945 the 5th Fighter Wing based on Indomitable fought many long, intensive battles in the Pacific. Based on personal memories, logbooks and a wide range of sources, this is a good account of and by those who fought.

HOBBS, David. Aircraft Carrier Victorious: Detailed in the Original Builders’ Plans. 160p., bibliog., illus. Barnsley: Seaforth, 2018. ISBN: 9781526737342.

Using the original plans as the centrepiece of this book, an acknowledged expert gives a full description of the design and construction and service of the famous aircraft carrier as well as her post-war reconstruction and service. Profusely illustrated.

HEALISS, Ronald. Arctic Rescue: A Memoir of the Tragic Sinking of HMS Glorious. 147p. Leeds: Sapere, 2020. ISBN: 9781800550070.

A reprint of the 1955 work Adventure Glorious in which one of the survivors, a marine, tells the story of the carrier Glorious’ part in the Norwegian Campaign, of her sinking, and his survival. The reprint adds a two page biography of the author.

An alphabetical list where brief details are followed by extensive service summaries.

A rare pamphlet published for the ship and recording her war from 1943 to 1945 in diary form. She served mainly as a transport and training carrier.

A history of each of the four vessels bearing this famous name, which gives a straightforward account of the third of name.

Victorious began life in 1941 hunting the Bismarck and from then served in every theatre, including operating with the Americans in the Pacific and surviving three hits by kamikazes. The story is continued until her eventual scrapping postwar.

An enjoyable memoir of the ship by a member of her lower deck crew from 1941-45. A second edition was published in 1998.

A well-researched, well-illustrated, general history with a great deal on WWII. A second edition was published in 1984.

A heavily illustrated book which concentrates on the fleet carriers, in chronological order, with details of their operational careers.

A cheaply produced but fact packed chronology.

Largely an operational history.

An operational history.

The author served on the lower deck of Formidable in the Supply Branch. Largely a rather dry wartime diary, the contrast with the Wardroom view is marked.

A record of the club set up to entertain members of the RN serving in Portland while their escort carriers were being built by the Willamette Iron & Steel Corporation and the Commercial Iron Works.

A detailed and comprehensive account of all aspects of naval aviation from its beginnings to date.

The author's father was lost in Courageous. The book tells the story of the events surrounding her sinking and the trials of the bereaved family. An amateurish account.

The official story of her career, for popular consumption.

An autobiography which enjoyably recounts working up and service in the Atlantic and Pacific.

An account of the second commission of the carrier from May 1944 until the end of 1945. She served first with the Home Fleet and then moved to the Pacific where she operated until the end of the war.

Part of the excellent series of photo books.

An alphabetical set of individual ship histories.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A good description of the years when flight was in its infancy.

The story of the ship's design, construction and refits.

A profusely illustrated operational history, with a good account of her short wartime career.

One quarter of the book is devoted to the first Hermes, with good if brief coverage of her wartime career.

An excellent one-volume history of these hard-worked carriers. Each is covered from launch to disposal.

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.

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.

A popular biography of one of the most famous ships of WWII.