HMS London: Warships of the Royal Navy

Iain Ballantyne

чэр 2002 · Casemate Publishers

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A fascinating and lively account of the lives of British warships named London, looking at history from the perspective of the men who were there.

There is no current warship in the Royal Navy called HMS London, but vessels carrying the name have featured in some of the most controversial episodes of British naval history.

For example, the wooden wall battleship HMS London of the late 18th century could be called “the ship that lost America” while the heavy cruiser of WW2 was command vessel for the escort force that failed to safeguard the controversial convoy PQ17.

Examining the stories of HMS Londons all the way from the English Civil War, through the Battle of Copenhagen in 1801—where Nelson famously ignored signals to break off the action displayed by HMS London—we also learn of the pre-dreadnought London’s participation in the ill-fated Dardanelles campaign of WW1.

Among the people Iain Ballantyne interviewed for this book were veterans of the Arctic convoys of WW2, the Yangtse Incident and warriors of the Cold War and 1991 Gulf War. It all adds up to a thoroughly researched and exciting narrative of naval history.

Adding to the authenticity of the tale, Iain even sailed to Russia in the last HMS London, a Type 22 guided-missile frigate, in August 1991. During a WW2 convoy re-enactment the ship was almost hit by a practice torpedo launched from a Soviet submarine and had to take evasive action.

Звесткі пра аўтара

Iain Ballantyne has been on both ends of a submarine attack. At the close of the Cold War he was aboard a warship forced to take evasive action in the Barents Sea when a Russian submarine launched a torpedo. He has also sailed under the waves aboard a nuclear-powered attack submarine, at one stage using the periscope to view potential targets during a combat exercise. A one-time London-based defence and diplomatic correspondent for a national news agency, Iain has contributed to coverage of naval and military issues in the SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY, MAXIM and FOCUS as well as prestigious publications published on behalf of NATO and the Royal Navy. http://www.iainballantyne.com/