British Battlecruisers 1939-45

by KONSTAM, ANGUSBRYAN, TONY

• ISBN13: 9781841766331
• ISBN10: 184176633X
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2003-10-22
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing

Summary

When war broke out in 1939, only three true battlecruisers remained in the Royal Navy including HMS 'Hood', the world's largest and fastest capital ship for much of her life, which would be destroyed in action against the German battleship 'Bismarck'. Out of the remaining two battlecruisers ('Repulse' and 'Renown') one was sunk by Japanese aircraft off Singapore, whilst the other served with distinction until the end of the war. This book traces the pre-war development of these spectacular warships, then describes their wartime exploits, using this to demonstrate their operational and mechanical performance. It examines what life was like on these wartime battlecruisers when they sailed into action.

Author Biography

Angus Konstam hails from the Orkney Islands and is the author of over 20 books, many of which are published by Osprey. Formerly the Curator of Weapons in the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London, he also served as the Chief Curator of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida. His maritime titles for Osprey include New Vanguard 74: British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939–45 and an ongoing series of titles on the vessels of the American Civil War. Angus lives in London, where he combines a freelance museum consultancy business with a career as a historian and writer.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 3
Development	p. 4
The concept of the battlecruiser
Renown and Repulse
Courageous and Furious classes
Hood
Construction	p. 15
Armament
Service Modifications	p. 20
Furious, Glorious and Courageous
Repulse and Renown
Hood
Service History	p. 34
Repulse
Renown
Hood
Battlecruisers in Action	p. 39
Renown and Gneisenau, 9 April 1940
Hood and Bismarck, 24 May 1941
Repulse and Prince of Wales, 10 December 1941
Bibliography	p. 43
Colour Plate Commentary	p. 44
Index	p. 48
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.