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Finished Hunter-Killer: U.S. Escort Carriers in the Battle of the Atlantic by William T. Y'Blood. Very good book about the USN's CVE operations in the Atlantic. Every submarine sinking of the Hunter-Killer Groups is described and you get a good idea of the whole thing. Complete with diagrams and appendices.

Got me two more books about Royal Navy ships, both by Iain Ballantyne. One is HMS Rodney: Slayer of the Bismarck and D-Day Saviour
and the other is.... Warspite.

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

Finished Hunter-Killer: U.S. Escort Carriers in the Battle of the Atlantic by William T. Y'Blood. Very good book about the USN's CVE operations in the Atlantic. Every submarine sinking of the Hunter-Killer Groups is described and you get a good idea of the whole thing. Complete with diagrams and appendices.

Got me two more books about Royal Navy ships, both by Iain Ballantyne. One is HMS Rodney: Slayer of the Bismarck and D-Day Saviour
and the other is.... Warspite.

warspite1

Now your talking - HMS Warspite - its a rip roaring roller-coaster of a book in 500 chapters - with hot gypsies thrown in!

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

This book is a excellent reference to Royal Navy and Commonwealth Navies' Camouflage schemes of WWII, 740 colour
illustrations of ships from destroyer downwards (announced for August 2015 is the volume of capital ships down to
cruiser). You can learn a lot of new things - f.e. HMAS Hobart, when arriving in Fremantle from the Med, was painted - pink...

Impressive how many different colours were in use... Unfortunately for WitP-AE, most illustrations show the starboard
side only (if you own that game, you know what I mean). Got a sample picture of one page, am not sure if it's okay to
post it here, you know, Copyrights and stuff...

warspite1

That's a shame for some colour schemes as they were different on each side. I am still - 2-years on - trying to make an HMS Warspite 1942 model. I did not realise the two sides were different. What a waste of time and paint....[8|]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

This book is a excellent reference to Royal Navy and Commonwealth Navies' Camouflage schemes of WWII, 740 colour
illustrations of ships from destroyer downwards (announced for August 2015 is the volume of capital ships down to
cruiser). You can learn a lot of new things - f.e. HMAS Hobart, when arriving in Fremantle from the Med, was painted - pink...

Impressive how many different colours were in use... Unfortunately for WitP-AE, most illustrations show the starboard
side only (if you own that game, you know what I mean). Got a sample picture of one page, am not sure if it's okay to
post it here, you know, Copyrights and stuff...

warspite1

That's a shame for some colour schemes as they were different on each side. I am still - 2-years on - trying to make an HMS Warspite 1942 model. I did not realise the two sides were different. What a waste of time and paint....[8|]

Would it be possible for a project model update with a picture?

ORIGINAL: Orm

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

This book is a excellent reference to Royal Navy and Commonwealth Navies' Camouflage schemes of WWII, 740 colour
illustrations of ships from destroyer downwards (announced for August 2015 is the volume of capital ships down to
cruiser). You can learn a lot of new things - f.e. HMAS Hobart, when arriving in Fremantle from the Med, was painted - pink...

Impressive how many different colours were in use... Unfortunately for WitP-AE, most illustrations show the starboard
side only (if you own that game, you know what I mean). Got a sample picture of one page, am not sure if it's okay to
post it here, you know, Copyrights and stuff...

warspite1

That's a shame for some colour schemes as they were different on each side. I am still - 2-years on - trying to make an HMS Warspite 1942 model. I did not realise the two sides were different. What a waste of time and paint....[8|]

Would it be possible for a project model update with a picture?

warspite1

No - on the basis it has not moved (apart from the addition of light AA guns) for 2-years.....

Now I am currently sans job I hope to get her finished and will be glad to post a picture when I get some more superstructure done.

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Hotschi

This book is a excellent reference to Royal Navy and Commonwealth Navies' Camouflage schemes of WWII, 740 colour
illustrations of ships from destroyer downwards (announced for August 2015 is the volume of capital ships down to
cruiser). You can learn a lot of new things - f.e. HMAS Hobart, when arriving in Fremantle from the Med, was painted - pink...

Impressive how many different colours were in use... Unfortunately for WitP-AE, most illustrations show the starboard
side only (if you own that game, you know what I mean). Got a sample picture of one page, am not sure if it's okay to
post it here, you know, Copyrights and stuff...

warspite1

That's a shame for some colour schemes as they were different on each side. I am still - 2-years on - trying to make an HMS Warspite 1942 model. I did not realise the two sides were different. What a waste of time and paint....[8|]

Forgot to add, the book also has a page showing all colours which were in use in the RN during WW II. I think it is too soon to say you've wasted time and paint. First, not all schemes were different on each side, but for sure the"pattern" schemes were. Wait for the release of Wright's 2nd volume about large warships. If there is no portside of the Warspite, here's a method to work out the colours;

.) Get a photograph of both sides of the ship, 99% of the time this will be a b/w picture.
.) Now, scan the RN colour reference page in this book on to your computer, and convert it to a greyscale picture.
.) Compare both sides' photos of the Warspite with the greyscale scan, this way you can - in theory - suss out which b/w-shade refers to each colour.

I have to try this method myself one day...

Thanks but it wasn't that the instructions didn't tell me what the two sides looked like - it was that I was too dumb to check before rushing in!!

I had to completely re-do.

"The Final Offensive": The Official History of the United States Army in Europe in the Second World War.

Details the final (post-Ardennes) offensives that stuffed Nordwind, encircled the Ruhr and Saar and resulted in the greatest unsung military victory by the United States Army in its history.

Most people know bits and pieces (the bridge at Remagen, Montgomery's superfluous assault across the Rhine, etc.), but don't understand the balance of facts that made the US Army the most potent fighting force seen in the history of mankind at this time. A very different specimen from the army just a few months prior. Quite the transformation.

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Thanks but it wasn't that the instructions didn't tell me what the two sides looked like - it was that I was too dumb to check before rushing in!!

I had to completely re-do.

Very nice.

I'm reading 'THE DEFENCE OF THE DARDANELLES: From Bombards to Battleships'.
A somewhat different perspective on these events is in 'Churchill and Sea Power'.

Thank-you Zorch ol' son. Just got to try and finish the damn thing.

I read Churchill and Sea Power when it came out a couple of years or so ago. In what way is there a different perspective in Bombards to Battleships?

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Thank-you Zorch ol' son. Just got to try and finish the damn thing.

I read Churchill and Sea Power when it came out a couple of years or so ago. In what way is there a different perspective in Bombards to Battleships?

A historical perspective of the fortifications from Byzantine days to WWI and ship vs. fort actions there.
Did you know a British fleet sailed up the Dardenelles in 1807? They had to fight their way back down the strait, having failed to persuade the Sultan to join the war against France.

According to the book, the RN expected to lose 12 battleships in forcing the strait in 1915. This may have been acceptable if Turkey could have forced out of the war; but the planners felt that a fleet alone, having passed the narrows to reach Constantinople, could not force surrender. Churchill apparently didn't agree. The British also underestimated the amount of ammo required to destroy each fort.

There seems to be a consensus that the straits could have forced by a fleet in 1914 because the defenses were much weaker. Whether Turkey would have surrendered is an open question. The Allies early efforts against the forts gave them misguided optimism and spurred the defenders efforts.

Finally finished Volume 1 of Clay Blair's Hitler U-Boat War.

700 pages + more stats than you can shake a stick at. There were a few niggles - like when he got off his subject (to recap where the war was at various points) he was guilty of hyperbole in some cases, and also he seemed to have a bit of a hang up about the British and a love affair with Admiral King.

However, these are minor niggles; the work gone into this book is staggering and the result is hugely interesting book and really easy to read piece of work.

I would thoroughly recommend this book - and am angry with myself that I have not read it sooner. Having finished it I have dived straight into volume II. [:)]

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Finally finished Volume 1 of Clay Blair's Hitler U-Boat War.

700 pages + more stats than you can shake a stick at. There were a few niggles - like when he got off his subject (to recap where the war was at various points) he was guilty of hyperbole in some cases, and also he seemed to have a bit of a hang up about the British and a love affair with Admiral King.

However, these are minor niggles; the work gone into this book is staggering and the result is hugely interesting book and really easy to read piece of work.

I would thoroughly recommend this book - and am angry with myself that I have not read it sooner. Having finished it I have dived straight into volume II. [:)]

If you didn't already know, a good site is http://www.uboat.net/

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Finally finished Volume 1 of Clay Blair's Hitler U-Boat War.

700 pages + more stats than you can shake a stick at. There were a few niggles - like when he got off his subject (to recap where the war was at various points) he was guilty of hyperbole in some cases, and also he seemed to have a bit of a hang up about the British and a love affair with Admiral King.

However, these are minor niggles; the work gone into this book is staggering and the result is hugely interesting book and really easy to read piece of work.

I would thoroughly recommend this book - and am angry with myself that I have not read it sooner. Having finished it I have dived straight into volume II. [:)]

If you didn't already know, a good site is http://www.uboat.net/

warspite1

Yes thank-you I was aware of it. Once I have finished the second volume I intend to have a look at this site to compare the stats for each boat and commander. What Blair makes clear is that there was almost always a difference between claimed sinkings and (especially) claimed tonnage sunk. I would like to see to what extent sites like uboat.net take subsequently revised figures as opposed to those claimed at the time.

Killing the Bismarck

ORIGINAL: warspite1

ORIGINAL: Zorch

ORIGINAL: warspite1

Finally finished Volume 1 of Clay Blair's Hitler U-Boat War.

700 pages + more stats than you can shake a stick at. There were a few niggles - like when he got off his subject (to recap where the war was at various points) he was guilty of hyperbole in some cases, and also he seemed to have a bit of a hang up about the British and a love affair with Admiral King.

However, these are minor niggles; the work gone into this book is staggering and the result is hugely interesting book and really easy to read piece of work.

I would thoroughly recommend this book - and am angry with myself that I have not read it sooner. Having finished it I have dived straight into volume II. [:)]

If you didn't already know, a good site is http://www.uboat.net/

warspite1

Yes thank-you I was aware of it. Once I have finished the second volume I intend to have a look at this site to compare the stats for each boat and commander. What Blair makes clear is that there was almost always a difference between claimed sinkings and (especially) claimed tonnage sunk. I would like to see to what extent sites like uboat.net take subsequently revised figures as opposed to those claimed at the time.

In general it is kept up to date...don't know of any specifics.

"DECEMBER 8, 1941" Mac Arthur's Pearl Harbor by William H. Bartsch.

Here I am again with my "FANTASY" books. I read to escape, I deal with politics, history, geography and the likes on a daily basis so when I read, I try and distance myself from "real things" and escape in a world of magic, dragons, elves, trolls, Ogres and of course Kings/Queens and fictitious land geo-politics. Now that I am waiting for part 3 of "The emperors Blades" (which is phenomenal) and of course dully waiting for part 3 of Justin Cronin's "The Passage" (which is absolutely stunning. I have ventured in another trilogy called "Mages Blood".

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Now I am completely stunned on how Epic this is, wow just wow!! For those in here who are Fantasy readers like me (and I know there are many in here). Give this a try. You will not regret it.

http://davidhairauthor.com/Books/The-Mo ... ages-Blood

Now back to playing some FFXIV on my PS4 and eagerly awaiting the expansion in June, then off to bed to read some more.......

Cheers and happy reading!

Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the American Navy

Operation Barbarossa and Germany's Defeat in the East, David Stahel.