The inspiring tale of the heroic defence put up by the "Rats of Tobruk" to keep open this vital sea port as an entry point for supplies.
full history illustrated with over 150 photos by Damien Parer and Frank Hurley from Australian War memorial archives.
to see more and place an order, go to "Ships Restoration and History"
Cruiser by Mike Carlton. HMAS Perth
Highly recommended.
HMAS Perth saw more action than most other RAN ships of WWII. Built in Britain as one of the modified Leander class and later purchased by the RAN, she had heavy armament but no radar and primitive Asdic.
Every detail of the ship is described in full, from her building, her voyages in the Atlantic and the Med., and then transfer to the Far East and eventual loss by Japanese attack in the Battle of Sunda Strait. Many crew survived only to be brutally murdered in Japanese captivity. Full attention is paid to the lives of the men who crewed her, almost every man from stoker to commander, the stories make good reading.
Well written in a flowing journalistic style. A story once begun, hard to leave aside.
706 pp. text references, bibliography and comprehensive index.
approx 40 photos mostly B&W
Good condition. Some shelf rubbing and small tears in jacket corners.
$25.00
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- 1.5 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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An Awkward Truth by Peter Grose
see image for precis
An event which shocked Australia: a vivid account thoroughly researched.
It is a rewarding read.
250 pp. 20 photos B&W in centre section.
Soft cover good tight condition
$19.00
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- 0.3 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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Armada by Bryce Walker and Time Life book editors
174 pp. over 100 images; paintings, drawings, diagrams, maps. Very Fine condition
The whole horrific tale of the stunning defeat of Spain's finest ships and men. By the Hand of God, some say, referring to the storm which drove them north around Scotland in fearful weather.
" It covers Queen Elizabeth's reign over a turbulent British nation, while the Duke of Parma planned the invasion of England from the Netherlands. The crucial period from February 1587 to December 1588 is presented in a series of detailed, dramatic scenes. The second part of the book is devoted to the naval battle from the first sight of the Armada off the Scilly Isles to the return of its broken remnants to the ports of Spain". (from Biblio website)
An unforgettable read.
There is so much detail that the book can be read and read, even though the ending remains the same.
$25.00
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- 1.2 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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FRENCH BATTLESHIPS 1922 - 1956 by John Jordan and Robert Dumas
232 pp. over 300 photos and drawings. Large format
Very Fine condition
$25.00
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- 1.35 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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King George V Class Battleships by V E Tarrant
286 pp. over 100 photos and maps. Index, sources and history of the name.
Very Fine condition
$25.00
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- 0.75 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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Iowas Class Battleships Their Design, Weapons and Equipment by Robert F Sumrall
192 pp. over 200 photos and drawings. Many tables of statistics. Glossary Appendices. Large format
Very Fine condition
$25.00
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- 1.35 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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Naval Guns 500 Years of Ship and Coastal Artillery by Hans Mehl
215 pp. over 400 photos, colour and B&W ,drawings and diagrams. Each type lavishly illustrated and described in detail
Very Fine condition. Large format
A valuable reference book
$25.00
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- 1.35 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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The Battleship Bismarck by Jack Brower
The Anatomy of the Ship
160 pp. Very elegantly printed and bound volume. Large fold-out 1/500 scale plan view. see image above for features.
A very technical study with many hundred plans. sections and diagrams of every element of the ship's structure.
Some photos, chronology of the vessel's sad career.
As new condition
$20.00
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- 0.92 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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The Battlecruiser Hood by John Roberts
The Anatomy of the Ship
126 pp. Very elegantly printed and bound volume. Large fold-out 1/500 scale plan view. see image above for features.
A very technical study with many hundred plans. sections and diagrams of every element of the ship's structure.
Some photos, chronology of the vessel's magnificent career and sad end.
As new condition
$20.00
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- 0.75 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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The Battlecruiser HMS Hood by Bruce Taylor
An illustrated biography 1916 - 1941
256 pp. over 200 photos all B&W, some fine colour drawings
Very Fine Condition
$25.00
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- 1.4 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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The World's Great Battleships by Robert Jackson
160 pp. over 100 photos paintings and drawings.
A pictorial overview of large warships from Medieval to the present. (2000).
An excellent general sudy with many action photos
Very Fine condition.
$10.00
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- 0.9 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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The Dreadnoughts by David Howarth pub. 1979 Time-Life Books
Detailed study of the Royal Navy's Dreadnoughts built in the 1890s to affirm Britain's command of the sea.
They proved heavily armed but excessively slow with reciprocating engines. That is, until Charles Parsons' "Turbinia" attended the Spithead Review of 1897 and shamed the Admiralty into quickly adopting the steam turbine.
Later warships built as the threat posed by Kaiser Wilhelm loomed, were faster and more effective.
Then came the Battle of Jutland of 1914, described in minute detail in this book, lavishly illustrated with photos and maps, drawing and paintings. Thereafter the German High Seas Fleet was confined to base.
The text is very scholarly . A significant book, impressively bound and gold-embossed.
size Quarto 172 pp. over 100 photos, maps and paintings
Very Good condition ex-library copy
$35.00
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- 1.01 kg
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Battleship Bismarck by Burkhard, Baron von Mullenheim-Rechberg translated by Jack Sweetman
see image for precis
462 pp. approx 20 photos and maps
soft cover Very Fine Condition
$20.00
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- 0.7 kg
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Ships on the Australia Station by John Bastock
see image for precis
The Royal Navy maintained a fleet in Australia, mainly in Sydney based at Garden Island until the creation of the RAN on 10th July 1911.
The book is a superlative pictorial study of the many, many vessels assigned to the Station from its establishment as a separate command in 1859. However ships from Endeavour and Sirius onward are covered in full using very fine pen and ink drawings .
The quality of the book is shown by the inclusion of photos from as far back as 1875.
$30.00
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- 1 kg
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Australian and New Zealand Warships, 1914 - 1945 by Ross Gillett
An impressive compilation of the detail of the vessels themselves, their building their war experiences and a photo of each type of ship and each ship where possible. Everything is here from battleships to tenders, tugs to dinghies.
An absorbing read to dip into many times.
345 pp. over 300 photos all B&W
Very good condition apart from some 'stickiness' on some pages due to their glossiness.
$10.00
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- 1.6 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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Black Night off Finisterre: The tragic tale of an early British Ironclad by Arthur Hawkey
see image for precis.
Finisterre is literally "the end of the earth", in this context the western extremity of a peninsula in southern Spain.
The book is a brilliantly told tale, graphic in its detail. A great read, by an experienced journalist.
192 pp. hard cover 20 photos, drawings and maps
Fine condition, some scuffing of dust cover corners.
$10.00
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- 0.6 kg
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Warrior: Restoring the World's First Ironclad by Andrew Lambert
see image for precis
A very stimulating read. Restored, she now resides at Portsmouth beside Victory and Mary Rose
190 pp. over 100 photos, fine drawings by original Marine Architect. Appendices, including specifications
Index
Very Fine condition in plastic wrapper
$20.00
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- 0.6 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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Britains Merchant Navy ed. Archibald Hurd
Mainly but not entirely about the bravery of the men and the fate of so many fine ships of the merchant marine during WWII.
Many photos and illustrations plus 40 superb sectioned explanatory drawings.
A fascinating piece of history yet not dated: the times described seem like only yesterday.
256 pp. index. Good condition cloth bound
$15.00
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- 0.6 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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The Man of War by MacIntyre and Bathe
272 pp. over 300 illustrations paintings photos drawings plans some in colour
Very good condition except for tear in dustcover spine
Covers warships from the Viking ships to nuclear subs
$10.00
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- 2 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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Jane's Fighting Ships of World War I
Describes all the warships of the time whether British American German Japanese French Italian Russian Danish Dutch Spanish. In stunning detail as to builder, propulsion, armament, personnel, uniforms. Amazing depth of research.
320 pp. '000s of photos
Fine condition some curling of dust cover edges.
$25.00
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- 2.2 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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Jane's American Fighting Ships of the Twentieth Century
320 pp. over 1000 illustrations all B&W.
A very detailed encyclopedia of USN fleet.
Includes US Coastguard
Fine condition. with some slight tearing of dust cover corner rear
$25.00
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- 2.25 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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Cruisers Australian Seapower magazine profile no. 4. free shipping
A pictorial study of this class of Australian Navy vessels,
80 pp. over 100 illustrations B&W . Fleet lists Aust and NZ
Soft cover Good condition
$7.00
including tax
- Fewer than three in stock
Shattered Sword. The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway by J Parshall and A Tully
612 pp. Many diagrams, maps and some photos. see second image for reviews
A weighty tome, giving telling almost every shot fired in this monumental battle in which Admiral Yamamoto stood to lose so much. A finely told narrative, to make for a fascinating if lengthy read. Much new detail emerges, as seen from the Japanese perspective. A very rewarding read.
Very Fine condition, as new.
$30.00
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- 1.55 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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The Battle of Surigao Strait by Anthony P Tully
322 pp. some photos. See image for precis
detailed appendices (4), long index, notes on the text
A work of serious history, not a coffee table book, written with great insight into the significance of the event and in a satisfying chronological form.
Very Fine condition
$10.00
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- 0.72 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
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The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal by Robert F Ballard with Rick Archbold
Robert Ballard is famous for developing a deep water submarine to discover and explore the wreck of the Titanic.
In this book he uses the sub. to locate and study the wrecks of battleships sunk during the fierce WWII battle against the Imperial Japanese navy for the crucial island of Guadalcanal off the Philippines. Accompanying the search are surviving sailors from some of the sunken ships. Included is HMAS Canberra.
The story of the sea and land battle, and its historical significance, is given in detail.
Hardback 228 pages 100s of photos colour and historic B&W
Fine condition with a dent and small tear in the top RHS of dust cover
$29.00
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- 1.01 kg
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Battles of the Nineteenth Century
Military Land Battles.
A collection of all 3 volumes of this very unusual series. Each book approx 750 pages in length
Each includes approx 100 illustrations mostly etchings and drawings all B&W, with full page frontispiece A military historian's delight.
Hard cover beautifully patterned and gold=embossed. All are in Fair to Good condition with some scuffing and occasional loosening of binding. No damage. Weighty tomes each about 1.5 kg.
Offered as a full set at this special price
$30.00
incl. VAT, shipping costs apply
- 4.5 kg
- Fewer than three in stock
- Ships within 7 days1
