The author of The Yompers details the history of Great Britain’s innovation in combatting the German Zeppelin during World War I. Our vision of aviation in the First World War is dominated by images of gallant fighter pilots dueling with each other high over the Western Front. But it was the threat of the Zeppelin thatspurred the British government into creating the Royal Flying Corps, and it was this menace, which no aircraft could match in the air at the beginning of the war, that led Winston Churchill and the Royal Navy to set about bombing these airships on the ground. Thus in 1914, the Royal Naval Air Service, with their IKEA-style flatpack airplanes, pioneered strategic bombing. Moreover, through its efforts to extend its striking range in order to destroy Zeppelins in their home bases, the Royal Navy developed the first true aircraft carriers. This book is the story of those largely forgotten, very early bombing raids. It explains Britain’s first interest in military and naval aviation, and why it was that the Navy pursued long distance bombing, while the Army concentrated on reconnaissance. Every bomber raid, and every aircraft carrier strike operation since, owes its genesis to those early naval flyers, and there are ghosts from 1914 that haunt us still today. “Well written and very informative, this really is one of those books you go though from cover to cover as you learn so much more about those early men and machines.” —The Great War Magazine

The Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) revolutionized warfare at sea, on land, and in the air. This little-known naval aviation organization introduced and operationalized aircraft carrier strike, aerial anti-submarine warfare, strategic bombing, and the air defence of the British Isles more than 20 years before the outbreak of the Second World War. Traditionally marginalized in a literature dominated by the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force, the RNAS and its innovative practitioners, nevertheless, shaped the fundamentals of air power and contributed significantly to the Allied victory in the First World War. The Development of British Naval Aviation utilizes archival documents and newly published research to resurrect the legacy of the RNAS and demonstrate its central role in Britain’s war effort.

Jack McCleery was born in Belfast in 1898, the son of a mill owning family. He joined the RNAS in 1916 as a Probationary Flight Officer. During the next ten months he completed his training at Crystal Palace, Eastchurch, Cranwell, Frieston, Calshot and Isle of Grain, flying more than a dozen landplanes, seaplanes and flying boats, gaining his wings as a Flight Sub-Lieutenant. In July 1917 he was posted to the newly commissioning aircraft carrier HMS Furious, which would be based at Scapa Flow and Rosyth. He served in this ship until February 1919, flying Short 184 seaplanes and then Sopwith 1½ Strutters off the deck. He also flew a large number of other types during this time from shore stations at Turnhouse, East Fortune and Donibristle. He served with important and well-known naval airmen including Dunning, Rutland (of Jutland) and Bell Davies VC. He witnessed Dunning’s first successful landing on a carrier flying a Sopwith Pup in 1917 and his tragic death a few days later. He also witnessed the Tondern raid in 1918, the world’s first carrier strike mission. He took part in more than a dozen sweeps into the North Sea by elements of the Grand Fleet and Battle Cruiser Fleet. He carried out reconnaissance missions off the coast of Denmark, landing in the sea to be picked up by waiting destroyers. He witnessed the surrender of the High Seas Fleet. Promoted to Captain, he acted as temporary CO of F Squadron for a time postwar.

In 1909 the British Admiralty placed an order for a rigid airship, marking the beginning of the Royal Navy's involvement with airpower. This collection charts the Navy's involvement with aviation over the following century, and the ways in which its rapid expansion and evolution radically altered the nature of maritime power and naval strategy. Drawing on much new historical research, the collection takes a broadly chronological approach which allows a scholarly examination of key themes from across the history of British naval aviation. The subjects tackled include long-standing controversies over the control of naval air power, crucial turning points within British defence policy and strategy, the role of naval aviation in limited war, and discussion of campaigns - such the contribution of the Fleet Air Arm in the Mediterranean and Pacific theatres of the Second World War - that have hitherto received relatively little attention. The collection concludes with a discussion of recent debates surrounding the Royal Navy's acquisition of a new generation of carriers, setting the arguments within an historical context. Taken as a whole the volume offers fascinating insights into the development of a key aspect of naval power as well as shedding new light on one of the most important aspects of Britain's defence policy and military history. By simultaneous addressing historical and current political debates, it is sure to find a ready audience and stimulate further discussion.

Since 1900, the Royal Navy has seen vast changes to the way it operates. This book tells the story, not just of defeats and victories, but also of how the navy has adjusted to over 100 years of rapid technological and social change. The navy has changed almost beyond recognition since the far-reaching reforms made by Admiral Fisher at the turn of the century. Fisher radically overhauled the fleet, replacing the nineteenth-century wooden crafts with the latest in modern naval technology, including battleships (such as the iconic dreadnoughts), aircraft carriers and submarines. In World War I and World War II, the navy played a central role, especially as unrestricted submarine warfare and supply blockades became an integral part of twentieth-century combat. However it was the development of nuclear and missile technology during the Cold War era which drastically changed the face of naval warfare - today the navy can launch sea-based strikes across thousands of miles to reach targets deep inland. This book navigates the cross currents of over 100 years of British naval history. As well as operational issues, the authors also consider the symbolism attached to the navy in popular culture and the way naval personnel have been treated, looking at the changes in on-board life and service during the period, as well as the role of women in the navy. In addition to providing full coverage of the Royal Navy's wartime operations, the authors also consider the functions of the navy in periods of nominal peace - including disaster relief, diplomacy and exercises. Even in peacetime the Royal Navy had a substantial role to play. Covering the whole span of naval history from 1900 to the present, this book places the wars and battles fought by the navy within a wider context, looking at domestic politics, economic issues and international affairs. It will be essential reading for anyone interested in naval history and operations, as well as military history more generally.

London was a target for Zeppelins and bombers during the First World War, for bombers, V1s and rockets in the Second, and for Cold War missiles and for terrorists in more recent times, yet rarely has the history of twentieth-century attacks on the capital been studied as a whole. Peter Reese, in this thought-provoking account, vividly describes how the destructive potential of aerial bombing and terrorist actions has increased and how Londoners have struggled to protect themselves and their city.He looks at the strategic aims of the bombing campaigns panic, devastation, paralysis of communications and the collapse of morale - and contrasts them with the actual responses of Londoners of civilians who faced this new form of indiscriminate warfare. As he traces the developing theory and practice of air power, he dispels myths and misunderstandings that still surround the subject.His narrative follows the story from the commencement of the First World War when the development of aircraft accelerated and the possibilities of aerial warfare came to be appreciated and feared. There are graphic accounts of the German raids on the city in the First World War, of the intense interwar debate about the impact of bombing, and of the ordeal that followed - the Blitz and the V1 and V2 campaigns.He also considers in the concluding chapters more recent threats to the capital which come, not from aircraft and missiles, but from the bombing tactics adopted by terrorists, and the need for appropriate responses.

A riveting account of the first sustained, strategic aerial bombing campaign in history—by German airships on Britain in the First World War. At the outbreak of the Great War, the United Kingdom had no aerial defense capability worthy of the name. Britain had just thirty guns to defend the entire country, with all but five of these considered of dubious value. So when raiding German aircraft finally appeared over Britain, the response was negligible and ineffective. Of Britain’s fledgling air forces, the Royal Flying Corps had accompanied the British Expeditionary Force into Europe—leaving the Royal Naval Air Service to defend the country as best it could. That task was not an easy one. From the first raid in December 1914, aerial attacks gradually increased through 1915, culminating in highly damaging assaults on London in September and October. London, however, was not the only recipient of German bombs, with counties from Northumberland to Kent also experiencing the indiscriminate death and destruction found in this new theater of war: the Home Front. And when the previously unimagined horror of bombs falling from the sky began, the British population was initially left exposed and largely undefended as civilians were killed in the streets or lying asleep in their beds. The face of war had changed forever, and those raids on London in the autumn of 1915 finally forced the government to pursue a more effective defense against air attack. This German air campaign against the UK was the first sustained strategic aerial bombing campaign in history. Yet it has become the forgotten Blitz. In Zeppelin Onslaught Ian Castle tells the complete story of the 1915 raids in unprecedented detail in what is the first in a planned three-book series.

The thrilling biography of the brilliant British inventor and daredevil war hero whose efforts saved countless lives during WWI. Though he only lived to be 33, Wing Commander Frank Brock had accomplished much in his short life. The scion of the world-famous Brock Fireworks company, he is best known as the inventor of the Brock Bullet—the explosive bullet used to destroy German Zeppelins. He also invented the Dover Flares which lit up the sea at night and forced U-boats into deep mine fields. But his exploits went far beyond the engineering lab. As a secret agent Brock dashed to France on his wedding day, snuck into Switzerland, rowed across Lake Constance into enemy territory, and orchestrated the world’s first strategic bombing raid at the zeppelin factory in Friedrichshafen, Germany. On the day of his untimely death, he led the charge in a surprise naval attack on Zeebrugge, Belgium, only made possible by the smoke screen he invented to mask their approach. Co-authored by his grandson, Gunpowder and Glory tells more than Brock’s amazing life of invention and heroism. Woven into the narrative is the dazzling history of C.T. Brock & Company Fireworks, the world-famous firm started by Frank’s five-times great-grandfather.

A British company commander details his experience serving in the Falklands War and reflects on the 1982 conflict. “Yomping” was the word Commandos used for carrying heavy loads on long marches. It caught the public’s imagination during this short but bitter campaign and epitomized the grim determination and professionalism of our troops… Called to action on April 2, 1982, the men of 45 Commando Royal Marines assembled from around the world to sail 8,000 miles to recover the Falkland Islands from Argentine invasion. Lacking helicopters and short of food, they “yomped” in appalling weather carrying overloaded rucksacks, across the roughest terrain. Yet for a month in mid-winter, they remained a cohesive fighting-fit body of men. They then fought and won the highly successful and fierce night battle for Two Sisters, a 1,000-foot-high mountain which was the key to the defensive positions around Stanley. More than just a first-hand story of that epic feat, this book is the first to be written by a company commander in the Falklands War. It offers a vivid description of the “yomp” and infantry fighting, and it also offers penetrating insights into the realities of war at higher levels. It is a unique combination of descriptive writing about frontline fighting and wider reflections on the Falklands War, and conflict in general. “This is the real thing, from someone who gave the orders and led from the front, from beginning to bitter end. His account is articulate, poignant and precise, even though thirty years have elapsed . . . highly recommended.” —Military History Monthly

Being the son of the Duke of Westminster, whose family traces its lineage back to 1066, Lord Hugh Grosvenor was destined to become a cavalry officer in the prestigious 1st Regiment of Life Guards. Using unpublished letters home and contemporary accounts Noble Sacrifice describes Lord Hugh’s embarkation for France and the early mounted encounters which halted the enemy onslaught against the ‘contemptible little army’. These led to the stalemate of trench warfare and found Lord Hugh and his Squadron holding out at Zandvoorde during the First Battle of Ypres 1914 and being annihilated by superior numbers of enemy forces in some of the most desperate fighting of the First World War. Due to the advances in military hardware, the war for Lord Hugh and his comrades marked a turning point in cavalry tactics. As well as being a dramatic account of Lord Hugh Grosvenor’s last stand, Noble Sacrifice is a very personal story of courage and self-sacrifice. This heroic yet tragic story has a mysterious twist. The bodies of Lord Hugh and his 100 soldiers were never found - it was as if they had never existed.