Best Selling Books by Edwyn Gray

Although it forever changed the tactics of naval warfare, the torpedo is one of the world''s most under-researched weapons and its inventors the most neglected. To correct this oversight, Edwyn Gray follows up on his popular study of Robert Whitehead''s torpedoes by taking a look at seventy other torpedoes and the men who invented them. He traces the history of the torpedo, placing its evolution in the context of a defining century of weapons development when torpedoes progressed from harpoon projectiles to rocket-powered weapons of destruction. Written for layman and expert alike in the lively style Gray has come to be known for, the book reveals a wealth of fascinating details about individual torpedoes along with a panorama of naval opinions and insights into the trials and tribulations of the weapon pioneers of the nineteenth century. Gray solves a number of mysteries that have bedeviled naval historians for decades and corrects longstanding misconceptions, based on information uncovered during ten years of research. Gray examined more than one hundred U.S. and British patents taken out between 1836 and 1900 as well as reports from contemporary technical and professional journals and unpublished papers, and enlivens the text with accounts of torpedoes in action together with colorful anecdotes about the inventors. Such an important contribution to the history of this branch of naval ordnance helps make sense of a raggle-taggle collection of bizarre weapons that caused so much consternation among naval tacticians at the end of the nineteenth century.

This book tells the story of captains of submarines and their experiences at war.

A revised edition of an account of peacetime submarine disasters from 1774 to the present day, previously published in 1991. Examines the development of the submarine from experimental stages in the late 18th century to the present day, and provides details of all disasters ever reported.

Hollywood''s version of the Naval War in the Pacific has led many people to believe that it was an all-American affair and that the Royal Navy took no part in it. But, as Edwin Gray shows in Operation Pacific, Such a scenario is a travesty of the truth. In fact, the Royal Navy and its Commonwealth partners played a very significant role in the Pacific War and waged a vigorous non-stop battle with the enemy, from the earliest days of defeat and disaster though to the ultimate triumph of Victory. And, indeed, it is not generally realised that Japanese troops actually landed in Malaya and opened hostilities in Britain a full ninety minutes before Nagumo''s dive-bombers swept down on the unsuspecting American pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbour to bring the United States into the war. Operation Pacific is the first book to provide a full and detailed account of Britain''s Naval contribution tot he ultimate defeat of Japan u0096 a saga that ranges from the darkest days pf December 1941, to the vast carrier operations and kamikaze attacks of the final battles in 1945. And, while in no way disparaging the heroic achievements and fighting courage of the US forces in the Pacific, Edwyn Gray reveals that the Royal Navy''s cooperation was not always welcomed by her over-mighty Ally and that America''s top brass, notably admiral Ernest King and General Douglas MacAuthur , were implacably opposed to British involvement in the Pacific for both practical and political reasons. Offering a clear, concise, and comprehensive picture of the part played by the Royal Navy and Commonwealth forces in the Far East War, Operation pacific is an absorbing story handled with all the skill which readers have come to expect from one of the leading popular naval historians of our day.

This is the fully revised and updated edition of the first comprehensive account of every peacetime submarine disaster from 1774 to the present day. By examining many of the sinkings in considerable detail, analysing what went wrong and describing attempts made to rescue the crew and vessel, Edwyn Gray traces the development of the submarine.

The battleships of Hitler''s navy challenged the enemy in the arctic blizzards of the Barents Sea and gave battle from the ice-floes of the Denmark straits to the North Atlantic and beyond the equator. But, according to this book, the Nazi leadership never fully appreciated their naval advantage.

Originally published in 1970 and out of print for nearly thirty years, this book has already earned its place as a classic of submarine history by an author with an international reputation for being second-to-none in evoking the claustrophobic horror of war beneath the waves. Accurate in detail, yet written with humanity and humour, it tells the story of Britains pioneer submarines during the 1914-1918 War during which their crews battled courageously in atrocious conditions against a skilled and ruthless enemy and an equally unforgiving sea.2001 marks the centenary of Britains Submarine Service introduced into the Royal Navy in the face of opposition from virtually every flag officer in the fleet. The dedicated enthusiasts who made up their crews were derided as members of The Trade but they fought the Edwardian Naval Establishment as fiercely as they were later to fight the enemy; And Victory was their reward on both occasions. Freshly illustrated, this second edition is a timely tribute to the gallant pioneers who created the legacy of dogged courage, determination, and standards of excellence which remain the proud hallmarks of the Royal Navys submarine service today.

This is the story of the development by the British of a primitive, unreliable and highly dangerous contraption, turning it into a formidable fighting machine. Edwyn Gray describes the inception and early days of the Submarine Service, its struggle against the naval bureaucracy and political machinations, its experiments with early submarines, the terrible disasters it suffered and the dramatic successes it achieved. Above all, he brings to life the men who took the risks in these fragile boats and whose courage and endurance enabled the to smash German shipping to help make the strategic blockade of Germany a success. --from back cover.

"The dangers faced by submariners at war - and even in peace - are self-evident but at no time were they greater than during the Great War 1914-18. Death and disaster came in many guises: minefields, explosive nets, surface ships, U-boats, shore batteries, Zeppelins as well as human error and ever-present equipment failure. The notorious K-Class steam submarines claimed 135 lives in twelve months without any enemy assistance. But as this classic book also describes, there was glory too. Five captains won the VC. A handful of Royal Naval submarines ruled the Baltic from 1916-18 and wreaked mayhem against Turkish shipping in the land-locked Sea of Marmora. Constantly playing deadly cat-and-mouse games with enemy U-boats and surface warships, there were few dull moments for the gallant crews of this infant submarine service. Republished in the Service''s Centenary Year, British Submarines in the Great War 1914-18 (formerly A damned Un-English Weapon) is a classic account of the underwater war by one of Britain''s foremost naval historians. It also serves as a tinely tribute to the courageous deeds of the pioneers whose legacy has inspired their successors right through to the present day"--Book jacket.

Cosa succede quando la guerra scende fino alle profondità degli abissi? Konrad Bergman diviene comandante dell’UB 44 per seguire l’esempio del padre, ufficiale di marina morto a bordo di un sommergibile nel corso del primo conflitto mondiale. Insieme a lui, nel vivo degli scontri sottomarini della Seconda guerra mondiale, si muovono gli eroi della Kriegsmarine, da Otto Kretschmer a Gunther Prien, famoso per essere entrato nella base inglese di Scapa Flow. Alle sue prime esperienze, Bergman dovrà sacrificare un uomo ferito e sarà costretto a obbedire all’assurdo e insensibile ordine di Hitler di affondare a sorpresa la corazzata tascabile König per evitarle l’ingloriosa fine della gemella Graf Spee. Le figure degli ammiragli Dönitz e Raeder, insieme ad altre non meno note, abitano le pagine di un appassionante romanzo che ricostruisce l’ambiente tecnico e le difficoltà di manovra a bordo di un sommergibile, trasportandoci nella drammatica atmosfera umana che vi regna, carica di tensione e solidarietà.