David Greentree

Q Ship vs U-Boat (eBook, ePUB)

1914-18
Illustrator: Dennis, Peter; Palmer, Ian

• Format: ePub

Produktbeschreibung

A fully-illustrated account of the British Q ship, a heavily armed small craft disguised as a merchant vessel, and its tactics against the Kaiser's formidable U-boat fleet during World War I.

Q ships came in all shapes and sizes - coastal steamer, trawler, barque, yacht or schooner - but all had to look harmless in order to lure their opponents to the surface and encourage them to attack. Armaments differed according to ship size; steamers commonly had 4in guns mounted amidships and in the bow, trawlers 3-pdrs and sailing ships 12-pdrs.

David Greentree covers how the Q ship used a 'panic crew', trained to act out an elaborate evacuation to convince the U-boat commander that the ship was being abandoned by its crew. The Q ship captain would remain behind with a handful of other crewmen manning the guns, which remained hidden until the most opportune time to unmask and engage the U-boat.

Packed with illustrations, this book explores the Q ship concept in detail, from its emergence early in the war, when no other method seemed likely to counter the U-boat threat, and as it flourished, until new technologies and tactics were developed, tested and implemented.

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Bloomsbury UK eBooks
• Seitenzahl: 80
• Erscheinungstermin: 20. Februar 2014
• Englisch
• ISBN-13: 9781782002864
• Artikelnr.: 44626473

Autorenporträt

David Greentree graduated from the University of York with a BA in History before completing an MA in War Studies at King's College London and qualifying as a lecturer in Further Education. In 1995 he accepted a commission in the Royal Air Force and has served in a variety of locations, including Afghanistan and Oman. He has written several books for Osprey, focusing on British military history and World War II.

Inhaltsangabe

Introduction
Chronology
Design and Development
The Strategic Situation
Technical Specifications
The Combatants
Combat
Statistics and Analysis
Aftermath
Bibliography
Index