Diving the Thistlegorm is a unique in-depth look at one of the world’s best-loved shipwrecks, the World War II British Merchant Navy steamship, featuring award-winning underwater photography. In this highly visual guide, cutting edge photographic methods enable views of the famous wreck and its fascinating cargo which were previously impossible. Sitting upright in 30m of clear, inviting Red Sea waters, the ship is packed with the materials of war. Largely complete lorries, trucks, motorbik...

The Incredible story of the Australian Navy's elite unit.Rising out of the Second World War, the Australian clearance diver has become one of the most respected and versatile operators in the military world. In cold, murky water, working by touch alone, the Australian clearance diver can defuse a mine powerful enough to sink a battleship. Under the burning Afghan sun, they can dismantle a Taliban roadside bomb. Welcome to the world of the Royal Australian Navy clearance divers. Bomb and mi...

On 15 April 2012, 100 years will have passed since the Royal Mail Steamer Titanic hit an iceberg and foundered in the North Atlantic with the loss of 1,503 lives. Had the disaster not occurred, what is now the best-known ship in the world would have lost the title of the largest liner within just two years. She was certainly not the fastest passenger ship of the time and can be considered a technological throwback, yet Titanic captures the imagination like no other. This b...

The wind powers everything a sailor does and this book will help you to understand it. As a result you will be more prepared for your race, able to anticipate changes in the wind better and know what to do when they come. The first edition of this book was published in 1986, and it has been the go-to wind book for dinghy champions ever since. This new-look fourth edition is fully updated for modern forecasting and analyses a revised set of popular racing venues around the world: unveiling ...

The Titanic is one of the most famous maritime disasters of all time, but did the Titanic really sink on the morning of 15 April 1912? Titanic's older sister, the nearly identical Olympic, was involved in a serious accident in September 1911 – an accident that may have made her a liability to her owners the White Star Line. Since 1912 rumours of a conspiracy to switch the two sisters in an elaborate insurance scam has always loomed behind the tragic story of the Titanic. C...

When you’re stuck at your desk day after day, do you find yourself daydreaming about a glamorous occupation, such as a racing driver, an astronaut or a stunt double? The adrenaline rush and prestige of these extreme jobs is one thing, but have you ever considered the practicalities?This compelling book unravels the mysteries and exposes the pitfalls of the world’s most dangerous jobs, giving a fascinating insight into the working lives of those who regularly stare death in the face...

A deep dive into the biggest salvage operation in history: the recovery of German warships—the Allies' spoils of World War I—from Scottish waters.On Midsummer's Day 1919 the interned German Grand Fleet was scuttled by their crews at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands despite a Royal Navy guard force. Greatly embarrassed, the Admiralty nevertheless confidently stated that none of the ships would ever be recovered. Had it not been for the drive and ingenuity of one man ...

The thrilling and true story of the development and operational deployment of human torpedoes - 'Chariots' - and 'X-craft' midget submarines in British naval service during WWII, and of the extraordinary men who crewed these dangerous vessels. The commando frogmen who rode the Chariots and operated as divers from the X-craft were the forerunners of today's Special Boat Service, the SBS.Their aim was to attach an explosive charge underneath an enemy ship to destroy the vessel. Their...

It was impossibly expensive, extraordinarily dangerous, and completely unarmed. The U.S. Navy’s state-of-the-art NR-1 nuclear powered submersible was the Cold War’s most closely guarded - and revolutionary - secret. In 1966, after the U.S. almost lost a hydrogen bomb off the coast of Spain, Admiral Hyman Rickover - father of the nuclear navy - outmaneuvered Congress and steamed full speed ahead on his brainchild: a spy mission and deep ocean recovery submarine with a miniature nuclear reac...

The passagemaking bible updated to help you live your long-distance voyaging dreamsFirst published in 1975, Robert Beebe’s Voyaging Under Power revolutionized long-distance cruising, encouraging powerboaters to enjoy what was once exclusive to sailboats and their crews: crossing oceans to exotic, interesting, and beautiful places in comfort with a minimum of problems and expense. Now power-cruising couple Denis and Mary Umstot, whose interest in power voya...

Down in the fiery belly of the luxury liners of the Titanic era, a world away from the first-class dining rooms and sedate tours of the deck, toiled the ' black gang'. Their work was gruelling and hot, and here deKerbrech introduces the reader to the dimly lit world and workplace of Titanic's stokers. Beginning with a journey around some of the major elements of machinery that one might encounter in the giant ships' engine and boiler rooms, the sheer skill and str...

This book charts the development of the ocean liner from the 19th century to the present day. It explores the golden years of transatlantic shipping and the competition from the jet passenger aircraft. The book looks at the history and development of the early ocean-going steamships, and the competition between shipping companies by the end of the 19th century to build liners that were extreme in luxury and aimed for the very wealthy. The book traces the history of the ocean liner through ...