{"title":"Books by Daniel Knowles","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781781558980","title":"Empire Cruise","description":"In November 1923 the Royal Navy dispatched what was named the Special Service Squadron on a ten-month tour around the British Empire. Led by the battlecruiser HMS 'Hood', the pride of the Royal Navy and, at the time, the largest ship in the world, and including the battlecruiser 'Renown' and the First Light Cruiser Squadron, the role of the Special Service Squadron was to 'show the flag' in a public relations exercise and to strengthen ties across the Empire. Much publicised, the cruise served as a subtle reminder that in the aftermath of the Great War, Britannia still ruled the waves. This book charts the situation faced by Great Britain and the Royal Navy in the years immediately after the Great War, and details the origins of the cruise before charting the course of the expedition.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43230265966770,"sku":"9781781558980","price":32.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781781558980.jpg?v=1786026282"},{"product_id":"9781781558874","title":"Scharnhorst and Gneisenau","description":"In February 1942, six Swordfish armed with torpedoes encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire in the English Channel and were shot down but not before two torpedoes were launched at a German battleship sailing at high speed. This attack was part of a wider British effort to stop the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau from making their way back to Germany. The Scharnhorst is one of the most famous capital ships to have served with the Kriegsmarine. Yet she and her sister ship Gneisenau have been largely overshadowed by the Bismarck and Tirpitz, despite the fact that they played a more proactive role in the Second World War and were Germany's most successful battleships. This book provides an authoritative and informative look at the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the first capital ships of the Kriegsmarine, from their conception through the first successful years of the Second World War to their respective losses. This is a detailed account of naval warfare against the Royal Navy off the coast of Norway and the war against Allied commerce from the German perspective.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304807149941,"sku":"9781781558874","price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781781558874_978fdf4b-0e4a-4655-a3c3-f0ba478f2124.jpg?v=1786034368"},{"product_id":"9781781558393","title":"King George V-Class Battleships","description":"Following the First World War the major naval powers entered into an agreement restricting the construction of capital ships and limiting the numbers that signatories were allowed to maintain, so numerous ships were scrapped or disposed of and the majority of planned vessel were either cancelled whilst being built or never laid down. By the late 1920s the Royal Navy’s battle force comprised of the two Nelson-class ships, the battlecruisers ‘Hood’, ‘Renown’ and ‘Repulse’, and ‘Revenge’ and Queen Elizabeth-class ships, all designed before the First World War. In 1928 the Royal Navy began planning a new class of battleships which was put on hold with the signing of the Treaty of London. In 1935, realising its battle fleet was becoming dated as other nations laid down new classes of battleships, the Royal Navy recommenced planning capital ships within treaty limitations. The result was the King George V-class battleships. Regarded by some as the worst new-generation battleships in the Second World War the King George V-class were Britain’s most modern battleships during the conflict and saw action in some of the most famous engagements from the sinking of the ‘Bismarck’ in 1941 to the surrender of Japan in 1945. This book charts the story of the King George V-class from its conception and design through to the operational history of the ships in the class.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56312812110197,"sku":"9781781558393","price":40.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781781558393_208ea364-915c-48c1-b680-f615cdd7a01e.jpg?v=1786034364"},{"product_id":"9781781559536","title":"Graf Zeppelin","description":"The Second World War saw the eclipse of the battleship as the capital vessel in any navy by a new feat of maritime engineering: the aircraft carrier. It was to change naval warfare forever. But when one thinks of the Kriegsmarine during this period, the German effort to construct an aircraft carrier is often overlooked. Designed in the late 1930s, Graf Zeppelin was the largest ship built by Nazi Germany. The lead ship of her class, she represented the Kriegsmarine’s efforts to create a balanced, ocean-going fleet capable of projecting German naval power across the oceans. Though 85 per cent complete by the outbreak of war in September 1939, Graf Zeppelin became a white elephant, a ship filled with promise but ultimately disappointing. Hitler’s war arrived too early for the Kriegsmarine and construction of Germany’s only aircraft carrier was never completed.Graf Zeppelin: The Story of Hitler’s Aircraft Carrier tells the full story of the monumental effort and ultimate failure by the Kriegsmarine to crown the German fleet with that most coveted of naval assets, an aircraft carrier.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369146986869,"sku":"9781781559536","price":25.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781781559536_ee73bf24-6e1b-4c6b-918b-5503bef177e1.jpg?v=1786025355"},{"product_id":"us-navy-losses-during-the-second-world-war","title":"US Navy Losses During the Second World War","description":"Prior to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, the US Navy had been in action, but only in the course of carrying out defensive duties such as escorting convoys across the Atlantic. Pearl Harbor changed that completely, launching the full might of the United States into the now global conflict.In the years that followed, the US Navy incurred significant losses in every theatre in which it participated. Some of the losses were the direct result of combat, others of accidents and incidents. Richly illustrated and carefully researched, this book provides a unique record charting every loss incurred by the US Navy during the course of the Second World War.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57483522736501,"sku":"9781036145644","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781036145644.jpg?v=1786178696"},{"product_id":"anatomy-of-a-ship-scharnhorst-class-battleships","title":"Anatomy of a Ship: Scharnhorst-Class Battleships","description":"Despite being overshadowed by the larger Bismarck and Tirpitz, the battleships of the Scharnhorst-class, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, occupy a unique place in naval and military history. The most successful battleships of the German Kriegsmarine, they took part in some of the most noteworthy campaigns and battles of the Second World War, including the invasion of Norway, which saw the sinking of the aircraft carrier Glorious, Operation Berlin (a successful raid against merchant shipping in the Atlantic), the Channel Dash, and the battle of North Cape. The Scharnhorst holds the distinction of fighting the last engagement between British and German battleships in history.In this book, historian Daniel Knowles explores the developments that led to the construction of the ships of the Scharnhorst-class and provides an in-depth overview and analysis of the characteristics, systems and equipment which combined to make them Germany’s most successful battleships. Packed with illustrations, this is a unique and authoritative work on an iconic class of ships.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57502124409205,"sku":"9781036156961","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781036156961.jpg?v=1786780942"},{"product_id":"anatomy-of-a-ship-littorio-class-battleships","title":"Anatomy of a Ship: Littorio-Class Battleships","description":"In the late 1930s, the Italian Regia Marina constructed its most powerful and enigmatic battleships, the Littorio-class. Designed and constructed in response to the French battleships \u003ci\u003eDunkerque\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eStrasbourg\u003c\/i\u003e, the Littorio-class were the most modern battleships to see service with the Regia Marina during the Second World War.In this book, historian Daniel Knowles explores the developments that led to the construction of the Littorio-class and provides an in-depth overview and analysis of the characteristics and systems which made the ships formidable weapons of war. Typical of Italian design, they were fast and elegant, but also boasted a revolutionary protective scheme which was tested to the limits. Four ships of the class were laid down and launched, but only three—the \u003ci\u003eLittorio\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eVittorio Veneto\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eRoma\u003c\/i\u003e—would see service.Packed with illustrations, \u003ci\u003eAnatomy of a Ship: Littorio-Class Battleships\u003c\/i\u003e is an authoritative reference and a visual tribute to one of the most distinctive battleship classes ever to set sail.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57502212456821,"sku":"9781036195090","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781036195090.jpg?v=1786781032"},{"product_id":"the-battle-of-cape-matapan","title":"The Battle of Cape Matapan","description":"In late March 1941, in the waters of the Mediterranean off the southern coast of Greece, the ships of the Royal Navy Mediterranean Fleet and the Italian Regia Marina clashed in what would go down as one of the most decisive naval engagements of the Second World War and the most decisive of the war in the Mediterranean. Having intercepted and broken the Italian naval cipher, British forces put to sea to intercept and ambush the Regia Marina. By the time the battle was over, 2,300 men had been killed and over 1,000 more taken prisoner. The engagement removed an entire Italian cruiser division from the Regia Marina's order of battle._The Battle of Cape Matapan: The Decisive Engagement of the Mediterranean, March 1941_ tells the gripping story of how the Royal Navy under Admiral Andrew Cunningham outmanoeuvred and outfought Mussolini’s Regia Marina through superior seamanship, intelligence and the revolutionary use of radar. What follows is a meticulous analysis of the battle that changed the balance of power in the Mediterranean, marking the beginning of the end of Italy’s naval power.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57536451379573,"sku":"9781036184728","price":22.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781036184728.jpg?v=1788186242"},{"product_id":"yamato","title":"Yamato","description":"The ‘Yamato’ and her sister ship the ‘Musashi’ represented the ultimate development in the battleship. Together, the two ships were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. Named after the Yamato Province, ‘Yamato’ was designed to counter the numerically superior fleet of the US Navy. Built amongst a shroud of secrecy and deception and commissioned shortly after the outbreak of the war in the Pacific she was present at a number of engagements including the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Despite having been designed to engage and sink enemy surface vessels, the ‘Yamato’ would only fire her unrivalled 18.1-inch guns at an enemy surface target on one occasion, in October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In the final months of the war, as Kamikaze aircraft targeted American landing fleets off Okinawa, the ‘Yamato’ herself embarked on a one way mission of sacrifice, in a last desperate roll of the dice in an attempt to wreak havoc on the landing forces around Okinawa, the last stepping stone prior to an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. Despite being products of war from the moment of their construction the ‘Yamato’ and ‘Musashi’ occupied a unique which continues to this day.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57555406913909,"sku":"9781048101829","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781048101829.jpg?v=1789396004"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-daniel-knowles.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}