British Lend-Lease Warships 194045: The Royal Navy's American-built destroyers and frigates

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

An illustrated history of the American-built destroyers and frigates supplied to the Royal Navy under Lend-Lease, which played a crucial role in Britain's war in the Atlantic. As U-boat attacks on Britains vital sea lanes increased in ferocity, and Royal Navy warship losses mounted, the United States passed the Lend-Lease Act, the cornerstone of Americas wartime role as armourer to the Allies. Naval historian Angus Konstam here offers an account of the Royal Navys Lend-Lease destroyers and escorts. The first batch were 50 World War I-era 'four-stacker' destroyers, in a deal sealed by the transfer of several global British bases to the USA. These warships were immediately recrewed, refitted and pressed into service in the Battle of the Atlantic. These ageing destroyers were followed by over a hundred more Lend-Lease warships, many of which were built especially for British service in American shipyards. Their arrival helped tip the balance in the hard-fought war against the U-boats, while others were used to fulfil other crucial wartime missions. With detailed ship profiles of the major classes, a cutaway of HMS Campbeltown (of Saint-Nazaire raid fame) as it appeared in 1941, and superb battlescene artwork, this is a comprehensive look at a crucial aspect of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Author Bio

Angus Konstam hails from Orkney, off the north of Scotland. He has written widely on naval history, most recently Hunt the Bismarck and The Convoy, both published by Osprey. A former naval officer, he has worked as a museum curator in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London and the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a former Chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland. Now a full-time author and historian, he has returned to live in Orkney.