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MARITIME BOOKS

Coming soon from Heritage Books:

Queenstown Bound
U.S. Navy Destroyers Combating German U-boats in European Waters in World War I

Painting by Richard DeRosset of U.S. Navy destroyers prevailing in action against German submarine U-58

Book Description
Beginning in spring 1917, the U.S. Navy sent ever more divisions of destroyers to Europe, first to Queenstown, Ireland, and later to Gibraltar and French ports as well, to combat German U-boats. The submarines were taking a huge toll on Atlantic shipping over the course of World War I, resulting in the loss of nearly half of Britain’s merchant fleet. By the time America entered the war, an expanded U-boat fleet had come dangerously close to choking off Britain’s critical supply of food, which threatened the sustainment of the island nation and could have led to the collapse of the British war effort. Though lacking sonar, radar, and embarked helicopters common to warships today, the four-stack, coal-burning destroyers bravely carried out anti-submarine patrols and convoy escort duties. Their presence in dangerous waters where unseen submarines searched for victims, helped hold the enemy down and, when possible, enabled depth-charge and gunnery attacks against the enemy. The destroyers’ greatest contributions were in helping to get two million U.S. soldiers safely to France, which changed the course of the war, and of world history. One hundred seventy-seven photographs, maps, and diagrams; appendices; a bibliography; and an index to full names, places, and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read the preface

Click here to read foreword by George H. S. Duddy, P. Eng Ret.

Click here to read foreword by Lt. Cdr. Rob Hoole, RN (Rtd.)

Click here to read Chapter 1

Available from Heritage Books, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Kissing Cousins
U.S. Navy Wooden Minesweepers and Variants (YMS, PCS, AGS) and USN and Royal Australian Navy Bomb and Mine Disposal Personnel in the Pacific in World War II, 1944-1945

Painting by Richard DeRosset of USS YMS-311 shooting down four attacking Japanese Navy bombers while engaged in minesweeping off Okinawa.

Book Description
Late in World War II, the U.S. Navy mandated that 59 wooden-hulled ships laid down in builders’ yards as YMS minesweepers, be completed as patrol craft sweepers (PCS). Sixteen of these “kissing cousins” of the YMSs were sent to the Pacific. They engaged in combat operations with amphibious forces at Saipan and Tinian, followed by the southern Palau Islands, Leyte and Lingayen Gulf in the Philippines, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. During invasions of Japanese-held islands, PCSs directed waves of assault craft to hostile beaches; then joined YMSs, once finished with minesweeping, in patrol duties. Four PCSs were converted to AGS survey ships for the invasion of Okinawa. There, while subject to Japanese shore fire and Kamikaze attacks, the gun crews of some YMSs, PCSs and AGSs shot down attacking aircraft. Separately throughout the war in the Pacific, kissing cousins of another ilk, U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy Bomb and Mine Disposal personnel plied their dangerous craft at sea, on beaches, and in inland jungle areas of enemy-held or recently captured island bastions. One hundred ninety-six photographs, maps, and diagrams; appendices; and an index to full names, places, and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read the preface

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Allan du Toit AM RAN (Rtd)

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue AM RAN (Rtd)

Click here to read foreword by Lt. Comdr. Rob Hoole, RN (Rtd)

Click here to read foreword by Comdr. Ron Swart, USN (Ret)

Click here to read Chapter 1

Available from Heritage Books, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Toe the Mark
Book Description
Running programs in Chico in the 1970s were similar to those elsewhere. Famed University of Oregon coach Bill Bowerman had introduced the sport of jogging; American Frank Shorter was the winner of the marathon at the 1972 Olympics; and Steve Prefontaine, running for Oregon, drew thousands of fans to see him race. A distant 385 miles south of Eugene, Oregon, lay Chico, a small rural town in northern California. In these exciting times, a high school coach there put together the top Cross Country teams and developed the best collection of distance runners the town had seen, then or since. Included among the male and female athletes were the “Charlie’s Angels”—seven high school girls which, in 1977, Harrier magazine ranked second in the nation. Four years earlier, an elite miler at the local college had the community abuzz with his quest to break the magic four-minute barrier. Meanwhile, two feisty marathoners (former college boxers) were leading the road-racing contingent in town. While doing so, they met the existing Olympic Trials qualifying standard for the 26.1-mile race. This book transports readers back to an age of innocence and excellence to run in the footsteps of the athletes of that era. One hundred and thirteen photographs add value to this work.

Click here to read the preface

Click here to read foreword by Professor emeritus Walt Schafer

Click here to read foreword by Professor Britton Brewer

Click here to read foreword by Coach Bill Gregg

Click here to read Chapter 1

Available from Heritage Books, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Send Some King's Ships
U.S. Navy, Royal Naval Patrol Service, and Royal Canadian Navy Ships combating German U-boats off North America’s Eastern Seaboard, and RNPS and South African Naval Forces vessels in African Waters as well, 1942-1945

Painting by Richard DeRosset of HMT Le Tigre carrying out a depth charge attack, and sinking the German submarine U-215 east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Book Description
In January 1942, following the United States’ entry into WWII, German U-boats began a reign of terror off America’s Eastern Seaboard; over the next several months, sinking hundreds of ships almost at will. With the combatant ships of the then-small U.S. Navy, spread thin in distant theaters, Vice Admiral Andrews desperately sought vessels to protect the coast. Those available consisted of Navy remnants of World War I, private yachts and fishing vessels hastily obtained and armed, and a few small Coast Guard cutters. This force was insufficient to protect major ports, let alone escort merchantmen. Andrews needed help, and got it when Great Britain sent 24 King’s ships to America to operate under his command. Eventually, with a gradual increase in the numbers of aircraft and ships available to search for and find U-boats, the enemy moved on to South African waters where the hunting was easier. The 18 remaining King’s ships followed, and began anew, to assist a small, unprepared Navy to combat the deadly menace. One hundred, thirty-two photographs, maps and diagrams; appendices; a bibliography; and an index to full names, places, and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read the preface

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Christopher Weaver, USN (Ret.)

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Allan du Toit AM RAN (Rtd.)

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue AM RAN (Rtd.)

Click here to read foreword by Capt. Christopher O’Flaherty, RN

Available from Heritage Books, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble

Guns Up, Depth Charges Readied
U.S. Navy, Commonwealth, and Other Allied Escort Ships Shepherding Convoys, and Battling German and Italian Air and Naval Forces in the Mediterranean in World War II

Painting by Richard DeRosset of the South African Naval Forces anti-submarine vessels HMSAS Protea and Southern Maid sinking with depth charges and naval gunfire, the Italian submarine Ondina in the Eastern Mediterranean

Book Description
During the deadly Battle of the Mediterranean fought from 10 June 1940 to 2 May 1945, sailors aboard Allied ships faced daily threat of attack by Italian or German aircraft at daybreak and dusk; by enemy submarines at any time; and by coastal forces when operating near shore. The Royal Navy, facing the powerful Italian Navy supported by German naval and air forces, called on Commonwealth and other Allied navies for assistance. Australia sent ships, as did South Africa, and Canada. The United States joined with naval and air units in 1942. Small forces from exiled navies also fought bravely, including those from Poland. While capital warships sought fleet actions with the Italian Navy, smaller vessels assigned to convoy escort duties engaged waves of attacking enemy aircraft with naval gunfire, and countered submarine attacks with depth charges. One hundred seventy-eight photographs, maps, and diagrams; appendices; and an index to full names, places, and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read the preface

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Christopher Weaver, USN (Ret.)

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Allan du Toit AM RAN (Rtd.)

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue AM RAN (Rtd.)

Click here to read foreword by Lt. Cdr. Rob Hoole, RN (Rtd.)

Ready to Haul, Ready to Fight
U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and British Merchant Navy Cargo Ships in the Pacific in World War II

Painting by Richard DeRosset depicting gun crews aboard the cargo ship USS Betelgeuse (AK-28) shooting down two Japanese torpedo planes. Her attackers were part of a group of twenty-one Mitsubishi, type 96, heavy bombers attacking shipping off Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, on 12 November 1942.

Book Description
U.S. Navy cargo ships, among the most unglamorous military vessels, kept the supply lines running through the incredible expanses of the Pacific battle zones in World War II. This involved shuttling cargos of gasoline, explosives, and supplies between forward bases on an erratic, unpredictable war-time schedule. The tedious days of slow cruising were broken by an occasional enemy air raid in some atoll harbor, and the rugged work of loading and unloading cargo. Although some cargo ships exhibited the informality of tramp steamers, they got results. Cargo ships able to carry amphibious landing craft routinely steamed with other assault forces into enemy-held beachheads, and disembarked supplies and personnel under fire. A dozen or so Royal Australian Navy stores-issuing ships lived a perilous existence plying dangerous Japanese-patrolled northern Australian waters, and the coast off Papua New Guinea. In 1945, when the British Pacific Fleet joined Allied combat operations against Japan, they brought their own “fleet train.” This Logistics Service Force was the most extraordinary, motley collection of shipping ever assembled in British maritime history—one that included, presumably for fleet morale, a floating brewery. One hundred sixty-eight photographs, maps and diagrams; appendices; a bibliography; and an index to full names, places, and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read the preface

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue AM RAN (Rtd)

Click here to read foreword by Cdr. Lee M. Foley, USN (Ret.)

Click here to read foreword by Lt Cdr Rob Hoole, RN (Rtd)

Click here to read foreword by George H. S. Duddy, P.Eng Ret.

Guns Up
Naval Action in the Yellow Sea off Korea, 1950-1953

Battle of Korea Strait by Richard DeRosset depicts the sea battle, on the night of 25 June 1950, between the South Korean sub-chaser Bak Du San (PC-701) and a freighter, likely the SS Kimball R. Smith, in the Korea Strait between Pusan and the Japanese Island of Tsushima. The patrol craft was an ex-U.S. Merchant Marine Academy training ship; the freighter, a former U.S. Army coastal cargo ship on loan to the government of South Korea. Kimball R. Smith was serving as a training vessel, when her South Korean crew mutinied and defected to the north. On the night of the first day of the Korean War, the freighter, which was packed full of North Korean soldiers intending to capture the port of Pusan, was sunk due to heroic actions by the captain and crew of Bak Du San. Had access to Pusan been blocked by a Communist presence, Allied ships could not have delivered desperately needed troop reinforcements, and the war might have been quickly lost.

Book Description
As the Korean Conflict wore on, frigates, destroyer escorts, cruisers, and battleships of the U.S. Navy, and combatant ships from eight other navies of the United Nations, plus the Republic of Korea Navy, fought a bitter war along the coastlines. Off the west coast of the peninsula, warships operated in treacherous waters of the Yellow Sea, navigating channels between tightly clustered islands close to the mainland. Fluctuating 30-foot tides, sequentially hid and revealed mud banks, shoals, uncharted rocks, and mines laid in these dangerous coastal waters, covered by enemy shore batteries. The ships toiled to protect both the vital left flank of Allied combat forces ashore, and anti-Communist guerillas operating from nearshore islands to carry out raids behind enemy lines. During bitter armistice talks, these islands became bargaining chips and it was necessary to defend them from enemy shore bombardment and invasion by Chinese and North Korean forces. Through three years of ceaseless warfare, in bone-chilling winters that coated ships with tons of ice, and the sweltering heat of summer that made below-deck areas stifling, Allied sailors stayed the course.

Click here to read the preface

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue AM RAN (Rtd.)

Click here to read foreword by George H.S. Duddy, P.Eng Ret.

Click here to read foreword by Lt Cdr Rob Hoole, RN (Rtd.)

Turn into the Wind Volume I
US Navy and Royal Navy Light Fleet Aircraft Carriers in World War II, and Contributions of the British Pacific Fleet

Painting by Richard DeRosset of the loss of USS Princeton

Book Description
In the Pacific in World War II, the dearth of US Navy fleet aviation capabilities became acute following the loss, in 1942, of four aircraft carriers to combat action. New Essex-class fleet aircraft carriers were being built, but would not be ready soon enough. Time was of the essence. President Franklin D. Roosevelt intervened to solve the problem—directing reluctant Navy “top brass” to turn cruiser hulls, already laid down, into light aircraft carriers. This created nine Independence-class ships, which would earn more battle stars, on average, than their bigger, better-known sisters (the twelve finally-completed Essex carriers that saw combat action). Aboard two of the light carriers were future presidents, George H. W. Bush, and Gerald R. Ford. Pilots and aircrews flying from the 622-foot “flat-tops” earned scores of decorations for heroism. These included two Medals of Honor, Navy Crosses, Silver and Bronze Stars, and dozens of Distinguished Flying Crosses. Some of the recipients, such as Edward “Butch” O’Hare, are familiar to aviation buffs. Others, including Hollis H. Hills, who flew in the two greatest air battles of the war: Dieppe in 1942 and the “Great Marianas Turkey Shoot” in the Pacific in 1944, less so. Britain similarly began construction on ten 698-foot Colossus-class light fleet carriers. Four entered service before the end of the war, and were allocated to the British Pacific Fleet, but arrived too late for frontline action. Aboard the BPF’s larger carriers, which fought in the Battle of Okinawa and other actions, were members of many Commonwealth countries. Among them was Robert Hampton Gray, who (posthumously) was Canada’s last Victoria Cross winner of the war.

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue, AM RAN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by Captain Gary T. Carter, U.S. Navy (Ret)

Click here to read the preface

Turn into the Wind Volume II
US Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and Royal Canadian Navy Light Fleet Aircraft Carriers in the Korean War and through end of service, 1950-1982

Painting by Richard DeRosset of the rescue by a USAF air commando helicopter of a downed Marine fighter pilot from a frozen reservoir in North Korea, while under fire by enemy troops.

Book Description
American and British light fleet aircraft carriers, an expedient of war at a time of dire need in World War II, answered their nations’ call a second time during the Korean War. While larger US Navy fleet carriers plied their trade in the deeper Sea of Japan off Korea’s east coast, their svelte sisters—USS Bataan, HMS Glory, HMS Ocean, HMS Theseus, HMS Triumph, and HMAS Sydney—were consigned to the Yellow Sea. Operating off the west coast, ragged and heavily indented with numerous small islands, aircraft aboard the carriers repeatedly struck the enemy. Winters were cold, with occasional gales and blinding snow squalls; summers were hot and humid, with heavy rains and fog. While the piston-engine aircraft attacked enemy supply lines, fortifications, and troop positions, enemy MiG jet aircraft were a constant threat, some flown by Russians. Carrier air also provided protection to friendly islands, from which guerillas mounted operations behind enemy lines. Following the Korean War, Australia acquired two additional former Royal Navy light fleet carriers, and Canada three in succession, as centerpieces for naval fixed air programs. Former CVLs served in new roles during the Cold War/Vietnam War: USS Wright as a “doomsday” afloat White House, HMAS Sydney as a troop transport, and USS Arlington as a communications link between the Pentagon and commanders in the field.

Click here to read foreword by Allan du Toit, Rear Admiral, RAN, retired

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue, AM RAN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by Larry Wahl, CDR, USN (Retired)

Click here to read the preface

Salvation from the Sky
U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Air Force, and Royal New Zealand Air Force Heroic Air-Sea Rescue in the Pacific in World War II

Painting Salvation from the Sky by Richard DeRosset, depicts the destroyer escort USS Cecil J. Doyle searching in darkness for a PBY-5A Catalina seaplane alighted on the water. Earlier, Lt. Robert A. Marks had heroically landed in towering waves to rescue survivors of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis, sunk by the Japanese submarine I-58. Damaged by pounding seas, and heavily burdened by the weight of fifty-six survivors, the aircraft could not take off again. About twenty-five of the most grievously injured, many with broken arms and legs, are seen laid on the wing, covered with parachute-fabric to provide a measure of shelter from the night chill and wind-driven sea spray.

Book Description
Imagine being a fighter or bomber pilot. You and your crew have been in the heat of battle when, suddenly, your plane catches fire or your engine conks out. You have to bail out or ditch in the water below. Who will save you? In World War II, survivors of Allied aircraft who found themselves in such straits, looked skyward in desperate hope, particularly those within range of Japanese shore guns, or adrift in enemy waters. Their prayers were answered when large, ungainly PBY Catalina or PBM Mariner seaplanes, whose engines thundered in noisy disproportion to the speed they generated, alighted on the water nearby. In the face of gunfire from enemy shore batteries, every second spent as a helpless, fixed target invited disaster for the pilots and aircrews of these plucky planes. Nevertheless, they willingly risked their lives to bring the survivors of downed aircraft and, sunken vessels, back from the shadow of death on slow, sure wings. Air-sea rescue operations were often hazardous, even in the absence of enemy threat. Seemingly calm whitecaps viewed from the air, might well be rolling swells twenty feet high, forcing pilots to put down on moving slopes of water. Gigantic bounces in heavy seas often resulted in damage that prevented their taking flight again. In this companion book to Eyes of the Fleet and Ingram's Fourth Fleet, readers take flight with the heroic aircrews of rescue aircraft scouring ocean waters for their fellow Allied servicemen. Salvation from the Sky also visits four future American presidents - John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush - who were then serving in the Pacific Theater. One hundred seventy-nine photographs; maps and diagrams; appendices; a bibliography; and an index to full-names, places, and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read foreword by Dwight R. Messimer

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue, AM RAN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by George H. S. Duddy

Click here to read the Preface

Click here to read Chapter 1, Rescue of USS Indianapolis Survivors

Support for the Fleet
U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy Service Force Ships
That Served in Vietnam, 1965-1973

Painting by Richard DeRosset
of the light cargo ship USS Brule (AKL-28) under attack by rocket and automatic weapons fire coming from both banks of the Co Chien River. She was ambushed by the Viet Cong on 24 August 1968 while proceeding downriver.


Book Description
During the Vietnam War, 136 U.S. Navy and three Royal Australian Navy Service Force ships served in Vietnam. It was not glamorous duty, and the men who toiled aboard the ships received little recognition. It wouldn't make good reading in Des Moines that the warships on the gunline could not fire their guns, or that carriers on Yankee and Dixie stations could not fly airstrikes against the enemy. Were it not for the sweat, heat, fatigue, and boredom endured by sailors serving in mostly old ships from World War II, that would have been the headline. These ships delivered food, fuel, ammunition, and critical supplies to the destroyers on the gunline, riverine craft patrolling inland waterways, and aircraft carriers, as well as ferrying troops in and out of the war zone, and those needing medical attention to the care of Navy Nurses on hospital ships. These brave men and their ships were often targeted by the Viet Cong specifically because they enabled the Allied forces to hold off the enemy and defend the freedom of the South Vietnamese people. In every war and military engagement, the front lines depend on replenishment. These are the people responsible for maintaining those in harm's way, putting themselves in danger to do so. This book, a companion to On the Gunline and Gators Offshore and Upriver, highlights the herculean efforts of the Service Force, whose vital contributions "on the line" have been largely overlooked by historians. Two hundred fifty-two photographs; maps and diagrams; appendices; a bibliography; and an index to full-names, places and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read foreword by Salvatore R. Mercogliano, PhD

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue, AM RAN (Retired)

Click here to read the Preface

Click here to read Chapter 1, Ambush on the Co Chien River

Available now from Heritage Books

Gators Offshore and Upriver
The U.S. Navy's Amphibious Ships and Underwater Demolition
Teams, and Royal Australian Navy Clearance Divers in Vietnam

Painting by Richard DeRosset, depicting a Viet Cong swimmer-sapper mining attack on the tank landing ship USS Westchester County (LST-1167), on 1 November 1968, in which the U.S. Navy suffered it greatest loss of life in a single incident, as a result of enemy action, during the entire Vietnam War.


Book Description
During the Vietnam War, 142 "gators" (amphibious ships) served in the combat zone. As deeper-draft ships landed Marines on assault beaches by boat or helicopter, World War II-era tank landing ships operated on shallow, winding rivers. Scores of minimal-draft vessels were required to support inland combat action beyond the reach of the cruisers and destroyers serving on the gunline offshore. Therefore, dozens of "mothballed" landing ships were returned to service. These "Ts" served as mobile support bases for river patrol boats and assault helicopters, and ran the rivers to deliver vital cargos to Allied troops, and other units of the "Brown Water Navy." Each day brought the possibility of ambush by the enemy concealed in dense jungle along the banks. Most insidious were swimmer-sappers who used the chocolate-colored waters to hide their movements while placing explosives on vessels lying at anchor or alongside a pier. One such attack against the Westchester County killed or injured many sailors and embarked soldiers. This activity spurred Royal Australian Navy clearance divers being called into service. Their inspections of thousands of ship hulls, rudders, and anchor chains, and heroic removal and rendering harmless of deadly ordnance they found, saved many ships and lives. For those interested in learning about Sailors who fought "in country", this companion to On the Gunline is the book you're looking for. One hundred and ninety photographs, maps, and diagrams; appendices; and an index to full-names, places, and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read foreword by Dr. Edward J. Marolda

Click here to read foreword by Captain John D. White II, USN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue, AM RAN (Retired)

Click here to read Chapter 1, Viet Cong Sappers Nearly Sink USS Westchester County

Click here to read the Preface

On the Gunline
U.S. Navy and Royal Australian Navy
Warships off Vietnam, 1965-1973

Sea Dragon by Richard DeRosset depicts the USS Epperson and Mansfield taking fire from North Vietnamese shore batteries, following a run in by the destroyers to within five miles of the coast in the vicinity of Vinh.


Book Description
During the Vietnam War, 270 U.S. Navy and four Royal Australian Navy warships served at various times on the gunline. Within this armada were the battleship New Jersey, ten cruisers, 212 destroyers, fifty destroyer escorts, and the inshore fire support ship Carronade. When necessary, naval guns poured out round after round, until their barrels overheated and turned red, exterior paint blistered, and rifled-barrel liners were worn smooth. Allied troops locked in battle with North Vietnamese Army or Viet Cong troops in South Vietnam were grateful for artillery support from the sea. When North Vietnam launched the Easter Offensive across the DMZ in 1972, eight to ten ships in line, abreast, often firing simultaneously and around the clock, delivered desperately needed fire support. At one point, over forty cruisers and destroyers were serving together on the gunline. Warships conducting SEA DRAGON and LINEBACKER operations - naval bombardment of military targets along the coast of North Vietnam - came under fire on a number of occasions. Runs in to within five miles of a hostile shore, to strike Vinh, Haiphong, and other targets, often preceded duels with shore batteries. Most such action occurred at mission completion as ships zigzagged, while racing seaward at high speed to clear the coast, to throw off the aim of enemy gunners. This book highlights the grit, determination, and heroism of young men - many who would likely have preferred the laid-back lifestyle of the 1960s, were it not for their country's call to arms.

Click here to read foreword by Dr. Edward J. Marolda

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue, AM RAN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by Captain Steven C. Saulnier, USN (Retired)

Click here to read Chapter 1, Into the Lion's Den

Click here to read the Preface

Praise for On the Gunline

My friend who spent two years on and off the gunline as a gunnery officer read this book and his reaction was, "Every tin can sailor needs to read this book and I will have one on my bookshelf." I share his reaction.

Click here for the entire book review.

B. R. Ditter for The National Association of Destroyer Veterans

I have finished reading your fine new work. It has revealed many facts I was never even aware of; but I think its finest attribute is that it has created a "home" history for the thousands of sailors of our generations who did a magnificent job in executing the tasks they were asked to do in spite of the political and diplomatic machinations associated with the war's creation, directions and final conclusion. Looking from the outside it is my impression that its veterans felt that they were overlooked as compared to those of other wars because of the war's unpopularity. Your book's well researched facts and wonderful assortment of photographs lays out "in-the-face" evidence of their contribution.

George Duddy

Just finished reading your book. Well Done! Was pleasantly surprised to see a photo of Mary Soo. I was blessed to make many trips during my career and was witness to history in many places, including Operation Deep Freeze twice. I also was on the USS Washtenaw County as a QM3 and didn't realize she had participated with me when I was in Haiphong harbor on USS Epperson as a QMC.

I will look forward to your next project.
Percy Chinery

Enemy Waters:
Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Royal Norwegian Navy, U.S. Navy,
and other Allied Mine Forces battling the
Germans and Italians in World War II

Painting by Richard DeRosset of the Battle of Taranto, in which on the night of 11 November 1940, twenty-one Fairey Swordfish torpedo-bombers launched from HMS Illustrious struck the battle fleet of the Italian Navy at anchor in the harbour of Taranto.

Book Description
When Britain declared war on Germany in September 1939, the Royal Navy was deficient in minelayers needed to try to hold enemy forces at bay and out of its home waters. Turning first to the Merchant Navy, it requisitioned a liner and two ferries for this use, and a dozen destroyers and submarines were also converted to carry mines. Later, six fast minelaying cruisers joined the force. When Italy entered the war on the Axis side in June 1940, the situation became dire. As U-boats continued to sink shipping in the North Sea and around the British Isles, the Italian Fleet and German and Italian Air Forces controlled the central Mediterranean. Royal Air Force Bomber and Coastal Command planes took up mining, as did old Swordfish biplanes of the Fleet Air Arm. Joining in the fight were units of exiled navies, including the Dutch minelayer Willem van der Zaan, Free French submarine Rubis, and the Norwegian 52nd Motor Launch Flotilla. U.S. Navy mine forces supported the invasion of French North Africa in late 1942, subsequent landings in Italy, and the invasions of Normandy and southern France. The Canadian 31st Minesweeping Flotilla was at Normandy, and joined in later operations. Enemy Waters puts readers in the heart of the action. One hundred and forty-five photographs, maps, and diagrams; appendices; and an index to full-names, places and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read a review by Capt. Chris O'Flaherty, Royal Navy in The Naval Review

Click here to read foreword by Dr. Edward J. Marolda

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Paul J. Ryan, USN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Paddy A. McAlpine, CBE, RN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by Cdr. Fraser M. McKee, RCN(R) (Retired)

Click here to read the Preface

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Nightraiders
U.S. Navy, Royal Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and
Royal Netherlands Navy Mine Forces battling the
Japanese in the Pacific in World War II

Mining the Tokyo Express by Richard DeRosset depicts the USS Tracy (DM-19), USS Montgomery (DM-17)—shielded from view by the Tracy—and USS Preble (DM-15), laying mines off Guadalcanal the night of 1 February 1943, trying to prevent an approaching force of nineteen Japanese destroyers from evacuating enemy troops from the island.

Book Description
As war with Japan was imminent, the British laid minefields off Hong Kong and Singapore; the Dutch in the Netherlands East Indies; and the Australians off New Zealand and Australia, in an attempt to prevent enemy invasion. Ships hastily converted to this task were referred to as "night raiders." Duty aboard a "floating ammunition dump" was hazardous enough; missions carried out under the cloak of darkness increased the odds of survival in enemy waters. As MacArthur, Halsey, and Spruance's forces advanced toward Japan, minesweepers worked with "night raiders" - clearing waters off landing beaches, while minelayers strove to deny the enemy freedom of the sea. Australian seaplanes ("Black Cats") flew long, perilous night-missions to mine Japanese harbors, and British submarines and planes joined in the attack on shipping. Late in the war, USAAF bombers ringed the Japanese home islands with thousands of mines. When hostilities ended, war-weary "sweep sailors" remained in Asian waters, ridding the sea of "shipkillers." The little-known efforts of these valiant men are illuminated in this rare look into history. One hundred and forty-four photographs, maps, and diagrams; appendices; and an index to full-names, places and subjects add value to this work.

Click here to read a review by Capt. Chris O'Flaherty, Royal Navy in The Naval Review

Click here to read a book review by Peter Down in Ton Talk

Click here to read a book review by "Seaweed" at amazon.co.uk

Click here to read foreword by Dr. Edward Marolda

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Paul Ryan, USN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by Commodore Hector Donohue, RAN (Retired)

Click here to read the Preface

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Home Waters
Royal Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, and U.S. Navy
Mine Forces Battling U-Boats in World War I

They Opened the Seaways by Richard DeRosset portrays a mine detonation off the port quarter of USS Richard Bulkeley. The wooden-hulled minesweeping trawler was sunk with loss of life while participating in post-World War I clearance of the North Sea Mine Barrage stretching from the Scottish Orkney Islands to Bergen, Norway.



Book Description
In WWI under a crippling naval blockade of its North Sea ports which ultimately resulted in the starvation of thousands of its citizens and as land warfare in Europe drags on, Germany endeavours to counter-blockade Britain via U-boat attacks on shipping and by mining waters round the British Isles. Hundreds of fishing vessels from every port and harbour in Britain are pressed into minesweeping duties and minelayers sow fields to restrict and destroy German vessels. Their efforts allow the powerful Royal Navy to hold the German Navy in port—except for occasional skirmishes, including the Battle of Jutland. American destroyers hunt U-boats in British waters, while minelayers create a barrier between the Orkney Islands and Norway, to try to deny the enemy entry into the Atlantic. Desperate, Germany mounts a U-boat offensive off North America in summer 1918, to induce the U.S. to bring her destroyers home. Although nearly one hundred vessels are sunk, this action fails. Germany surrenders in late autumn 1918 and allied vessels are left with the deadly task of removing thousands of mines laid in the war.

Click here to read a book review by Chris O'Flaherty in The Naval Review

Click here to read foreword by Dwight A. Messimer

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Paul Ryan, USN (Retired)

Click here to read foreword by Rear Adm. Paddy McAlpine, RN

Click here to read Chapter 1, A Dark Day

Click here to read the Preface

Praise for Home Waters

David Bruhn's latest contribution (with Rob Hoole) to the history of naval warfare, Home Waters, is an outstanding addition to his body of work and continues his commitment to the story of mine warfare, surely one of the most overlooked narratives in military studies. Home Waters focuses on the failed German submarine offensive of WWI, which was unsuccessful to a considerable extent because of the successful efforts of the British, Canadian, and U.S. Navy mine warfare communities to deny the U-Boats access to the Allied home waters where they might have had the devastating effect on shipping that was the goal of the German submarine campaign. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in the subject of mine warfare.

Robert J. Meindl, Emeritus Professor of English, California State University, Sacramento and YNCM SW/AW, USNR (Ret.)

I want you to know how much I enjoyed "Home Waters". The book is well researched and includes numerous maps and pictures. Those of us who followed in the footsteps of the mine forces of that era have much for which to thank them. A mine force was created by mobilizing the fishing fleet's trawlers and drifters. The equipment was primitive and hazards were magnified by the harsh environment of the North Sea. I experienced the North Sea in winter and can imagine the challenges faced by those forces.

Both the successes and failures were addressed, and I have great admiration for those individuals who overcame such obstacles. The fact that they were able to use their experiences as fishermen to become "instant minemen" was critical to the successes which they achieved. I am amazed that they accomplished so much with rudimentary equipment and a difficult environment.

I value the book highly and intend to follow up with several of your other titles which also interest me.

C. R. "Rick" Hannum, LCDR, USN (Retired)

This book... achieves the distinction of being both a jolly good read and a very useful work of reference, with excellent details of the sources used.

It describes the work of the fishing vessels of three nations: Britain Canada and the Unites States of America, in combating the menace of German mines and submarines in the First World War. Various aspects of this story have been related before, ...but authors Hoole and Bruhn take on the challenge of a much wider perspective, covering the reasons for the outbreak of war, factors affecting the navies of both sides, lack of preparedness for underwater warfare by both sides, the technologies involved and capabilities of the vessels engaged, as well as the conduct of operations, large and small.

... Much of the general story will be known to TCA [Ton Class Association] members and others with a background in MCM, but there is a wealth of material new to this reviewer, not least of which is the chequered history of the formation of the Royal Canadian Navy and scale of resources deployed by the USN during their 17-months of involvement in the conflict.

... No better summary of this work can be given than the words of Admiral Lord Jellicoe, "The Royal Navy saved the Empire but it was the fishermen in their boats who saved the Royal Navy". This book is their story.

Peter Down, Ton Class Association Honorary Secretary & Ton Talk editor

Entire review

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Ingram's Fourth Fleet
U.S. and Royal Navy Operations Against German Runners, Raiders, and Submarines in the South Atlantic in World War II

Sailing under False Colors by Richard DeRosset portrays German blockade runner MV Karin aflame from fires set by her crew before they abandoned ship, after being stopped in the South Atlantic by two units of the United States Fourth Fleet—the light cruiser USS Savannah (CL-42) and the destroyer Eberle (DD-430). A short time later, delayed-detonation scuttling charges exploded, killing all but three members of a boarding party from the Eberle attempting to salvage the vessel.

Book Description
The story of the South Atlantic campaign in World War II, and that of the U.S. 4th Fleet and Royal Navy forces in the theater, was primarily one of ships and land-based planes hunting enemy submarines, commerce raiders, and blockade runners, while also safeguarding convoys. Admiral Ingram was the commander of a small seagoing force that grew into a fleet, charged at first with reconnaissance, later with the protection of shipping, and finally with the waging of relentless warfare against the enemy. The accomplishment of this required great teamwork; between the U.S. and Royal navies, various branches of the American military services, and Americans and Brazilians. Overshadowed by many larger actions and amphibious landings in the European and Pacific theaters, and therefore little known to the public, the South Atlantic campaign helped win the war. Companion book to Eyes of the Fleet.

Click here to read foreword by Dwight A. Messimer

Click here to read foreword by Steven C. Saulnier

Click here to read Chapter 1, Sailing under False Colors

Praise for Ingram's Fourth Fleet

Commander Bruhn has crafted an excellent introductory book about an important but forgotten theater of naval warfare in World War II, a theater of war whose story up to now has never been adequately told. The United States Navy's Fourth Fleet, as the author points out, is the Navy's forgotten fleet of World War II. Between 1942 and 1945, the Fourth Fleet's ships and aircraft patrolled the empty waters of the South Atlantic Ocean west of Ascension Island between the latitudes of 10 North and 42 South. Within this ocean area, the ships and aircraft of the Fourth Fleet sought to interdict Axis merchant ships sailing between Japan and Germany, destroy German merchant ship raiders, and sink German, Italian, and Japanese submarines.

The heart and soul of this book are the accounts of each of the successful operations that resulted in sinking a submarine or the intercepting of a blockade runner. The author has done a creditable job of bringing to light the battles of the Fourth Fleet. A book still needs to be written on subjects the author touches on but does not explore: base development, joint service command, and diplomatic relations with Brazil. This book fills a gaping hole in the account of the Battle of the Atlantic and needs to be read by all World War II naval historians.

Click here to read complete review by Charles J. Bogart.

Combat Action in the South Atlantic in World War II
Sixtant - War II in the South Atlantic www.sixtant.net
Created and hosted by Capt. Ozires Moraes

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Eyes of the Fleet

Evasion of Destruction by Richard DeRosset portrays a strafing run by three Japanese "Mavis" flying boats following their unsuccessful torpedo attack on the USS Heron (AVP-2) on 31 December 1942. Heron shot down one of the aircraft with her starboard 3-inch gun; her port gun had been disabled by earlier combat action. This final attack followed a series of earlier ones by twelve other enemy aircraft against the seaplane tender as she sailed alone in the Java Sea. Due to heroic actions by her captain and crew, Heron survived overwhelming odds during the long ordeal.

Book Description
Cloaked by jungle foliage, the unheralded seaplane tenders operated ahead of the Fleet, like the Navy's famed PT boats. As Halsey's South Pacific, MacArthur's Southwest Pacific, and Spruance's Central Pacific forces advanced toward Japan, these ships served as afloat-bases for patrol planes referred to as the "eyes of the fleet." The large fabric-clad PBY "Catalinas" and later PBM "Mariners" combed the seaways for Japanese forces and carried out bombing, depth charge, and torpedo attacks on enemy ships and submarines. Nighttime anti-shipping operations-"Black Cat" or "Nightmare" missions-were dangerous and daytime combat operations even more so, when encounters with more maneuverable and heavily-armed fighters necessitated hiding in clouds to survive. The Japanese were keen to destroy the scouts and their floating bases, and seaplane tenders often lived a furtive existence, particularly early in the war. Pilots, plane crews and shipboard personnel received scores of awards for valor, including the Medal of Honor, Navy Cross, Distinguished Flying Cross, and Silver and Bronze Star Medals.

Click here to read Chapter 1: Peril in the Java Sea

Praise for Eyes of the Fleet

Click here to read review by Charles H. Bogart in PowerShips, Fall 2016.

Click here to read review by David Legg, president of the Catalina Society.

I loved the book! I'm not a big reader, but I read it in a weekend. I found that I just "had to know" everything, right now.

I hadn't realized that so much occurred between the attack on Pearl Harbor and the Battle of Midway. I've always been interested in WWII since I was a kid, but was never a researcher or one to put everything down to memory. It was great to learn about the small naval forces that we had in the southwest Pacific and what they did with so little in the area, as compared to the Japanese.

I hadn't realized how valuable a part the seaplanes played in almost every campaign, and that the seaplane tenders were relied upon so much for many, many things.

My focus has been on the USS Barnegat-class and I've favored them in my own mind over the other AVs and AVPs and AVDs. Your book has set my mind to a new outlook on all of the classes of tenders and their capabilities and roles in the war.

My father is now reading the book and enjoying it. He first jumped to the parts about his ship, USS Duxbury Bay (AVP-38), but is now reading the whole thing.

Carl T. Musselman
MM1/SS USN (1982-1995)
Webmaster, www.back-aft.com/About_Back-Aft

It took me awhile to get through "Eyes of the Fleet". It is a very impressive and detailed work entirely up to your usual standard. To me it relates a important story that I was entirely unfamiliar with. I hope it will do the same with many others. The Pacific was quite a different type of war than Europe and without the resources you have described would have been even more difficult to have won. It is great for those who served in the tender navy and its aircraft that someone has told their story - well done.

George Duddy
White Rock, British Colombia

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We are Sinking, Send Help!

Spartan Death Throes off Anzio by Richard DeRosset depicts the rescue tug USS ATR-1 alongside HMS Spartan; hit by a glider-bomb that passed down through the British light cruiser, set her aflame and blasted a hole in her hull. She sank shortly thereafter off Anzio.

Book Description
U.S. Navy tugs and salvage ships were in the thick of the action during the invasion of French North Africa, the lengthy, bitter Italian Campaign, and the invasion of France in World War II. Seventeen officers and men from the salvage ship Brant and the fleet tug Cherokee received Navy Cross Medals for their heroic actions during a special operation in French Morocco. Cherokee was the first Atlantic Fleet tug to earn a battle star overseas. Tugs and salvage ships were with the Fleet at Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Normandy, and during the invasion of southern France. Tugs saved many ships damaged by combat action, and the lives of sailors and soldiers aboard aflame or sinking ships, or in the sea. These workhorses also pulled scores of landing craft off hostile beaches. Thirty-six tugs and six salvage ships collectively garnered sixty-six battle stars. The fleet tugs Arikara and Pinto, and rescue tug ATR-2, received the Navy Unit Commendation for their work off Omaha beach at Normandy. Officers and crewmen who took vessels into harm's way received awards for valor for acts of heroism performed under fire. Following the capture of enemy ports, tugs and salvage ships and their salvage personnel worked with minesweepers and mine clearance divers to open harbors critical to sea-supplied support of Allied troops ashore.

Praise for We Are Sinking, Send Help

Commander David Bruhn's book We Are Sinking, Send Help, was not only a comprehensive and informative book on a little-known part of WWII, it filled a personal need about my own history. My father was a hard-hat salvage diver and there was little information about these heroes until now.

This book is a must read to understand the logistics, hazards and versatility of the salvage units in the Navy. Knowledgeable veterans will appreciate his expertise and chronology of events, but us civilians will find it easy to read, informative and necessary for a more thorough understanding of what it takes to save lives and win a war.

Cathy Chase
Professor Emeritus
Author of Jump - chasefordreams.com

Click here to read forewords from William I. Milwee Jr. and Rob Hoole.

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Click here to read a review by David Kronenfeld, Associate General Counsel at Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc.

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Battle Stars for the "Cactus Navy"

Companion book to MacArthur and Halsey's "Pacific Island Hoppers"

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Wooden Ships and Iron Men, Volume III: The U.S. Navy's Coastal and Inshore Minesweepers, and the Minecraft that Served in Vietnam, 1953-1976