Book Reviews

Roger Branfill-Cook. ShipCraft No. sions, crew, engine, speed, guns, and 26: Riverine Craft of the Vietnam Wars. armour. Period black and white photo- Barnsley, S. Yorks: Seaforth Publishing, graphs illustrate full length and design www.seaforthpublishing.co.uk, 2020. details along with scale profile draw- 64 pp., illustrations, bibliography. UK ings for most ships. Those for smaller £14.99, US $24.95, paper; ISBN 978-1- field-modified craft are naturally more 5267-4906-2. rudimentary, and the paired profiles of This work is the twenty-sixth entry original designs versus riverine mod- in the ShipCraft modeling and visu- ification provide the most interesting al reference series, and author Roger detail. Branfill-Cook’s first contribution. A The Model Products section, locat- professional translator used to working ed after the French conversions text, is with French documents, Branfill-Cook divided into four different sections by covers not only the American vessels of scale, with a note on compatible fig- the Vietnam War, but French examples ures at the end. Two vessels are listed from the Indochina War as well. As is as available under unusual ‘Box Scale’ the pattern of the series, Riverine Craft sizes, fifteen for the combined 1:72 and consists of a main text, model products 1:76 scale, five for 1:56, three for 1:48, guide, and model showcase. These and a final twelve for 1:35 scale. Most cover the historical background of ves- listings showcase either the kit’s box art sel types, available kits for representing or a completed example, accompanied various vessels, and fully constructed by a short text on the model’s avail- example models respectively. A single ability, accuracy, and necessary con- page of Selected References listing fin- version notes. Some personal levity is ishes out the work. introduced in this section as well, such The main text of the work is split as the author noting his rare 1:48 RAG roughly in half by the modeling section, Boat kit “had obviously detonated a VC with the first half covering the introduc- mine beneath the engine compartment” tion and French vessel conversions and due to being badly cracked inside the the second half covering South Viet- box (22). namese and American designs. The The 21-page, full colour Modelmak- text is largely used to explain vessel er’s Showcase section is naturally the details for modelers, and as such, there centerpiece of the work, offering mul- is no overt analysis beyond mentioning tiple views of 19 different models con- the effectiveness and service life of the structed by nine different individuals. individual designs. Ship types have Some of these are stand-alone pieces, their name bolded in the text when in- but many are shown in diorama format, troduced, with technical information in either underway or carrying out an op- a side bar listing date of launch, dimen- eration. Perhaps most impressive are The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord 31, No. 1 (Spring 2021): 79-124 80 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord the dioramas of Jan Vererstraeten and black and white, even though many co- Jack Carrico, with the former being a lour images of American vessels exist. highly detailed Riverine Patrol Boat Said images would be helpful to readers and Command and Communications by showing the period colour schemes Boat diorama, and the latter being mul- and markings, rather than just relying tiple detailed pieces created using kits on the models in the showcase section. from Masterpiece Models. Unsurpris- Riverine Craft of the Vietnam Wars is ingly, Branfill-Cook includes many of a decent primer on these vessels and a his own creations in this section, offer- good reference guide for those seeking ing good examples of kit conversions to to model the Indochina and Vietnam represent French and South Vietnamese Wars. While the text may be relative- craft as well as a variety of American ly minimal, there is a good selection of vessels. images and profiles, especially of the In terms of possible improvements, early French conversion efforts often several come to mind. As this is a work overlooked in the historiography. For primarily intended to help model build- modelers, the products section offers a ers, Branfill-Cook’s note that profile good rundown of available kits paired drawings of conversion type vessels are with commentary on their availability “highly speculative” and readers should and accuracy, augmented by the stand- reach out if they have plans should be alone and diorama builds of the Show- located in the introduction rather than case. as an image caption (10). Additionally, Charles Ross Patterson II at least two of the photographs have in- Yorktown, Virginia correct information. One of the 11-me- tre FOM pictures states that the visible weapon is “not a .50 cal Browning, Donald Collingwood. The Captain and is probably a 20 mm Oerlikon,” Class Frigates in the Second World when the weapon is quite clearly an M2 War. Barnsley, S. Yorks: Pen & Sword Browning with the early slotted barrel Maritime, www.pen-and-sword.co.uk, support of the pre-war Colt contracts 2020. 224 pp., illustrations, bibliog- (11). Another identifies the turret used raphy, index. US $26.95, paper; ISBN for the LVT(A)-5 as coming from an M5 978-1-52678-223-6. Originally pub- Light Tank, when it is actually from the lished 1999 and re-released April 2021. M8 ‘Scott’ Howitzer Motor Gun Car- (E-book available.) riage (13). Statements like these could lead to unintentional inaccuracies by Overall, this is a very interesting book modelers. The former Japanese junks describing the history of the Captain used by the French are also not covered -class frigates (destroyer escorts) in the in the main text, though model sugges- Royal Navy during the latter part of the tions are provided in the availability Second World War. The Battle of the section, and there is just a single stern Atlantic, and the U-boat peril, often has photograph of an LSSC when many been described as the only event that re- more profile and detail images exist. ally worried Winston Churchill during The main text also seems heavily bro- the war. Without the machinery of war, ken up by photographs and drawings. raw materials, food and troops from the This may be the style of the work, but United States and Canada, there was no it does affect the flow of information. way of defeating Nazi Germany and it Finally, all period photographs are in all had to come via the Atlantic Ocean. Book Reviews 81 The Nazis equally knew that if they rather than lengthy in-paragraph infor- could stop this seaborne trade and troop mation. These flaws aside, Colling- movements, they could prevent a land wood has produced a readable and in- war on two fronts. Without the Allies formative narrative of life at sea in the winning the battle at sea, there would Captain-class ships on the Atlantic and have been no landings at Normandy and Arctic convoy routes and the English hence, no defeat of Nazi Germany. Channel patrols during the Normandy Convoy escorts were, thus, a vital landings and opening up of the port of part of getting the convoys through and Antwerp. while Britain had the men to operate The author undertook extensive ‘hard such ships, they did not have enough copy’ archival research in the 1980s and ships. Earlier in the war the United 90s to put this history together but also States had loaned 50 old destroyers to uses first-hand information from other the Royal Navy to fill the gap, but by Captain-class personnel who were pres- 1943, new and more capable ships were ent at the many actions in which these required—enter the USS Buckley and ships took part. The story begins in ear- Evart class destroyer escorts (DEs) 78 ly 1943 with the commencement of ship of which eventually served in the Royal construction in US east coast shipyards Navy. While classified as destroyer es- and the overwhelming support provid- corts by the US Navy they were ‘down- ed by the US Navy in getting the ships graded’ to frigates by the Royal Navy ready for sea. Certainly, the high qual- due to weapons fitted. The ships were ity American food and the onboard liv- classified as the Captain class by the ing conditions, such as the use of bunks British and took on the names of former rather than hammocks, were comment- Royal Navy captains from the Napole- ed on by all who commissioned the onic Wars (but with a few from earlier frigates. There were often Royal Navy campaigns). crew shortfalls and some of the frig- Donald Collingwood’s book was first ates were steamed to England by Royal published in 1999 but recently repub- Canadian Navy ‘delivery voyage only’ lished in 2020. Collingwood served as crews. Many of the ships conducted an ordnance artificer in one of the DE’s work-ups off Bermuda before arriving (HMS Cubitt) during the war so had in England where they were assigned to first-hand experience of these ships and various escort groups. easy access to many other ex-Captain- While U-boats were rarely seen in class men. This has its good and bad as- the mid-Atlantic by late 1943, they con- pects throughout the book with rumours tinued to attack Allied convoys right up sometimes becoming fact. until the end of the war and the Cap- The book is written in an easy-going, tains saw their fair share of action. On conversational style but at times as- the plus side, the frigates sank at least sumes the reader has an in-depth knowl- 38 U-boats (with some wartime ‘prob- edge of Royal Navy techniques, tac- able’ kills not being confirmed until tics, procedures, practices, equipment, well after the war when German re- ranks, history and customs. Colling- cords were analysed). Some were indi- wood’s writing, at times, is verbose vidual ship efforts while others were a and clumsy—using a dozen words or team effort and often including aircraft more to describe an event when five or to locate and harass the enemy subma- six will do. The book lacks footnotes/ rines. During the post D-Day channel endnotes which could have been used patrols several Captain’s were involved 82 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord in night-time running gun battles with ny; effectively half her crew. The ship, German E-boats but only one frigate however, did not sink and she had to be (HMS Kingsmill) was ever credited sunk by gunfire, by the Colony-class with shooting down a German aircraft. frigate HMS Anguilla, the following The frigates did not have it all their day. A testimony to the rugged design own way. U-boats, mines or enemy and quality construction of the Cap- aircraft sank or badly damaged 17 of tain-class—but equally sad as many of the frigates and while some returned to Goodall’s men died in the final days of port, they were ‘written off’ as a con- the European war and thus did not live structive total loss and scrapped. Many to see the victory that they had fought Captain’s suffered severe damage due so hard to achieve. to weather or enemy action but thanks Greg Swinden to their very sturdy construction, stayed Canberra, Australia afloat and were taken back to port for repair. Others did their convoy escort duties with barely a shot fired. Fortu- Richard D. Cornell. The Chippewa: nately, apart from actions with E-Boats, Biography of a Wisconsin Waterway. they managed to avoid action with Ger- Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical So- man warships as the frigates’ three-inch ciety Press, www.wisconsinhistory.org, guns, firing a 12-pound shell, were de- 2018. 200 pp., illustrations, map, notes, scribed by her gunners as next to use- bibliography, index. US $20.00, paper; less with the shells often bouncing off ISBN 978-0-87020-780-8. the hull of surfaced U-boats. At the end of the European war, some Mariners spend their lives on water— of the ships were prepared for service seas, lakes and rivers. Many see, but in the Pacific theatre but the Japanese fewer actually observe the waters, their surrender ended that plan. Most of the origins, their flow, their banks and the ships were returned to the United States towns along them. The Chippewa in 1946-47 for scrapping under the chronicles author Richard D. Cornell’s Lend-Lease agreement. A few, how- exploration of the western Wisconsin ever, were retained for use as floating waterway. Over several years he, along power stations at various naval bases with his daughter, KC, and son Drew, and one, HMS Affleck, was forgotten canoed it from its headwaters to where about and kept up this unsung duty at it empties into the Mississippi. This is Tenerife until 1957 before finally being not a linear travelogue with a start, tran- scrapped. sit and finish. Cornell presents a series Of the many actions fought by the of floats that, when combined, encom- Captain-class during the war, there is pass the whole river. one action that stands out for me and The headwaters were a riddle for epitomizes the hard life at sea for the Cornell to unravel. Glidden Enter- men serving in these ships. On 29 prise reporter, Pat Bonney, led Cor- April 1945 HMS Goodall was part of nell to the origin of West Fork, while the escort taking one of the last convoys the beginnings of East Fork are more to northern Russia when she was tor- obscure. What is clearer is that they pedoed by a U-boat in the Kola Inlet. merge in central Sawyer County. Like The torpedo struck the frigate’s forward many waterways in this part of North magazine and blew the entire bow off America, the Chippewa was formed by with the loss of 95 of her ship’s compa- the glaciers that crushed and scraped Book Reviews 83 the surface for thousands of years Running water is a long-tapped during the most recent Ice Age. The source of renewable energy and the river emerged ten thousand years ago Chippewa has a series of hydro-electric as small streams flowing under and to- dams. They not only power the valley, ward the edge of the Chippewa Lobe of but give Xcel Energy the authority to the great Laurentide Ice Sheet, which, “turn on the river”. Release of water along with the other lobes, the Superior, through the dam generates electricity Wisconsin Valley, Langlade and Green but also affects water temperature and Bay, shaped modern Wisconsin. As the erodes banks. Greg Haberman, man- glaciers melted during an earlier period ager of Winter Dam, balances his ob- of climate change, enormous rushes of ligation to Xcel with government reg- meltwater, ice blocks and rocks carved ulations and the demands of the local the Chippewa Valley. communities. The Chippewa has provided suste- Like Sherlock Holmes, Richard Cor- nance and transport to a sequence of nell observes: inhabitants. It watered woolly mam- “We paddled hard, through the last moths and musk ox as well as the no- glimmer of day and into the gathering mads who followed and hunted them. moonlight. Slivers of pink clouds re- It provided Ojibwe peoples with fish flected on the surface of the river. When and brought French fur traders, led by I heard the small rapids, I got out of explorer Pierre-Esprit Radisson. It saw the canoe, grabbed a rope and prepared the land divided into Indigenous reser- to guide us through the rocks. Water vations that still border its stream. swirled around my legs as I picked my The Chippewa flows through lands way through…At the end of the rap- where white pine was king and floated ids the canoe dipped, and what seemed in its waters during the logging days. It like a million mayflies surrounded her. runs alongside cities and towns, such KC shielded her eyes with her hands. as Glidden, the self-proclaimed Black I imagined her covered in fairy dust, Bear Capitol of Wisconsin; Eau Claire, though she doesn’t remember it that where professional baseball met Henry way. I felt the canoe push gently into Aaron; Chippewa Falls, the upstream the upper edge of the island…We ex- limit of the steamboats; and Durand in plored the island under the sliver of Pepin County, that gave the world Lau- moon and chose the lower end to pitch ra Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little our camp” (37). House on the Prairie. The Chippewa packs a lot into 231 Readers are introduced to people pages. Its black and white pictures, con- who live, or lived, along its banks in- temporary and period, are visual aids cluding the Ojibwe whose habitation to the text while the index directs you exceeds memory, Bill Nolte, owner of back to what you want to read again. “The Joynt” that has continued Eau The footnotes provide links to further Claire’s tradition of fine music, and lo- research. This work is travelogue and cal historian Marge Hebbring, a descen- history, exploration and discovery, riv- dant of Chippewa Valley trader Michel er science and industry, virgin waters Cadotte. We become acquainted with and managed use. You could read this the wild Chippewa between the Flam- quickly, but do not. Let it carry you at beau River to Jim Falls and the sections its own pace, like the river it chronicles. tamed by the dams astride it and the Savour it. It is a tale of a journey of workers who control their floodgates. man and daughter, one that the man ad- 84 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord mits “I didn’t want this to end.” Neither late-nineteenth-century on, Caribbean will you. turtlemen were often in the middle of questions, and conflicts, relating to the James M. Gallen exercise and boundaries of national St. Louis, Missouri sovereignties. In particular, as the turtle populations were depleted, turtlemen, Sharika D. Crawford. The Last Turtle- who were largely from the Cayman Is- men of the Caribbean: Waterscapes of lands, were forced farther afield in their Labor, Conservation, and Boundary hunting voyages. This brought them Making. Chapel Hill, NC: University of into conflict with nations such as Nic- North Carolina Press, www.uncpress. aragua, Costa Rica, and Columbia who org, 2020. xii+204 pp., illustrations, felt that turtles off their shores were, maps, tables, notes, bibliography, in- by right, their natural resources. Those dex. US $27.95, paper; ISBN 978-1- three nations, in particular, passed laws 4696-6021-9. and increased enforcement aimed at protecting those resource rights, which Turtles, particularly sea turtles, have raised questions about where national played a significant role in the histo- boundaries were and should be drawn. ry of maritime communities the world These debates Crawford argues were over, and in many ways helped to en- important for two major reasons; the able prolonged exploration and fervent first of which was that they served to exploitative trade from the Age of Ex- push back against British Imperial argu- ploration into the end of the Late Mod- ments relating to maritime jurisdiction. ern Era. These large, slow-moving am- The British Empire had long pushed for phibians were prized by sailing crews limited sea-based jurisdiction for any for the large amounts of meat that could nation, preferring that the seas be kept be harvested from their bodies—a taste open for the use of all nations, with mi- for which spread to Europe itself, where nor concessions for national defense. increasing demand helped to spur mul- As British Imperial power waned, tiple extirpations across various ocean however, Caribbean nations seeking to biomes—along with the plentiful eggs demark their sovereignty to a greater that could be harvested from their extent placed a premium on protect- clutch grounds. Further, the often-co- ing their maritime resources—seeking lourful shells, long used by Indigenous to prevent total depletion, and ensure cultures, proved to be valuable trade themselves a fair portion of any profit items in and of themselves. In the case they generated. of the Caribbean, a limited turtling in- More significant for the turtlemen, dustry was able to continue to exploit these arguments around maritime re- native turtle populations until the mid- sources and national boundaries meant 1960s when ecological, economic, and that they helped to define the modern political pressures became significant boundaries of the Caribbean. While enough to finally end it. It is the last much of their contribution in this shap- century of this Caribbean turtling in- ing was incidental, rather than directly dustry that Sharika Crawford focuses intentional, it was still notable, and for on in her consideration of how it served Crawford’s study, it is a core tenet in to shape the modern circum-Caribbean arguing for their historical significance. world. Understanding this significance in her Crawford finds that from the eyes will help to expand the historical Book Reviews 85 understanding of the Caribbean away text certainly would have a spot in any from a region dominated by the Europe- environmental history course, as well as an-focused sugar plantations into a fully those focused on Atlantic and Caribbe- complex zone of cultural and econom- an world histories. Pushing away from ic exchange. Notably, the sea trades, the traditional plantation-based history including turtling, drew heavily from of the Caribbean to consider the signif- the free and freed populations—few icances of its maritime world promises Cayman slaves participated in the mari- to be a major step in achieving a deeper time trades. Much as Skip Finley notes and more profound history of the region in Whaling Captains of Color, these as a whole. If nothing else, it is a vital trades opened doors to economic and reminder that the maritime world is the social prosperity that would have been often-forgotten component of histories otherwise largely closed to those popu- the world over and that as historians we lations, thereby enabling some amount would be well served to rectify those of advancement. omissions. The historical significance of the Michael Toth Cayman turtlers can also be seen in the Fort Worth, Texas rise of modern conservation efforts, particularly those related to sea turtles. The notable and alarming depletion Jesse Cromwell. The Smugglers’ World: of sea turtle populations by the 1960s Illicit Trade and Atlantic Communities meant that preservation of those species in Eighteenth-Century Venezuela. Wil- was folded into the first international liamsburg and Chapel Hill, NC: Omo- conservation movement—preventing hundro Institute of Early American even greater harm to be done before History and Culture and University of the need for help was noted. While the North Carolina Press, www.uncpress. efforts of conservationists, along with org, 2018. 336 pp., illustrations, maps, the increasing hostility of various cir- notes, index. US $39.95, cloth; ISBN cum-Caribbean nations aimed at pro- 978-1469636887. (E-book available.) tecting their remaining natural maritime resources for themselves, served to end We often think of smugglers as shady the Cayman turtlers’ industry, it is inar- people lurking on the outskirts of soci- guable that they were able to be proac- ety, driven by greed and a certain dis- tive rather than merely reactive. Thus, regard for authority. Cromwell’s The turtlers inadvertently can be credited in Smugglers’ World convincingly flips part with the preservation of the very that stereotype on its head by demon- species they primarily profited from the strating that virtually everyone in eigh- deaths of. teenth-century Venezuela had connec- This illuminating and significant text tions to the illicit world of smuggling. has been assembled from a variety of Government officials, religious leaders, sources including oral histories held at merchants, ship captains, sailors, wa- the Cayman Island National Archive, terfront workers, and every-day con- diplomatic correspondences, and the sumers created a vast network of illegal papers of Dr. Archie Carr, who was the trade that brought in foreign manufac- leading sea turtle conservationist of his tured goods and foodstuffs in exchange time. Marking the beginning of new for cacao, Venezuela’s cash crop. In roads for research and consideration in other words, Venezuelan society and the history of the Caribbean world, this its economy could not function without 86 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord smugglers and smuggling. Through a seafarers navigated Spanish American combination of rigorous primary and waters to unload their illicit cargoes and secondary source research and aca- retrieve precious cacao, tobacco, and demic argumentation, Cromwell effec- hides. During this most treacherous tively places smuggling at the centre leg of the smuggling journey, foreign of eighteenth-century Venezuelan so- seafarers confronted the possibility of ciety, while carefully negotiating the death through combat with Spanish ves- complexity of law enforcement efforts, sels, imprisonment, disease, and forced inter-imperial struggles, and the vicissi- labour. Cromwell then moves ashore to tudes of an unforgiving Atlantic econ- examine merchant smuggling rings and omy. the tactics employed to avoid detection. Cromwell organizes The Smugglers’ He presents the interesting case study World thematically, except for Chap- of Luciano Luzardo and the merchant ter Eight. While allowing for a com- Nicolás Rodríguez, who found sup- prehensive analysis of each aspect of port and protection for their smuggling smuggling in Venezuelan society, this within religious circles. Unlike cap- approach has a few drawbacks, which tured foreigners or lower-class Venezu- will be discussed below. The first three elan smugglers, Luzardo’s smuggling chapters also have a certain chronolog- network faced few, if any, consequenc- ical coherency. The first chapter ex- es for their actions. Cromwell explains plains Spain’s closed system of Atlantic this discrepancy and leniency towards trade prior to 1700 and how that led to merchant elites by linking Venezue- scarcity and large-scale smuggling op- lan government officials to rampant erations in Venezuela. We consequent- smuggling in Chapter Six. The final ly learn in Chapter Two that the Ven- thematic chapter explores the complex ezuelan consumer developed a cultural relationship of free and enslaved people acceptance of and economic dependen- of colour to the system of smuggling. cy on smuggling during the early eigh- Enslaved Africans participated in the teenth century, becoming, in effect, a system as both smugglers and smug- smuggler society. The third chapter gled. Meanwhile, Cromwell argues, examines the creation of the Caracas free people of colour captured in the act Company in 1728 by imperial authori- of smuggling endured the added risk of ties to harness the growing profitability potential enslavement. of cacao and to address the rise of illicit Cromwell’s chapter on people of co- trade in Venezuela. lour is not only informative, but it also The next four chapters focus on best illustrates the organizational diffi- the groups most active in Venezuelan culties of The Smugglers’ World. Crom- smuggling, including foreign smug- well’s thematic approach dissects and glers (Chapter Four), Venezuelan mer- compartmentalizes Venezuela’s system chants and officials (Chapters Five and of smuggling. As a maritime historian, Six respectively), and free and enslaved I was particularly interested in Chapter people of colour (Chapter Seven). Four’s focus on the lives of smugglers These chapters have little chronological at sea and the ships they sailed. Unfor- awareness but rather seek to demon- tunately, it left me dissatisfied, in part, strate continuities within the Venezu- because some stories and aspects of the elan system of smuggling. Beginning maritime world had been placed in oth- with foreign smugglers, Cromwell ex- er chapters. For instance, both enslaved plores how primarily Dutch and English and free people of colour held important Book Reviews 87 roles on board smuggling vessels, espe- thor has admirably discovered their cially enslaved seafarers hired out by networks, both at sea and on land, and their owners. Having no choice in their told their stories. Organizational issues employment, they served an import- aside, Cromwell’s argument for placing ant role in filling out smuggler crews. smugglers and smuggling at the centre This information, however, should have of Venezuelan society is an important been included in Chapter Four to obtain contribution to our understanding of a more complete understanding of “For- colonial Venezuela and its place in the eign Smugglers” and their crews. I was Atlantic world. also disappointed by the lack of spe- Steven J. J. Pitt cific stories about individual seafaring West Falls, New York smugglers. Yet two chapters later, there was the excellent story of John White or “Juan Blanco,” a captured Irish smug- Jim Crossley. Churchill’s Admiral in gler, who could have added a human Two World Wars: Admiral of the Fleet face to foreign seafarers (206-207). Lord Keyes of Zeebrugge and Dover, This organizational critique can be GCB KCVO CMG DSO. Barnsley, extended to other themes and chap- S. Yorks: Pen and Sword Maritime, ters. For example, in Chapter Six, we www.pen-and-sword.co.uk, 2020. 200 learn the fascinating story of Gover- pp., plates, maps, index. UK £25; US nor García de la Torre, who developed $49.95, hardback; ISBN 978-1-52674- a web of friendships and obligations 839-3. among smugglers due to his leniency. By regularly pardoning smugglers or Author Jim Crossley has written a new overlooking their activities, he garnered book about one of the lesser-known respect from many Venezuelans who twentieth-century Royal Navy admi- enjoyed increased access to European rals, Roger John Brownlow Keyes. goods, alcohol, and food. His activities Born in 1872, Keyes’ career spans the prompted the creation of the Caracas first half of the twentieth century, co- Company and led to his removal from inciding with a period of British naval office and incarceration. De la Torre’s supremacy. Crossley’s account paints story would probably have fit better an ambivalent picture of Keyes as an in Cromwell’s analysis of the Caracas admiral who was popular and well-rec- Company in Chapter Three rather than ognized for his noteworthy accomplish- a hundred pages later. As historians, ments, yet someone who failed to reach we often have to make difficult orga- the pinnacle of the career envisioned nizational decisions with material, but for him and whose accomplishments like Cromwell’s, placement can dis- appear more lacklustre in hindsight. joint the narrative flow, impede analysis Keyes’ life and service reflect the of important topics like maritime work- challenges and activities typical of oth- ers and the development of the Caracas er naval officers who rose to the senior Company, and create unnecessary re- ranks of the Royal Navy in the years dundancies. bracketed by the two World Wars. De- The Smugglers’ World is a well-re- spite Keyes’ many accomplishments, searched, informed, and academical- he never became First Sea Lord when ly-inclined study. Despite the efforts he was eligible for that top position of of talented smugglers to remain hid- naval command in the 1930s, though he den from the historical record, the au- was later made an Admiral of the Fleet 88 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord and awarded a peerage. His outspoken- Keyes did not admire Queen Victoria, ness and lack of political instincts irri- impolitically terming her “an alarming tated many who outranked him, as did old lady.” His outspoken personality his relentless opportunism. did not serve him well in this post; he The son of a well-connected officer resented looking after the young royal in the British Indian army, Keyes al- princesses and, preferring his fighting ways wanted to be a naval officer. As role in the Royal Navy, found the social Crossley points out, the army in British obligations boring. His service on the India was larger than the total British Royal Yacht did yield an unexpected home army and made a major contri- boon—the friendship he formed with bution in the First World War. Keyes’ the future King George V, Queen Victo- father used his numerous connec- ria’s grandson—which helped him later tions—and money—to send his son to in his career. the “right” schools to provide him with Following his early assignments and the education he needed as an aspiring before the First World War, Keyes’ naval officer. global postings included Brazil, where He did not, however, excel in his he first encountered anti-British feeling; studies. The author speculates that the German naval officers he met there Keyes’ poor academic performance was did not hide their deep resentment of not for want of intelligence, but because the British Empire and its widespread of a learning disability. Based on the influence. After Brazil, Keyes served letters that Keyes wrote to his mother, in China during the Boxer Rebellion, which were poorly written and rife with where he bravely fought alongside fu- spelling errors, Crossley suspects that ture admirals John Jellicoe, Christopher Keyes had dyslexia, a disability not at Craddock, and David Beatty. Although all understood in his time. Physically, Keyes came into contact with Sir John Keyes was a small man, but Crossley Fisher and Lord Charles Beresford does not credit his diminutive stature during his career, he avoided being for his career shortcomings. In fact, the caught up in their ongoing internal na- combination of having trouble reading val feud, despite the resulting pressure and being smaller than other men may on him and his fellow officers to take have spurred him to be more of a fighter sides. In fact, Keyes never earned the than he might otherwise have been. esteem of Admiral Fisher, who was vol- Keyes’ first assignment in the Royal atile, opinionated, and headstrong. Navy took him to eastern Africa as a With the advent of the First World midshipman, where for three years he War, Keyes assumed a senior command helped to suppress the Arab slave trade in the Dardanelles–Gallipoli campaign, around Zanzibar. Respected for his per- where he came in close contact with sonal bravery and well-liked by his fel- First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston low naval officers, Keyes was regarded Churchill. His friendship with Chur- as an officer with a bright future. After chill was to last a lifetime, though it 1889, the Royal Navy entered a period had periodic peaks and valleys, some of of rapid expansion and reforms as it in- which Crossley describes. Among the creasingly feared rival naval powers, lows: Keyes had little use for campaign especially France and Russia. Keyes re- planning (the opposite of Churchill). ceived a major promotion when he was For example, Keyes had strongly op- posted to the Royal Yacht HMY Victo- posed the withdrawal of British forces ria and Albert, but as Crossley notes, from Gallipoli and wished for a “Ger- Book Reviews 89 man Trafalgar” that would end German Keyes too old for senior naval com- naval ambitions for all time. His prefer- mands (he was nearly 70), a view Keyes ence was to “shoot from the hip,” which did not share. Instead, he became li- led to ongoing policy clashes with his aison to Leopold III, the King of the senior commanders and the Lords of Belgians, who, much to British official the Admiralty, and made Churchill’s job displeasure, refused to go into exile and more difficult. was later viewed as having cooperated In April 1917, Keyes was promot- with the German occupiers. Despite ed to Rear Admiral and took on the being tarnished by his association with ill-equipped Dover Patrol, a separate Belgium’s king, Keyes was elevated to Royal Navy command based at Dover the peerage as Baron Keyes in 1943. and charged with protecting the En- Crossley’s rather short book adds a glish Channel and preventing German missing element to Royal Navy litera- naval vessels from entering the Atlantic ture, but it is not especially well-writ- Ocean. To quash the German U-boat ten or well-constructed. Written in a threats in the English Channel, Keyes relaxed, non-academic style, and very planned and led raids on the German much for the general reader, the book submarine pens in the Belgian ports lacks notes, and the bibliography is dat- of Zeebrugge and Ostend. Though the ed. Churchill’s name in the book’s title raids were a big morale boost to the does not reflect the book’s coverage; he British public, and Keyes was high- is very much a side figure. The author, ly decorated for his services, Crossley whose own father was a midshipman views the raids as ultimately unsuccess- on the battleship HMS Resolution in ful, since German submarines contin- 1916, can be frustratingly contradictory ued to sink British ships. about Keyes. While claiming that the Elected to Parliament in 1934, Keyes admiral never lived up to his potential joined Churchill as an anti-appeaser because of his personality flaws and and an ultimate critic of Neville Cham- his confrontations with other senior berlain’s policies. Both men hated commanders, Crossley also describes appeasement, believing it would lead Keyes as well-liked and brave, making to disaster. As Crossley notes, Keyes’ it difficult to ascertain Keyes’ rightful parliamentary career was not success- place in history. The author’s vacilla- ful, due to his poor public speaking tion between praise and opprobrium for and his failure to acquire the necessary Keyes throughout the book makes his political skills, which may have been conclusion a surprise: “… his charac- related to his learning disability and its ter and daring made him stand out as impact on his ability to write well and a beacon among naval officers of his deliver speeches. Yet despite his unim- time and as an example to future gener- pressive oratory skills, at one point in ations.” Surely this is not the last word 1940, Keyes appeared in the House of on Keyes. Commons in his full Admiral’s dress W. Mark Hamilton uniform to attack Chamberlain’s re- Alexandria, Virginia sponse following Germany’s invasion of Norway. At the end of the speech, he shouted, in unison with others, “In John Darwin. Unlocking the World: God’s name, go!” Port Cities and Globalization in the With the advent of the Second World Age of Steam, 1830-1930. London, UK: War, Churchill and others considered Allen Lane, www.penguin.co.uk, 2020. 496 pp., maps, illustrations, bibliog- 90 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord raphy, index. UK £25.00, cloth; ISBN balization was indelibly marked by its 978-1-84614-086-0. Columbian inheritance,” (83) it was also a marked departure in many re- John Darwin is not a historian who spects. Steam power was key to the thinks small. Over the past couple of growing divergence between the West decades he has cemented his reputa- (specifically northwestern Europe and tion as one of the foremost annalists of the United States) and the rest of the imperialism, thanks to books that sur- world. And while Darwin notes the use vey the global history of empire (After of steam power for manufacturing, he Tamerlane), the second era of British sees its most revolutionary effects in its imperialism (The Empire Project), and application to transportation. This was the complexities and incoherence of most immediately evident in the appli- Britain’s imperial development (Unfin- cation of steam power to river boats, ished Empire). His latest book offers with ocean-going steamships becom- both a shift in focus and a more subtle ing viable only with the development examination of the dynamics that drove of more efficient engines that provid- Western imperialism by examining the ed greater propulsive power with low- influence of port cities during the cen- er coal consumption. Steam-powered tury-long “age of steam” that spanned land transportation also played a vital from the growing application of steam role in this process, as railway routes technology in the early-nineteenth cen- more closely tied the economies of the tury to the onset of the Great Depres- agrarian hinterlands to the developing sion in the 1930s. global economy, making the port cities These port cities, Darwin explains, the crucibles in which the process of played an extraordinarily important role assimilation took place. Though steam in the process of globalization that un- transport took much of the period to folded in the nineteenth century. More become the dominant form of ocean than just places of commerce, ports were travel, once it did so, its effects were “gateway cities” that served as places of truly revolutionary, as steam power exchange between different economies freed vessels from dependency on the and cultures. While gateway cities were patterns of winds and currents, making not always ports, ports were especially possible very different patterns of com- suited to playing such roles and tradi- merce than ever before. tionally did so throughout human his- Darwin details the impact by means tory. Darwin describes the network of of over a half-dozen case histories of ports that developed throughout Eurasia ports during this period. Using exam- prior to the Columbian era, then how ples from the Northern Hemisphere, he the addition of the Western Hemisphere includes a mix of ports with a long his- disrupted this network by injecting new tory (Calcutta, Shanghai, the metropole products and destinations into the mix. ports of Europe) and newer ones that This was not a rapid process: though the boomed during the period (New Orle- Americas became a source of precious ans, Montreal, Bombay, Hong Kong). metals and plantation crops soon after All of them provide effective evidence their European discovery, the process of the supercharged commercial and of “Columbian globalization” was still urban growth brought about by steam incomplete when the impact of steam globalization. For most, steam power technology began to be felt. opened up rivers that had hitherto been While Darwin notes that “steam glo- one-way routes, while railway lines ex- Book Reviews 91 tended the reach of their commercial reading for the connections detailed and activities further inland than ever be- the processes described, especially giv- fore. While most of these ports served en their relevance to the world in which as cosmopolitan “bridgeheads” of a glo- we live today. balized culture, Darwin notes with the Mark Klobas case of New Orleans their effects were Phoenix, Arizona not always dominant, as sometimes the concerns of the hinterland won out over the cosmopolitizing influence such Kenneth Howard Goldman. American ports usually exerted, particularly when Yachts in Naval Service: A History from economic interests were involved. the Colonial Era to World War II. Jef- This proved increasingly the case af- ferson, NC: McFarland & Company, ter the First World War. Whereas most Inc., www.mcfarlandbooks.com, 2021. port cities until then enjoyed the benefits 218 pp., illustrations, notes, appendix- of minimal “inland” intervention, mul- es, bibliography, index. US $45.00, pa- tilateral free trade policies and the gold per; ISBN 978-1-4766-8260-0. standard, the postwar world was one of protectionism, managed currencies, and Kenneth Goldman’s ambitious work restricted investment. As producers attempts to chronicle an obscure but geared towards a global market faced fascinating segment of American naval declining demand for their wares, many history. Goldman, a contributor to Na- port cities experienced a drop in traffic vis Magazine, is quite knowledgeable and its consequences: declining reve- about the construction, interior appoint- nues, increasing unemployment, and a ments and history of yachts and yacht- diminished influence as inland polities ing in both North America and abroad. treated the cosmopolitanism that port The first challenge one encounters in cities embodied with suspicion. What writing a book covering such a broad recovery these economies experienced scope of nautical history is to define came to an end with the onset of the the vessel called a yacht, a Dutch term worldwide economic depression of the jacht schepens meaning hunting ship. 1930s, ending an era of increasing glo- William Smyth’s nineteenth-century balization and signaling the start of a classic Sailor’s Word Book declares it different and more uncertain world. a vessel of state for pleasure to convey To describe the role that ports played great personages, while other authorita- in the process of steam globalization, tive references add light, fast vessels of Darwin draws upon a considerable various sizes, but used for leisure, sport range of scholarly literature. His com- or competition and as a conspicuous mand of the research is truly impres- status symbol. sive, supporting his arguments with The first American yacht to be used some of the latest work in maritime during the Revolutionary War as a com- history, technological history, and the batant (a privateer) was George Crown- insights drawn from several other fields inshield’s sloop Jefferson. Others fol- of study. From this emerges an im- lowed, increasing in number during the pressive survey that explains complex War of 1812 as mosquito fleets; swift dynamics both clearly and insightful- vessels with men largely armed with ly. Though written more for a general muskets and sabres used to disrupt en- rather than a scholarly audience, both emy logistics, and surveil and assist groups will find this book worthwhile in dispatching troops where needed. 92 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord During the lull between conflicts, some (YP), and miscellaneous unclassified yachts practised nefarious pursuits, for (IX). example; the fast-sailing topsail schoo- Next Goldman describes the colour- ner Wanderer, that ended up on both ful if not always celebrated crews that sides of the political fence as a contra- served in state naval militias and one band smuggler and slaver. During the group known as the “Hooligan Navy.” Civil War, the Union prohibited private The latter were an assemblage “of col- armed warfare or privateering, but it lege boys, adventurous legends of shore thrived as a relatively successful busi- villages, Boy Scouts, beachcombers, ness for the Confederate States. South- ex-bootleggers, and rum runners, . . . ern yachts-turned-naval vessels were almost everyone who declared he could conscripted as blockade runners and reef and steer, and many who couldn’t” cruisers. Both sides occasionally had (115). Some vessels were ill-suited for ships with the same or similar name, their assignments, such as the one in but with totally different missions and which Ernest Borgnine served. Bor- different rigging or means of propulsion gnine, best known for his role in TV’s confusing their identity in the historical McHale’s Navy served onboard the con- context. verted yacht USS Sylph during the Sec- As the country prospered and more ond World War. When depth charges people took up yachting for pleasure, were rolled off aft during a U-boat en- some citizens sold or donated these counter, they failed to detonate. This prized possessions to the government. turned out to be good fortune because The best-known transferred yacht was the explosion would likely have torn the iconic America, the winner of the the stern off the vulnerable, slow-mov- “100 Guineas Cup” that still bears its ing wooden yacht. Upon laboriously name. As Camilla, she served the Con- chipping off paint from some remain- federacy in the Civil War, deployed as ing charges, their date of manufacture a commerce raider and later served as a revealed that they were manufactured training vessel at the US Naval Acade- in 1917! Still, donated, purchased or my. Under restoration for possible use confiscated, yachts played a role in both in the Second World War, she was part- world wars, but their significance could ly destroyed as the result of a blizzard be debated in spite of serving in harm’s on the naval academy’s grounds and fi- way. nally stricken from naval duty in 1945. Inexplicably, Goldman did not in- Another famous vessel was presidential clude Bowdoin (IX 50) in his extensive yacht Mayflower from which Theodore list of Second World War yachts. This Roosevelt reviewed the “Great White 88-foot, stoutly constructed schooner, Fleet” of battleships setting out on their built in 1921 for Arctic explorer Rear round-the-world voyage and their re- Admiral Donald MacMillan, participat- turn. Converted yachts also took part ed in Op Sail’s 1986 tall ship parade. in the short war with Spain, some dis- It is believed to be the oldest, Ameri- tinguishing themselves in their roles can-built, Second World War veteran as warriors. The purchase of private sailing ship still in service. From 1942- vessels for naval use goes back to the 1945 she saw duty supplying naval and United States Code 46, section 57105 air bases in Greenland and performed of 1936 with specific classifications of hydrographic surveying off that island patrol gunboat (PG), patrol yacht (PY), and Labrador. Currently the State of coastal patrol yacht (PYc), yard patrol Maine’s flagship, the white-hulled Book Reviews 93 schooner with her distinctive crow’s 8. nest atop her foremast is still active as a merchant marine training vessel. John D. Grainger’s book examines the Goldman includes an unusual num- naval history of the Hellenistic period, ber of broad quotes delivered by pivot- an often overshadowed element of that al historic figures or within documents time. Beginning with Alexander the during consequential events. Unfortu- Great’s minimal use of naval power to nately, American Yachts in Naval Ser- support his conquests, Granger investi- vice struggles to cover all of American gates the rise and deployment of naval naval history up to 1945 within a scant warfare in places such as the Successor 143 pages of text, while identifying kingdoms in the eastern Mediterranean, hundreds of yachts and other vessels the naval powers of the western Med- and their contributions. This makes for iterranean (particularly Carthage and a “choppy literary sea” that, at times, Syracuse), the entrance of Rome into appears shallow, but occasionally pro- the nautical world, and the emergence duced striking graphic prose: “Even in of Roman domination of the sea. He wartime, mundane routine, tedious du- also surveys the activities of the less- ties and, throbbing engines that seem- er powers of the time, such as Rhodes, ingly counted out each passing idle the Attalid kingdom of Asia Minor, and second far outnumbered the adrenaline various Greek states. rush of the call to General Quarters, ... While obviously focusing on naval the excitement of spotting a thin peri- aspects, the author does not neglect the scope and its feather wake, or the near relevant non-naval elements as well, unbearable tension of navigating in a thus providing as clear a picture as pos- fog obscured convoy when one could sible of the events and consequences of barely see the bow of one’s own fragile various conflicts. Grainger maintains a yacht let alone the looming bulk of an es- sympathetic view of those participants cort freighter which might have zigged in the events who do not usually receive when it should have zagged” (94). The individual recognition—the oarsmen, book’s subject matter is unique and its sailors and shipwrights—frequent- notes, three appendices, and extensive ly including statements such as; “As bibliography are quite scholarly. There- usual, the consul survived; thousands fore, this work is potentially useful to of his men died” (94). The very clear any student interested in following the organization of the material by historic wakes of some of the many historical chronology and naval powers presents yachts unmoored and set adrift that col- the information in a precise and com- lided with maritime history. prehensible format; no mean feat for Louis Arthur Norton an extremely involved, and often con- West Simsbury, Connecticut fusing, age. Each significant player is addressed as they come to the fore, with a detailed analysis of the causes and John D. Grainger. Hellenistic and Ro- means of their respective ascents and man Naval Wars, 336-31 BC. Barnsley, declines. While there is, by necessity, S. Yorks: Pen & Sword Maritime, www. some chronological overlap from chap- pen-and-sword.co.uk,www.pen-and- ter to chapter, this transitional difficul- sword.co.uk 2020. 224 pp., illustrations, ty is effectively dealt with by means bibliography, index. UK £14.99, US of brief references to and reminders of $26.95, paper; ISBN 978-1-52678-232- previously described elements. 94 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord Grainger considers political, geo- Romans certainly did not ignore the im- graphical, and incidental factors in the portance of the sea in exerting control naval developments and fates of each over their interests. player, making extensive use of prima- While the work is, overall, quite suc- ry sources, both literary and epigraph- cessfully presented, there are a few ar- ic. In cases where there are conflicting eas of concern. One is the use of Helle- or unclear sources, the author typically nized forms of ancient names. Spelling mentions all the relevant sources, while conventions are often outlined in the expressing his own views and impres- introduction, and this work lacks that. sions, accompanied by arguments ex- The use of Hellenized forms is partic- plaining his interpretation. ularly problematic in the latter parts The chronological organization is dealing with the western Mediterranean paralleled by a geographical organiza- and Rome, as many of the names are far tion. The events and the activities of more familiar to readers in their Lati- the Hellenistic powers of eastern Med- nized form, e.g., Rhegium rather than iterranean are examined in roughly the Rhegion (used by the author). This also first third of the book. Grainger deftly presents a problem with the maps, as weaves his way through the tangled some use Hellenized names and some politics and relations of the Hellenistic Latinized names. Maps of the west- kingdoms with one another and with the ern Mediterranean and entirety of the other powers in the region. Mediterranean would be worthwhile, The middle third of the book shifts as would a map of the harbour of Car- the focus westward to Carthage and thage, considering its mention as one of the emerging power of Rome. While the “four particularly notable harbours” the events described in this section are (xii). Lastly, conceptual diagrams and largely contemporaneous, there was illustrations of the significant vessels minimal overlap between east and west, would be highly useful. so the geographic transition is far more The aforementioned concerns are not conducive to maintaining clarity than a significant enough to affect the overall strictly chronological format would be. success of the work. The author does This period in the west featured fewer an excellent job of presenting one of the significant powers, and in many cases most involved and difficult- to-under- more detailed sources regarding partic- stand periods of Greco-Roman history, ular events; thus, the challenge of mak- addressing a somewhat overlooked as- ing an understandable presentation of pect of that history. The book is both the events is significantly reduced. This accessible to the lay reader and thor- is not to say that Grainger’s work on ough enough for students and academic this section is less skillfully wrought. readers, making it a welcome and im- The final third brings east and west portant addition to the libraries of those together, with Rome’s emergence as interested in the ancient Mediterranean the dominant power, first in the western world. Mediterranean, and then in the entire Ronald Atchison region—a situation that would endure Pensacola, Florida for the next three centuries. Notably, Grainger refutes the common view that the Romans paid little heed to naval John Grehan and Martin Pace. Des- matters, effectively showing that, while patches from the Front: The Battle for rarely spotlighted in the sources, the Norway 1940-1942. (Originally pub- Book Reviews 95 lished 2015). Barnsley, S. Yorks: Pen scope includes military operations and Sword Maritime, www.pen-and- during the ill-fated attempt to counter sword.co.uk, 2020. 186 pp., illustra- the German invasion, reports on both tions, appendices, indices. UK £12.99, the naval battles and land battles around paper; ISBN 978-1-52678-213-7. Narvik, as well as commando and naval (E-book available) raids in Norwegian waters. The text is well-buttressed by a limited number of Norway essentially played three differ- very well-chosen and relatively con- ent roles during the Second World War. temporary photographs. Given the type It started as a stalwart neutral power, of paper chosen for this edition, the im- then a hapless victim of invasion and fi- ages are remarkably sharp. Additional nally the scene of several key comman- support for the text is provided by a do attacks led by its belated, and ulti- helpful list of abbreviations, plus indi- mately unsuccessful, former protectors. ces of key persons and naval, military This paperback reprint focuses on the and air units. last two stages of Norway’s experience Overall, the strength of this volume during the war. Compilers Grehan and is found in the actual dispatches them- Pace have selected a number of “des- selves. While many could argue that patches” or reports that are intended to one or another operation had been over- provide more information on how En- looked, one cannot dismiss the ones gland tried to stem and then counter the that made the cut. Overall, they are pre- German invasion and occupation of this sented in a highly readable fashion and neutral country. The authors have con- have been faithfully reproduced from tributed to most, if not all, the books in the originals. The only concession to this series that cover England’s various modern publishing restraints is placing campaigns throughout its modern histo- footnotes at the end of the dispatches. ry, and their experience shines through. Perhaps the most disjointed attempt at As this volume shows, once England historical accuracy is that the compil- withdrew from Norway, it chose to ers’ insistence on using a capital “I” mount several commando raids in the instead of a numeric “1” when citing Norwegian archipelago. These kept times. The decision of the command- Hitler’s forces off-guard and forced him er of the Lofoten Island raid of March to maintain fairly strong forces in that 1941 to sink the German fish oil tanker beleaguered country. Naturally, this Hamburg, instead of attempting to seize slim volume doesn’t deviate from the her as a prize vessel, is an example of well-established series format. Each of the kind of situational operation infor- the chapters detail selected actions, fo- mation that is to be found in these dis- cusing on both the relatively contempo- patches. Given the nature of this work, raneous general summary reports that it does not include a bibliography, but were filed by various commanders, as more casual readers might have been well as a selection of appendices that better served with a small list of sug- add additional commentary and obser- gested readings to investigate the story vations from other officers and com- of these events further. mands. The majority of the dispatches One thing that seems striking is that, in this volume were penned by naval apart from the Artic convoys and air- officers, which underscores the impor- raids on German bases and warships, tance of Norway to the Royal Navy in the Allies shied away undertaking any this far-flung theatre of the war. Their major raids or joint operations in Nor- 96 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord way after 1942. Nonetheless, the raids Until recent years, most books relating of 1941 did manage to persuade Hitler to the U-boat war in the Battle of the to greatly overvalue Norway’s impor- Atlantic suggested that the major threat tance during the Second World War. A was pretty well over after May 1943. rather significant event that is glossed By then, Admiral Dönitz temporarily over is the sinking of HMS Glorious by withdrew most of his boats after suffer- the German battlecruisers Scharnhorst ing unacceptable losses. More recent, and Gneisenau. This omission is all the careful research, however, has shown more striking because of recent revela- that the battle was by no means over tions about the true cause of her rushed until the last days of May 1945. The exit from Norwegian waters in June continuing threat of submarine attack 1940. One unintended consequence around Britain has become known as of the Lofoten raid that could perhaps “The Inshore Campaign.” U-boats have been mentioned was its political were still very much a threat. They even repercussions within German-occu- claimed HMCS Clayoquot on 24 De- pied Norway. Nevertheless, given the cember 1944 and HMCS Esquimalt on defined mission for volumes in this se- 16 April 1945 off the coast of Canada. ries, the compilers were perhaps wise to These successes, in the Kriegsmaine’s steer away from these issues. view, were largely thanks to new equip- Despite these very minor quibbles, ment that is the subject of this excellent the work stays true to its mission and and carefully researched book. the series format. Even now, its con- As Royal Navy historian, Captain tents offer a valuable contribution to the Stephen Roskill, commented; “We growing literature of Norway’s role and never gained a final mastery over the importance during the Second World U-Boats” (Darkest Before Dawn: The War. The dispatches presented provide Sinking of the Empire Heritage, 2011). a more “boots on the ground and on Or, to quote the Duke of Wellington; board” perspective on the Norwegian “It was a near run thing!” Much of the campaign and the sometimes cheeky delay in providing new technologies antics of the British commandos who that were being developed for Germa- participated in these actions. This vol- ny’s U-boat arm should, in retrospect, ume is definitely worth reading, or even be credited to the RAF and American a second read, by anyone interested in bombing campaign. To reduce the se- the conduct of the Second World War in rious destruction of the shipbuilding this region. yards and technical production facili- ties located primarily in the northwest, Peter K. H. Mispelkamp Germany diversified production -far Pointe Clare, Quebec ther east and south, becoming experts in partial construction, including even Aaron S. Hamilton. Total Undersea U-boat hull sections and engines. But War. The Evolutionary Role of the this forced them to depend on rail and Snorkel in Dönitz’s U-Boat Fleet 1944- river barge shipping, which the Allied 1945. Barnsley, S. Yorks: Seaforth air forces then demolished, slowing and Publishing, www.seaforthpublishing. too often destroying those critical sup- co.uk. 2020. 416 pp., illustrations, ap- ply lines—and cargoes. pendices, notes, bibliography, index. While the Kriegsmarine did in- UK £35.00, US $52.95, cloth; ISBN deed get a few of their much-modified 978-1-52677-8 8 0-2. (Distributed by U-boats to sea, they were too little and Naval Institute Press) too late to influence the final outcome. Book Reviews 97 It was that close. The author’s exten- how this reliable working snorkel was sive 29-pages of appendix tables will a device that could have put Germany prove valuable reference fodder for in a possible bargaining position at the determining which U-boats were fitted end of the war. His references to pa- with new equipment, and thus, assess- trol or training exercise reports are in- ing the threat. teresting in themselves, revealing how Hamilton looks essentially at three rapidly the naval development office factors that could have made allied an- was able to modify and change fitting ti-submarine efforts considerably more designs. It shows how the pressure of difficult from mid-1944 to May 1945: war compares to our current develop- the development of a reliable snor- ment of the Canadian Surface Combat- kel air-supply system (for simplicity, ant (CSC) progress. While the Allied he uses the American spelling almost navies’ progress toward better anti-sub- throughout); the addition of anaerobic marine weapons, like the ahead-thrown paint or other covering for the snorkel squid, kept them abreast, it did not pro- heads and conning towers to reduce vide much of a lead over Germany’s radar detection; and most importantly, improved U-boats. the development of the Walter engines, Chapter 7 evaluates the consider- more streamlined boats and reliance able benefits to crew habitability and on the snorkel, to increase underwater thus, operating efficiencies, derived speed, an improvement of up to 30 per when snorkels could introduce fresh cent. air more frequently. This is something After a useful chapter to set the scene rarely considered—perhaps because the facing Admiral Dönitz in 1943, with the author was never a submariner, accus- introduction of increased air cover as an tomed to just accepting the fetid air in anti-U-boat threat for convoys and pas- long-dived boats. sage routes, the author looks intense- Germany also developed special ly at the development of an improved paint and rubber-like coverings for the snorkel, with a number of illustrations head of the snorkel protruding above and technical drawings. Although the the surface, which coincided with im- Dutch had been experimenting with proved anti-radar detection for the con- similar devices since before the war, as ning towers, but both came too late to well as various designers as far back as change the course of the war. Close-up the invention of a practical submarine photographs illustrate its use and the around 1900, it was not until the Ger- developing models required to close the mans largely solved the mechanics of intake when seas washed over the head. a folding, waterproof and speed-adapt- The other main theme is the introduc- able air intake unit that the snorkel be- tion of the higher speed ‘electro-boats’, came a practical and necessary addi- Types XXI, XXIII and XXVI. Al- tion to most of their U-boats. This was though few went operational, those that particularly important in the shallower did proved their worth. In a final chap- waters around the UK and western Eu- ter, Hamilton assesses their problems, rope (the “Inshore Campaign”). For a never fully resolved, how they were more detailed look at that specific ‘war,’ dealt with and advantages. Post-war, see John White’s Endgame–The U-boat the RN also adapted the HPE (explo- Inshore Campaign (2008), or Jak Mall- sive hydrogen-peroxide) boats, and like mann Showell’s Hitler’s ‘Wonder’ their Kriegsmarine counterparts, did U-Boats (2018). Hamilton explains not find them advantageous enough to 98 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord pursue. They weren’t called “the Ex- thor Thomas Heinrich uses this diverse ploders” for nothing. fleet of vessels, ranging from aircraft Hamilton’s table listing every boat carriers to landing craft, as a vivid sym- that had snorkel fitted, from U-92 to bol of American wartime shipbuilding. U-1308, including those with anti-radar This book is a comprehensive look at covering and hull modification, pro- shipyards including their management vides a useful reference. HMCS New and labour, the roles of the US Navy Glasgow paid the price in March 1945, and government support programs, the at night off Londonderry, when their impact of new technologies, and de- bridge watch sweeping the area before tails of how certain building programs her group went out on escort duty, heard were achieved. The narrative shows a thrumming noise. They presumed it how warship building differed from was a patrolling aircraft, when in fact it merchant ship construction and from was U-1003’s new snorkel close along- the fabrication of other types of mil- side! Her commanding officer had mis- itary equipment. Warships were, in judged his closing angle, and in fact hit fact, built in batches by skilled labour. New Glasgow, damaging both of them, Writers who have depicted US war- to the extent the U-boat broke his snort ship-building as analogous to the mass and periscopes and had to be abandoned production of aircraft, tanks, or artil- the next morning! Count it a dubious lery or liberty ships, by recently-trained success for the RCN, since the ship had workers are incorrect. The book offers to return for major repairs, and a lesson welcome comparisons in each chapter too late for the Kriegsmarine. with practices in Britain, Germany, and Offering both detailed description Japan. of the trials, successes and engineering Thomas Heinrich is a German-Amer- amendments, in text and illustrations, ican professor of business and naval this is an important and well referenced history. His Ships for the Seven Seas: book on Germany’s late war efforts Philadelphia Shipbuilding in the Age to regain an advantage. Meanwhile, of Industrial Capitalism (1997) exam- as Roskill noted, the Allies were just ined the nexus of factors that produced “keeping up.” a major shipbuilding conglomerate on the Delaware River. Warship Builders Fraser McKee is the result of ten years of further re- Toronto, Ontario search and thinking. The writing style is clear; the writer’s painstaking efforts Thomas Heinrich. Warship Builders: to explain (and illustrate with drawings) An Industrial History of U.S. Naval points like the nature of arc and elec- Shipbuilders 1922-1945. Annapolis, tric welding, propulsion rotors and the MD: Naval Institute Press, www.usni. construction of turbine rotors perhaps org, 2020. xii+346 pp., illustrations, ta- reflect his teaching background. Exten- bles, charts, notes, bibliography, index. sive endnotes comprise one fifth of the US $ 39.95, cloth; ISBN 978-1-68247- book; they are followed by a 35-page 537-9. (E-book available.) bibliography. When Congress approved a 70 per- Most of the US armada assembled in cent expansion of naval tonnage un- Tokyo Bay to accept the Japanese sur- der the Two-Ocean Navy Act in July render in September 1945 had been 1940, America already had one of the commissioned since Pearl Harbor. Au- world’s largest warship-building indus- Book Reviews 99 tries (7). The reader is reminded that cialize in building certain types of war- in 1906, the boilers for HMS Dread- ships. Newport News won the contract nought had been supplied by the UK for the first American carrier to be built branch of Babcock-Wilcox, a firm that as such from the keel up, USS Ranger, had grown from its origins in Rhode Is- in 1930, after the two other yards had land to an international concern. The agreed to submit higher bids. In fact, warship-shipbuilding sector, having Newport News made a 23 percent prof- been largely fallow in the 1920s, was it on this ship, and this was the start of steadily strengthened by the Roosevelt the yard’s specialization in carriers. It administration from 1933 onwards. would build the three successful York- The President had been involved with town class ships later in the thirties and wartime shipbuilding during his eight then nine of the 24 powerful Essex class years as Undersecretary of the Navy in during the Second World War. The Two the Wilson administration. Under the Ocean Navy Act instituted no-bid con- New Deal’s National Recovery Act of tracts negotiated between the navy and 1933, private and naval shipyards start- pre-selected builders. Wartime profits ed receiving funds for facility improve- for private yards averaged 5 percent; ments. The new administration also be- the building of destroyers (9 percent gan approving larger warship-building for Bath Iron Works), submarines (8 programs, a trend that accelerated as percent) were more profitable than con- the international climate, particularly in structing heavy combatants (99). Sev- the Pacific, deteriorated. Heinrich notes enty-five years later, both yards still spe- that navy shipyards—whose workforce cialize in building these warship types. during the Second World War would The wartime profit figures do not factor represent one-third of warship-building in heavy investments by government in labour—started receiving funds from facility improvements that were written Congress for facility improvements as off after the war. Major British warship early as 1928 (29). All four countries builders were more profitable than US had developed the use of electric weld- and German yards in the 1930s (50); ing in warship construction in place the yard on the Clyde that built the bat- of riveting. It was only in the Unit- tleship Anson between 1937 and 1942 ed States and Germany, however, that realized a 30 percent profit. Professor large, overhead cranes enabled large Heinrich provides a fascinating com- modules, or in the case of U-boats, hull parison of the costs in the late-thirties sections, to be first welded and moved of battleship classes on page 51. The into position on the hull. approximate cost per ton for a Yamato Large private warship builders op- was $780, as against $790 for a King erated as cartels in the thirties in both George V, $1,100 for a Bismarck, and the US and UK. In the late twenties, the $2,200 for a North Carolina. only three American yards capable of Individual chapters discuss the role building large warships had secretly co- of navy yards, private shipyards, and in- ordinated bids for constructing a class ternal reforms in the Navy Department. of heavy cruisers to ensure that each re- Heinrich cites the “unprecedented con- ceived at least one contract. Their prof- centration of power” under Admiral its were 25, 35, and 37 percent of the King as Chief of Naval Operations and contract price (25). The results of these Commander in Chief of the US Fleet insider arrangements were ultimately (113). All four of the Iowa-class bat- beneficial in that yards came to spe- tleships were built in navy yards on 100 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord the east coast. Their construction is The reader is not provided with a frame described in detail in the chapter on of reference to evaluate and compare navy yards. Apparently, warship plans various expenditures. An exception is produced in the Bureau of Ships were a statistic on page 122 which shows more detailed than those provided to that the total value of the 11 navy yards builders in Britain by the Naval Con- and industrial shore establishments in struction Department (150). During 1944 was $12 billion, “comparable to the design stage, the Brooklyn Navy the combined assets of General Motors, Yard carpenters built full-scale mock- US Steel, and American Telephone and ups that helped resolve the internal Telegraph.” arrangement of individual spaces and Warship Builders includes well-cho- issues such as the positioning of ma- sen photographs, excellent diagrams, chinery and piping. This yard built two and useful graphs. It has been produced Iowas and acted as the lead yard once to the usual high US Naval Institute construction started when there were standard with sturdy binding and clear regular conferences between the three typeface. The text is jargon-free and yards involved. In 1941, the President covers a wide span of topics in a clear had pushed to complete nine Cleveland manner. This is an admirable book that -class light cruisers under construction describes the scale of US naval ship- by a single yard, New York Shipbuild- building, how it was achieved and how ing, as Independence-class fast light it compared to parallel efforts in Brit- carriers. Admiral King supported this ain, Japan, and Germany. innovative proposal. There is a flu- Jan Drent id and comprehensive narrative about Victoria, British Columbia this project in the chapter about private shipyards. It highlights various aspects of their propulsion systems and the role David Hobbs. The British Carrier Strike of sub-contractors and extensive supply Fleet after 1945. Barnsley, S. Yorks: chains in producing a complex warship. Seaforth Publishing, www.seaforthpub- The Independence-class joined the Pa- lishing.com, 2020. xvii+622 pp., illus- cific war at roughly the same time start- trations, glossary, notes, bibliography, ing in late 1943 as the powerful Essex- index. UK £19.99, US $39.95, paper; class fast carriers. The author notes that ISBN 978-1-5267-8544-2. (E-book the “Two Ocean Navy” plans in 1940 available.) lacked provision for ocean-going es- corts (92). Later he covers the massive At nearly 1,000 feet long and embarked programs that produced 563 destroyer with fifth generation F-35 aircraft, the escorts which started entering service HMS Queen Elizabeth II is the pride late in 1943. of the British Fleet. The aircrew of Warship Builders is rich in detail. the F-35 is comprised of a joint and The narrative describes the prodigious combined force of US Marine aviators scale of US wartime naval construction and Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots fly- and cites numerous dollar figures. There ing beside Royal Navy (RN) aviators. are, however, few attempts to relate This incredible feat of engineering and these to a total figure in a category (e.g., military might, however, almost did assistance for facility improvements to not happen. The British Carrier Strike private/navy yards or expenditures on Fleet After 1945 covers the decline and aircraft or other weapon production). atrophy of the British fleet after the Book Reviews 101 Second World War until present day in intensity in the United States. The end the face of an ever-changing maritime result of this interservice rivalry and environment and tightening fiscal con- narrowminded policymaking result- straints. ed in the cancellation of CVA-01 and After the war, the aircraft carrier thus, any attempt by the Royal Navy emerged as the ultimate symbol of sea to have a “true” carrier—that is, a car- power. The advent and proliferation of rier fitted with an arresting gear and nuclear weapons, however, left many catapults. The cancellation forced the policy makers convinced that the air- Royal Navy to innovate and adapt new craft carrier was an anachronism from technologies for future carrier projects. a bygone era. Throughout the book, They focused on developing smaller however, the author provides exam- carriers and pioneered the development ples where the British aircraft carriers and implementation of the iconic “ski fulfilled their roles ranging from pro- jump” seen on British, Chinese, Indi- viding humanitarian aid to strike capa- an, and Russian aircraft carriers today. bility, and clearly defines the case for In addition to carrier strike capability, the necessity of aircraft carriers in the the book delves into the RN’s adoption Royal Navy. From the North Pacific and implementation of early air warn- to the South Atlantic and everywhere ing (AEW) and antisubmarine warfare in between, there are examples of Brit- (ASW), two fields of warfare that are ish aircraft carriers serving as tools of becoming increasingly important in international diplomacy, whether just modern naval combat. “showing the flag” or actively extin- Hobbs presents his information ob- guishing “brushfire” conflicts and war. jectively so that his personal biases are Despite the inarguable success of air- not apparent until the last chapter en- craft carriers for imposing British will titled “reflections,” where he explains and policy, policymakers continued what he hoped the British carrier fleet to gut the British carrier force. The would have been in the modern era. Argentine invasion of the Falkland Is- Despite envisioning a different carri- lands, however, served as a catalyst of er fleet for modern day use, the author change after nearly 40 years of atrophy does not short change due credit and and neglect and allowed aircraft carriers pride for Britain’s new-found embrace to prove their worth in the modern era. of aircraft carriers and its renewed em- The essence of the book is the de- phasis on sea control. cline of British sea power exemplified While primarily about policymaking, by the ill-fated CVA-01 project. Poli- the book does not disappoint aviation cymaking along with interservice trib- lovers. From the propeller-driven war alism between armed services would heroes and Cold-War workhorses to ultimately lead to the cancellation of the the state-of-the-art fighter jets, the au- project. The CVA-01 was designed as thor covers the entire spectrum of naval a conventionally powered aircraft car- aircraft and capabilities developed and rier that would have looked remarkably used by the Royal Navy for aircraft car- similar to any United States aircraft rier operations. For the rotor-heads out carrier today. Instead, shrinking pock- there, the book also covers British naval etbooks and feuding between the Royal rotor aviation evolution and even offers Navy and Royal Air Force served as a a rare insight into how British helicop- budgetary flashpoint; a flashpoint that ters perform the airborne search and continues to ignite today with the same surveillance control (ASaC), a role per- 102 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord formed by the fixed wing E-2 Hawkeye will continue) to produce fertile ground aircraft in the United States. Nor does for academic study. In particular, the the book skimp on technical details. single-ship actions between British and While some readers may get lost in the American frigates and brigs have per- litany of technical details along with sisted in fascinating the amateur and the vast list of missions, ship names, professional historian alike ever since aircraft, and weapon systems, the text- the events themselves unfolded. Nich- book style presentation of information olas Kaizer, a young historian whose provides a rich resource of information Master’s thesis for Dalhousie Universi- and case examples. Hobbs also covers ty forms the core of this book, attempts several novel concepts in naval avia- to bring a fresh view to these ship-on- tion, including examples where the RN ship actions. The result is a well-re- landed jets without landing gear on an searched, thoughtful endeavour. aircraft carrier equipped with a rubber Single-ship actions at the start of the deck and the proposal of carrier-borne War of 1812 saw the loss of three Brit- rocket fighters designed to intercept and ish frigates and a brig, a stark contrast to shoot down high-altitude Soviet bomb- Britain’s reputation of dominance over ers. the French and Spanish fleets in Euro- After decades of neglect, the Royal pean waters. This rough start continued Navy’s adoption of the F-35 fighter jet throughout the war, but was somewhat and deployment of HMS Queen Eliza- offset by a handful of British victo- beth II aircraft carrier indicate that poli- ries. Kaizer takes each engagement cy makers have finally taken the lessons and works through the action in some of sea power, especially through aircraft detail, comparing ship armament and carriers, to heart and that the aircraft handling. The aftermath and the letter carrier is here to stay. This book is a home to the Admiralty explaining the must-read for those wondering if air- defeat, plus the ensuing courts martial craft carriers are just expensive relics are all recounted. Kaizer holds that the from the past or essential tools for in- defeats were a significant blow to the ternational diplomacy, for now and into sense of professional and personal hon- the future. our of the officers of the British navy. Common to all was an expressed eager- Dylan Phillips-Levine ness to engage the enemy, the struggle Buenos Aires, Argentina to gain or maintain the weather gauge, the ship-shattering American gunnery Nicholas James Kaizer. Revenge in the supremacy, and fighting to the point Name of Honour: The Royal Navy’s where continuance would have spilt Quest for Vengeance in the Single-Ship British blood with no hope of victory. Actions of the War of 1812. Warwick, All defeated officers felt they could UK: Helion & Company, www.helion. have won if luck had favoured them co.uk, 2020. xxi+217 pp., illustrations, rather than their foe. Though much has maps, appendices, notes, bibliography, been made by other historians over the index. UK £25.00, paper; ISBN 978-1- armament differences between the Brit- 912866-72-4. ish and American vessels, the author points out that most ships carried more While the War of 1812 commemora- guns than they were rated for, often tions are now a long six years behind leading to a more equal number of guns, us, the subject matter continues (and though overall superiority in weight of Book Reviews 103 broadside went to the Americans. Kaiz- papers (especially those critical of the er plays down the weight difference as a government) tended to see the defeats reason for the losses in the minds of the with panicked shock and defeatist dis- defeated officers. may as evidence of the navy’s inability For the British officers, after the first to protect the nation. They played up defeats, the drive to beat an American armament differences, disadvantag- ship-of-war, of similar rate, in sin- es faced by the British, and the failing gle-ship combat became a major moti- heroic effort. The Admiralty’s failure vating force, thus the title of the book to provide the North American Station “Revenge in the Name of Honour”. The with proper ships, and its uncertain re- three officers held up as models of this sponse with razées (cut down from 64- line of thinking are Philip Broke, Henry or 75-gun ships), to be able to catch and Napier, and Thomas Capel. Using per- overpower the American heavy frigates, sonal letters, and journals, Kaizer paints were taken as signs of a corrupt unpre- these men as patriotic British officers in paredness that caused the defeats. Writ- search of honour for themselves, their ers to the Naval Chronicle (a source service and the country. Brooke is the used extensively by the author) were one who realizes his goal by taking more forgiving, praising the naval offi- HMS Shannon against US frigate Ches- cers, and offering excuses for the Amer- apeake and defeating the American in ican victories, though some did clearly 11 minutes of carnage. HMS Pelican lay blame at the Admiralty’s door. The versus the US Argus is another success- difference between British accounts ful single-ship action. While the duel and those in Nova Scotia, where sup- between HMS Endymion and the US port for the navy was strong, highlight frigate President is laid out as a sin- the latter’s dependency on a successful gle-ship action, the author reminds us naval outcome. that the presence of three other British The role of honour is stressed through- vessels closing in on the American ship out each of the chapters, to explain the made this fight really about a squadron motivation of officers to engage the en- chasing down and capturing the heavy emy. Kaizer suggests this revealed the frigate. central driving force underpinning the Kaizer notes that this goal of individ- professional culture among the British ual honour through combat interfered at officers of the post-Nelson navy. One times with the overall goal of blockad- British officer declined an engagement ing the large American frigates in ports, when he chose, instead, to honour his to keep them from commerce raiding. duty to protect the half million pounds Perceiving the British frigates as not an worth of gold aboard ship. equal match to the Americans, in July Overall this argument makes sense, 1813 the Admiralty banned officers but there are some spots of contention from single-ship engagements, ordering that need further exploration. First is ships to travel in pairs and work with Captain Philip Broke’s correspondence large squadrons to capture and destroy with his wife which reveals his strong elements of the United States Navy. sense of honour in defending the Roy- This book is more than just the re- al Navy’s reputation and obtaining re- counting of the actions and the rela- venge for the defeats at the hands of tionship with honour. It explores the the Americans. Broke’s letters invoke impact on the public perspective of the “honour” many times, but Kaizer fails navy and the Admiralty as well. Public to note the captain’s also frequently ex- 104 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord pressed desire for prize money to take hearing loss and was sacrificed by the him into retirement ashore, along with captain to redirect the court’s atten- his wife and his honour. Many of the tion. No further questions were asked officers (if not all) were keenly aware about gunnery as all attention focused that capturing an American frigate, or on Duncan’s failure to adequately rouse taking a loaded merchant ship, would the crew to fight on. Less than an provide a rich reward. Honour was not honourable deed on Laugharne’s part, the only motivation. since he had not brought the point up Court martial testimony as to the in previous correspondence on the loss. honourable intentions and behaviour Captain Wales, HMS Epervier, and his of the officers and men of His Majes- officers complained to the court of the ty’s ships, as Kaizer draws out for each inferior nature of the crew, overlooking loss, was the standard line of defence. their own failure to check the repairs to Without significant objection from ju- their ship’s guns after it had been driven nior officers, captains and commanders under water during the hurricane at Hal- were acquitted of responsibility for the ifax, in November 1813. defeat. The officers were found to have Kaizer has purposefully concentrated done all they could, that they did not on the single- ship actions of the war to shirk their duty in any manner, and that determine the place of the sense of hon- early battle damage and superior arma- our in motivating Royal Navy officers, ment favoured the Americans. These attributing it to underpinning the pro- ‘legal’ results were published, defend- fessional culture of the British navy’s ing the honour of the service, and the officer corp. Missing in the discussion government. Privately, however, the of honour is its relationship to coastal Admiralty tended to not re-employ raiding, attacks on specific communi- those who were defeated. Such losses ties (not just Washington) around Ches- even tainted the careers of their junior apeake Bay, the interdiction of coastal officers, as Kaizer so ably demon- trade and the capture of merchant ships. strates. Thus, honour and outcome col- The other element that certainly influ- lide in deciding the continued careers enced the officers on the ocean were the of the officers involved, an incongruity defeats, or indecision, of British naval that is not dealt with sufficiently by the forces on the Great Lakes. This wider author. For the navy, doing everything view might yield a more nuanced view to protect your honour was not enough; of the issue, but that is for future work. you had to win. There are six illustrations, mainly of Not all commanding officers were the officers mentioned, spread across that honourable. Captain John Carden, the text, and 16 coloured ship profile of HMS Macedonian, was acquitted by drawings in the centre of the book, the the court, despite being challenged for work of Florian Richter. The four large keeping his distance at the start of the maps are clear and helpful in situating fight. Criticized in the press, he wrote the various actions under discussion. a book defending his actions, blaming a The first of two appendices contains large portion of the loss on his wretched information pertaining to the careers seamen. Captain Thomas Laugharne, of the commanding officers and lieu- HMS Alert, threw his lieutenant, An- tenants on the British ships that were drew Duncan, under the “boat” (per defeated, or victorious, which are dis- se) as the court asked questions about cussed in the book. The second shows gunnery practice. Duncan had a severe the disposition of frigates, by rated ar- Book Reviews 105 mament, for 1813. The second appen- Soviet Union. The resulting one-sid- dix seems less useful than the first. The ed battle that ensued ended with the book, sadly, lacks an index. destruction of the Scharnhorst off the Even with my minor reservations, I North Cape of Norway. Over eight recommend this book to those interest- chapters, Konstam breaks down the op- ed in the naval side of the War of 1812, eration from the perspective of both the those studying command and naval cul- British and German sides. Starting with ture, and people examining the influ- a strategic assessment of the conditions ence of war on local press and the role that set up the campaign, Konstam pro- of the press in shaping the understand- vides a clear and concise chronology of ing of future historians of the events of the operation. What follows is a suc- the war. Nicholas Kaizer has written cinct discussion of the key elements a volume that is enjoyable to read and of the battle. Chapter three focuses on will give one much on which to think. the opposing commanders and their ex- I look forward to his next publication. perience and training. Chapters four and five examine the order of battle for Thomas Malcomson both sides and their plans, respective- Toronto, Ontario ly. What follows is, despite its brevity, a crisp and clear-cut discussion of the Angus Konstam. North Cape 1943. The campaign. Lavishly illustrated with Sinking of the Scharnhorst. Oxford, maps providing an effective reference UK; Osprey Publishing, 2020. 96 pp., for ship movements, this chapter is real- illustrations, maps, bibliography, index. ly the heart of the text. Like most naval US $24.00, CDN $32.50, paper; ISBN engagements, the battle developed over 978-1-4728-4211-4. time in stages. In this case the author breaks it up into eight sections based on Every book, no matter the subject, pres- ship movements and actions. The final ents a unique glimpse into an area of two chapters deal specifically with the history. It may reveal totally new sourc- aftermath of the battle and the discov- es or research, different approaches, or ery of the wreck of the Scharnhorst in methodologies, or even philosophies of September 2000. Resting in 290 meters history. Often, it reveals the subject in of water, the wreck is the final resting unique and exciting ways. Whatever place for some 1,932 men. The author the length, readers can appreciate it for also provides a section for further read- what it is, a unique and valuable win- ing on the subject and index. dow into history. The Osprey books The biggest limitation for the text offer very simple and straightforward is its brevity. While most texts have accounts that offer a clear narrative and the space to provide the reader with a accuracy. great more context and understand- Angus Konstam’s North Cape 1943: ing, a brief text like this one tends to The Sinking of the Scharnhorst (2020) produce a very bare-bones assessment certainly provides the latter. A relative- of the events. Do not be confused by ly small book at only 96 pages, North this. Konstam packs a lot of informa- Cape examines the final sortie of the tion into this small text, and I salute KM Scharnhorst at the end of Decem- him for the work. To do that is never ber 1943 in Operation Ostfront (Eastern easy by any stretch of the imagination. Front) and its vain attempt to interfere When augmented by detailed charts and with Allied convoys on the way to the photos, North Cape provides its reader 106 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord with a clear understanding of the battle almost missed the opportunity to sink with far more depth than most would Scharnhorst. Bad weather and equally expect. The reader comes away with bad luck can conspire to steal victory a good sense of the events and the in- from anyone, and it was far closer than credible challenges of operating in this most think. environment. Operating off of Norway Overall, North Cape provides an in- at the end of December puts ships and teresting and fascinating read into the men really at the edge of capability and last battle of the Scharnhorst. It pro- often beyond it. Even today that kind vides enough information to not only of climate is a killer of men and ships. wet the appetite of the reader but a good Adding a war with U-boats, aerial and consensus of the operations without surface threats and the result is one of overwhelming the reader. The great- the most hostile situations anyone could est limitation is that this subject really face. Discussion of the light conditions needs a more in-depth discussion and and the storms facing both sides leaves assessment. This was a dramatic mo- the reader with a sense of shock that ment that had a huge impact on many the operation could even go forward let things not just the people who fought alone lead to a successful conclusion. it. As such it really deserves a larger At the same time, the complexity of study. That should not detract anyone operations does appear here as well. interested in this from picking up the From the British side, the need to pro- book. I think this will be an interest- vide escorts for convoys and larger ing read for anyone interested in naval forces in the critical areas to protect a history during this period and the little stronger surface force in case of Ger- discussed northern convoy operations man capital ships presented the admi- especially in 1943. rals with unique challenges. Augment- Robert Dienesch ed by ULTRA based on the enigma Windsor, Ontario. cypher machine, the British were able to have a more complete intelligence picture of the German threat and were John G. Langley. Canadian Confeder- able to plan accordingly. Aware that the ate Cruiser: The Story of the Steamer Germans wanted to put a major surface Queen Victoria. Halifax, NS: Nimbus unit against the convoys, British plan- Publishing, www.nimbus.ca, 2018. ning provided for heavier capital ships 192 pp., illustrations, appendices, in- in this case HMS Duke of York support- dex. CDN $17.95, paper; ISBN 978-1- ed by one heavy and three light cruis- 77108-660-8. (E-book available.) ers and multiple destroyers and smaller vessels. This force was also a multina- John G. Langley, author of a well-re- tional force including three Canadian viewed biography of Samuel Cunard, destroyers. In the end the Royal Navy has written a very readable volume clearly had superior forces at their dis- about an important and overlooked posal. In comparison the German navy vessel in Canadian history. Introduced could field only Scharnhorst and five by the author as a compendium of sto- destroyers due to damage to the KM ries, the book centres on the steamer Tirpitz which rendered her inoperable. Queen Victoria but he provides exten- Yet despite the numerical advantages, sive details surrounding the ship and the the ability to read German codes and the events, making this more of a “life and expectation of action, the Royal Navy times” volume. Book Reviews 107 In the 1850s the port of Quebec often problem is compounded by a dearth of depended on steam tugs to assist ves- information about the ship. No plans, sels negotiating the strong currents and drawings, photographs or particularly dangerous channels between the port good descriptions of the Queen Victo- and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. At the ria are known to exist. The handsome same time, Trinity House of Quebec, illustration gracing the cover of the charged with controlling and improving book is a marine painting of the sister navigation of the river, needed assis- ship, the Napoleon III. An illustration tance in building and supplying light- labeled as a “Blueprints of the steamer houses along the route as well as pro- Queen Victoria” turns out to be a con- viding salvage services. François Baby, jectural drawing based on a 2015 tech- a member of the Upper Canada elite, nical report used to construct a model had developed a towing business and of the vessel. when the government called for light- Langley acknowledges the research house and buoy tenders which could of Rear Admiral H.F. Pullen, who locat- also handle towing, passenger, and ed sources related to the building of the freight services he proposed two new vessel including the specifications. Al- vessels. These ships, built in the Napier though lacking source notes, the volume yard on the Clyde, were the Napoleon does have a “Selected Bibliography” as III and the Queen Victoria, twin ships well as a “Bibliography.” The former is 173 feet long and 30 in breadth with distinguished from the latter primarily displacement of 494 tons. Both vessels by the inclusion of a list of newspaper were successful and took advantage of references. Although the list is lengthy, government subsidies as well as funds the lack of Quebec sources, especially advanced to Baby to cover the building French-language publications, is note- costs. By 1859, however, accumulated worthy, and may have caused Langley debt against which the ships were mort- to miss important details. For exam- gage collateral resulted in their transfer ple, in portraying the captain as a hero, from Baby to the government. Langley appears to be unaware of one Both ships performed a variety of eyewitness account of the sinking of the tasks in their role as tug steamers, but vessel which mentions the captain as as the largest vessels in the provincial conspicuously absent, “during the time fleet, they also carried dignitaries on the storm lasted, the reflection even, of official tours in the area. In 1866 the his benign countenance was not seen Queen Victoria sank in a storm off the on deck.” The sinking also involved a Carolina coast while returning from an strange incident. While the captain of a unsuccessful expedition to create direct rescue vessel, which itself was running trade between Canada and Cuba. out of provisions, pleaded with the crew Langley covers the vessel’s relative- of the Queen Victoria to bring supplies ly short life in a workmanlike manner for the more than 40 men being trans- but, with the exception of participating ferred from the sinking vessel, the cap- in the royal visit of the Prince of Wales tain of the sinking ship elected to bring in 1860, and carrying delegates to the in the lifeboats a silver tea service and 1864 confederation conference in Char- the 100-pound brass ship’s bell. Pas- lottetown, the ship’s story is not a par- sengers and crew were saved with only ticularly stirring one. While these two the clothes on their backs. events inspired reportage, the normal The story of this bell makes up the working life of the vessel did not. The last third of the book. The artifact 108 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord passed through the family of the cap- cursors to the Canadian Coast Guard, tain of the rescue ship to the village of played in assisting commercial nautical Prospect Harbor, Maine. Attempts to operations and as mechanisms for ad- repatriate the bell were made from the vancing government maritime policy. 1960s on. It was finally loaned for tem- H.T. Holman porary display in Canada, in exchange Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island for a replica bell being made, a model of the Queen Victoria produced and a rent- al fee of more than $10,000 paid. While Michael G. Laramie. Gunboats, Mus- this might ordinarily serve as footnote kets, and Torpedoes. Coastal North to the history of the Queen Victoria, the Carolina, 1861-1865. Yardley, PA: negotiations dwarf the story of the ves- Westholme Publishing, www.westhol- sel itself. There are other diversions as mepublishing.com, 2021. xii+347 pp., well, such as a full chapter dedicated to illustrations, glossary, notes, bibliog- the story of the Confederate raider Tal- raphy, index. US $30.00, cloth; ISBN lahassee which was in Halifax in 1864. 978-1-59416-336-4. The volume is further padded out by an appendix with brief biographies of Can- Entering an oversaturated market, ada’s Fathers of Confederation. books about the Civil War need to fit Langley cannot resist the temptation into a particular niche. In Gunboats, to over-dramatize the narrative; the Muskets, and Torpedoes: Coastal North tug steamer Queen Victoria becomes a Carolina, 1861-1865, author Michael “Royal Yacht” (and later an “imperial” Laramie traces naval and coastal battles yacht) when the Prince of Wales or the that defined the Tar Heel State’s role Governor-General, step aboard, and the in the Civil War. His book follows the ship’s bell is described as “Canada’s war from the seizure of Cape Hatteras Liberty Bell” and a symbol of nation- to the official surrender of the Confed- hood. The vessel itself, owing to its role erate soldiers under the command of in transporting delegates for the confed- Joseph E. Johnston to the Union Army eration conference, is the “flagship of and William T. Sherman. The author the emerging nation.” The somewhat demonstrates North Carolina’s impor- confusing title of the volume is credited tance in the Civil War, particularly by to a Charlottetown press account of the serving as a breeding ground for new ship, although no source is given. The tactics and technologies. Although not phrase most likely appears in a some- a historian by trade, Laramie has a de- what tongue-in-cheek report from the gree in engineering and his experience Saint John Morning Telegraph. in the United States armed forces pro- The resulting volume is somewhat vides him with a unique perspective on unsatisfying from a nautical research military history. He presents a persua- perspective. The problem may be that sive argument for North Carolina’s role the subject and the available sourc- in the Civil War that sheds new light on es have enough content for an article, the conflict. but perhaps not a book, and it has been Despite being nearly 300 pages, the lengthened by including a good deal book moves at a good pace with chap- of contextual information of marginal ters roughly 10- to 15-pages long. The value. Nevertheless, it contributes to author provides thorough and detailed the literature by shining a light on the maps and pictures of the places and ac- important role that support vessels, pre- tors that he describes in each chapter, Book Reviews 109 helping the reader to imagine how each Elem Warren, whose 2011 article de- battle would have unfolded. Laramie scribes the fall of Fort Fisher, and Ron connects and blends the coastal battles Soodalter, who describes the battle and with the naval battles while showing occupation of Fort Hatteras at the start the importance of both. In chapter five, of the war in North Carolina. when Laramie examines the Battle of Laramie’s book also needs better Roanoke Island, he explains how the editing. Grammatical errors appear Confederate troops at Fort Bartow saw throughout the book, but perhaps even 12 Union gunboats approaching the worse, is the presence of incorrect his- shore in support of the Union troops torical facts. One of the most glaring closing in by land. The description il- omissions is his description of Con- lustrates just how vital the ships were federate naval officer Benjamin Loy- to the protection of the attacking Union all. His name is not only spelt as both army. “Loyal” and “Loyall” in the text, but Another strong point of Laramie’s there are separate entries for him un- work is his glossary and terms section at der each name in the index. Laramie the back of the book, providing readers describes the USS Sasacus as weighing with a handy definition of words they 750 tons, when in reality, it weighed might not recognize. More than that, 974 tons. When discussing the battle he also offers a brief background on the at Cape Fear and the bombardment of terms and their origin. For instance, a Fort Buchanan, Laramie states that it “barbette” is a cannon designed to fire was later dubbed the “Malakoff of the over a parapet. It is not meant to protect South” in reference to the Russian fort the crew, but it does allow them great- that withstood attacks from both the er firing distance throughout the field. French and British. In fact, it was only This glossary makes it convenient for the French that attacked Malakoff. The both novice and expert readers to ap- British attacked simultaneously further preciate the text. south at Redan. He also fails to intro- There are, however, some problems duce people consistently. In some cas- with the book. While Laramie cites es, Laramie introduces his characters many primary sources such as the using their full name, such as General Southern Historical Society Papers and James Longstreet. On other occasions histories of North Carolina regiments, only a last name appears. For example, the majority of his secondary sources he first introduces General John Foster are almost 50-years old. For example, as simply Foster. Only several pages when describing the blockade around later does the reader find out that it is the Carolina coast, he cites an article General John Foster. by Marcus Price written in 1948, but While Laramie’s work proceeds in fails to mention a more modern take by chronological order, making it easy Bern Anderson, whose 1989 book is de- for any reader to follow, it cannot be voted to the naval history of the Civil included in the Pantheon of Civil War War and features the blockade. Lara- books due to its errors. Nevertheless, mie also overlooks more modern works it does introduce the reader to the many by authors who expand on the Civil different battles that took place along War era, such as James McPherson, the coastline of North Carolina during Edward Ayers, and Peter Carmichael. the war and draws attention to North He even ignores historians who wrote Carolina’s role in the conflict. A novice directly about North Carolina, such as would enjoy the book; however, an ex- 110 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord pert in Civil War history would be left gents, French authorities opted to con- unimpressed after reading it. solidate the ships. Although the vast fleet would consequently create a single Charles Cox large footprint at sea, it was justifiably Pensacola, Florida hoped that the convoy would nonethe- less lessen the opportunity for British vessels to locate and pick off individual Mark Lardas. The Glorious First of ships. June 1794. Oxford, UK: Osprey Pub- The convoy would face a grim oppo- lishing, www.ospreypublishing.com, nent in the form of legendary Admiral 2020. 96 pp., illustrations, maps, bibli- Richard “Black Dick” Howe. Com- ography, index. UK £14.99, US $24.00, mander of Britain’s imposing Chan- CDN $32.50, paper; ISBN 978-1-4728- nel Fleet, Howe hoped to intercept the 3484-3. convoy, although his primary focus was the destruction of France’s Grand Fleet, Few eras in history have garnered quite which sailed out of Brest. the attention from naval historians than That fleet was commanded by Rear the great age of fighting sail. With the Admiral Thomas Villaret de Joyeuse. release of Mark Lardas’ The Glorious An aristocrat who had survived the First of June 1794, one of the most piv- Revolution with his head, Villaret-Joy- otal engagements of the eighteenth cen- euse was also a competent career of- tury is made accessible to a broad spec- ficer. When he was ordered to escort trum of maritime history enthusiasts. the grain convoy into French ports, The epic sea battle that culminated Villaret-Joyeuse opted to largely ignore on 1 June 1794 was a direct result of his orders, deciding instead to lure the the global upheaval occasioned by the English fleet away from the convoy, al- French Revolution. By the spring of lowing the merchantmen to slip to safe- that year, the egalitarian promises of the ty while using his own Grand Fleet as Revolution had been lost in the Reign the bait. of Terror, and an increasingly isolated Howe, an aggressive combat com- France was forced to wage war on mul- mander who preferred climactic con- tiple fronts. tests between ships of the line, was only An unexpected famine would only too happy to accommodate. Locating make matters worse. Portions of west- the French, naturally, was his greatest ern France experienced drought begin- obstacle. The two fleets miraculously ning in 1793; hostile European powers passed each other within hailing dis- were unwilling to make up the agricul- tance on the evening of 17 May, but due tural shortfalls through trade. In order to the presence of a dense fog bank, the to ameliorate the food shortages, French two sides never made contact. authorities launched an ambitious plan British lookouts finally spotted the to purchase immense quantities of grain French fleet on 28 May. The French from the United States. But in order held the weather gauge, but Howe char- to successfully cross the Atlantic, the acteristically ordered his ships to give grain convoy would be forced to run the chase. Although Villaret-Joyeuse hoped gauntlet of a British blockade. to avoid a general engagement, the The grain convoy which mustered in French three-decker Révolutionnaire the Chesapeake Bay was estimated at sought battle, and found it. During an over one hundred vessels. Rather than afternoon of epic fighting, the French split the convoy into smaller contin- Book Reviews 111 ship grappled with five English 74’s. when the two sides clashed. Though dismasted, Revolutionaire suc- This book follows the traditional Os- ceeded in slipping away under cover of prey template, and includes chapters on darkness. opposing commanders, opposing na- On the following day, the two fleets vies, opposing plans, the campaign, and sparred and jockeyed for position. Still its aftermath. Although Osprey books struggling against the wind, Howe fi- can’t be strictly classified as academic nally ordered a general engagement. volumes, that caveat by no means de- But due to confused signals and the tracts from the author’s research. inevitable fog of war, only a handful Mark Lardas is a lifelong maritime of ships engaged. Howe personally history enthusiast, prolific author, and led the attack, which degenerated into knowledgeable authority on life at sea a disorganized melee. The fight large- during the eighteenth century. He of- ly resulted in a tactical draw, although fers a concise and gripping account of Howe succeeded in securing the weath- one of the most pivotal, if unheralded, er gauge for the next day’s fighting. naval engagements during the wars of By 1 June, Howe finally succeeded Revolutionary France. in bringing his fleet to bear in a classic Joshua Shepherd line-of-battle naval action. After intense Union City, Indiana fighting, Howe, commanding from the quarterdeck of the Queen Charlotte, succeeded in crossing the French line. Jim Lotz. Canada’s Forgotten Arctic By end of day, Villaret-Joyeuse’s fleet Hero: George Rice and the Lady Frank- had been badly battered, forcing him to lin Bay Expedition, 1881-1884. Syd- disengage. ney, NS: Cape Breton Books, www. Ultimately, both sides would claim capebretonbooks.com, 2009. 192 pp., victory: the French for having ensured illustrations, maps, bibliography. CDN the safe passage of the grain convoy, the $14.95, paper; ISBN 978- 1-895415- British for having badly mauled the en- 94-0. emy fleet. But Britain was clearly in a superior position for the continuing war After Henry Grinnell’s first expedition at sea. The Revolution’s frenzied polit- to locate Sir John Franklin in 1850, the ical assault on the French navy, which United States began to direct part of included the purges of both experienced their expansionist interests toward the officers and trained gunners, had badly extreme northern part of the American crippled her maritime capabilities. As continent. Most of the daring adven- the Napoleonic Wars unfolded over the tures that characterize the expeditions succeeding decade, France was left at a toward the North Pole during the latter decided disadvantage. part of the nineteenth century have fea- In addition to an engaging account of tured American military officials. Rel- the fleet actions that took place between atively little attention within the main- 28 May and 1 June 1794, Lardas’ Glo- stream narrative of Arctic exploration rious First of June constitutes a worthy has been reserved for people from other reference volume on the battle. The countries. The story of George Rice, a book includes an exhaustive order of Canadian photographer who joined the battle for both fleets, as well as excel- Lady Franklin Bay expedition in 1881, lent two- and three-dimensional maps is a refreshing example. that help clarify the chaos that erupted Jim Lotz, a Fellow of the Arctic In- 112 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord stitute of North America and author of land, while Rice reached the northern 24 books, sheds light on the life of this part of Ellesmere Island, after a dra- heroic Canadian in his book Canada’s matic journey that represents one of the Forgotten Hero: George Rice and the most interesting parts of Rice’s diary. Lady Franklin Bay Expedition, 1881- In particular, when Rice and his 1884. The book is enriched by a series companions reached Cape Hecla, they of George Rice’s Arctic photos. found that the ice floe on which they This book is mainly based on Rice’s stood was delimited by the open Arctic diary, dating from 7 July 1881, the day Sea, the existence of which was only the expedition left the port of St. John’s, supposed by previous expeditions. The Newfoundland, until 2 August 1883, crew felt lost when they realized that when all members decided to leave Fort the floe was turning around by itself, Conger in Lady Franklin Bay (Elles- leaving them at the mercy of the sea. mere Island) in a tragic attempt to save Thanks to Rice’s readiness and leader- themselves from starvation. ship skills, the men saved themselves, The Lady Franklin Bay expedition, reaching the mainland. led by US Army Lieutenant Adolphus Rice also proved himself to be a good Greely, was organized as a scientific ex- sailor, further earning the respect of ex- pedition for the third International Polar pedition members, as supported by their Year. The official purpose of this ex- private diaries. The commander, Gree- pedition, promoted by Captain William ly, was one of his strongest admirers, Henry Howgate of the US Army Signal and on many occasions, he showed his Corps, was to establish a temporary sta- confidence in Rice’s skills, giving him tion near Lady Franklin Bay, to serve responsibility for many important mis- as a base for scientific observations and sions, such as asking Rice to conduct a explorations. In reality, as Lotz asserts launch into Sun Bay, in order to prepare in his book, the expedition’s main pur- the retreat journey. On another occa- pose was part of Howgate’s ambitious sion, Greely chose Rice to lead a party scheme for colonizing the Arctic. to rescue a boat in Greenland, left by George Rice joined the other 21 the Nares expedition in 1876. members of the expedition as a vol- Lotz’s book represents an import- unteer, and during the various extreme ant document, opening a window for missions around Ellesmere Island, he readers to discover many aspects of proved to have all the necessary qual- daily life in the Arctic and the difficul- ities of a good leader. ties that people had to face there in the After reaching the western coast of nineteenth century. Another important Greenland, where two Inuit joined the feature of this book is its depiction of expedition, the Proteus got to Cape the difficulty involved in organizing a Frazer, Ellesmere Island, on 4 August, rescue expedition, partly due to the in- and finally arrived at Discovery- Har efficiency of the technology of the era, bour, on 18 August, where the carpen- but also to the disorganization of both ters started to build the Fort, named af- the expedition crew and of the military ter Michigan Senator Omar D. Conger, authorities. who had supported the expedition. The tragedy of the Lady Franklin Bay Three members of Greely’s expedi- expedition was determined by a series tion were able to reach the highest lat- of poor command decisions by Greely, itude ever attained at that time, setting who decided to conduct his crew to- off from the northern coast of Green- wards the southern part of Ellesmere Book Reviews 113 Island, after having waited two years is a biography of not one ship but two; for a relief vessel. As Lotz highlights second, both of these vessels played an in his book, Greely was ambitious but important role in Canadian and Arctic also “a rigid authoritarian, widely dis- history; third, both ships are still ex- liked by all the men of his expedition” tant—one as a museum ship, and the (1). In fact, the US had tried to send the other as a still-active sailing vessel; and Neptune to Fort Conger in the summer finally, because the author is unasham- of 1882, but the ice forced the members edly biased when it comes to the sub- of the expedition to leave 250 rations ject of the book as he is the owner of at Cape Sabine, before heading back to one of the ships. The two ships are the civilization. St. Roch, the famous British Columbian After two years, the men of the Arctic patrol vessel, today presented at Franklin Bay Expedition left Fort Con- the Vancouver Maritime Museum, and ger and started their last, dramatic jour- the lesser-known but equally interesting ney towards the south, in the hope of North Star of Herschel Island. meeting a relief vessel. Given the numerous publications al- The US sent out the Proteus again, ready available on the St. Roch, a patrol but its sinking drastically reduced the vessel owned by the Royal Canadian hope of rescuing Greely’s party. In Mounted Police that made the first cir- February 1884, the first two members cumnavigation of North America, and of the expedition died, quickly followed the fact that the author himself owns the by other men. Rice’s turn came on 9 North Star of Herschel Island, it is no April, in a courageous attempt to re- wonder that there is a certain focus on trieve some rations left at Baird Inlet by the latter vessel. What is much more previous expeditions. interesting than the portraits of the two On 22 June, the Bear and the The- ships is the way the author frames their tis reached Cape Sabine, saving Gree- biographies by focusing on their respec- ly and the last five men who remained tive contributions to securing Canadian and consigning them to history, while sovereignty over the area today known the life of people such as George Rice as Arctic Canada. had to wait more than a century to be Consequently, the book does not be- unearthed. gin with the construction history of the ships, but with a broad introduction to Fabrizio Martino the Canadian Arctic, in particular Her- Prachatipat, Thailand schel Island, and the issue of Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic Archipela- R. Bruce McDonald. Sisters of the Ice. go. While some of the topics are over- The True Story of How St. Roch and simplified, for example the discussion North Star of Herschel Island Protect- of the end of Arctic whaling does not ed Canadian Arctic Sovereignty. St. even mention the rapid development of John’s, NL: Harbour Publishing, www. Antarctic whaling, they provide a good harbourpublishing.com, 2021. xiii+146 introduction to a complex topic and pp., illustrations, bibliography, notes, most important the role of individual index. CDN $19.95, paper; ISBN 978- traders and their interactions with the 1-55017-928-6. Indigenous population in this context. In the following sections it becomes Sisters of the Ice is an unusual book obvious how a very small number of for a number of reasons: first of all, it ships could secure sovereignty over 114 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord an extreme vast area and how even the land survived until the present day and RCMP’s role in the context of securing how its owners are not only devoted to sovereignty was often more the effort of the preservation of the ship, but also de- a few individuals than the effort of the voted to the preservation of the northern institution at large. environment in which the ship served The discussion of the design and and ensuring her survival. Whether construction of the North Star of Her- you are visiting the Vancouver Mari- schel Island clearly shows that building time Museum to view the St. Roch or the “ultimate” Arctic vessel was not you are lucky enough to see North Star something that could be achieved at the of Herschel Island in a port, you may drawing board. Rather, it was an evolu- find it hard to believe that these modest tionary process with the experiences of craft had been so instrumental in secur- the St. Roch serving as a solid base for ing Canadian Arctic sovereignty. After the new ship, even if it were built for reading this book, however, you will a different purpose (private trading ship immediately understand that in the Arc- instead of government patrol vessel). tic, the question of sovereignty is not When the St. Roch left the Arctic always decided by a large armed naval for the last time in 1948, the question vessel, but is much more often an issue of sovereignty over the Canadian Arc- of a permanent presence, good relations tic was effectively no longer an issue, with local populations, the ability to but with the beginning of the Cold War, deal with the hostile conditions of na- it could have become an issue again ture in the high latitudes and many oth- as both the US and the Soviet Union er small details. In the end, the story of were eyeing the region. Now it was the two sisters, St. Roch and North Star North Star of Herschel Island’s turn of Herschel Island, is evidence for the to secure sovereignty at least indirect- historical fact that gunboat diplomacy ly by continuing to trade with the local is not and never was the most success- population and more importantly, by ful concept for the high latitudes. returning to Banks Island to establish Comprising less than 150 pages, the a permanent settlement on the island, book is a quick read, but this should not thus supporting the Canadian claim for distract from its value for those inter- sovereignty over the whole area. While ested in the maritime history of Arctic other parts of the book might be inter- Canada and the issue of sovereignty esting, this section is probably the most over this region, as well as in the his- important for any historian with an tory of small ships operating in more or interest in Arctic regions, as it clearly less extreme conditions. Meticulously showcases that sovereignty in the high researched, well referenced and pro- latitudes was often much more an issue vided with an index as well as a useful of small scale civilian settlements and bibliography, the book is a welcome ad- trading activities, than the application dition to the bookshelves of any profes- of formal power and the establishment sional historian with an interest in Arc- of official institutions. In such remote tic Canada. More than 125 black and areas, non-government players have of- white illustrations make the book easily ten been much more influential in this accessible to the non-specialist read- context than official government activ- er. Unfortunately, the reproductions ities. are comparatively poor quality, replac- The remaining chapters of the book ing crisp black and white with various reveal how North Star of Herschel Is- shades of grey. This is perhaps accept- Book Reviews 115 able for a paperback with a retail price of photographs, clippings, and jottings of less than CDN $20.00. Overall, the after Barber’s death, has put together a book can easily be commended to both tribute to those shipyards and the ships casual and professional readers. While constructed in them. McDonald’s bias can be felt throughout The book is divided into three parts the entire book, if it is viewed as evi- covering the three principal shipyards– dence of his devotion to and love of the Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation, Kai- subject, it becomes not a weakness but ser Vancouver, and Kaiser Swan Island; a strength. production techniques and employment in those shipyards; and descriptions Ingo Heidbrink of other related Portland area industri- Norfolk, Virginia al concerns engaged in wartime pro- duction on behalf of the United States Peter J. Marsh. Liberty Factory: The Navy, Maritime Commission, and Roy- Untold Story of Henry Kaiser’s Oregon al Navy. The numbers and scale were Shipyards. Barnsley, S. Yorks: Seaforth impressive by any measure of industrial Publishing, www.seaforthpublishing. achievement, and the Kaiser corporate com, (Distributed by Naval Institute culture introduced innovations to speed Press), 2020. 256 pp., illustrations, production by applying existing con- maps, bibliography, index. US $59.95, struction and management experience cloth; ISBN 978-1-5267-8305-9. in other fields. Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation constructed the British-in- Shipyards on the Pacific coast of North spired Liberty ship, then switched to the America produced merchant vessels faster Victory design and naval auxilia- and warships in significant numbers ries; Kaiser Vancouver built a mix of and record times during the Second Victory ships, landing ship tank, escort World War. Shipbuilding there went carriers, attack transports, and troop from very modest levels out of eco- transports; and Kaiser Swan Island ex- nomic depression and limited rearma- clusively concentrated on T2 tankers. ment to volume delivery under war The wartime population of Portland conditions in short order, in response to grew by nearly a third, with the influx operational demands against the Axis of shipyard workers from other parts of powers of Japan, Germany, and Italy. the United States, which put pressure West-Coast-built ships carried vital on housing, transportation, and city war supplies across the Atlantic to keep planning, the Kaiser corporation being Great Britain in the fight and enabled somewhat of an entity unto itself. It large fleets on the other side of the Pa- paid high wages, brought women and cific and Indian Ocean to sustain them- African Americans into the shipyards selves and undertake major amphibious against the wishes of the dominant landings on Japanese-held territories. American Federation of Labor boil- Although numerous West Coast cities, ermakers union, offered access to free companies, and individuals contribut- food in centralized cafeterias, and set up ed to this effort, Kaiser’s emergency scientifically-based subsidized daycare shipyards in Oregon and Washington centres. In spite of the focus on Henry State received special attention from Kaiser, the real architect of success in Larry Barber, marine editor of a local shipbuilding was his son Edgar Kaiser, newspaper The Oregonian, after 1940. who oversaw operations in the Port- Peter Marsh, who inherited a collection land and Vancouver shipyards as vice 116 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord president and general manager. Henry Portland and Kaiser contribution into Kaiser, however, known for his shame- context. Agency shipyards, such as less self-promotion and grand-standing, Calship and Marinship, reached compa- overshadowed his competent and loyal rable levels of productivity and volume family member. in producing standardized ships and Liberty Factory is primarily an il- experienced similar problems in mass lustrated rather than scholarly book. production using newly recruited and Marsh provides a general narrative, semi-trained workforces. without references, on general events Henry Kaiser’s achievements in war- and figures related or unrelated to ship- time shipbuilding are popularly well- building in Portland and summarizes known and somewhat over-exaggerat- chronologically entries from Barber’s ed, in keeping with his own propaganda. journal and coverage in The Orego- The true untold story was Edgar Kai- nian. Consequently, much is provided ser’s Oregon shipyards, if the sub-title in regard to technical details of individ- was slightly varied. Marsh has missed ual ship types, launching ceremonies, an opportunity to provide a biography and special interest stories, common of Edgar Kaiser and really delve into to a journalist with public access to in- the operation, management, and demo- formation. Reference is also made to graphics of workers in the three Kaiser the Kaiser corporate serial periodical shipyards located in the Portland area. The Bo’s’n’s Whistle, distributed in the Edgar, who studied economics and left wartime shipyards for the information the last year of university to work his of workers and now available digitally way up the Kaiser corporate hierarchy through the Oregon Historical Society. to greater positions of responsibility, Such sources have limitations and stay provided the know-how and quiet con- close to the corporate brand, though do fidence to make wartime shipbuilding provide certain details on workers and successful. Authorities in the Navy life in the shipyards otherwise forgot- Department and the Maritime Com- ten. By far, previously unpublished mission quickly recognized that Edgar original photographs from Barber’s Kaiser, rather than Henry Kaiser, was collection and additional information the steadying influence in management in the accompanying captions are the and implemented the creative ideas. In real strength of the book. Surprising- that sense, the story of Edgar Kaiser’s ly, the annotated list of further reading Oregon shipyards still remains untold. at the back does not include Christo- Liberty Factory is a nicely illustrat- pher Tassava’s Launching a Thousand ed large-format book that will appeal to Ships, completed as a PhD dissertation readers interested in wartime shipbuild- at Northwestern University in 2003 and ing and local history, particularly on the digested in the journal Enterprise & west coast of the United States and in Society (December 2005). Tassava has Oregon. Seaforth has done a very fine also published articles on such issues job on lay-out and the black-and-white as welding cracks in Kaiser-built ships photographs that grace the pages. For that are addressed in the book. Beyond that reason alone, it is well worth the generalized statements, Marsh makes cover price. only passing mention to shipbuilding Chris Madsen in California, Puget Sound, and British North Vancouver, British Columbia Columbia and elsewhere in the Unit- ed States and Great Britain, to put the Book Reviews 117 Martin Middlebrook. Convoy SC122 when their ships and escorts first gath- and HX229: Climax of the Battle of the ered until their eventual sailing. He Atlantic, March 1943. (Originally pub- also provides information on the intel- lished 2011). Barnsley, S. Yorks: Pen ligence available to each side regarding and Sword Maritime, www.pen-and- the composition and intentions of their sword.co.uk, 2020. 352 pp., illustra- opponents before they sailed, and then tions, maps, appendices, bibliography, introduces several of the key and some index. UK £16.99, paper: ISBN 978-1- “incidental” characters and ships that 84884-478-0. (E-book available.) would participate in the coming test of wills that mark this story. These brief In an age when new titles seem to be “introductions” really help to flesh out released in a seemingly endless torrent, his narrative and provide readers with issuing a reprint of a relatively recent some insights as to why so many sailors work seems to be a questionable pub- and a few intrepid passengers dared to lishing tactic. Nonetheless, reprint sail the North Atlantic in this period. editions have proven to be very pop- Subsequent chapters discuss their ular among both publishers and their voyages. While some have seen the audience. The author of this particular convoys’ individual struggles as a reprint, Martin Middlebrook, needs no shared joint “experience,” as Middle- special introduction, being a military brook points out, the two convoys were historian of the first rank. He has writ- never closer than roughly 90 nautical ten extensively on all aspects of both miles from each other. In fact, the Ad- the world wars of the early twentieth miralty failed to take advantage of this century—including aviation, military distance to order a redistribution of es- and naval history. Consequently, he is corts from the less threatened convoy fully aware that battles are never fought to the more beleaguered one. Their in a vacuum. This volume focusses relative proximity also misled Admiral on the Battle of the Atlantic and a bit- Dönitz’s U-boat command, which had ter convoy battle that was fought at the difficulty in determining which convoy very fringe of what is commonly seen was being attacked when. The result as the turning point of this epic struggle. was a condensed U-boat action summa- He tells the compelling story of two ry combining two separate attacks into convoys that ran the North Atlantic one struggle against a very large con- gauntlet against German submarines voy. The author uses their experiences (U-boats) in March 1943 in seventeen to expose several weaknesses in their well-written chapters. Ably supporting defences, including appallingly weak his detailed text are an insightful intro- escort and aerial support. Middlebrook duction, six comprehensive appendices, also argues that far more long range several maps and situational diagrams aircraft were available than those that and over 30 well-chosen illustrations. were actually assigned to closing the After providing the requisite back story North Atlantic “Air Gap” during their of the war situation in early 1943, the voyages. Nevertheless, he acknowl- weapons used, and more importantly, edges that the few aircraft that actually the nature of the military and civilian supported these convoys made an im- crews involved, the pace of the vol- pressive number of attacks on U-boats ume quickly picks up. The author de- forcing them to dive. scribes the formation of these convoys Nor are his criticisms and obser- and their organization from the moment vations limited to the Allies. He also 118 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord points out that the Kriegsmarine (Ger- Nicholas Papastratigakis. Russian man Navy) should have made better Imperialism and Naval Power. Mil- use of their specialized, albeit limited itary Strategy and the Build-up to the in number, supply U-boats. While crit- Russo-Japanese War. London, UK: ical of the Allies’ failure to fully exploit Bloomsbury Academic, www.blooms- their intelligence, Middlebrook notes bury.com, 2020. x+342 pp., illustra- that Admiral Dönitz and his staff nev- tions, maps, notes, bibliography, index. er took full advantage of theirs either. UK £26.09, US $39.95, paper; ISBN Moreover, he notes, the Germans never 978-1-35016-549-6. (E-book avail- realized the extent to which their com- able.) munications had been compromised. This failure is all the more inexcusable In this fine monograph, Nicholas Papas- because several German U-boat officers tratigakis has delivered to the maritime were to voice their suspicions of this history community an important ac- throughout the last half of the war. The count of a much-neglected aspect of the author could have also mentioned that pre-Great War world, that of Russia’s German U-boat commanders were ac- late-nineteenth century imperialist am- tually more hampered by a lack of aerial bitions and the role played by its navy reconnaissance than their counterparts. in securing them. In contrast, albeit not In the end, convoys SC122 and HX229 notably rich, accounts of Russia’s far suffered serious losses—22 merchant east foe, Japan, enjoy significant atten- vessels lost as against one U-boat. tion and regard. Admiration abounds Nonetheless, given that 42 U-boats ac- for Japan’s pluck and its well-earned tually operated against these convoys, triumphs during the Russo-Japanese their success seems relatively small and War of 1904-05, tinged perhaps with is a good indicator of the declining ef- reservations regarding the future course fectiveness of German U-boats. of history in the middle decades of the Middlebrook is not content to leave twentieth century. For Russia, the re- the story here. His account concludes ceived view tends towards contempt with a recap of the careers and subse- for a declining autocracy that set new quent history of many of the individu- standards for ineptitude and incompe- als and ships featured in his text. This tence. That both perspectives are a little is perhaps the strongest element of the unbalanced is largely due to the histo- story, as readers are given an even bet- riography, which is decidedly thin, par- ter grounding in the consequences of ticularly in English. Papastratigakis has this struggle, in regard to the war it- provided a needed addition to accounts self as well as the personal histories of in English from Russia’s perspective some of the individuals who appear in on this entire subject. It is an excellent this volume. The six appendices are of contribution to the history of both the great value to the reader as well, all but preliminaries to the Russo-Japanese the last of them focusing on these two War itself, as well as providing import- convoys. Based primarily on countless ant insights into a largely unstudied interviews with participants in these aspect of the pre-Great War diplomacy events, the lack of detailed notes and and strategic calculus. bibliography are at best a very minor To set the context, Papastratigakis quibble. Overall, this volume is still a commences his account with two chap- worthwhile read. ters that summarize the role of naval power in relation to Russia’s imperial Peter K. H. Mispelkamp ambition and its influence on national Pointe Clare, Quebec Book Reviews 119 policy. Some might not need such a re- sprawling nature of the Russian Empire view, but it is welcome as it provides has two important factors that did not the Russian understandings in contrast apply to its European rivals. Firstly, the to the comparatively well-known per- contiguous nature of the Russian Em- spectives of Great Britain, France, and pire and the fact that its imperialist am- Germany in the same period. The use- bitions were solidly aimed at territories ful point is made that imperial rivalry on its borders was unique. This was certainly resulted in tensions and the entirely different from other empires potential for conflict, but as the vital in- of the period, with the two exceptions terests of the European powers were not of a moribund China that was scarcely at stake, with the territories in question able to defend itself let alone embark on far off, there was habitually room for aggressive actions elsewhere, and the negotiation and compromise. This state increasingly ramshackle and ineffective of affairs did not apply with respect to Austro-Hungarian Empire. In contrast, northeast China and the antagonistic Russia was aggressive and feared as a ambitions of both Russia and Japan for result. The second factor applies to its gains at China’s expense. The connec- navy more directly in that Russia real- tion with rival objectives in China to ly needed three navies as it operated in the European confrontation on Russia’s three distinct maritime theatres, with western borders with Austria-Hungary separate threats, none of which enjoyed and Germany, as well as endemic con- even remotely convenient geographical flict with the Ottoman Empire, is well connections. Combining naval forces sketched out. Despite its vast size and from the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and enormous economic potential, Russia the Far East was an enormously diffi- was hard pressed to maintain its in- cult undertaking and was anything but terests and project its power due to its speedy given the complete absence of relative immaturity in technological, connecting bases such as enjoyed by the infrastructural, administrative and, par- Royal Navy and its global network of ticularly, governance terms. Fielding a stations and bases. Complicating mat- top-notch army and navy in these cir- ters further is that two of its fleets were cumstances was beyond Russia’s ca- iced in for the winter. The fact that Rus- pacity as both the Russo-Japanese War sia stumbled in trying to resolve its dif- and the Great War were to demonstrate. ficulties is not in many respects surpris- Papastratigakis is particularly strong ing and Papastratigakis does a good job in his analysis of the decision-making analysing this reality. He also addresses and governance of the Russian Empire, the interplay with wider political issues which overwhelmingly relied on the within the Russian state that stymied character and strong hand of the tsar. the best laid plans and intentions of the Absent such oversight and capacity, shambolic Russian administration of Russia was prone to infighting, rival Tsar Nicholas II. cliques, paralysis, and indecision. Papastratigakis has conducted im- With this introduction to the funda- pressive research from recently opened mentals, Papastratigakis then explores archives in Russia, as well as from the the development of Russia’s naval pol- relevant sources in Britain and France. icy in the last decades of the nineteenth His secondary sources are extensive and century over the balance of his account. provide a useful guide for anyone con- The analysis of Russia’s naval problems ducting research on naval and maritime is thoroughly and well described. The affairs in the period in question. His 120 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord ability to link thinking in Great Britain, chives is enhanced by Rogers’s depth France, and Japan as well as Russia is of knowledge as a career political and noteworthy and indicative of a compre- social historian. hensive approach to his topic. His use This work highlights the societal of Russian language sources is impres- and financial aspects of the slave trade sive and represents ground-breaking re- and the consequences of abolition. Via search. The book is blessed with exten- Reverend Thomas Clarkson, the reader sive notes and references, which are of is immersed into Bristol, England, as great benefit to any who wish to explore the work chronicles his efforts to recruit the issues raised further. Lastly, there crew members to testify in open court are maps provided that usefully identi- to the atrocities of the slave trade. The fy sites of significance to the narrative, social dynamics both at sea and in a port rather than simply providing generic city are quickly made clear. Though maps dotted with irrelevant notations Clarkson’s collar allowed him more and obscuring detail. The clarity sig- accessibility to interview sailors in pri- nificantly assists in comprehending the vacy, he quickly learned why previous points made in Papastratigakis’ narra- attempts to have crew members come tive. forward have failed. His interviews re- I can heartily recommend this book veal the stories of several different crew to readers interested in Russian mar- members, from common labourers to itime history in general, as well as all the ship’s doctor, yielding a greater in- engaged in research in the pre-Great sight into routine ship activities. Rog- War period and the rivalry between the ers expertly weaves the financial impli- European imperial powers. cations into the reader’s consciousness, not only by direct conversations about Ian Yeates crew member wages, but also by ex- Regina, Saskatchewan ploring why those who were against slavery, as port city members, did not Nicholas Rogers. Murder on the Middle work to abolish it. Passage. The Trial of Captain Kimber. This work will benefit the field for Rochester, NY: Boydell Press, www. years to come. The amount of detail boydellandbrewer.com, 2020. 281 pp., affords the reader an understanding not illustrations, notes, appendix, bibliogra- only of the trial itself, but further, En- phy. UK £16.99, US $24.95, paper; glish society in a port town, the town’s ISBN 978-1-78327-482-6. (E-book inter-political workings, the atmosphere available.) crew experienced while at sea, the ex- pectations of sailors while in a port city, Nicholas Rogers’s Murder on the Mid- and the financial implications of all in- dle Passage: The Trial of Captain Kim- volved. It is an example of a well-done ber benefits transatlantic, abolitionist, microhistory that enhances a reader’s maritime, and English historiographies. knowledge of a familiar topic. This six-chapter work seeks to explain Rogers includes 10 illustrations and a trial often footnoted in the abolition an appendix: “Newspaper advertise- movement literature, yet not fully an- ments for the trials of Captain John alyzed until this work. The author’s Kimber and Stephen Devereux 1792- extensive and detailed research in the 3.” While he lists specific bibliographic Bristol, UK archives is undoubtable. information and notes what is included The information obtained in the ar- in each newspaper entry in this sec- Book Reviews 121 tion, the actual excerpts are not includ- plays not only why most crew mem- ed. Without the excerpts, the appen- bers refused to be involved publicly dix is unnecessary, as the information with the trials, or even recorded regu- could have been included in a detailed lar mistreatment they witnessed, at the endnote or cited as needed. The “Af- same time revealing why some strategic terthoughts” chapter is a particularly crew, ultimately key trial participants, well-done conclusion, as the author ties eventually chose to take the risk and the entire work together neatly. Unfor- be openly involved. The presentation tunately, due to the organization of the of this microhistory exceeds its time- work, as a whole, it is not until the con- frame as Rogers references well-known clusion that some of the author’s con- slave events and people such as the two text is fully comprehendible. princes of Calabar, thereby placing this A restructuring of the chapters, microhistory into a larger perspective of namely adding a dedicated introduc- the Atlantic Slave Trade. tion would enhance the general reader’s Chapter Six, “Afterthoughts,” opens comprehension. If an introduction were with the quote: “Micro-histories zoom to be added, some information from the into the historical canvas. They focus “Afterthoughts” chapter could clarify. intensely on particular events or places For example, moving sections from in order to capture the texture and social “Afterthoughts,” to an earlier part of the dynamic of human relationships and work, could provide less well-versed assess, as neatly as possible, the cre- readers with context relevant to the ative agency of ordinary people” (149). Kimber trial. Some of the information Rogers has, without a doubt, accom- examined in the “Afterthoughts” that plished this goal. This microhistory could benefit the reader if introduced allows readers a deeper understanding earlier includes detailed background of not only the horrors of the transat- about previous trials and their resulting lantic slave trade, but further of how a legal implications. ship’s crew was held to ship’s standards Whereas the work does not really even within the perimeter of a port city. benefit from the appendix, an introduc- By doing so, Rogers demonstrates a tion would have improved readers’ gen- glimpse into the late-eighteenth and eral understanding. Though the work early-nineteenth centuries. does include a preface, due to the work Jane Plummer depth and wealth of knowledge, hav- Fort Worth, Texas ing a general outline in an introduction would have guided the development and readers gauge of the work, similar Harry Spiller. Pearl Harbor Survivors. to the way the “Afterthoughts” chapter An Oral History of 24 Servicemen. tied together the lingering aspects of Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publish- this microhistory. ing, www.mcfarlandpub.com, 2020. The author consistently presents a viii+216 pp., illustrations, appendices, logical sequence of events that enables index. US $19.99, paper; ISBN 978-0- the reader to understand the founda- 7864-i179-5. (E-book available.) tions of slavery in a dock town such as Bristol, at the same time showing Harry Spiller’s Pearl Harbor Survivors the reoccurring implications of slavery serves as a primary source reader featur- and the correlating horrors, relayed as ing the accounts of men who survived witnessed by the crew. By presenting the attack on the US naval base at Pearl a social micro-history, the author dis- Harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawai’i, 122 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord on 7 December 1941. This book aims immensity of war. There are, howev- to honour the reflections of the service- er, some moments of lightness, such as men and provide a humanistic approach recollections of playful conversations to Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor and or explanations of day-to-day life in the the surrounding area. The book is orga- armed services. These accounts invoke nized by location, such as ship or base. the readers’ sensations as well. For Spiller provides some supplementary example, many men remembered the information about the attack and the breakfast they were eating, as the attack history of different ships before each occurred right before 8 AM. Others reflection; however, the servicemen’s spoke of the smells of burning flesh, the words make up the bulk of the story. sounds of alarms blaring, and the looks Spiller combines interviews from of their perishing companions. Besides Pearl Harbor survivors with their per- the five senses, these accounts show sonal documents, military records from meaningful coping methods through the National Archives, and the US De- poetry, songs, and prayers. partment of the Navy to illustrate the ex- Spiller does not reveal his interview periences of those who suffered through methods, leaving the reader to wonder and withstood the attack. By means of who recorded the interviews, when these diverse sources, Pearl Harbor they took place, and how they occurred. Survivors achieves its goal of adding The book strays from traditional oral a human aspect to a military event, in- histories because there is no question terspersing non-naval perspectives, like and answer format, just reflections. those from the Army, Marines, Army Knowing when an interview occurred, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Each re- and the context of the interview dras- flection ranges in content to provide a tically changes its sentiment. An in- well-rounded perspective. Additional- terview that took place a year after the ly, some men describe the same event attack is reflected upon differently than quite differently, which allows the read- one that took place fifty years after the er to analyze the attack on Pearl Harbor event. Knowing when these accounts through different eyes and memories, to were collected could help the reader understand the full extent of what oc- understand the servicemen’s reflection curred on that day. The book also con- better based on the freshness of the tributes to a ‘bottom-up’ perspective, as memory. Also, some sentences appear it does not solely focus on high ranking to be a bit out of place and make the officers. Pearl Harbor Survivors fea- reader question if the author introduced tures essays from the highest ranks, to some dramatic one-liners for added ef- some of the lowest, across all branches fect. For example: “I knew for sure that of service. this was ‘no drill’. The day of infamy This anthology showcases the sto- had arrived” (42). The final sentence of ries of 24 servicemen and dives deeply this quotation looks as though it came into the gruesome sights of war. This straight from a fiction novel or movie. book is not for the faint of heart, as it If the methods of the process were more describes the retrieval of scattered hu- apparent to the reader, there would be man remains, swimming in burning oil, no doubt of legitimacy. The ambiguity and the intense pressure of escaping a of collecting and pasting different re- sinking ship. Over 2,400 military per- cords together does not strengthen the sonnel died on 7 December, and these book’s contribution to the greater his- stories represent 24 reminders of the torical narrative. Book Reviews 123 Nonetheless, Pearl Harbor Survivors the Second World War, cutting wartime is an excellent resource for studying the connections between the anglophone Second World War or military history. navies. These naval links were then Beyond the 24 accounts is an appen- rebuilt during the Korean War as the dix that consists of the ships present Cold War threatened to become hot. In during the attack, names of those who this excellent book, Corbin Williamson died, military rankings, and President demonstrates that this assessment may- Roosevelt’s speech after the attack. The be accurate as far as intergovernmental accumulation of sources in this book is links were concerned, where the Com- why it should be added to any research- bined Chiefs of Staff Committee was er’s arsenal. The book’s conciseness sacrificed to a war-weary American makes it an easier read, as it does not populace, and the time-honoured Amer- bore the reader with lengthy analysis ican aversion to ‘binding alliances’, but or disorganization. Besides historians, it was not the case for navy-to-navy this book would be an excellent read for links, exercises, intelligence sharing, the general public interested in the Sec- doctrine development and weapons ond World War or Pearl Harbor. procurement. The highly effective op- Overall, Harry Spiller’s Pearl Har- erations of anglophone navies off Korea bor Survivors: An Oral History of 24 from 1950 to 1953 reflected post-1945 Servicemen is a fresh take on a heav- links, joint exercises, information shar- ily written subject. Adding a human ing and access to US Navy practices dimension to a highly technical event that equipped British, Canadian and allows the reader to comprehend what Australian forces to work seamlessly the men experienced on the morning with the Americans. All three navies of 7 December 1941. It is inclusive of used standard American procedures all branches present, not just the Navy, during this conflict, because they were and recounts the experiences of those fitting into American-led forces. The ranked both high and low. While that reverse was true when the British were day will continue to live in infamy, we the larger force. Curiously the Ameri- now have the opportunity to explore can decision to deny the British access new, first-hand accounts of how the to the US Naval War College was driv- survivors themselves experienced Pearl en by a desire to avoid any connection Harbor. with France, which was viewed as un- reliable, a security risk and potentially Sydnee Hammond communist. Pensacola, Florida The book is based on a rich and thor- ough range of sources, including public Corbin Williamson. The U.S. Navy and private archives in Australia, Brit- and its Cold War Alliances, 1945- ain, Canada and the United States, and 1953. Lawrence, KS: University Press several recent PhD theses and related of Kansas, www.kansaspress.ku.edu, publications that track key elements of 2020. xiv+354 pp., illustrations, tables, the relationship, with Malcom Llewel- appendix, notes, bibliography, index. lyn-Jones’ work on the dawn of mod- US $50.00, cloth; ISBN 978-0-7006- ern anti-submarine warfare an obvious 2978-7. (E-book available) highlight. Whatever American politicians might It has long been believed that close ties have hoped, and their public expected, between the United States and its war- the end of the Second World War did not time allies were severed at the end of lead to a return to pre-war norms at sea. 124 The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord The USN found itself drawn into new ious warfare meant the USN saw itself regions and missions by the rapid de- as a stand-alone force, rather than an mobilisation of the Royal Navies. The important component in a tri-service war had ruined the British economy, approach to war that ultimately deliv- there was no possibility of resuming ered effect on land. Furthermore, the pre-1939 deployment levels. The USN tortuous history of post-1945 American was dragged into the resulting vacuum. defence reform and the emergence of Twice in the late 1940s American capi- the US Air Force focussed a lot of Navy tal ships had to be sent to Istanbul, to de- attention on the real battle, over bud- ter Soviet aggression. For much of the gets and status in Washington. Having previous 150 years that mission, linked strong, effective allies might weaken to command of the Mediterranean, had the case for the US Navy. Predictably, been a British task. Roosevelt’s fate- officers in all four navies found aspects ful choice to work with Stalin had not of the continuing co-operation a chal- succeeded, and the Soviet regime was lenge, but those who had worked close- rapidly consolidating its dominion over ly with allies in wartime were better eastern Europe. Anglophone naval in- informed and made fewer assumptions. telligence agencies assessed Soviet na- Wartime experience and ingrained val capabilities would be enhanced by command cultures meant American op- captured German equipment and tech- erational orders, developed for large, nology, notably the fast submarines of complex and necessarily pre-pro- the Type XXI and Walter types. This grammed carrier-strike missions, were, was a field in which the USN had rel- by British standards, overly detailed atively limited experience. The British and unduly restrictive. The Royal and Canadian navies had dominated the Navy had emphasised, and expected Battle of the Atlantic, so early moves initiative. Giving junior level leaders were made to share analysis of captured responsibility and agency helped select German submarines. the best senior officers. Along with anti-submarine warfare, In a book that comprehensively over- the USN recognised the Royal Navies turns accepted wisdom, Williamson had an edge in key aspects of naval stresses that the modern relationships activity: ship-handling, seamanship, between the anglophone navies were personnel, use of sensors and commu- built during the Second World War, and nications, if not in their design. On the continued at the intelligence and oper- other hand, American carrier operations ational level through the 1940s, before and aircraft, logistics and resources being formally re-established in the were a standard that the others could 1950s. Working with allies became the not match. The example was powerful: norm for all four navies, all four nations off Korea, British and Australian car- have benefitted enormously, achieving riers generated very high sortie rates, economies of effort that pre-1939 fleets while British afloat support moved to a could only have dreamt of—without new level. They waged war as equals standardization. based on established practices, and re- Andrew Lambert cent interaction. London, United Kingdom The biggest problem facing attempts to integrate the Royal and US Navies was cultural, a largely Pacific-focussed war experience of carrier operations, fleet battle, and Navy-Marine amphib-