Fast and agile, the Motor Torpedo Boats of the Royal Navy were feared in the seas around Britain. Determined to defend the coast, their ferocity under pressure caused them to be dubbed ‘Spitfires of the Sea.’ But that meant nothing to young Able Seaman John Dawes. He longed to be posted to a mighty destroyer […]
Lieutenant Billy Weekes wanted desperately to see some action aboard the British Destroyer HMS Meadfoot. He had two brothers in the trenches, one in the skies, and a sister on the front line as an ambulance driver. They would all have amazing stories about their war experiences, but Billy… all he had to talk about […]
When Tim Elder, young and keen, his sub lieutenant’s rank badge shining new, received a posting to the Mediterranean, he found that he had joined a part of the Royal Navy that he knew nothing about. For instance, what was the secret of the grubby fishing vessel that made the Germans determined to sink her? […]
To the tough rowdies of the whaling fleets from Greenland to the South Pole, he was just ‘Big Olaf’. Star harpoon-gunner of them all, the ship that had Olaf aboard broke records for whales caught and bonuses paid. Six feet four inches of blonde Norwegian with eyes as icy green as the seas he roved, and […]
THE PLACE – The Atlantic Ocean. THE TIME – 1944-45. The Second World War. THE RIVALS – Cousins. One a sailor and one an airman. THE TARGETS – German U-Boats. As many as they could sink in their own ways. THE PRIZE – A mighty claymore which had been in the family for generations. Now […]
Stan Turner of Air-sea rescue had a really dicey job, snatching ditched pilots from the hungry English Channel… sometimes under the very muzzles of the guns on the enemy coast. Then there was always the dangerous trip back to base, dodging shells and bullets as the launch leapt over the waves to bring its precious […]
What do a Lieutenant in the British Army, an East End criminal, a champion athlete, an Italian partisan, and an aged archaeologist all have in common? They’re all on a mission to destroy the biggest Nazi fuel dump in the Mediterranean – which just happens to be inside a dormant volcano! Story: Iain McLaughlin […]
Schoolboy Billy Peters loved the old stories of swashbuckling pirates — and, living on an island in the Caribbean, there were plenty of tales to hear. But this was 1941 and Britain was at war with Germany. There were other pirates to worry about now — the kind who sailed U-boats and threatened to cripple […]
Serving on Coastal Motor Boats during the First World War was no joke. 55 feet long, with a top speed of 40 knots, they were uncomfortable and noisy. Their torpedo-launching system was almost as dangerous for their crews as it was for their targets! But now, CMB skipper, Lieutenant Frank Judge had an even more […]
Nobody could doubt the nerve and spirit of Sam Wilson. He was keen to the core, always ready to pile into the action. He was tested to the full as a hard-pressed infantryman, and went on to become a well-trained Commando. He had only one weakness – he didn’t know when to count to ten […]
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