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The history of Nazi Germany’s attempt to build a modern aircraft carrier, and the other aviation ships that Germany and Italy designed or operated.The quest for a modern aircraft carrier was the ultimate symbol of the Axis powers’ challenge to Allied naval might, but fully-fledged carriers proved either too difficult, expensive, or politically unpopular for either to make operational. After the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935, Hitler publicly stated his intention to build an aircraft carrier, the Graf Zeppelin, which was launched in 1938. A year later, the ambitious fleet-expansion Z-Plan, was unveiled with two additional aircraft carriers earmarked for production. However, by the beginning of World War II, Graf Zeppelin was not yet completed and work was halted. Further aircraft carrier designs and conversion projects such as the ocean liner Europa and heavy cruiser Seydlitz were considered but, in January 1943, all construction work on surface vessels ceased and naval resources

Featuring specially commissioned artwork, this study breaks new ground in covering all the uniformed Soviet security organizations from the Russian Revolution through to World War II. While the average person reacts to the term 'SS' with justified horror, most do not realize that, like Nazi Germany, Stalin's Soviet Union had its own instrument of terror, the NKVD. The precursor to the NKVD, the Cheka, was central to the Bolsheviks' elimination of political dissent during the Russian Civil War (1918-21). After 1922 the Soviet state-security organs became the GPU and then the OGPU (1923-34) before coalescing into the NKVD. After it played a central role in the Great Terror (1936-38), which saw the widespread repression of many different groups and the imprisonment and execution of prominent figures, the NKVD had its heyday during the Great Patriotic War (1941-45). During the conflict the organization deployed full military divisions, frontier troop units and internal security forces and

Now available in paperback, Blood, Metal and Dust is an authoritative military history of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to tell the detailed story of what happened on the ground.

An illustrated account of the disastrous British-led effort to occupy the Dodecanese in autumn 1943. This title is an illustrated account of the autumn 1943 battle for the Dodecanese, as Winston Churc

Equipped with the largest guns and heaviest armour and with the greatest displacement of any ship ever built, the Yamato proved to be a formidable opponent to the US Pacific Fleet in the Second World War. The book contains a full description of the design and construction of the battleship including wartime modifications, and a career history followed by a substantial pictorial section with rare onboard views of Yamato and her sister ship Musashi, a comprehensive portfolio of more than 1,020 perspective line artworks, 350 colour 3D views, and 30 photographs. The wreck of Musashi has been recently discovered to great excitement in Japan, renewing interest in these iconic warships.Janusz Skulski's anatomies of three renowned ships of the 20th century Japanese navy are among the most comprehensive of the Anatomy series with hundreds of meticulously researched drawings of the ships. Since their first publication he has continued to research the ships and has now produce a more definitive a

At the crescendo of the Second Barons' War were the battles of Lewes and Evesham. It was an era of high drama and intrigue, as tensions between crown and aristocracy had boiled over and a civil war er

This is the story of the largest and statistically most successful tank destroyer of World War II. The Ferdinand was a true behemoth, and although only 91 examples were built, they took a savage toll

In the fantastical, gaslit underground city of Recoletta, oligarchs from foreign states and revolutionaries from the farming communes vie for power in the wake of the city's coup. The dark, forbidden

Graeme Davis draws upon the classic sources to retell the great myths and legends of Theseus, the founder-king of Athens, and backs this narrative with a factual examination of the myth, its variation

From the stunning victory at Pearl Harbor to its dramatic reversal at Midway, the Imperial Japanese Navy swept all before it in its numerous victories in the Pacific and Far Eastern waters. The Imperi

The suburban area encompassing the towns of Windsor and Eton has long been one of England's most popular historic sites, as home to the most familiar royal retreat, Windsor Castle, and the famous publ

The very real threat of the invasion of Britain in 1940 initiated a huge military construction program. Around the vulnerable coasts of the country, as well as inland, were built thousands of pillboxe

Symbolically, the quintessential English feudal monarch is King Arthur, but stories of Charlemagne and his Knights' quests throughout Christian Europe had a much wider impact. Amidst the chaos and vio

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, entire communities, particularly in central Europe were gripped by a fear of witches and witchcraft, and pursued witches in order to bring them to justice.

Garden Cities: the phrase is redolent of Arts and Crafts values and nineteenth-century utopianism. But despite being the culmination of a range of influential movements, and having global influence th

Table of ContentsIntroduction to Healing waters: Baths, Bathhouses, Bathing, Wells and Spas Bathing and Bathhouses in Medieval Times Sense and Sensuality: the Rise of Georgian Spas and Spa Towns Balyn

Patchwork quilts are hugely evocative emblems of our domestic past. With no two quite the same, each example hints at both the story of the particular household in which it was produced and at a large

The voyage of Jason and the Argonauts and their hunt for the Golden Fleece is one of the most enduringly popular of all of the Ancient Greek heroic myths. Accepting the quest in order to regain his ki

Tartan is an enormously popular pattern in modern fashion and Scottish National Dress is recognised around the world. This book reveals the origin and development of tartans and Scottish national cost

The shepherd stands, lamb in one hand, crook in the other and dog at his feet. This is how many of us think of the old-time shepherd - the picture of sturdiness, dependability and independence. He was

The clock tower of the Houses of Parliament is known the world over, but is only part of a sprawling neo-Gothic complex built to house the British legislative system. Parliament has been several hundr

For the majority of the British public in the Victorian period the railways were the only way to travel. In 1880 the population of Britain and Ireland took 518 million railway journeys, and by the tur

This Field of Glory Napoleonic companion gives players everything they need to recreate the French Revolutionary wars and the rise of Napoleon through to the campaigns of the Grande Armee and the ea

A duel could be fought over a matter as trifling as a slip of the tongue or as serious as a public accusation of corruption. At the height of its formality, two men at odds would meet at dawn, armed e

Tourism - a product of the Victorian era, hugely developed through Edwardian times - generated thousands of fascinating books and photographs which together define the development of the massive indus

The World War 1 concept of the two-seat fighter persisted during the interwar period, with the RAF's biplane Demons being replaced by the twin-engined Blenheim IF - a fighter derivative of the light b

The streets and public spaces of London are rich with statues and monuments commemorating the great people of history. From the monumental Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square and Sir Christopher Wren'

Exhibiting enormous power or inspiring incredible devotion, throughout history beauty has been women's chief asset. Each age has required its own standard - a gleaming white brow during the Renaissanc

In 1758, at the height of the French and Indian War, British Brigadier General John Forbes led his army on a methodical advance against Fort Duquesene, French headquarters in the Ohio valley. As his a

Hortatio Nelson, himself one of naval history's boldest actors, called the burning of the frigate Philadelphia by the United States Navy in 1804 "the most bold and daring act of the age." It is one o

From the end of the 19th century through the first half of the 20th, most Western powers maintained a naval presence in China. These gunboats protected traders and missionaries, safeguarded national i

In 1917 a remarkable organization came into being. Its brief was vastly ambitious: to commemorate the 1,100,00 men of the British Empire who lost their lives in the First World War. The Imperial War G

The P-51 Mustang and P-47 Thunderbolt were the finest American fighters of World War 2, and both saw service with the Royal Air Force in substantial numbers. The RAF began flying the Mustang in 1944,

Although many modelers can master the basic techniques of construction, it is with the painting and finishing of their kits that many begin to struggle. It is this skill that gives the model its disti

The Gulf War bore witness to a number of deadly encounters between these two great adversaries. Heavily armored, highly mobile and capable of killing at over 2500m the M1 Abrams is, to this day, a ver

Behind the enduring popularity of beach huts lies a story of classic British eccentricity. Immensely photogenic and appealing, these colorful seaside buildings are direct successors of the Georgian ba

Immortalized in literature through such characters as C. S. Forester's 'Horatio Hornblower' and Patrick O'Brian's 'Jack Aubrey', the officers and midshipmen of the Royal Navy during the Revolutionary

The fierce loyalty and self-sacrificing attitude of the samurai have made them both a legend and a cult. Although their military prowess and skills in the martial arts have been studied exhaustively,

Although its uses have dwindled over the years, straw was once a greatly valued by-product of cereal crops. When harvested and stored well, it can be attractive, fragrant and resilient, and for genera

A staple food in many diets, bread has been baked since ancient times and is considered a basic necessity by many. Baking and Bakeries charts the history of baking, from the ancient breads cooked with