Small craft with a big wartime role
The Petrol Navy, by Steve R Dunn
If you're looking for a different view of the First World War at sea, The Petrol Navy is an admirable addition to your collection.
Steve R Dunn charts the history of small petrol vessels, starting with the development of motor yachts in the 1900s and the recognition that suitably armed versions could fill a strategic gap.
He covers technical development, the crewing of the vessels by gentleman amateur sailors, and the vessels' vital role in the convoys of the Great War, with details of the actions they were involved in. It's an international work that goes into the use of such vessels by the USA Germany, France and Italy as well as the British Royal Navy.
The Petrol Navy
By Steve R Dunn
Seaforth Publishing, £25
ISBN: 978 13990 62855
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Titanic connections: the other ships on the scene
The Titanic Fleet: the ships involved in the Titanic disaster By Richard M. JonesRichard Jones has explored another aspect of the sinking – the stories of 30 other vessels that were connected in some way to the famous liner.
A different perspective on Titanic's sinking
Titanic’s Lifeboats: Disaster and Survival During the Liner’s Sinking By James W. BancroftFor the true collector, Titanic’s Lifeboats presents the harrowing stories of each of the lifeboats launched on that fateful evening, drawn from the testimonies of the survivors.
Female MN war veterans brought to the fore
Supposed Killed or Drowned by Enemy Action at Sea, by Nina BakerThe people whose lives Baker explores in Supposed Killed or Drowned by Enemy Action at Sea are not relatives of hers, but they are part of the Merchant Navy family. They are the Scottish women who served and died in the crews of MN vessels in the First and Second World Wars.
How to 'make it' in the superyacht industry
Superyacht Success, by Brendan O'ShannassyBack in 2022, we reviewed Brendan O'Shannassy's memoir Superyacht Captain. Now Capt O'Shannassy has returned with a new book that focuses on how crew can navigate their careers.