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Product Description
First published in 1974, this now classic account of the fight for control of the English Channel and the southern North Sea is told by Peter Scott, a MTB (Motor Torpedo Boat) commander, who saw action throughout World War II. More than a memoir, his book tells the whole story of the small ships and their legendary crews during fierce encounters with the Germans. The bravery of the crews of these small ships became legendary and the casualties that were suffered during brief and fierce encounters were horrific. As the war dragged on, MTB's became household words, and their daring exploits helped to raise the morale of the British in much the same way that the RAF fighter aircraft had done in the Battle of Britain in September 1940.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a history of the actions of the Motor Torpedo Boats, Motor Gun Boats and Motor Launches, the small ships, in the Channel and North Sea between 1940 and 1945. The writer is *the* Peter Scott, later (1973) Sir Peter Scott, famous naturalist and conservationist, one of the founders of WWF (and designer of its panda logo, by the way), and founder of the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. But in the war he was in the R.N.V.R., the 'wavy Navy', and he wrote a passionate history about his time on the 'little ships'; and on all the 'little ships' in this area of operations. There is plenty of detail, a lot of action, and a mixture of general history and his own experiences. I found it a very impressive book, and a very impressive war record, too. These were flimsy, fast craft, who took on German convoys and suffered heavy casualties at times. But they also posed a serious threat to German coastal convoys and their escorts and sank many of them.
Scott writes in his foreword that while it may seem, many years after the war, that it was all a glorious adventure; but... "that *nothing* will ever compensate us for the men we have lost, not even the way so many of them died. " This book, I think, is a fitting monument, and I read it with great interest (which it amply repaid) and with both admiration and gratefulness that the Coastal Forces fought like they did.
In addition to the gripping history, there are many black-and-white photos of the ships in action, as well as paintings and drawings by Scott.
An admirable volume.
Scott writes in his foreword that while it may seem, many years after the war, that it was all a glorious adventure; but... "that *nothing* will ever compensate us for the men we have lost, not even the way so many of them died. " This book, I think, is a fitting monument, and I read it with great interest (which it amply repaid) and with both admiration and gratefulness that the Coastal Forces fought like they did.
In addition to the gripping history, there are many black-and-white photos of the ships in action, as well as paintings and drawings by Scott.
An admirable volume.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Cdr. Peter Scott book was published just after the end of WW2 it is and still is an excellent work of the dark days of world war 2.
Another book that should be read by naval leaders of today!!!!
If you want to learn about the world of the Coastal Force!!!
Cdr. Scott's drawings are an excellent addition.
Another book that should be read by naval leaders of today!!!!
If you want to learn about the world of the Coastal Force!!!
Cdr. Scott's drawings are an excellent addition.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It is good to see Peter Scott's classic 1945 book still in circulation--and the preface by Lt-Cdr Hichens' son.
Scott was able to write such an excellent history in the face of security censorship and paper shortages because he had been himself a senior CF officer, because he had access to Admiralty records, and because he knew so many CF officers fresh from the war. To boot, he was prepared to give the German E-Boat men their due, and illustrated the book with brilliant pen sketches and the famous night-action paintings. Inevitably, without access to the German records (save their propaganda) he exaggerrated their losses, so reader must look for these elsewhere.
This sort of book is nevertheless invaluable and the naval history collector should have one.
Scott was able to write such an excellent history in the face of security censorship and paper shortages because he had been himself a senior CF officer, because he had access to Admiralty records, and because he knew so many CF officers fresh from the war. To boot, he was prepared to give the German E-Boat men their due, and illustrated the book with brilliant pen sketches and the famous night-action paintings. Inevitably, without access to the German records (save their propaganda) he exaggerrated their losses, so reader must look for these elsewhere.
This sort of book is nevertheless invaluable and the naval history collector should have one.
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