Warspite: Warships of the Royal Navy

by Iain Ballantyne

“The dramatic career of the Queen Elizabeth class super-dreadnought, which fought with such distinction throughout two World Wars . . . a great story.” —White Ensign Association No warship name in British naval history has more battle honors than HMS Warspite. While this book looks at the lives of all eight vessels to bear the name (between 1596 and the 1990s), it concentrates on the truly epic story of the seventh vessel, a super-dreadnought battleship, conceived as the ultimate answer to German naval power, during the arms race that helped cause WW1. Warspite fought off the entire German fleet at Jutland, survived a mutiny between the wars and then covered herself in glory in action from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean during WW2. She was the flagship of Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham when he mastered the Italian Navy in the Mediterranean, her guns inflicting devastating damage on the enemy at Calabria in 1940 and Matapan in 1941. She narrowly avoided destruction by the Japanese carrier force that devastated Pearl Harbor. She provided crucial fire support for Allied landings in Sicily, Italy, Normandy and Walcheren. A lucky ship in battle, she survived dive-bombers off Crete and glide bomb hits off Salerno. But this is not just the story of a warship. Wherever possible the voices of those men who fought aboard her speak directly to the reader about their experiences. Warspite is also the story of a great naval nation which constructed her as the ultimate symbol of its imperial power and then scrapped her when the sun set on that empire.

Genres: History, Naval History, War, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction, Ebooks

404 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2001

About the author

'Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom - 80th anniversary edition' is Iain's latest book and an updated and expanded new version of the 2016 original, this time published both as an e-book and a shop paperback. His previous book was 'Arnhem: Ten Days in The Cauldron' (Sept 2019), also for Agora Books.

Although he has written several naval history books, including those on the Second World War and the Cold War, Iain Ballantyne has, during the course of his career as a journalist, editor, and author, also covered the activities of land forces.

Those assignments took him to Kuwait, Oman, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Hong Kong, sometimes during times of conflict. Iain has visited WW2 battlefields in company with those who fought there as young men, while also spending hours in conversation with Arnhem veterans.

As a teenager, Iain embarked on an expedition to follow the course of the Rhine, including a pilgrimage to Oosterbeek and Arnhem. He retraced the route of the British Airborne soldiers in 1944 as they tried to take the famous ‘bridge too far’.

Iain Ballantyne’s assignments as a writer on naval affairs have taken him from the Arctic to mine infested waters off war-torn Kuwait, aboard a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier off Libya, into the South China Sea and below the Irish Sea in a hunter-killer submarine.

Iain has contributed to coverage of naval and military issues in national and regional newspapers, and provided analysis and commentaries for radio and television, as well as prestigious publications by NATO and the Royal Navy.

His most recent naval history book was 'The Deadly Trade: The Complete History of Submarine Warfare from Archimedes to the Present' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2018). It was published in the USA in December 2018, as 'The Deadly Deep' (Pegasus Books).

Iain's other books include ‘Hunter Killers’ (Orion, 2013), which was published in the USA in September 2019 as 'Undersea Warriors' (Pegasus Books).

Iain won a Mountbatten Certificate of Merit for his action-packed depiction of the pursuit and destruction of Hitler's flagship as recounted in ‘Killing the Bismarck’ (Pen & Sword, 2010).

In 2017 he was awarded a Fellowship by the UK’s Maritime Foundation. One of its top annual awards, it recognised Iain’s immense contribution to the maritime cause since 1990, as a journalist, author of naval history books and Editor of 'WARSHIPS International Fleet Review' magazine from 1998 to the present.

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but interesting book about HMS WARSPITE, a British battleship that served in both WWI and WWII. There are good descriptions of the Battle of Jutland, and also the Battle of Matapan in the Mediterranean. This ship wa Admiral Andrew Cunningham's flagship for a time, and a favorite of his. WARSPITE'S 15" guns made her a formidable force against the Germans. Unfortunately, she also had an an accident-prone career which kept her out of service for long periods of time.

[Rob Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Read

Very good book. As well as a comprehensive history of the seventh Warspite, there are summarized histories of the first six, and the eighth. Also included are summarized service histories of the other Queen Elizabeth class battleships. Nice additions to a great naval story.

[Bob Penhale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one

Enjoyed the book, great name for a fighting ship, and well earned. Great History in a time respected. Will read associated titles.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

As with all Iain Ballantyne's books, a very readable account of the life of a famous warship

[Jerz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely! What other ship fought with such distinction and prowess through two World Wars? This "Superdreadnought" fought at Jutland and appeared in every naval theatre in the Second World War. It's gun accuracy was formidable, its 15 inch guns hit an Italian battleship at over 26,000 yards (still a record) and as a consequence caused the Italian fleet to turn back. The actions at the second battle of Narvik, Calibria and Matapan are the stuff of legends. Its resiliance was also amazing, at Jutland it was hit 15 times by shells of at least 12 inch callibre and one of the first guided missiles in the Second World War. King George V when chivied to go to lunch by Beatty was not amused when he was inspecting Warspite's damage and its crew's wellbeing. At Normandy it was still under repair when called upon to use its devastating guns, but note there was a tug alongside to help out if needed. Disgracefully, this ship should have been preserved but was sadly scrapped. Yes there were the Iowas, Yamato, Bismark and so on but none of these achieved what Warspite did.
This book portrays the above with great narrative much of it first hand and many photos that I had not seen before.

[Anthony marsh · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting account

Great book full of interesting historical facts would recommend to any one interested in naval history, a great read would like more like this

[Ray Savarda · Rating 3 out of 5]

History primarily of the WW1/2-era battleship, with a small leadin about the original 1600's ship.
Easy to read, interesting, surprised at the damage she had survived....

[s j tillotson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Full of facts, but not boring at all I would recommend this to anyone interested in Naval history, well done.

[Allen Hill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. Of the several HMS Warspites covered, more than 3/4 of the book is devoted to the battleship of WWI and WWII fame. The brief discussions of earlier incarnations was interesting; the account of the post-war one felt tacked on. The account of Warspites at Jutland, and the energetic description of the overall battle, was enlivened with several personal accounts. This same, engaging style was used for the longer account of Warspite's WWII career. This latter covered key battles in the Mediterranean, a sojourn in the US, and then the Indian Ocean. Towards the end, the tone turns maudlin, as the sailors say goodbye, almost as a parallel to the overall sunset in the standing of the Royal Navy itself.

[Conrad Bukoski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting prehistory of the royal vessels named Warpsite- in the royal navy tradition dictates handing down generation to generation of ships' names in honor of predecessors.

Strong world war I first-person diaries woven together into a narrative about the battle of Jutland. Unique narrative about what its like to be on the receiving end of a capital ship gun battle.

World war II is way too broad but still has first-person diaries and anecdotes about being on a BB when its hit by a JU-88 or a 3200-lb german radio glider bomb hit.

Trails off with a wierd nationalism rah-rah of the Brits picking on Argentina and trails off with a vague mothballed unclear future for the inheritor of the name Warspite- a contaminated submarine

[Donald L Davis]

Interesting history of a great ship. Easy read. Medium detail. Adequate narrative.