DHM1456. HMS
Barham leads the 5th Battle Squadon at Jutland by Anthony Saunders. The
greatest naval battle of the First World War took place on the 31st of
May and the 1st of June 1916, near the Danish province of Jutland.
It was the first and only sea battle between the British and German
fleets, and certainly proved to be the clash of the Titans that the
First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, had long planned.
Decisive victory was claimed by both sides, but, desperately fought
though it was, the outcome was indecisive. The Royal Navy suffered
higher losses in both men and ships, but the German fleet never ventured
out of harbour to seek battle again. During the daylight fighting
HMS Barham, under Rear Admiral Evan-Thomas, lead the 5th Battle Squadron
(Valiant, Warspite and Malaya) and is seen here at 4.50pm exchanging
with Hippers battle-cruisers to the south.
DHM1379. HMS Hood - Operation Catapult by Anthony Saunders.
The pride of the British fleet, The Mighty Hood as she
was known, was launched in 1918. Weighing in at over 40,000 tons
she was 860 feet long and had eight 15 inch guns, at her launch she was
more than a match for any adversary. Hood sailed the world in the
inter-war years and was admired in every foreign port she visited,
however with a lack of major refits in this time the second world war
found the Hood unprepared for a major battle, On the 24th of May
1941 the German battleship Bismarck found Hoods achilles heel within
only a few salvos, namely her inadequate deck armour. Hood
exploded in a huge fireball from which only three sailors
survived. Here HMS Hood is seen with Force H in the
Mediterranean. Winston Churchill knew that the powerful French
fleet at Mers-el-Kebir could fall into German hands at any time and that
the threat had to be removed by any means. On the 3rd of July 1940
the French fleet was duly dispatched by Force H. The Strasbourg
being the only French battleship able to make her escape. Hodd is
depicted opening fire at 17.55 hours with the battleships Resolution and
the destroyer HMS Foxhound to her stern.
DHM1240. The Battle of Jutland, HMS Royal
Oak by Anthony Saunders. The Battle of Jutland proved to be the last capital ship big fleet
battle of the twentieth century. Here HMS Royal oak is seen leading HMS
Superb and HMS Canada as part of the 4th battle squadron at around 7pm
on the 31st of May 1916.
DHM0520. Enter the Prince by Anthony Saunders. HMS Prince of Wales enters Valetta harbour, Malta.
DHM0536. HMS Ramillies and Warspite at Normandy by Anthony
Saunders. HMS Ramillies and Warspite manoeuvre into position off
the coast of Normandy. The major battleships of the Home Fleet, with
their massive guns which could deliver gunfire with pinpoint accuracy to
17 miles. they proved invaluable on the day of the biggest seaborne land
invasion in history.
DHM0519. Raid
on Taranto by Anthony Saunders. The balance of maritime power in the Mediterranean was
transformed at a stroke by the British air attack which disabled three
Italian battleships in a few minutes. The target was the core of
Mussolinis fleet, tucked away in Taranto Harbour, in southern Italy. The
attack, codenamed Operation Judgement, took place in bright moonlight by
twenty-one Swordfish from the British carrier HMS Illustrious. In the
confined space of the harbour, their torpedoes had a devastating impact,
at least nine torpedoes struck their targets. In all, seven ships were
severely damaged, including the battleship Caio Duilio (left), Littorio
(right) and Conte Di Cavour.
DHM1417. Boiling
Point - USS Missouri by Anthony Saunders.
DHM1347.
The
Battle of Manila Bay by Anthony Saunders. A splendid little
war was how John Hay, ambassador to Britain, described the
Spanish-American war of 1898. Though the war was small in scope it
was large in consequences , it promoted the regeneration of the American
Navy and the emergence of the United States as a major world
power. Fought primarily at sea, the war created an American naval
legend in its opening encounter between the pacific squadrons of Spain
and the United States at Manila Bay on the 1st of May 1898. At
sunrise Admiral Dewey, leading the American fleet in his flagship the
USS Olympia, had caught the Spanish fleet, under Admiral Patricio
Montojo, by surprise - still anchored off Sangley Point at Manila Bay in
the Philippine Islands. Defeat for the Spanish was total and
heralded the end of a once extensive Spanish empire in the
Americas. Montojo's flagship, Reina Cristina, is seen here under
fire from the Olympia.
DHM1265. Arctic
guardian - USS Washington by Anthony Saunders. In the Spring of 1942, USS
Washington was the first of America's fast battleship fleet to
participate in combat operations when she was briefly assigned to the
Royal Navy. On the 28th June 1942, together with HMS Duke of York,
HMS Victorious and an accompanying cruiser and destroyer force, she
formed part of the distant covering force to convoy PQ17 bound for
Russia. In the Pacific later that same year, she became the only
Modern US battleship to engage an enemy capital ship, sinking the
Japanese battlecruiser Kirishima.
DHM1266.
Escort
for the Troops - USS New York by Anthony Saunders. The
Atlantic ocean was the lifeline between Britain and America, as well as
millions of tons of raw materials, GI's were also transported over in all
manor of hastily converted liners. Protecting the troops from marauding
u-boats and German surface ships was of paramount importance to the allied
fleets. Although USS New York spent a good deal of the war in the
Atlantic, she also participated in the 'Torch' landings off North Africa and
took part in the Pacific campaign, seeing action at both Iwo Jima and Okinowa.
DHM0517.
USS Indiana, First Tour of Duty by Anthony Saunders.
DHM0814.
Pearl Harbor, USS California, by Anthony Saunders. At dawn on the 7th December
1941, 350 Japanese warplanes flew from their carriers and attacked the US
pacific fleet at Pearl harbor, on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. the attack
concentrated on "Battleship Row" which included USS California
(Left) and USS Nevada (Right) which was the only battleship to get
underway during the attack. However coming under intense bomb attack she
was later beached. For the Japanese the success was not total. as the US
carrier fleet was out on Manoeuvres on the day of the attack.
DHM0730.
USS Colorado Okinawa by Anthony Saunders. The US Colorado holds the all time record of 37
consecutive days of firing at an enemy and the record of 24 direct enemy
air attacks in 62 days both while at Okinawa.
DHM0448.
USS North Carolina, Saipan Bound by Saunders. By June 1944 the US Fleet had
made a huge leap across the Pacific to the Mariana's, a small group of Japanese held islands of which
Saipan would prove the most difficult to
overcome. The landing were supported by the US 5th Fleet, which included
USS North Carolina together with an increasingly powerful armada of battle
hardened warships.
DHM0731. USS Tennesse During the Landings at Iwo Jima by
Anthony Saunders. In February 1945, 850 square miles of volcanic rock became the most
strategically important island in the South Pacific. From Iwo Jima heavy
bombers would be able to raid Japanese cities almost at will. Even with
its overwhelming military might, the Americans would have to pay a heavy
price for such a seemingly small island.
DHM0931.
USS Iowa leaving New
York by Anthony Saunders. BB61 Iowa, was commissioned in
February 1943 at the New York Navy yard. her first mission was to the
North Atlantic in August 1943 to neutralise the threat of the German
Battleship Tirpitz. By early 1944 she joined the Pacific fleet taking part
in many of the major battles including Saipan, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa. She
was re-commissioned in 1951 for the Korean war and again in April 1984.
DHM1047.
USS Baltimore and
Saratoga in the Pacific by Anthony Saunders. In February 1944, USS Baltimore
and Saratoga make up part of the formidable Task Force 58, forcing their
way through the central pacific to attack the Japanese bases in the
Marshal Islands in support of Operation Flintlock.
DHM1384.
Night of
the Hunter USS Wahoo. by Anthony Saunders. Known as the Silent Service the men of the United States Submarine
Force were the unsung heroes of the US navy. In World War Two, Submarine
Force alone was responsible for sinking over fifty percent of Japanese
Shipping - but the success came at a high price - one in five submarines
did not survive the war. Here USS Wahoo, arguably the most famous US Submarine of the war, is
seen surveying a kill during her fifth war patrol in 1943.
