H.M.S. Rodney: Warships of the Royal Navy

Iain Ballantyne

Jul 2008 · Pen and Sword

About this ebook

The biography of a British battleship, from an author with “a facility for rendering nonfiction into a narrative as brisk and readable as a novel” (HistoryNet).
 
The Second World War battleship HMS Rodney achieved lasting fame for her role in destroying the pride of Hitler’s navy, the mighty Bismarck, in a thrilling duel. The Rodney, carrying the largest guns ever mounted in a British warship, finally succeeded in turning her adversary into twisted metal and so removed a major threat to the Atlantic convoy routes so vital to the survival of the nation.
 
This compelling book, from the acclaimed author of Killing the Bismarck, not only traces this mighty battleship’s career in detail, but describes the careers of all the ships carrying the name.

Ratings and reviews

Sorry. Of the 600 pages here, about 100 concern the ship. Of those 100 pages, about half are opinion, often misinformed. And the final pages are concerned mainly with Ballantyne's emotional problems. He almost looks upon this ship as a lover. It's embarrassing. Especially as he develops and continues a refrain --- 16-inch -- appearing 77 times in the final pages.-- as if that size gun was an exclusive -- although the US Navy carried 90 of them through World War II -- each shell weighing 2750 pounds rather than the 2000 pound shells here.. Ballantyne does not even win solace from extolling a champion ship. The Rodney was anything but. It was slow, flimsy, and poorly fitted out. One might make a case that its salvos at Bismarck did almost as much damage to Rodney. Taken globally, no -- she did not win the war, did not win back France, did not save armies. However, no doubt about it -- she did beat Bismarck which never landed a single hit. But the question must be asked -- unavoidably -- were it not for a single horribly old-fashioned British Swordfish, would Bismarck even have been there?

A very thorough compilation of facts and figures, skilfully woven together by the Author to render an intensely readable narrative of a magnificent fighting ship.

A good read for anyone who has been tobsea in a military uniform.

About the author

Iain Ballantyne has been on both ends of a submarine attack. At the close of the Cold War he was aboard a warship forced to take evasive action in the Barents Sea when a Russian submarine launched a torpedo. He has also sailed under the waves aboard a nuclear-powered attack submarine, at one stage using the periscope to view potential targets during a combat exercise. A one-time London-based defence and diplomatic correspondent for a national news agency, Iain has contributed to coverage of naval and military issues in the SUNDAY TELEGRAPH, SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY, MAXIM and FOCUS as well as prestigious publications published on behalf of NATO and the Royal Navy. http://www.iainballantyne.com/