Warfare in News

Posted on Tuesday 20th December

Historic World War Two rescue boat HSL102, owned by Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust, is to be given a new lease of life with the installation of brand new engines.

The former air-sea rescue launch, which saved the lives of many downed pilots during the Battle of Britain, was rescued for the nation in 2009 with the aid of a generous grant from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.

With support from Gunwharf Quays Marina, PNBPT has carried out extensive work to enable her to be MCA coded for public use, but she now needs new engines. Mermaid Marine of Poole has offered the Trust a very competitively priced ‘turnkey’ solution for supplying and fitting the engines, refitting the boat’s drive train, and other associated works.

It is anticipated that HSL102 will re-enter service in spring 2012.

Further Reading

The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918-1986

Only £19.99

The RAF Air Sea Rescue Service 1918-1986

(Hardback - 224 pages)
by Jon Sutherland

Between 1918 and 1986 the marine branch of the Royal Air Force provided rescue facilities, support and other services to this armed service. In its pre-1941 guise as the Air Sea Rescue service, the RAF had an inventory of over 200 motorboats, supported by float aircraft engaged in rescue, towing, refueling and servicing RAF aircraft. Amongst the many characters of this early period was none other than Lawrence of Arabia. The Marine Craft Section itself… Read more...

Of further interest...

View Product

Author spotlight - Peter C Smith

Thu 14th March

An interview with Peter C Smith, author of Heritage of the Sea, about his interest in maritime history and his plans for future books. Read article...

View Product

Lady Lucy Houston - The Unsung Heroine

Thu 9th June

Miles Macnair, author of Lady Lucy Houston DBE, writes for Warfare Magazine. Read article...

View Product

Q&A with Suzie Grogan

Wed 8th June

Author of Shell Shocked Britain, Suzie Grogan, talks to Warfare Magazine about her career, her books and her life. Read article...

View Product

Warspite at Jutland

Wed 3rd February

With its 15-inch guns, HMS Warspite caused a mixture of fear and professional fascination among the Kaiser’s officers. They would soon find out what it was like to be on the receiving end of Churchill’s and Admiral Fisher’s Queen Elizabeth Class monsters. Read article...

Dates in History

German forces cross the Somme River

24th March 1918

On March 24, 1918, German forces cross the Somme River, achieving their first goal of the major spring offensive begun three days earlier on the Western Front. Operation Michael, engineered by the German chief of the general staff, Erich von Ludendorff, aimed to decisively break through the Allied lines on the Western Front and destroy the British and French forces. The offensive began on the morning of March 21, 1918, with an aggressive bombardment. The brunt of the attack that followed was directed at the British 5th Army, commanded by General Sir Hubert Gough, stationed along the Somme River in northwestern France. This section was the most poorly defended of any spot on the British lines, due to the fact that it had been held by the French until only a few weeks before and its defensive positions were not yet fully fortified. Panic spread up and down the British lines of command, intensified by communications failures between Gough and his subordinates in the field, and German gains increased over the subsequent days of battle. On March 23, Crown Prince Rupprecht, on the German side of the line, remarked that The progress of our offensive is so quick, that one cannot follow it with a pen. The next day, German troops stormed across the Somme, having previously captured its bridges before French troops could destroy them. Despite having resolved to concentrate on weaker points of the enemy lines, Ludendorff continued to throw his armies against the crucial villages of Amiens (a railway junction) and Arras—which the British and French were instructed to hold at all costs—hoping to break through and push on towards Paris. By that time, German troops were exhausted, and transportation and supply lines had begun to break down in the cold and bad weather. Meanwhile, Allied forces had recovered from the initial disadvantage and had begun to gain the upper hand, halting the Germans at Moreuil Wood on March 30. On April 5, Ludendorff called off Operation Michael. It had yielded nearly 40 miles of territory, the greatest gains for either side on the Western Front since 1914. He would launch four more offensive pushes over the course of the spring and summer, throwing all of the German army’s resources into this last, desperate attempt to win the war. (www.history.com)

Further Reading

The Somme
(Paperback - 355 pages)
by Richard van Emden

The offensive on the Somme took place between July and November 1916 and is perhaps the most iconic battle of the Great War. It was there that Kitchener’s famous ‘Pals’ Battalions were first sent into action en masse and it was a battlefield where many of the dreams and aspirations… Read more at Pen & Sword...

Only £14.99 at Pen & Sword Books.

Read more from this day...