HM Submarines in Camera - An Illustrated History of British Submarines, 1901-1996 (Hardcover)

Since Submarine Holland 1 was laid down in 1901, submarines have undergone tremendous change. Holland 1 was small and primitive, its ability unproven, while the nuclear-powered 'Trident' class submarines of today's Royal Navy are 165 times heavier. Their ability to travel the oceans of the world for months on end, fully submerged and carrying Britain's nuclear deterrent, is a graphic illustration of this quantum leap in design and technology. Nothing illustrates this change better than the fascinating selection of photographs collected for this book from the archives of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Storico Navale in Venice, and a number of private collections. They cover the stories of the first submersibles, the development of the submarine as a potent weapon of sea power in the First and Second World Wars, and the dawn of the nuclear age when submarines became launch platforms for strategic nuclear weapons with the potential for mass destruction. HM Submarines in Camera gives a graphic view of life in British submarines which have been an integral part of the Royal Navy for the past 100 years - submarines that range from the tiny 'Holland' class designed in Queen Victoria's reign, to the monstrous 'Vanguard' class of the nuclear age. Their exploits from the North Cape to the Falklands, from the Mediterranean to the Pacific, are legendary, and the award of fourteen Victoria Crosses to the Submarine Service is testimony to the devotion, courage and past sacrifice of those brave men who are proud to call themselves submariners.