In another i wrote to the son of the man involved a rating in rodney and he volunteered transcripts and sound recordings. The rodney carrying the largest guns ever mounted in a british warship finally succeeded in turning her adversary into twisted. Hms rodney s three triple gun turrets, all carried forward of the bridge. The writer mixes crew reminiscences with narrative throughout and he has clearly done a lot of research. She was launched on 28 december 1922, took the sea on 17 december 1925 and was commissioned in november 1927, three months behind nelson. Slayer of the bismarck and dday saviour by iain ballantyne book. At this time the fleet was still known as the atlantic fleet. He served in the navy for the duration of the war on the rodney taking a part in the sinking of the bismarck. Hms rodney and hms nelson were the only battleships of the nelson class. Picture of revenge, ramillies, royal sovereign and resolution survive the war taken from royal oak sunk by press association hms rodney pennant number was one of two nelsonclass battleships built for the royal navy in the she was named after admiral lord rodney. Hms rodney slayer of the bismarck and dday saviour warships of the royal navy by iain ballantyne 2012, pen and sword isbn 1848848706 paperback, 320 pages. Rodney by iain ballantyne the royal navy battleship hms rodney was one of the most famous warships of the second world war. Hms rodney, slayer of the bismarck and dday saviour by.
As the illustration on the book s cover reveals, this is a book about the mighty battleship hms rodney but, in getting to the subject itself, author iain ballantyne provides the reader with 42 fascinating pages of previous royal navy vessels of the same name. Slayer of the bismarck and dday saviour reprint by iain ballantyne isbn. Hms nelson, escorted by hms duncan, orp piorun and orp garland, continued on to gibraltar. 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. Royal navy, battleship, world war two, sailing ships, wwii, british, boat. It had previously been used for an 1884 battleship, sold in 1909. She was launched to sea on december 17th, 1925 and formally commissioned on november 10th, 1927. The book starts with a brief history of the achievements of admiral rodney in the 18th century and the performances of the foregoing ships named in his honour. Either kgv scored the first hit at 0854 or rodney at 0902. Navy battleship hms rodney was one of the most famous warships of the second world war and. I would also recommend this authors book on hms warspite.
Prior to this he trained on hms raleigh at torpoint. Hms rodney29 was built by cammell laird of birkenhead and saw her keel laid down on december 28th, 1922. Why did bismark fail to land any hits on rodney in her. In may 1941 rodney turned bismarck, the pride of hitlers navy, into twisted metal, then participated in hard. Aug 19, 2012 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. Rodney at war being an account of the part played in the war by h. Slayer of the bismarck and dday saviour by iain ballantyne. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Rodney remained with the atlantic and home fleets until the outbreak of war, assuming the role of flagship when nelson was unavailable. Here is a quick description and cover image of book hms rodney.
In 1944, at the height of activity, up to half a million were based there. The royal navy battleship hms rodney was one of the most famous warships of the second world war and remains a legend in the pantheon of naval history. Hms rodney 29 of the royal navy british battleship of. Hms rodney 1809 was a 74gun third rate launched in 1809, razeed to 50 guns and renamed greenwich in 1827, and sold in 1836. Who really sank bismarck, the pride of hitlers fleet. The rodney, carrying the largest guns ever mounted in a british. Commissioned in 192729, the nelsons served extensively in the atlantic, mediterranean, and indian oceans during world war ii. The second world war battleship hms rodney achieved lasting fame for her role i. The book covers the history of the hms rodney,one of only 2 warships equipped with16 inch guns. The rodney carrying the largest guns ever mounted in a british warship finally succeede. For example, hms rodney to the bismarck and the warspite and valiant to the. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our.
Nov 18, 2008 the cherry tree class,tribute to the royal navys most powerfully gunned battleships. At the beginning of the war rodney was at scapa with the home fleet. Slayer of the bismarck and dday saviour by iain ballantyne book the hms rodney. Triple forward 16 in turrets of battleship hms rodney. Slayer of the bismarck and dday saviour written by iain ballantyne which was published in 2012819. To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the pageiain ballantynes blog on submarines of the cold war generated quite a deal of interest so im delighted to welcome iain back again as a guest blogger, this time his topic is slaying the myths of the battleship bismarck. Hms rodney 29 battleship united kingdom battleship. The second world war battleship hms rodney achieved lasting fame for her role in destroying the pride of hitlers navy, the mighty bismarck, in a thrilling duel.
Hms rodney 1833 was a 90gun second rate launched in 1833, converted to screw propulsion and rearmed with 70 guns in 1860, and broken up in 1884. My father mr ernest james woodcock joined hms rodney in 1940 as gun layer 3 after completing a training course in plymouth. Hms rodney sank the bismarck,and covered the pedestal convoy and supported the d day landing,operation epsom and operation windsor. Maritimequest hms rodney 1925 message board 25 through 49. It is a story worth telling as the ship was involved in several major battles during ww2. The third account, from a sailor in the cruiser hms dorsetshire, was in the archives of the imperial war museum. She fought her entire career under the motto of eagles do not breed doves.
To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page iain ballantynes blog on submarines of the cold war generated quite a deal of interest so im delighted to welcome iain back again as a guest blogger, this time his topic is slaying the myths of the battleship bismarck. How bad was the condition of hms rodney when it sank the. On 6 june 1944, off sword beach, it bombarded the battery of benerville as well as several german positions in the region of caen. Rodney was made famous by her role in the sinking of the german battleship bismarck in may 1941. The royal navy battleship hms rodney was one of the most famous warships of the second world war and remains a legend in the pantheon. This splendid book traces not only this mighty battleship s career in detail but describes the. Rodney and sister ship nelson were, at the beginning of the conflict, the most modern battleships britain possessed. I have been told that if battleships of the second world.
Hms rodney 29 of the royal navy british battleship of the. The second world war battleship hms rodney achieved lasting fame for her role. The rodney, carrying the largest guns ever mounted in a british warship. This book is a very detailed account of hms rodney. Media in category sailors of the royal navy in world war ii the following 200 files are in this category, out of 238 total. Unused unissued material dates and locations unclear or unknown. Oct 24, 2012 the career of hms rodney in world war ii is a definitive exposition of what the term sea power means and how it was expertly used by the royal navy. This book traces not only this mighty battleships career but also describes all the ships carrying the name. Contrary to the opinions of singer johnny horton, who wrote and sang the wellknown ballad sink the bismarck, the bismarck was neither the fastest ship at the time, four other new fast battleships equalled her nor did she have the bigges. The royal navy battleship hms rodney was one of the most feared battleships of the second world war, and this book explores the many heroic adventures and missions of the vessel that took part in some of the grizzliest battles of one of the most terrible and bloodiest wars in history. At 210028, hms prince of wales, hms rodney, hms ark royal, hms gurkha, hms lance, hms legion, hms lively, hms fury and hrms isaac sweers were detached to proceed to the eastward and rendezvous with force x. The day after dday, the rodney collided with the landing craft tank lct 427, resulting in the death of british sailors. She was launched on 17th december 1925 by hrh the princess royal, as the 8th rn ship to carry this name, introduced in 1759.
Nevertheless, there were occasions when royal navy battleships administered the full dose during the second world war. In may 1941 rodney turned bismarck, the pride of hitlers navy, into twisted metal, then participated in hardfought malta convoys and later supported the dday landings. 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 and the war effort. But despite these drawbacks i found the book interesting and it illustrated well the saying that war is 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror. Read hms rodney the famous ships of the royal navy series by iain ballantyne available from rakuten kobo. Hms rodney was ordered from cammell laird, birkenhead on 11 december 1922 and laid down on 28th december 1922.
Hms rodney by iain ballantyne 2012, paperback for sale. What others are saying elevated 16 guns of battleship hms rodney. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. The biography of a british battleship, from an author with a facility for rendering nonfiction into a narrative as. 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. Over two million american servicemen passed through britain during the second world war. At the climax of the battle rodney, in conjunction with king george v, closed on bismarck to bombard her at short range. The famous ships of the royal navy series warships of the royal navy at amazon. Rodney engaged with all 9 forward 16 guns bearing, k. Her first action with the enemy was on 26th september when the rodney, nelson and ark royal were covering the crusiers aurora and sheffield escorting home the damaged submarine spearfish. 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. The nelsons were unique in british battleship construction, being the only ships to carry a main armament of 16inch 406 mm guns nine guns in three turrets.
In the case of one i found an account by a rodney officer in the archives of the hms rodney association. This ship was fully commissioned at devonport on 7th december 1927 for service in the atlantic. The other half of bismarcks fate see hms king george v photo nearby. As such, winston churchill referred to them as the countrys captains of the gate. The author chronicles experiences of the crew who at times had to struggle to nurse the old boilers during the war and. Shots of the warship hms rodney being towed into berth by tugs. The career of hms rodney in world war ii is a definitive exposition of what the term sea power means and how it was expertly used by the royal navy. This compelling book, from the acclaimed author of killing the bismarck, not. The second world war battleship hms rodney achieved lasting fame for her role in destroying the pride of hitlers navy, the mighty bismarck in a thrilling duel. Hms rodney ebook by iain ballantyne 9781783035069 rakuten. The barrells of the main armament of nine 16inch 406 mm guns mounted in triple turrets on the royal navy nelsonclass battleship hms rodney are elevated whilst cruising the atlantic with the home fleet on 10 november 1939 somewhere in the atlantic. Hms rodney pennant number 29 was one of two nelsonclass battleships built for the royal navy in the mid1920s.
I created a book in the series super drawings in about the wwii british battleship. This splendid book traces not only this mighty battleships career in detail but describes the careers of all the ships carrying the name. So from november 1944 she was virtually a static flagship at scapa. During the early stages of second world war, she searched for german commerce raiders, participated in the norwegian campaign, and escorted convoys in the atlantic. The first hms rodney, for example, was a cutter, the second a 16 gun brigsloop. Hms rodney opened fire on bismarck at 0847 27th may 1941 at about 2yds, there is no consensus of opinion as to what happened next. In june 1930 she carried a parliamentary delegation to iceland for the 1,000th anniversary of the althing, the icelandic parliament. Entering service in 1928, the ship spent her peacetime career with the atlantic and home fleets, often as a flagship. Being an account of the part played in the war by h. She had been plagued with hull and machinery defects during war service but plans made to give her a major overhaul in 1943 were deferred and a modernisation scheme drawn up in 1944 was never carried out.
94 1128 849 1120 33 756 1126 383 139 1483 1155 100 1153 662 383 486 955 1093 1113 517 1235 1506 801 1071 1286 1344 1224 755 1531 1084 1253 414 71 213 1499 801 1230 1556 503 1161 490 1450 1013 68 1384 821 945