HMS London - Iain Ballantyne

When the British Prime Minister announced a new warship was to be christened HMSLondon in 2018 it revived a name that is covered not only in glory but also tinged withcontroversy. In this vividly told narrative we voyage in the company of those whose fates have beenintertwined with Londons in peace, war and even during mutiny. For the ship's companiesof fighting vessels named HMS London have witnessed the highs and lows of British navalhistory spanning centuries. The epic story includes: an ill-fated encounter between wooden wall battleships offChesapeake in 1781 - whose result arguably lost Britain its American colonies; the hell ofthe Gallipoli landings in the First World War; the disastrous PQ17 convoy of the SecondWorld War; a valiant foray into the teeth of communist Chinese fire during the 1940sYangtze Incident; leading the British naval task group in Operation Desert Storm; sailinginto the Arctic on a mission to end the Cold War at sea as the 1991 hard-liners' coup inMoscow collapsed. This new edition offers enhanced and new imagery in addition to other fresh material,including a young officer's part in the climactic events of the Second World War in EastAsia. We also learn how the London of Oliver Cromwell and King Charles II is offering uptreasures from the murky waters of the Thames. A new final chapter looks at the next HMS London, which will be a futuristic City Class(Type 26) submarine hunter. It also considers the missions the new London will face amidgreat power rivalry on the oceans that sees an increasingly volatile face-off between theWest and Russia with China.