Books

The year 2001 marked the centenary of the Royal Navy’s submarine service. This volume opens with an examination of the background to the Board of Admiralty’s decision in 1900 to buy submarines, bringing to light documents that go a long way toward dispelling the myth that Britain’s pre-1914 naval leaders were opposed to the development… Read Abstract »

This volume contains the U-boat situations and trends written by the staff of the Admiralty’s Operational Intelligence Centre during the Second World War. Based largely on communications intelligence, the U-boat situations and trends were designed to inform a small number of senior officers and high officials of the latest events and developments in the Allied… Read Abstract »

During the First World War German use of unrestricted submarine warfare, supported by extensive mining and surface raids, very nearly forced Britain out of the war in 1917. The island’s heavy dependence on seaborne supplies was gravely threatened again in 1939, supplemented this time by air attacks on shipping. After the war Commanders Waters and… Read Abstract »

This collection of high policy documents charts Britain’s difficulties in defending the Empire in a time of ‘imperial overstretch’. The 20th century saw the rise of several great maritime and military powers and the relative decline of British strength, which created major defence problems for the British Empire. Various solutions were attempted, such as ententes… Read Abstract »

To celebrate its centenary in 1993, the Society produced a special volume covering seven hundred and fifty years of British naval history, containing 535 documents carefully selected by leading experts. See the contents of British Naval Documents 1204-1960.

The working relationship between the Royal Navy and the US Navy began in a tentative and stuttering fashion in the dark days of 1917 and prior to the American entry into World War One they were largely unacquainted. Relations between the individual members of the two services in distant waters appear to have been cordial… Read Abstract »

This volume needs to be read in conjunction with NRS Volume 115 Policy and Operations in the Mediterranean, 1912-1914. The Mediterranean was a secondary theatre for the Royal Navy and the ships tended to be ageing and retired from fleet duty. France assumed the major responsibility, along with Italy but the Royal Navy retained a… Read Abstract »

This edition contains documents from the seventeenth century to the Second World War. There is additional material to complement NRS Volume 116 from the Commission of Enquiry in 1608, an account of the Earl of Warwick’s voyage to the Mediterranean in 1627 and documents relating to the management of the Royal Dockyards between 1672 and… Read Abstract »

The documents in this focus on the Mediterranean in the years 1912 to 1914 are grouped in four sections, each with an informative Introduction. The first covers the debate on British policy in the Mediterranean which occurred soon after Winston Churchill became First Lord of the Admiralty, as well as the conversations between Britain and… Read Abstract »

The documents in this large volume describes the earliest beginnings of naval aviation when the potential of airpower became apparent to both military and naval men. The documents are largely from the National Archives, with a small minority from personal collections in repositories such as Kings College London and the National Maritime Museum. During the… Read Abstract »