Jutland veterans were not alone in their experience of failure and feelings of regret after the First World War, nor in their desire to get the Royal Navy back on track. Andrew Cunningham, later to …
Articles by: "James Goldrick"
One hundred years ago on 31 May and 1 June 1916, 250 ships of the British and German navies fought an abortive action in the North Sea off the coast of Denmark—the only direct encounter …
The first phase of Australian submarine activity began immediately after Federation, when there was considerable interest in the brand new technology of submersibles. Various schemes were discussed to make use of the new type for …
The recently published history of the British submarine service since 1945, The Silent Deep by Peter Hennessy and James Jinks, contains much food for thought for those interested in Australia’s future submarine capability. One particular …
The current controversy over Australia’s Future Submarine Program, its schedule and the associated life-of-type of the current Collins class has resulted in much hyperbole as to the difficulties associated with keeping elderly boats in operation. …
Command and control were key naval unknowns in August 1914. What hadn’t been properly appreciated in set-piece, largely visually conducted exercises before the war were the problems with radio. The full conceptual and practical difficulties …
It’s an irony of history that we no longer comprehend much of the way in which ships were worked and fought in 1914-1918. Indeed, the interest in the Nelsonic era and the combination of extensive …
Hugh White’s equally ‘spirited’ response to my critique raises several questions in my mind. Unsurprisingly, I differ with him on several points. I accept—and have said elsewhere—that, unlike on land, the defence has no inherent …
Hugh White’s column for The Strategist on naval surface ship-building in Australia continued his campaign against such a national effort, but was actually centred on his long standing objection to the maintenance of a capable …
The Royal Navy stands at a crossroads as work for the 2015 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) gets underway in the United Kingdom. It has the framework in place to provide significant flexibility to …
Amidst increasing alliance concern that the United Kingdom is approaching the point at which ‘little Britain’ may, in military terms, be both perception and reality, the British government has embarked upon a new Strategic Defence …
The election of a Conservative government with a slim majority comes at a time when the strategic challenges facing the United Kingdom have acquired new urgency. The election campaign itself was remarkable for the lack …