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This valuable book fills a welcome gap in the history of the Royal Navy, specifically the role of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors (RCNC) during the last half-century.
The author served in the Pacific during World War Two and oversaw the repair and refurbishment of the Royal Navy’s vessels in that theatre. At the end of the war, he served as Britain’s observer in Nagasaki and later at the Bikini A-bomb tests, where his inventiveness led to a deeper knowledge of the effects of atomic blasts.
In Peacetime he was actively involved in the design of several classes of aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and submarines, including HMS Dreadnought, seen above. As the head of the RCNC he oversaw the introduction of the Invincible Class carrier and Resolution Class ballistic missile submarine.
No great admirer of politicians, these memoirs detail a career within a time when the power of the RCNC declined. The author’s observations are both amusing and highly critical of much that took place during these years.
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