Ship design & naval architecture – The Bell Bookshop

The search

Emma — Thu, 07 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In 2016, archaeologist John Henry Phillips was volunteering with a charity that took D-Day veterans back to Normandy. Due to an administrative error he found himself without a hotel room and reliant on the generosity of one of the veterans who had a spare bed. That veteran was Patrick Thomas - it was an encounter that would change both their lives forever. Patrick's landing craft, LCH 185, had led the first wave into Sword Beach on D-Day, and stayed off Normandy until the 25th June when an acoustic mine sent it to the seabed along with most of the crew. His story transfixed John, and the resulting search for the shipwreck was to consume him. Jumping back and forwards in time, between vivid descriptions of 19-year-old Patrick's final days on board LCH 185 and John's thrilling search to find the shipwreck, 'The Search' is an emotional story of a devastating time in history.

Olympic Titanic Britannic

Emma — Thu, 13 Oct 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Titanic. The Britannic. The Olympic. They are some of the most famous ships in history, but for the wrong reasons.The Olympic Class liners were conceived as the largest, grandest ships ever to set sail. Of the three ships built, the first only lost the record for being the largest because she was beaten by the second, and they were both beaten by the third. The class was meant to secure the White Star Line’s reputation as the greatest shipping company on earth. Instead, with the loss of both the Titanic and the Britannic in their first year of service, it guaranteed White Star’s infamy.This unique book tells the extraordinary story of these three extraordinary ships from the bottom up, starting with their conception and construction (and later their modification) and following their very different careers. Behind the technical details of these magnificent ships lies a tragic human story – not just of the lives lost aboard the Titanic and Britannic, but of the designers pushing the limits beyond what was actually possible, engineers unable to prepare for every twist of fate, and ship owners and crew who truly believed a ship could be unsinkable.This fascinating story is told with rare photographs, new computer-generated recreations of the ships, and unique wreck images that explore how well the ships were designed and built. Simon Mills offers unparalleled access to shipbuilders Harland & Wolff’s specification book for the Olympic Class, including original blueprints and – being made widely available for the first time – large fold-out technical drawings showing how these extensive plans were meant to be seen.

The Search

Emma — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

When archaeologist John Henry Phillips volunteered with a charity that took D-Day veterans back to Normandy, due to an administrative error he found himself without a hotel room and reliant on the generosity of one of the veterans who had a spare bed. That veteran was Patrick Thomas – and it was an encounter that would change both their lives forever.

Patrick’s landing craft, LCH 185, had led the first wave into Sword Beach on D-Day, and stayed off Normandy until the 25th June when an acoustic mine sent it to the seabed along with most of the crew. His story transfixed John, and the resulting search for the shipwreck was to consume him.

Jumping back and forwards in time, between vivid descriptions of the final days on board LCH 185 and John’s thrilling search to find the shipwreck, The Search is an emotional story of a devastating time in history, an unlikely, life-changing friendship and a quest to honour a wartime home and family lost over seventy-five years ago.

How to Build an Aircraft Carrier

Emma — Thu, 12 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The enthralling story of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy’s largest ever warship

‘Fascinating, often funny and sometimes moving . . . Terrill takes us deep into the bowels of Britain’s biggest warship . . . Exhilarating’ THE TIMES
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65,000 tons. 280 metres long. A flight deck the size of sixty tennis courts. A giant piece of Sovereign British territory that’s home to up to 50 Aircraft. HMS Queen Elizabeth is the biggest ship in the Royal Navy’s history and one of the most ambitious and exacting engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK.

But it’s her ship’s company of 700, alongside an air group of 900 air and ground crew that are Big Lizzie’s beating heart. And How to Build an Aircraft Carrier tells their story.

From before the first steel of her hull was cut, Chris Terrill has enjoyed unprecedented access to Queen Elizabeth and the men and women who have brought her to life. From Jerry Kyd, the ship’s inspirational Captain to Lt Cdr Nathan Grey, the first pilot to land Britain’s new stealth jet fighter on her deck, Terrill has won the trust and confidence of the ship’s people.

How to Build an Aircraft Carrier tells the story of Britain at its best: innovative, confident, outward-looking and world beating.
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‘A detailed account of the challenges, trials and triumphs on the ship’s progression . . . and a portrait of the men and women who made it happen. [Terrill] writes with affection, humour and understanding’ TELEGRAPH

How to Build an Aircraft Carrier

Emma — Thu, 20 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The enthralling story of the HMS Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Navy’s largest ever warship

‘Fascinating, often funny and sometimes moving . . . Terrill takes us deep into the bowels of Britain’s biggest warship . . . Exhilarating’ The Times

65,000 tons. 280 metres long. A flight deck the size of sixty tennis courts. A giant piece of Sovereign British territory that’s home to up to fifty Aircraft. HMS Queen Elizabeth is the biggest ship in the Royal Navy’s history and one of the most ambitious and exacting engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK.

But it’s her ship’s company of 700, alongside an air group of 900 air and ground crew that are Big Lizzie’s beating heart. And How to Build an Aircraft Carrier tells their story.

From before the first steel of her hull was cut, Chris Terrill has enjoyed unprecedented access to the Queen Elizabeth and the men and women who have brought her to life. From Jerry Kyd, the ship’s inspirational captain, to Cdr Nathan Gray, the first pilot to land Britain’s new stealth jet fighter on her deck, Terrill has won the trust and confidence of the ship’s people.

How to Build an Aircraft Carrier tells the story of Britain at its best: innovative, confident, outward-looking and world-beating.

RMS Queen Mary

Emma — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0000

For 1930s Britain, the Queen Mary was a symbol of hope. Cunard had abandoned construction on what they had planned to be the grandest liner of all time (then known simply as Job 534) in the depths of the Depression. Her half-finished hull sat on the Clyde for years, but when Cunard announced they were going to complete her, it was a sign, perhaps, that the darkest days were over, that the country was emerging from economic disaster and that Britannia would soon rule the waves once again.The Queen Mary would go on to be one of the most famous ships in the world for all the right reasons. The first British ship to be over 1,000 feet in length, launched by her namesake (and for which the Clyde had to be artificially widened to allow such a large ship to pass through), she won the Blue Riband (the record for fastest Atlantic crossing) not once by twice – and when she won it the second time in 1938 she held it until 1952.After wartime service carrying up to 16,000 US troops to Europe at a time, she finally retired to Long Beach, California, in 1967. There she remains, a perfectly preserved reminder of a bygone era, and a celebration of the golden age of the transatlantic liner.In this book David Ellery, maritime historian, TV presenter and documentary maker, answers all the questions you might have about this glorious ship – and ones you might never have thought to ask too. This unique, accessible approach gives a fantastic introduction to the ship to anyone curious about her, but is also very detailed and comprehensive, covering everything from the ship’s design, construction, engineering and interior fittings to her naming, wartime service and more.Packed with archival photographs and other original material, this is a fascinating and illuminating guide to the Queen Mary, looking beneath the sheen of her appointments to explore how her fame is well deserved.