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MIDDLEBROOK, MARTIN and MAHONEY, PATRICK: : BATTLESHIP: The Loss of the Prince of Wales and the Repulse

LONDON.ALLEN LANE/PENGUIN BOOKS LTD.,1979.

ISBN 0713910429.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st reprint edn. [Originally and first published earlier in 1978 by same publisher,this the 1st reprint edn since then.] NFINE/NFINE. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj - absence of publisher's price.These are generally believed to be export edns,issued and distributed before that issue's trade or subsequent re-issues release,in the country of origin.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy, wrap-around IWP contemporary b/w photograph of Prince of Wales survivors trying to get across to HMS EXPRESS just before the increasing keel of the battleship forced the destroyer away illustrated dw/dj,with capitalised red-lettered part-title and other red-lettered sub-title and author's names to front panel; slightly sunned/ faded spine/backstrip with similarly coloured+ lettered part-title and author's names as the front panel,and publisher's faded red illustrated colophon to foot of same,rear panel with critics' white-lettered reviews of Middlebrook's other 3 published titles. Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no nicks,tears or splits present - but two tiny spots of laminate curl ont lower front edge at bottom,fore-edge corner and proximity of foot of spine/backstrip.Top edges  with dust-flecking spots,fore-edges clean bright and clean almost without any foxing/spotting other than one tiny spot; contents bright,tight, clean,solid and sound - pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,would appear unread,other than my own collation. Publisher's bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered, original plain navy blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked silver gilt lettered spine/ backstrip,and bright,clean,plain white endpapers.Inexplicably,NOT the ALLEN LANE/ PENGUIN colophon to foot of spine/backstrip,but the lower case silver gilt bca colophon instead, even though internally detailed as published by LANE/PENGUIN! UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated 1st edn,xpp+2-366pp [paginated] includes verso of Plates list/table,authors' Introduction,16 chapters,16pp contemporary b/w photographs in 1 block,between pp114/15,b/w facsimile document reproductions and b/w maps interspersed throughout the text and the book,Appendices (1-6),Acknowledgements,a Bibliography with blank verso,an Index; plus [unpaginated] half-title+ title pages,a Contents list/table,and List/Table of b/w maps+text figures,both with a blank verso. Visually the exterior appearance is still exceptional,and particularly internally,the book is also in an exceptional condition/state of preservation and presentation [for a book of its age. It is only the minimal exterior faults described that prevents a slightly higher overall grading. Despite them,it really is still an exceptional,exemplary copy for its cleanliness and brightness.                      At 11.00 on Wednesday 10 December 1941,the crews of a formation of Japanese Navy Mitsubishi Type 96 aircraft signted two large warships escorted by three destroyers steaming on an easterly course some fifty miles off the coast of Malaya.One merchantship could also be seen nearby but there was no sign of any aircraft protecting the warships.The two larger ships were both British; they were the battleship H.M.S. Prince of Wales and the battle cruiser H.M.S. Repulse.Two of the escorting destroyers were also Royal Navy ships but the third was Australian.It was only the third day of the war that Japan had started in the Far East.The weather was fine and clear.Lieutenant Yoshimi Shirai,thepilot of the leading Mitsubishi, ordered his formation to attack. . . That night there were great parties at two Japanese-held airfields near Saigon to celebrate a momentous victory against the hated British.               'BATTLESHIP' tells for the first time the full story of the Prince of Wales and Repulse disaster.The authors dispose of several old myths and take full advantage of the recent release of British Second Worls War documents and of the Japanese Official History,which has not been used before in this connection and which gives a fascinating view of the Japanese side the battle.                                  The sinking of the Prince of ales and HMS REPULSE was a naval engagement in WW2,as part of the war in the Pacific,that took place on 10 December 1941 in the South Chins Sea off the east coast of the British colonies of Malaya 9present day Malaysia and the  Straits Settlements (present day Singapore) and its coastal towns),70 miles (61 nautical miles; 110 kilometres) east of Kuantan,Pahang.The Royal Navy battleship HMS Prince of Wales and battlecruiser HMS REPULSE were sunk by land-based bombers and torpedo bombers of the Imperial Japanese Navy.  The objective of Force Z,which consisted of one battleship,one battlecruiser and four destroyers,was to intercept the Japanese invasion fleet in the South China Sea north of Malaya.The task force sailed without air support.Although the British had a close encounter with Japanese heavy surface units,the force failed to find and destroy the main convoy.On their return to Singapore they were attacked in open waters and sunk by long-range torpedo bombers.The commander of Force Z,Admiral Sir Tom Phillips,elected to maintain radio silence and an alert was not sent (by the Repulse) until one hour after the first Japanese attack.                                          The sinking of the two ships severely weakened the British Eastern Fleet in Singapore,and the Japanese fleet was engaged only by submarines until the Battle off Endau on 27 January 1942. Singapore itself would fll to the Japanese just a month later on 15 February,leading to the largest surrender in British history.            Please contact seller,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,that stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of any inexpensive book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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