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NEWTON, DON and HAMPSHIRE, A. CECIL: : TARANTO

LONDON.WILLIAM KIMBER AND CO. LIMITED,1959.

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,slim 8vo HB+protected+lined dw/dj,1st edn. VG/VG. No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj.Bright,matt 3-colour (blue and b/w) pictorial illustrated front panel+ spine of dw/dj,with capitalised,white-lettered authors' names and other white-lettered title with some minimal random foxing spots; spine/backstrip with front's illustration continuation and with slightly dulled,but similarly coloured+lettered author+title as the front and publisher's capitalised,white-lettered name to foot of same, rear panel with white background with sporadic foxing spots to publisher's advert for 'The Giant Killers - A Documentary Story of the Cam-ships' by Kenneth Poolman,with its respective synopsis.Negligible shelf-wear,bumping,creasing to edges and corners – no major nicks, tears or splits present but miniscule chipping/rubbing to both head+foot of spine/backstrip and similarly to the dw/dj corners' tips.Top edges slightly aged/toned with sporadic but faint foxing/ spotting,fore-edges cleaner and slightly brighter,but also with sporadic foxing/spotting; majority of contents reasonably bright,tight, solid and sound - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread other than my own collation.Inevitable foxing spots to random pages' fore-edges and/or page margins, along with some minimal foxing on half-title+ title pages.Publisher's bright,crisp,clean, sharp-cornered,original plain black cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked gilt lettered spine/ backstrip,and clean plain white endpapers with no hinge cracking.UK,8vo HB+prtoected+lined dw/dj,1st edn,5-204pp [paginated] includes authors' Foreword and Acknowledgements,separate Contents+Iluustrations lists/tables,XIV (14) chapters and an Appendix,8pp contemporary b/w photographs in 4 blocks of 2pp apiece interspersed throughout the text and the book; plus [unpaginated] half-title+title pages,and to the rear 4pp publisher's advert for 4 other titles - 3 are military and 1 aForensic scientist autobiography.                          Visually the exterior appearance is more than acceptable,and even internally,the book is also in an acceptable condition/state of preservation and presentation for a book of its 64-year-old age.It is only the minor exterior and minimal internal faults described that prevents a slightly higher overall grading.Despite them,it is still an acceptable copy for its historical naval content and a pivotal battle/action in WW2 and also for its scarcity,being out-of-print by this publisher.                                  On the night of Novemeber 11th,1940,a score of cumbersome,slowflying naval planes from a British aircraft carrier steaming at sea 170 miles away inflicted more damage on the Italian fleet,lying snugly within the defences of its major base at Taranto,than the German Navy suffered in daylight at the Battle of Jutland.  Never before in the history of naval warfare had a major action been fought in which the attacking force was entirely composed  of aircraft. Previosly and earlier on 3 July 1940,the Swordfish was one of the main weapons during the attack on Mers-el-Kabir,an attack by the Royal Navy upon the French Navy fleet stationed at Oran,French Algeria to prevent the vessels falling into German hands.Twelve Swordfish from 810 and 820 Naval Air Squadrons launched from the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal,and conducted three sorties of attacks upon the anchored fleet. The torpedo attack,which crippled the French battleship Dunkerque and damaged other vessels present, demonstrated that capital ships could be effectively attacked while in harbour; it was also the first time in history that the Royal Navy had won a battle without the use of gunfire.                                          Originally scheduled for 21 October 1940,the Taranto raid was delayed until 11 November to allow for key reinforcements to arrive and other commitments to be met.The Swordfish crews were intensively trained for night flying operations, as an undetected aerial attack during the night raid had been judged to be the only effective method of reasonably overcoming the defences of the well-protected harbour and to strike at the fleet anchored there.This British victory altered the course of the naval war in the Mediterranean,shattered a dictator's dream,and laid the groundwork for ultimate Allied victory in North Africa.First to exploit the new element of the air,the Royal Navy now decisely added air power to sea power. The Battle of Taranto firmly established that naval aircraft were independently capable of immobilising an entire fleet and were an effective means of altering the balance of power.The Japanese assistant naval attaché to Berlin, Takeshi Naito,visited Taranto to view the consequences of the attack; he later briefed the staff who planned the attack on Pearl Harbour.                                          Here for the first time the full story is told of this brilliant and daring attack on an enemy battle-fleet in its own defended harbour that put Britain's Fleet Air Arm firmly on the map after years of neglect and divided control.The authors have been given full access to the official records of this great raid,both British and Italian. In addition they have interviewed many of the survivors of the aircrews who took part in the attack on Taranto in order to present a completely authentic account of a naval action that has justly been called the "Trafalgar of the Air".                          The FAIREY Swordfish is a bi-plane torpedo bomber,designed by the Fairey Aviation Company. Originating in the early 1930s,the Swordfish, nicknamed the "Stringbag",was principally operated by the Fleet air Arm of the Royal Navy. Early in 1936,an initial production contract for 68 Swordfish aircraft was received as the Swordfish I. Manufactured at Fairey's factory in Hayes,West London,the first production aircraft was completed in early 1936 and the type entered service with the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) in July 1936.By early 1940,Fairey was busy with the Swordfish and other types such as the new Fairey Albacore torpedo bomber.The Admiralty approached Blackburn Aircraft with a proposal that manufacturing activity for the Swordfish be transferred to the company,who immediately set about establishing a brand new fabrication and assembly facility inSherburn-in-Elmet,North Yorkshire.Less than a year later,the first Blackburn-built Swordfish conducted its first flight.Between 1936-1944 the two companies built 2,391 planes (692 by Fairey and 1,699 by Blackburn). The Swordfish sank a greater tonnage of Axis shipping than any other Allied aircraft during the war.The Swordfish remained in front-line service until V-E Day, having outlived some of the aircraft intended to replace it. William Kimber himself,worked for Hutchinson for about 17 years before founding "William Kimber & Co" in 1950.It specialized in aviation, war memoirs, autobiographies and motor-racing titles until 1973 when "Haunted Cornwall" took off and the Ghost Stories became another specialty. The company was bought by Thorsons in 1988,and therefore ceased publishing under that name. This title is believed to the only one published in this year,1959,by KIMBER.                     William Kimber was purchased by Thorsons in 1988 and therefore ceased publishing under that name.Thorsons was purchased by William Collins in 1989.William Collins became wholly owned by News Corporation in 1990, and was then incorporated into HarperCollins Publishers.The name of William Kimber has not been used for publishing since that,making all previously published titles by them,out-of-print,under that name.                                            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+protected+lined dw/dj,illustrated,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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