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HIT FIRST, HIT HARD. HMS Renown 1916-1948.
H/B 1979 (ISBN 0 7183 0206 0) ; New H/B Edition due from Pen & Sword 18th September 2008 (as The Battle-Cruiser HMS RENOWN).
The story of the Royal Navy battle-cruiser H.M.S. Renown was a long and distinguished one. Originally built for the First World War she subsequently served in the post-war fleet and took royalty around the world. Modernised just in time for the second great sea war, she re-joined the fleet in September, 1939 and for the first two years of the war her speed and heavy gun armament made her one of the most important ships of the fleet. She escorted the famous carrier Ark Royal for most of her illustrious career as flagship of Force "H" in the Mediterranean and took part in many stirring battles and convoy actions.
Later she covered Russian convoys in the Arctic before going out to the Indian Ocean where she took part in attacks on Japanese targets in the Indian Ocean. Her final duties included the meeting of King George VI and President Truman in 1945. A host of fresh detail coupled with eyewitness memoirs from former crew members make this an outstanding warship biography.
Reviewing this book the Navy News said: "Peter Smith has chosen well in featuring the famous battle cruiser, Renown, for her career touched most of the naval highlights of the Second World War..."