Smoke And Mirrors : Q-Ships Against The U-Boats In The First World War

England: Sutton Publishing. Fine in Fine Dust Jacket. 2007. First Edition: First Printing. Hard Cover. 241 pages: 6.25 x 9.5 in.: 1.6: KB#015019: Bookjacket/dustjacket now protected by a New Brodart Mylar Cover. Boards and pages are clean, unmarked, bright, tightly bound and sharp cornered. Scarce, Out Of Print, Book. "The Q-ship, an ordinary merchant vessel with concealed guns, came into its own during World War I, when the Royal Navy used it to trap and destroy German U-boats. Deborah Lake uses a wide range of primary and secondary source material drawn from archives in the UK, Germany and the USA to tell the compelling story of the Q-ships and their U-boat adversaries. The Q-ship operations themselves are covered by following the careers of the eight men who won the Victoria Cross on Special Service Operations; and by accounts from German U-boat crews on the receiving end. No book on Q-ships would be complete without reference to the two Baralong incidents of 1915, when a Q-ship's crew allegedly executed the survivors of the German submarine U-27. In a subsequent encounter with U-41, more British atrocities were alleged by the two German survivors. The author includes revealing extracts from the diary of a Royal Marine who served on board the Baralong, together with other first-hand accounts." Content Chapters include: The Djinn Escapes the Bottle * Friends in Peace, Friends for Ever * Quit Ye like Men. Be Strong * A Weapon to Turn the Tide * Boil Prisoners in Oil - if You Take Any * And the Sea Turned Red * A Black and Bloody Ocean * The Ace in the Hole * Targets for the Plucking * Very Good Piece of Work. Well Done * Like Rats in a Trap * Fortitude. Valour. Duty. Determination * Glory in Dark Waters * Throw the Confidential Books Overboard and Throw Me after Them * The Oceans Became Bare and Empty * Blue Smoke Came Out of Her * A Nice Cup of English Tea. .