Peter Padfield lives in Woodbridge, Suffolk. He worked with P&O and sailed with Alan Villiers in Mayflower II in commemoration of the journey of the Pilgrim Fathers.The Titanic and The Californian won him international recognition as a writer. He is also the author of classic biographies of Hess, Donitz and Himmler and has written widely on the sea, including a work on naval gunnery.
'Well written and balanced in judgement and makes good use of the primary printed material in the Naval Library... Above all it deserves particular attention for its author's specialised knowledge of the development of naval gunnery and fire control' - Times Literary Supplement 'With crisp scholarship, Peter Padfield traces the development of the battleship from sailing ships much like Nelson's which had been fitted with auxiliary steam engines and had iron armour hung on their sides, to the ultimate: the Japanese battleship, Yamato, a giant of more than 70,000 tons firing 18 inch shells more than 20 miles' - Books and Bookmen