U-Boat vs Royal Navy Capital Ship

Name: U-Boat vs Royal Navy Capital Ship
Price: 32.99 AUD
Availability: PreOrder
ISBN: 9781472866066

1939–45

Mark Lardas, Edouard A. Groult

$32.99

Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Osprey
02 June 2026

History; Second World War; Naval forces & warfare; Battles & campaigns; Military & naval ships

Series: Duel

This insightful illustrated study investigates how the Royal Navy lost two battleships and three aircraft carriers to German U-boats during 1939–42.

During World War II, over half of Britain’s capital ship losses were due to U-boats, as Germany’s submarines sought to deplete the Royal Navy’s powerful surface fleet. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside archive photographs, this study explains how Germany’s submarines sank five of Britain’s major surface vessels in four years of conflict at sea.

Aircraft carrier HMS Courageous was sunk by U-29 on 17 September 1939 during anti-submarine patrols. On 14 October 1939, U-47 penetrated the Scapa Flow defences and sank battleship HMS Royal Oak. On 14 November 1941, U-81 sank HMS Ark Royal as the aircraft carrier returned to Gibraltar. On 25 November 1941, U-331 sank HMS Barham off Egypt. The final British capital ship to be sunk by German submarines was carrier HMS Eagle, torpedoed by U-73 en route to Malta on 11 August 1942.

In this book, Mark Lardas charts the origins, development and combat performance of the U-boats in the Kriegsmarine’s efforts to attack British capital ships, and the Royal Navy’s efforts to counter the submarine threat to its battleships, battlecruisers and aircraft carriers. As well as the five encounters that led to sinkings, he examines the ‘near-misses’ that saw Royal Navy capital ships get the better of the U-boats.

By: Mark Lardas
Illustrated by: Edouard A. Groult
Imprint: Osprey
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 246mm, Width: 182mm, Spine: 8mm
Weight: 260g
ISBN: 9781472866066
ISBN 10: 1472866061
Series: Duel
Pages: 80
Publication Date: 02 June 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

(Subject to confirmation) Introduction Chronology Design and Development The Strategic Situation Technical Specifications The Combatants Combat Analysis Aftermath Bibliography Index

Mark Lardas is the author of more than 50 books on aspects of military, naval and maritime history, including many for Osprey. He lives in Texas. Edouard Groult worked as a concept artist in the videogame industry and also undertakes historical commissions while freelancing for historical publications.