Abandon Ship: The Real Story of the Sinkings in the Falklands War, Hardcover/Paul Brown

This fascinating title offers a new study of the loss of six British ships during the Falklands War of 1982. Based on new evidence released following freedom of information requests, it will tell the full story of these dramatic events for the first time. The Falklands War was a pivotal event in 20th century British history, and is within living memory of many. The war came as a surprise to most and was to test the British forces - who were mainly trained for a war with the USSR - to their limits, in very different circumstances to those envisaged during the Cold War era. The emphatic British victory was not without costs or mistakes, but the courageous exploits of the men and ships of the Royal Navy were instrumental in facilitating the amphibious landings which recaptured the islands from the Argentine invaders. The drama of events and the heroism of those involved makes for compelling reading. Taking advantage of the latest available British and Argentinian sources, including documents recently released following freedom of information requests by the author himself, Dr Paul Brown describes the dramatic events leading up to the loss of six British ships; HMS Antelope, Ardent, Coventry and Sheffield, RFA Sir Galahad and SS Atlantic Conveyor , as well as the controversial sinking of the Argentinian cruiser ARA General Belgrano by HMS Conqueror . About author(s): Dr Paul Brown is a maritime history author and speaker from the UK, whose recent publications include the books Britain's Historic Ships (Conway) , Historic Sail, Maritime Portsmouth , and The Portsmouth Dockyard Story (History Press), as well as articles in leading maritime magazines. A member of the Society for Nautical Research and the Britannia Naval Research Association, and Secretary of the Naval Dockyards Society, he was recently a consultant to National Historic Ships, the UK's authority on the preservation of historic ships and boats. He was previously a university lecturer and senior university manager, and has also lectured at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. He hails from Portsmouth, where he was raised in a naval family and his interest in all things maritime was kindled. His other hobbies include sailing and photography. Paul is married with two daughters. Since retiring from his academic post he has embarked on cruise ship speaking and has fulfilled enrichment speaking engagements with P&O, Cunard, Saga, Fred Olsen, Viking, Voyages of Discovery, CMV, Holland America, and Royal Caribbean.