Warships in the Battle of Britain 1940: The Royal Navy's Plans to Defeat Operation Sealion

The first illustrated account of the Royal Navy's World War II plans for defeating Hitler's proposed invasion of 1940 at sea.

While 'the Few' of RAF Fighter Command fought to deny the Luftwaffe superiority over southern England, it was the Royal Navy that was ultimately charged with defeating any invasion force at sea. All the warships the Navy could spare were deployed to ports in home waters, and if an invasion had been launched, it would have been a fight to the death.

Yet this is the first book ever to examine how the Royal Navy prepared for this climactic battle. Naval historian Angus Konstam draws on a wealth of records and accounts to present a concise study of the role of sea power in Britain's battle for survival, from the Home Fleet battleships in Scapa Flow to motor torpedo boats on the front-line Channel ports. He explores their deployments and doctrine for responding to an amphibious invasion, explains what success would have depended on, and he evaluates the effectiveness the Royal Navy would likely have had.

Illustrated with detailed colour profiles of warships involved, archive photos, new artwork and mapping, and including the roles of intelligence-gathering, technology and airpower in the anti-invasion plans, this unveils the hidden, maritime side of the Battle of Britain.