Ready For Anything

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary 1905-1950

Nonfiction, History, Military, Naval, Modern, 20th Century, World War II
Cover of the book Ready For Anything by Geoff Puddefoot, Pen and Sword
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Author: Geoff Puddefoot ISBN: 9781473817470
Publisher: Pen and Sword Publication: November 30, 2010
Imprint: Seaforth Publishing Language: English
Author: Geoff Puddefoot
ISBN: 9781473817470
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Publication: November 30, 2010
Imprint: Seaforth Publishing
Language: English

Set up in August 1905, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary – unofficial motto: Ready for Anything – was originally a logistic support organisation, Admiralty-owned but run on civilian lines, comprising a miscellaneous and very unglamorous collection of colliers, store ships and harbour craft. This book charts its rise in fleet strength, capability and importance, through two world wars and a technical revolution, until the time when naval operations became simply impossible without it. Its earliest tasks were mainly freighting – supplying the Royal Navy’s worldwide network of bases – but in wartime fleets were required to spend much longer at sea and the RFA had to develop techniques of underway replenishment. This did not come to full fruition until the British Pacific Fleet operated alongside the Americans in 1944-45, but by then the RFA had already pioneered many of the procedures involved.
This book combines a history of the service, including many little-known wartime operations, with data on the ships, and a portrait of life in the service gleaned from personal accounts and recollections. Half way between a civilian and a military service, the RFA has never received the attention it deserves, but this book throws a long-overdue spotlight on its achievements.

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Set up in August 1905, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary – unofficial motto: Ready for Anything – was originally a logistic support organisation, Admiralty-owned but run on civilian lines, comprising a miscellaneous and very unglamorous collection of colliers, store ships and harbour craft. This book charts its rise in fleet strength, capability and importance, through two world wars and a technical revolution, until the time when naval operations became simply impossible without it. Its earliest tasks were mainly freighting – supplying the Royal Navy’s worldwide network of bases – but in wartime fleets were required to spend much longer at sea and the RFA had to develop techniques of underway replenishment. This did not come to full fruition until the British Pacific Fleet operated alongside the Americans in 1944-45, but by then the RFA had already pioneered many of the procedures involved.
This book combines a history of the service, including many little-known wartime operations, with data on the ships, and a portrait of life in the service gleaned from personal accounts and recollections. Half way between a civilian and a military service, the RFA has never received the attention it deserves, but this book throws a long-overdue spotlight on its achievements.

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