Tag: history

Volume 37, Issue 4 – Out Now

Published on by ejbircha5f291b02f
Front cover of IJMH Volume 37 Issue 4

The final issue of the International Journal of Maritime History‘s thirty-seventh vintage contains nine original articles and 21 book reviews

We continue to define maritime history in the broadest possible terms, retaining all that is good about the field and combining it with an increasing variety of global perspectives.

We continue to welcome all types of submissions, for original research articles as well as for shorter, more practical research notes. –

Issue Contents:

Articles:

Unsafe harbours: Typhoons and local shipping in the late Spanish Philippines by Greg Bankoff

A critical review of Alexander von Humboldt’s argument on the Chinese origin of the compass by S. June Kim

Ideals of seamanship during the Danish transition from sail to steam by Nils Valdersdorf Jensen

Developing maritime trade in the Sea of Azov: The case of port Mariupol and the role of Austrian merchants by Svitlana Arabadzhy

The penetration and spread of bottom trawling in the Greek seas and the establishment of territorial waters in the nineteenth century by Nikos E. Alevyzakis

Hospital ships of the Royal Navy in World War One: From pre-war planning to the aftermath of Jutland by Edward J. Wawrzynczak 

The contributions of Sultan Sulaiman Badrul Alam Syah (1920–1941) to the fisheries economy in Terengganu by Ruhaizan Sulaiman

‘A rose by any other name’: The political origins of the Nigerian Navy (1955–1965) by Akali Omeni

Biographical contentions: Barry Unsworth’s Losing Nelson by Michael Titlestad

Book Reviews: 21 in Total including:

Book Review: The Corporeal Life of Seafaring by Laleh Khalili Reviewed By Nick Bailey

Book Review: Naval Seamen’s Women in Nineteenth-Century Britain by Melanie Holihead reviewed by Margarette Lincoln

Book Review: BP Shipping Pictorial: The Golden Years 1945–1975 by Ray Solly Reviewed by Helen Devereux 

View the articles and book reviews online here – https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/IJH/current

Fancy receiving physical copies of the International Journal in 2026 and unlimited online access to every issue of the International Journal of Maritime History, dating back to 1989?

2026 membership is now live: https://shop.hull.ac.uk/product-catalogue/faculty-of-arts-cultures-education/department-of-history/imha-2026

Inside the Britannic

Published on by Constantin Ardeleanu

Inside the Britannic. Uncovering the wreck of the Titanic’s sister ship, by Simon Mills – coming in March 2025

Documenting one of the most comprehensive surveys of a shipwreck ever conducted, Simon Mills’ new book takes you inside the SS Britannic for a unique dive into the past.

The Olympic Class ships were intended to be the greatest liners to ever sail the oceans, but the Britannic sank only four years after her sister ship the Titanic. While the wreck of the Titanic is 2 miles below the surface and rapidly deteriorating, the Britannic is much more accessible (only 400ft down) and remains largely intact. One of the largest passenger ships ever to have sunk, her wreck presents a unique opportunity to explore the interior of the Olympic Class liners, and examine areas which on the Titanic simply no longer exist.

Simon Mills bought the wreck of the Britannic in 1996 and has spent more time exploring it than anyone else. Inside the Britannic is the sum of decades of work covering every inch of the shipwreck as he searches for answers to century-old questions, and discovers new mysteries to solve. Simon takes a forensic approach but this book is more than just the autopsy report of a ship; it is a fascinating survey supported by stunning, never-beforeseen photos from inside the wreck, archival blueprints and original technical schematics of specific areas, and specially recreated digital images of how the ship would have looked.

About the author: Simon Mills has worked in the camera department of the British film industry since 1980 and as a qualified HSE scuba diver has, from time to time, also worked beneath the surface. For many years he has written articles on the Britannic and the Olympic class liners for maritime periodicals and is also the author of Olympic Titanic Britannic. In August 1996 Simon obtained the UK government’s former legal title to the wreck of the Britannic, and has been coordinating a number of surveys of the wreck since 2003.

https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/inside-the-britannic-9781399414500/

Leith-Built Ships

Published on by Constantin Ardeleanu

R. O. Neish, Henry Robb Ltd. (1945-1965). Leith Built Ships, Vol. III

The story of Leith–built ships continues in this third volume from just after the conclusion of World War Two to 1965. However, the world was different; the men came back from the front and those women who had been working in the shipyards lost their jobs.

All shipyards were experiencing full order books, replacing, or repairing ships lost or damaged in the conflict, but the industry was changing albeit slowly at first. The advent of electric welding would eventually change the way ships were built leading to the demise of the Rivet Squad, which was replaced as a cost cutting exercise as it became the accepted method of ship construction.

Henry Robb Shipyard participated in the massive new shipbuilding programme with a great many vessels being ordered from two of the largest customers of the yard. Many orders came from the giant Ellerman Lines, while a great many more were ordered by other customers, such as the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand. The Admiralty also remained a customer and a few large supply ships would be built in this time.

In this volume the author has not forgotten the people who were the very fabric of the yard and community. Personal accounts are included from those who built or sailed on these vessels.

This is the story of a mighty industry, but one which nonetheless had begun its decline. In the century from 1893, this nation went from producing 80% of all the worlds’ commercial ships to producing no commercial ships at all. It is a sad fact, but this volume keeps alive the story of the Leith-built ships and the vibrant industry that once existed.

The May 2024 issue of IJMH includes a review by Colin J. Davis. Read it here (subscription needed): https://journals.sagepub.com/…/10.1177/08438714241232481