Crete and the misuse of light forces
The battle of Crete shows why a lightly equipped raiding formation could not simply be used as a conventional front-line force.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
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Operation Album and the SBS-SAS divide
Courtney's recall during a change at Combined Operations preceded joint airfield attacks that exposed both the value and the different methods of the SBS and SAS.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
62 Commando and the small-scale raiding force
62 Commando used fast boats for larger raids such as Postmaster and Basalt before its surviving elements helped form Jellicoe's later maritime force.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
Why paper strength overstates a raiding unit's power
A nominal establishment says little about how many raiders, berths, and boats are actually available after training injuries and operations.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
Jellicoe and the re-formed SBS
After losses and reorganisation, the folding-boat section and 62 Commando became part of an SBS commanded by George Jellicoe.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
Operation Angelo and the collapse of the independent folding-boat force
Operation Angelo achieved its immediate purpose but inflicted losses severe enough to end the folding-boat section as an independent formation.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
Operation Tenement and the limits of raiding claims
The raid on Symi shows how Jellicoe's SBS combined motor launches and local craft, while also inviting caution about claims of forces tied down.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
Anders Lassen and the attrition behind the raids
Lassen's Victoria Cross is set against the deaths, captures, and personal guilt borne by a small pool of experienced maritime raiders.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
Recruiting for silence, judgement, and submarine discipline
Courtney's recruiting guidance valued the quiet, responsible operator who could protect a submarine and plan for every contingency.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
Why reconnaissance raiders and airfield attackers needed different methods
Two men landing from a submarine could scout or sabotage discreetly, but airfield attacks demanded more people, more firepower, and a different extraction plan.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
The postwar SBS niche: small teams rather than commando mass
Postwar SBS identity rested on tasks requiring a very small elite group, leaving larger commando assaults to Royal Marines formations.
From An Introduction to Patreon Video 3: The Little Boat Wars... ·
A Royal Navy technical handbook as a fleet guide
A Royal Navy recruiting handbook becomes a compact guide to how ships, landing craft, weapons, and fleet roles fit together.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
When budget limits shape official defence testimony
Defence committee testimony may require civil servants to defend procurement choices driven by budget constraints.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Naval Strike Missile as an interim Harpoon replacement
An off-the-shelf Naval Strike Missile purchase could restore Royal Navy surface-strike capability while spreading one weapon family across several platforms.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
When a naval reporter knew the fleet better than ministers
Desmond Wettern's career illustrates the depth once expected of specialist naval correspondents and the knowledge gap they could expose in government.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why Type 23 frigates may remain in service for years
A joke about the Type 23 serving indefinitely points to the class's continuing upgrades and uncertain retirement horizon.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
How retired Harriers still supported naval training
Harrier airframes retained at naval air stations continued to support deck-handling and fast-jet maintenance training after frontline retirement.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Third Division from D-Day to the end of the war
A near-contemporary history of Britain’s Third Division follows a formation that repeatedly led Allied advances after D-Day.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Local government, canvassing, and democratic participation
Personal experience in local government becomes a practical explanation of canvassing, party coalitions, and democratic participation.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Choosing between two Third Division histories
A book recommendation contrasts Assault Division with Monty’s Iron Sides.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Reading Chatfield’s Navy and Defence critically
Lord Chatfield’s memoir is useful evidence on naval leadership, provided readers notice whom it leaves out.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why defence is treated as a lower political priority
Weak political interest in defence rests partly on the illusion that wars and procurement can be deferred at will.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why public subscription campaigns for warships faded
The disappearance of Navy League-style advocacy helped weaken the public institutions that once explained why Britain funded a fleet.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why cyber power cannot replace a warship’s presence
Cyber capability can fight and collect intelligence, but it cannot perform the visible deterrent role of a deployed warship.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
What a usable British defence budget requires
A usable defence budget separates national liabilities from the money available for deployable military capability.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why modern armed forces depend on skilled personnel
Increasingly technical military roles weaken the old idea that armed forces can serve mainly as employment for people without specialist skills.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Sea Dart and Sergeant York as oversold weapons
A quick procurement judgement names Sea Dart and Sergeant York as systems whose cost and promise invited harsher scrutiny than their results could bear.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Nuclear deterrence as protection against coercion
Possessing a nuclear deterrent preserves a state's freedom to resist nuclear coercion when allied protection cannot be guaranteed.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Could later timing have helped Argentina in 1982?
A later Falklands invasion might have improved Argentina’s weather window, but events in South Georgia forced the pace.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Historical parallels for a tense political climate
The 1920s, early 1930s, and perhaps the 1890s offer partial analogies rather than a direct historical match.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
A hybrid electoral system for longer-term government
A proposed three-part legislature combines local representation, proportionality, independent review, and longer political time horizons.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why Afghanistan complicates the phrase war of choice
Afghanistan is presented as a response to an imposed al-Qaeda threat, while governments still chose how to respond.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Towed arrays, sonobuoys, and ASW picket tactics
New sensors may supplement anti-submarine warfare, but towing, dashing, and drifting remain practical picket methods.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why later British cruisers moved away from an older look
A comparison of E-class, Enterprise, and County-class cruisers raises the limits of inherited design thinking.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
A-29 light attack aircraft and the peer-war trap
An aircraft suited to training and permissive wars can become dangerous if leaders later send it against a peer adversary.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Alliances should share costs, not conceal force gaps
Treaty organisations can make equipment affordable when they share development costs, but not when they become excuses for national shortfalls.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
The disputed case for retiring Sea Harriers
A proposed Sea Harrier upgrade was recast as a list of faults, deepening mistrust of the Ministry of Defence.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
A guide to naval anti-aircraft guns and delayed rearmament
Norman Friedman’s survey shows how pre-war weapons research was overtaken when war arrived earlier than planners expected.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
A sextuple Bofors counterfactual for San Carlos Water
Preserved sextuple Bofors mounts from HMS Vanguard might have offered dense close-range fire against Argentine air attacks at San Carlos.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
An uncertain Sea Slug surrender anecdote
A claimed psychological effect from Sea Slug's noise is retained as an unverified anecdote rather than a confirmed Falklands account.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
How many ships make a class operationally viable?
Fleet numbers should be set by the availability required through training, refit, surge, and deployment cycles.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why the Dutch adopted Bofors effectively
A smaller fleet encouraged the Dutch to focus on the individual hitting power of each weapon system.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why a multinational carrier remains difficult
A pooled NATO carrier group could work only if NATO or the EU itself owned the carrier rather than one member state.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Space commercialization through the East India Company analogy
Commercial space policy is compared with chartered companies that shifted costs away from governments before forcing states to intervene again.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why multiple gun barrels may regain value
Removing defensive layers and relying on single barrels can leave a ship short of fire during a saturated attack.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Queen Bee drones before the Second World War
British forces were already using Queen Bee drones for air-defence training in the mid-1930s.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
NATO-wide modular warships and the StanFlex lesson
A common NATO module system needs the practical simplicity that made Danish StanFlex credible.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·
Why HMS Ocean remained a one-ship class
Ocean was meant to complement three Invincible-class carriers and give Britain simultaneous carrier and LPH availability.
From Bru Ships Episode 13: Weapons, Both Personal & Ship, Themed Books to Review & a general Q/A ·