In Titanic's Shadow: The World's Worst Merchant Ship Disasters

David L. Williams

ISBN 10: 0752471228 / ISBN 13: 9780752471228

Published by The History Press, Gloucestershire, England, 2012

About this Item

Signed by the author, David L. Williams, on the half title page without dedication.

Seller Inventory # 067206

Bibliographic Details

• Title: In Titanic's Shadow: The World's Worst Merchant Ship Disasters
• Publisher: The History Press, Gloucestershire, England
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0752471228
• ISBN 13: 9780752471228
• Binding: Soft cover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: New
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)

About this title

Synopsis

While the near 1,500 victims of Titanic accounted for a huge loss of life, each of the ships here had a greater number of casualties, in some cases more than five times as many. In total, these 27 merchant ship sinkings resulted in a staggering loss of life at sea – more than 96,000 in total, 3,840 per ship. While the circumstances were different to Titanic, the outcome in each case was no less tragic. Yet, despite the fact that Titanic ranks behind so many other losses, so powerful has her name become that it was the inevitable choice to describe some of these other events, ‘Germany’s Titanic’ and ‘The Titanic of Japan’ being two examples. Ships include the Lancastria, Britain’s worst maritime disaster with 3,000 lost; the Ryusei Maru, a Japanese ‘Hellship’ loaded with 6,000 Allied POWs, torpedoed by a US submarine; and the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German liner packed with 7,800 civilians, sunk by a Russian submarine. There were no survivors and this tragedy was the worst maritime disaster of all time.

About the Author

DAVID L. WILLIAMS’s background is in professional industrial photography and technical publications. He was previously responsible for the entire aircraft and hovercraft in-service support operation of Westland Aerospace. He spent time working aboard lighthouse tenders and cable layers and is an Associate of the British Institute of Professional Photographers and member of the World Ship Society. He has written over 30 books on shipping and related subjects, including Great Passenger Ships that Never Were, Made on the Isle of Wight and Cabin Class Rivals for The History Press. He lives on the Isle of Wight.