Authors Gr - Gy
Graeme, Bruce (1900-1982)
Mystery on the Queen Mary : another story of Superintendent Stevens and Inspector Allain. Hutchinson, 1938. 319 pages
Robby MacKay, a young shipyard worker who is one of many helping to prepare the Queen Mary get ready for her historic maiden voyage, overhears a scheme to hide something somewhere on the ship, masterminded by a man with a foreign voice. Robby later survives a violent attack and near-drowning to seek the help of the police. Inspector Stevens uses his influence to get Robby a job aboard the ship so he can mingle with passengers and hopefully ID the mystery voice. Meanwhile in France, a dying foreigner with ties to jewel thieves leads Inspector Allain to also snag a ticket aboard the Queen, and soon the detective duo realize the two mysteries are in some way connected.
Graham, Ross
Death on a Smokeboat. Hurst & Blackett, 1947. 167 pages
The smoke boats are a motley flotilla of ancient craft stationed in a southern English dockyard immediately prior to D-day. During enemy air attacks they station themselves upwind and obscure possible targets. A young lieutenant from Naval Intelligence is sent to the flotilla to trap a spy and falls in love. An enjoyable mystery story with good period detail.
Graham, Winston (1908-2003)
The Grove of Eagles. Doubleday, 1963. 576 pages
Englishman escapes the Spanish Inquisition to fight beside Raleigh at the sacking of Cadiz in 1596, and to help defeat the second Spanish Armada.
Grant, Bruce
Eagle of the Sea, the story of Old Ironsides. Rand McNally, 1949. 176 pages
The story of the frigate USS Constitution told through the experiences of a boy who helped build her in the Boston shipyards, and later sailed on her as a recruit of the new U.S Navy, as she sails against the Barbary pirates and during the War of 1812.
Grant, Edward
The Ultimate Weapon. Pinnacle, 1976. 183 pages
From the Log of the U.S.S. Devilfish. Duel with a Soviet sub to determine which one is the best in the world.
Grass, Günter (1927-2015)
Crabwalk. Harcourt, 2003. 240 pages
Translation of Im Krebsgang. The narrator of the novella is the journalist Paul Pokriefke, who was born on 30 January 1945 on the day that the Strength Through Joy ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff, was sunk. His young mother-to-be, Tulla Pokriefke, found herself among the more than 10,000 passengers on the ship and was among those saved when it went down. According to Tulla, Paul was born at the moment the ship sank, on board the torpedo boat which had rescued them. His life is heavily influenced by these circumstances, above all because his mother Tulla continually urges him to fulfill his 'duty' and to commemorate the event in writing.
Graves, Jack L.
Flagg of the Mimi : Romance and Shipwreck on the Oregon Coast in 1913. Maverick, 2000. 143 pages
Story of a pre-WWI shipwreck of the "Mimi" on the Oregon Coast and the ill-conceived attempt to salvage her. Spine of the novel is the conflict between Frederick Flagg, first mate on the Mimi (owned by his uncle), and the incompetent, avaricious, drug- addicted Captain Westphal.
Graves, Robert (1895-1985)
The Islands of Unwisdom. Doubleday, 1949. 328 pages
A reconstruction of an historic event, the voyage of voyage of Álvaro de Mendaña de Neirato find the Solomon Islands. The story summarises the reasons why Spain lost its early lead in exploring the world.
Gray, Edwyn
Nick Hamilton series
Fighting Submarine. Futura, 1978. 182 pages
British sub commander sent to hunt down a U-Boat haunting the East coast of Britain in 1940 suspects it may be commanded by his friend and ex-commander, a cashiered RN officer believed killed in a race car accident. Then the British sub is sent to capture a German prison ship in Norwegian waters.
Devil Flotilla. Futura, 1979. 184 pages
Following the invasion of Norway, HMS RAPIER is trapped in the Skagerrack by German destroyers. Hamilton uses a trick to convince the Germans that he has been sunk which is so convincing the British believe it, too! The Royal Navy then takes advantage of the confusion to declare the RAPIER destroyed, and assign Hamilton the command of a motley collection of foreign subs that have escaped German occupation -- and use the force for missions the admiralty wishes to disavow.
Diving Stations. Futura, 1980. 222 pages
In Hong Kong the submarine Rapier is attacked by supposedly neutral Japanese planes. Hamilton fights back--to the dismay of local UK diplomats. Next, when a Japanese warship forces the UK ship Firefly into Hai-An Bay, taking the captain as a quasi-hostage, Hamilton undertakes a risky mission to free the Firefly.
Crash Dive 500. Futura, 1981. 220 pages
The Rapier is reassigned as a training ship at Tobermory, off the coast of Scotland. In a couple of months, Hamilton transforms his crew from green recruits to able-bodied seamen. Then at a party at a WRNS base, he runs into an old flame, Caroline Faversham, and beds her, not knowing that she is the wife of Captain Gervaise Woodward, a man with a pathological dislike of submarine sailors.
U-Boat / Konrad Bergman Series:
No Survivors. Futura, 1975. 190 pages
Bergman as he goes through pre-war submarine training and service, then taking command of UB-44 at the outbreak of WW II. Covers UB-44's missions during the first six months of the war, and chronicles Bergman's transition from a non-party supporter of Hitler to an anti-Nazi. Book is climaxed when Bergman receives the Fuhrer's orders to sink a German pocket battleship, and leave no survivors.
Action Atlantic. Futura, 1975. 191 pages
Berman, in UB-44, participates in a mass attack on an Atlantic convoy while the Gestapo investigates him for disloyalty.
Tokyo Torpedo. Futura, 1976. 192 pages
Berman takes U-boat to Japan to study midget subs there, and hijacks a Kaiten.
The Last Command. Futura, 1977. 189 pages
Bergman salvages a sunken U-boat, takes charge of a flotilla of midget submarines attacking the Normandy beachhead, commands salvaged sub on three missions in 1944-45, then is involved in an attempt to smuggle Hitler to Argentina.
Green, Fitzhugh, Sr. (1888-1947)
Won for the Fleet : a story of Annapolis. E. P. Dutton, 1922. 281 pages
The Mystery of the Erik. D. Appleton, 1923. 287 pages
Fought for Annapolis. D. Appleton, 1925. 270 pages
Midshipmen All. D. Appleton, 1925. 271 pages
Anchors Aweigh. D. Appleton, 1927. 271 pages
Greene, Peter
Jonathan Moore Series:
Warship Poseidon. Sven Gillhoolie, 2013. 317 pages
Homeless and alone on the streets of London in 1800, twelve year-old Jonathan Moore survives a harsh and dangerous world using courage, intelligence and determination. His dismal fate changes dramatically one day after he is abducted by a gang and pressed into service aboard HMS Poseidon, a forty-four gun fighting warship of the British Royal Navy. However, there is more to the event than just a change of address. How is it that some members of the crew, including the Captain, already know his name? Why do the officers seem to favor him above the other new crew members? As Jonathan endeavors to solve these mysteries, he is thrust into a daring mission to recover a hidden treasure on a remote Caribbean isle. A withdrawn version of this novel was published in 2011 as "Skull Eye Island".
Castle of Fire. Sven Gillhoolie, 2012. 327 pages
The once-orphaned, thirteen year-old Jonathan Moore is now reunited with his father, though soon leaves the comfort of family and London on what is considered by all to be a ‘peach‘ of a mission. However, with the arrival of another midshipman holding a severe but unexplained grudge, life aboard the HMS Danielle is anything but pleasant. Why are the new midshipmen his enemies? Who is stealing food from the ship’s stores, and why must Jonathan and Sean sneak into a heavily guarded Spanish fort in the middle of the night to do some burglary of their own?
Paladin's War. self published, 2017. 398 pages
An elaborate scheme involves manipulating Jonathan, now aboard the eighteen-gun HMS Paladin, the Royal Navy’s fastest ship. Commanded by his friend and mentor, Lieutenant Thomas Harrison, their mission is to deliver an important treaty to a clandestine location. Remaining in London, and bored with endless tea parties and tedious school lessons, Delain encounters a shadowy black rider sneaking about the mansions of London’s elite. Suspecting foul play, she investigates and enters a web of secret meetings, spies, coded messages and kidnapping.
Greenfield, Irving A. (1928- )
Barracuda. Arbor House, 1978. 245 pages
Missing US sub is spotted by recon fighter around the world from where she allegedly went down. The hunt is on.
Over the Brink. Kensington, 1990. 287 pages
Russian sub sinks to bottom of Indian Ocean, signals for help, and USN responds. But the Russians try to destroy their own sub first.
Depth Force series:
Depth Force. Zebra, 1984. 362 pages
The SHARK is America's high technology submarine whose mission is to stop Soviet domination of the oceans. The crew have had their pasts deleted, and if threatened with capture, they are under orders to self-destruct.
Depth Dive. Zebra, 1984. 235 pages
While attempting to salvage an incalculable fortune in gold from an ancient wreck, America's high technology submarine, the Shark, faces a Soviet killer sub with the same mission and a suspected double-agent aboard.
Bloody Seas. Zebra, 1985. 252 pages
Adventures under the ice with the top secret submarine SHARK.
Battle Stations. Zebra, 1985. 255 pages
Super sub USS SHARK seeks stranded Soviet sub, but it's surrounded by Russian navy.
Torpedo Tomb. Zebra, 1986. 236 pages
Weird experimental sub SHARK has tank-like treads for invading Libya(I'm not making this up) to rescue spy team.
Sea of Flames. Zebra, 1986. 254 pages
Renegade USN force steals super sub SHARK, sets out to attack the Soviet Union. Former skipper pursues his old ship in the attack sub NEPTUNE.
Deep Kill. Zebra, 1986. 268 pages
Supersub stalks Soviet invasion fleet approaching Arabian coast, and is herself stalked by Russian leviathan while being lured into a trap.
Suicide Run. Zebra, 1987. 254 pages
Commander Jack Boxer is given secret orders to take America's newest sub, the Barracuda, to Antarctica and challenge the Russian sub guarding the continents's offshore mineral resources.
Death Cruise. Zebra, 1988. 253 pages
Admiral Jack Boxer and his crew on board an American nuclear submarine head of the Persian Gulf and an assignment to seek out and destroy a secret Iranian-Soviet undersea base for a fleet of deadly mini-submarines.
Ice Island. Zebra, 1988. 254 pages
Admiral Jack is off to the arctic to find crashed Russian transport plane on an ice island, but Soviet killer sub is in the way.
Harbor of Doom. Zebra, 1989. 253 pages
Ships from all over converge on NYC for 500th anniversary of Columbus' voyage, but Chinese are up to no good. Admiral Jack Boxer to the rescue.
Warmonger. Zebra, 1989. 255 pages
Back to the Arctic, this time to thwart lunatic Russian admiral, who's threatening nuclear war. It's Jack Boxer and his supersub against the Russian fleet.
Deep Rescue. Zebra, 1990. 224 pages
Secret sub NARWHAL is down, fighting saboteurs, and a Russian sub tries to help.
Torpedo Treasure. Zebra, 1991. 208 pages
When brigands board his pleasure craft "Sea Dog" in the South China Sea, Captain Jack Boxer finds himself the prisoner of an old Nazi U-Boat commander with a strange idle of sunken treasure. Escaping under fire in a rusting U-238, Boxer returns with his old nemesis, Russian Captain Viktor Borodin, to recover the remains of a WWII British cruiser carrying 500 million in Russian gold.
Hot Zone. Zebra, 1992. 223 pages
On a rescue mission to save a downed Russian vessel, Admiral Jack Boxer discovers that its crew is dead and that high levels of lethal radiation caused by illegally dumped nuclear waste is filling the vessel.
Rig War. Zebra, 1992. 223 pages
Jack Boxer and Viktor Borodine are on special assignment to stop terrorists who are out to destroy the world's biggest offshore oil field.
Super Depth Force: Project Discovery. Kensington, 1988. 397 pages
In 1992, hundreds of ships from across the globe converge on New York harbor to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's fateful voyage. But from behind the Bamboo Curtain, the Chinese super-sub Sea Death sets out to transform the mammoth jubilee into an explosive nightmare of terror.
Griffin, Gwyn (1922–1967)
Master of This Vessel. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1961. 398 pages
"In a tension-filled situation, a group of lonely people, thrown together aboard an ocean liner, stubbornly cling to their status symbols even though the price might be their lives. At the center of this antagonistic group, and suddenly catapulted into the position of Acting Captain, is 26-year old Serafina Ciccolante. His knowledge of the sea belies his years, but-although in complete control of his ship-he is completely at odds with his ship's company. Consequently, in the midst of a tropical cyclone, he finds himself forced to battle both the elements and his hostile companions." [from the dust jacket]
An Operational Necessity. Putnam, 1967. 447 pages
German U-Boat machine-guns survivors of a French merchantman in South Atlantic, leading to the pursuit, capture, and trial of the submarine's officers after the war.
Griffiths, Maurice (1902-1997)
The Sands of Sylt: an Episode of the North Sea before the War. Rich & Cowan, 1945. 160 pages
Updated version of the 'Riddle of the Sands'.
Griggs, Lieut. George Philip, RN
Destroyer at War : An account, in the form of fiction, of life in a destroyer. Hutchinson & Co, 1943. 128 pages
Good contemporary account of the drama, the thrill, the tragedy and the humour which make up the lives of men aboard a British "V" class destroyer in the early days of WW II.
The Days are Spent. Coward-McCann, 1945. 314 pages
U.K. title: The Readiness is All. A slice of life of a young seaman in the Royal Navy during WW II.
Griswold, Francis (1902-2002)
A Sea Island Lady. W. Morrow, 1939. 963 pages
Seventy years in the life of Emily, an immigrant from Boston, in Low Country of South Carolina during the Civil War, Reconstruction and The New South.
Grundner, Tom (1945-2011)
Sir Sidney Smith Nautical Adventure series:
A planned nine volume series unfinished at the author's death.
The Midshipman Prince. Fireship Press, 2006. 260 pages
How do you keep a prince alive when the combined forces of three nations (and a smattering of privateers) want him dead? Worse, how do you do it when his life is in the hands of a 17 year old lieutenant, an alcoholic college professor, and a woman who has fired more naval guns than either of them? A revision of Between Two Flags (2005) eliminating the time travel subplot.
HMS Diamond. Fireship Press, 2007. 229 pages
After surviving the horrors of the destruction of Toulon, Sir Sidney is given a critical assignment. British gold shipments are going missing. Even worse, the ships are literally disappearing in plain sight of their escorts and the vessels around them. The mystery must be solved if Britain is going to maintain its lines of credit and continue to finance the war. But to do that Sir Sidney must unravel a web of intrigue that leads all the way to the Board of Admiralty.
The Temple. Fireship Press, 2009. 241 pages
It's 1798 and Sir Sidney Smith is languishing in 'The Temple,' France's maximum security prison. For the past two years he had been running the Agence de Paris - Britain's primary spy ring in France - from his cell. But the authorities are starting to close in. It's time for Sir Sidney to leave; but, to do so, he must stage one of the most spectacular prison breaks in history. Arriving back in England, he receives a set of orders sending him to Portsmouth for further duty. What he didn't know was that his new duty would involve working with an itinerant musician, by the name of William Parish - who happens to be a genius at breaking codes.
Acre. Fireship Press, 2011. 274 pages
Napoleon's army might not be able to go anywhere by sea, but they can still march. He leads them from Egypt through Syria toward Constantinople. From there he can go west and enter Europe through the backdoor, or go east, and conquer India. Either way, it would be a disaster for Britain. The only thing standing in his way is a small coastal city called Acre. Sir Sidney Smith is given command of every British warship in the eastern Mediterranean - all of two third-rate ships of the line. He moves his minuscule forces to Acre to head off Bonaparte.
Gruppe, Henry
The Truxton Cipher. Simon and Schuster, 1973. 223 pages
Lt. Commander Harry St. John is unexpectedly appointed Executive Officer of the destroyer USS SOMERSET. His captain is a bully and discipline is bad. Coding officers have fatal accidents. On exercise the SOMERSET is cut in two by an aircraft carrier with major loss of life while Harry is OOD. To make matters worse survivors claim he was the drunk at the time.
Gyles, Tony (1925- )
Deep their grave : the diary of a merchant ship and her crew, during the battle of the Atlantic, 1942. P.O.D., 1998. 414 pages
A peace-time passenger ship is converted to a troop carrier, and her crew are sent on a single fateful voyage, at a time when the enemy was sinking, on average, an Allied ship every four hours and the prospect of the crew returning safely to their homes and families was grim. Seamanship of the highest standard would not, alone, be sufficient to guarantee their safety, for this was a time when Britain's 'darkest hour' loomed ominously close.