Authors Macdonnell
Macdonnell, J. E. (James Edmond) (1917-2002)
Fleet Destroyer. Book Depot, 1945. 102 pages
Collection of stories about life on the small ships. Revised in 1961.
Wings Off the Sea. Constable, 1953. 254 pages
Revised in 1959 & 1966.
Enemy in Sight. Horwitz, 1958. 176 pages
Lt. Peter Bentley is detached from his destroyer to take command of a 4-man minisub, which is supposed to sneak into a Japanese harbor and attack the cruisers therein. Revised in 1959.
Mutiny! Horwitz, 1958. 176 pages
Presumed Sunk Horwitz, 1958. 176 pages
Breaking Point Horwitz, 1959. 194 pages
Target - Battleship. Horwitz, 1959. 174 pages
The Gunner. Horwitz, 1959. 130 pages
The Recommend. Horwitz, 1960. 160 pages
Escort Ship. Horwitz, 1960. 161 pages
Eagles Over Taranto. Horwitz, 1961. 161 pages
The Lesson. Horwitz, 1961. 162 pages
Battle Line. Horwitz, 1962. 162 pages
Broadsides! Horwitz, 1962. 162 pages
The Gun. Horwitz, 1963. 130 pages
Not Under Command. Horwitz, 1963. 130 pages
Headlong into Hell. Horwitz, 1968. 128 pages
To the Death. Horwitz, 1969. 130 pages
The Iron Claw. Horwitz, 1973. 128 pages
Centred around an Australian destroyer flotilla whose leader is the WIND RODE - her Captain, Peter Bentley with his brother-in-law Bob Randall as First Lieutenant, operating out of Port Moresby in WW II. A lone Japanese cruiser is targeting lightly protected convoys in what should be Allied controlled areas of the Pacific and Bentley makes it his business to try and eliminate this threat. Very Australian Navy - surprisingly (for less than 130 pages, packed with non-stop action) very readable.
Full Fathom Five. Horwitz, 1968. 130 pages
The thread of this book starts with an action between the destroyer JACKAL - Captain "Dutchy" Holland and an Italian surface raider off the North West coast of Australia. Also a cruiser, HMS SURREY - Captain Bentley Snr., in action on the Russian convoys. As the threads are woven together Bentley Snr. joins his son Peter Bentley and son-in-law, Bob Randall, in WIND RODE with some help from the JACKAL, for an exciting sea battle against a Japanese invasion fleet.
The Killers Horwitz, 1982. 128 pages
Choke Point. Horwitz, 1985. 144 pages
Kenyon PT boat series:
The Convert. Horwitz, 1966. 161 pages
Lt. Kenyon takes command of a PT Boat and must prove himself to himself, his crew and the squadron.
Down the Throat. Horwitz, 1967. 128 pages
Lt. Kenyon sinks Japanese transport that turns out to have been full of Allied prisoners and nurses. Of course it was a set-up, but Kenyon must overcome his doubts and prove himself to himself, his crew and the squadron.
South Pacific Fury. Horwitz, 1968. 126 ppages
Kenyon and the 44-boat are sent to rescue a coast watcher on a Japanese-held island in the Phillipines. In the process they sink or cripple numerous major elements of the IJN which are attempting an offensive.
Jim Brady series:
"Gimme The Boats". Constable, 1953. 256 pages
A classic "destroyers at war" novel mainly of the destroyer SCOURGE - Captain James Brookes. Although not primarily about Jim Brady he features strongly in this story, as a petty officer, the back-bone of the navy, whose contribution to the success of the ships he serves in is already being noticed. Reprinted in 1985 as Jim Brady: Able Seaman.
Jim Brady: Leading Seaman. Constable, 1954. 269 pages
Commander Brady. Constable, 1956. 310 pages
Jim Brady is now in command of the destroyer CIRCE at war with the Japanese. The problems of combat, grounding and having to put divers down in shark infested water, coupled with his doubts of the decisions he has to make form a basis for quite a good yarn.
Subsmash! Constable, 1960. 287 pages
Petty Officer Brady. Horwitz, 1968. 130 pages