Nimble Books LLC » Naval

sales figures for books about torpedo boats

Fred Zimmerman — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:15:41 +0000

A review of BookScan sales statistics for books about torpedo boats shows that the Release To Date (RTD) sales for books with the words “PT boat” or “torpedo boat” or “MTB” in their titles would produce revenue for me that would fall within a range between 0.5X and 20X, where X is my average unloaded breakeven cost.

Great review for BUILDING THE PT BOATS by Frank J. Andruss, Sr.

Fred Zimmerman — Mon, 25 May 2009 16:05:01 +0000

BUILDING THE PT BOATS is vastly exceeding my sales expectations. Terrific book.

It was waiting for me when I got home from work this afternoon. I haven’t read it yet, but have looked through it a number of times. Bottom line, I think this is the most significant book on PTs in decades!! I’m just delighted to have it. Ya done gud!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A nit pick – there is no PT-200 sub-class. Boats in this group began with 197.

Thanks again for creating this important work.

Al Ross

via The PT Boat Message Board – Your book has arrived, Frank….

Some complaints later in the post about picture quality. Bottom line: the photos tell a story that comes through just fine. Glossier paper, higher dpi would have meant much higher production cost. Higher cost = no book. It’s well worth it anyway.

The death of Lord Horatio Hornblower

Fred Zimmerman — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 22:58:42 +0000

is not provided in C.S. Forester’s canon, but laying awake last night, I realized that since Hornblower’s birthday was given as July 4, 1776 in Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, it would be quite fitting if Hornblower died at the age of 88 on April 10, 1865, the day Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. A possibility for a great “Flashman”-like story about the great man in old age!

Bonk! Vanguard and Le Triomphant collide

wfz-admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:23:05 +0000

Bonk!

A Royal Navy nuclear submarine was involved in a collision with a French nuclear sub in the middle of the Atlantic, the MoD has confirmed.

HMS Vanguard and Le Triomphant were badly damaged in the crash in heavy seas earlier this month.

Suggesting they weren’t underwater, and were probably maneuvering at the surface for some reason — since the heavy seas would be irrelevant at depth.

BBC defence correspondent Caroline Wyatt said the incident was “incredibly embarrassing” for the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Not really. Stuff happens.

Who should really be embarrassed is the BBC to have a defence correspondent who has no sense of perspective.

via BBC NEWS | UK | Nuclear subs collide in Atlantic.

Global trends on Torpedo Boats

wfz-admin — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:16:34 +0000

via Google Insights for Search – Web Search Volume: torpedo boats – Worldwide, 2004 – present.

David Axe>Behind the Navy’s Stealth Destroyer Shuffle

wfz-admin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 14:17:41 +0000

Nice summary of the willfully obfuscated situation with DDG-1000 by [asa bbm]1934840378[/asa] author David Axe.

Behind the Navy’s Stealth Destroyer Shuffle | Danger Room from Wired.com
Meanwhile, the company that makes the DDG-1000’s radar says that the Navy is wrong. The new destroyer can use air-defense missiles after a few, relatively cheap modifications, Raytheon claims. The company is lobbying hard to keep the ship class alive. Despite this, the DDG-1000 program is unlikely to extend beyond the three vessels. That third ship was the Navy’s consolation prize to Congress and the defense industry.

Follow?

my US Navy budget for 2010-2014

wfz-admin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:48:13 +0000

2 x LHA = $8B
10 x DDG-51 = $20B

the remaining $7B into developing long-range variants of the X-47 UCASB.

Information Dissemination
Given Huntington’s advice, the Navy’s existing plan, the operational considerations, the Maritime Strategy, and $35 billion over 5 years… what would be your shipbuilding plan, and why? The FY09-1FY13 plan the Navy released in this budget year can be found here for comparison. Remember, we are talking about 5 years from FY10 – FY14 here, but it should be part of a larger strategy.

McFaul has company — 9 ships from Turkey, Germany, Poland, Spain and US

wfz-admin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 17:42:53 +0000

I wonder if this is the largest NATO flotilla ever in the Black Sea?

No–in Sea Breeze 98, we had

“Over 30 ships and vessels ,one submarine, 10-12 planes, and 10-12 helicopters. ”

operating in the northern portion of the Black Sea.

No wonder this irritates the Russians. It’s like having a Russian fleet operate in the Great Lakes after Canada lets them down the St. Lawrence Seaway.

Information Dissemination: Breaking: Moskva Scrambles Back to Sea
There are no details regarding which four Turkish warships are there, but the other ships would be the SPS Juan de Borbon (F102), the Polish frigate ORP General K. Pulaski (272), the German frigate FGS Lubeck (F214), the US Navy destroyer USS McFaul (DDG 74), and the USCGC Dallas (WHBC 716).

Will be interesting to see if this is just Russian crap media reporting, of which I have read a lot this month, or confirmed by other western media reporting.

Repairs complete, CVN-73 George Washington heads to Japan

wfz-admin — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:14:38 +0000

Back in the saddle again! These several months worth of repairs were caused by damage less severe than a single missile hit.

Repairs complete, the GW heads to Japan | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
The carrier George Washington [CVN-73] left San Diego on Thursday, bound once again for Japan after undergoing several months of repairs caused by a shipboard fire.

[asa]1934840246[/asa]

Fighting an oxygen fire and explosion, alone, aboard a nuclear sumbarine

wfz-admin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:06:42 +0000

That’s pretty darned heroic.

‘Unacceptable’ errors led to deaths in fire aboard sub on Arctic patrol | UK news | The Guardian
…. At the time of the accident HMS Tireless had been taking part in an Anglo-American operation beneath the Arctic ice. After the fire the submarine was forced to surface through an area of thin ice. The injured sailor was airlifted by the Alaska National Guard to an airforce base in Anchorage.

When the submarine returned to its home port of Devonport in Plymouth, Cmdr Iain Breckenridge praised his crews and singled out the injured man.

“If it had not been for [his] outstanding efforts … the consequences of this incident may have been much worse,” the report said. “The small fires caused by the explosion could easily have taken hold and a major conflagration ensued, with very serious consequences, if [name withheld] had not had the stamina and presence of mind to use all available means to extinguish them.”