The Cunningham Papers: v.1: The Mediterranean Fleet, 1939-1942: Selections from Private and Official Correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope, OM, KT, GCB, DSO and Two Bars

by M Simpson

Overview

Following America’s entry into World War Two, there was a necessity for the Royal Navy to strengthen co-operation with the United States Navy. Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham’s brief term as head of the British Admiralty Delegation in Washington was to endear him to the Americans so much so that they proposed him as Allied Naval Commander of the Expeditionary Force which was to invade North Africa in November 1942.

In October 1943, Cunningham was summoned to replace the dying Pound as First Sea Lord, a position he held until his retirement from active service in June 1946. In that time he presided over the invasion of Normandy, operations in the Mediterranean, the sinking of the Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, the defeat of the late surge of U-boat activity, the British Pacific Fleet, and the problems of manpower, the futures of the Royal Marines and the Fleer Air Arm, and the conversion of the Royal Navy from its swollen wartime strength to a much-reduced peacetime cadre.

Cunningham remained concerned over the future of the country’s defence and that of the Royal Navy and he was able to speak in major defence debates in the House of Lords. He died suddenly in 1963 and was buried at sea. Cunningham was one of Britain’s great sailors, a worthy successor to Nelson, whom he admired and many of whose qualities he displayed.

This volume begins with ‘The Making of an Admiral’ – his career up to 1939 – and then the Mediterranean Fleet from 1939 to 1942.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781911423690
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	05/13/2019
Pages:	666
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Michael Simpson was educated at Cambridge, Ohio State and Glasgow Universities and was lecturer
in History and American Studies at Swansea University since 1966. He was General Editor for the
Navy Records Society between 1994 and 2000.

Table of Contents

Chronology of the Life and Career of Admiral of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham of Hyndhope

A Brief Bibliography

The Making of an Admiral, 1883-1939

The Mediterranean Fleet, 1939-1942

Part I: The 'Phoney War' Period, June 1939 to June 1940

Part II: The Anglo-Italian War, June to December 1940

Part III: The Effects of German Intervention, January to May 1941

Part IV: The Fight at Odds, June 1941 to March 1942