Geoffrey Brooks – författare

Weuner FŸrbringer (Fips) became one of the most successful U-Boat commanders in WW1 through a blend of skill, daring and, by his own typically modest admission, sheer luck. This vivid memoir, never before published in English, makes compelling reading.This is an inspiring and chivalrous story; it is ironic then that, when finally sunk by the Royal Navy off the East Coast of England, Fips was machine-gunned in the water, contrary to repeated Government denials of such behaviour.

Whilst there have been many memoirs written by U-boat commanders of the Second World War, a book such as this, based upon the diaries of a senior Petty Officer telegraphist, written in 'real time' is something very special. Wolfgang Hirschfeld, whose diaries Geoffrey Brooks has translated is a born story teller. The principal chapters describe his experiences during six war patrols in U-109, in which he served as the senior telegraphist. His is a tale which covers the whole kaleidescope of emotions shared by men at war - a story of immense courage and fortitude, of remarkable comradeship born of the dangers, frustrations and privations shared and of transitory moments of triumph. Throughout runs a vein of humour, without which resistance to stress would have been virtually impossible. We get to know one of Germany's great U-boat aces, 'Ajax' Bleichrodt, holder of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and, in a special biographical appendix, learn how he finally cracked under the strain. The role of Admiral Karl Donitz, the dynamic commander of the U-boat service, so fascinatingly described by Hirschfeld, is of special interest - not least because even this dedicated Nazi had clearly realized by September, 1942, that the war was fast being lost. In 1944 Hirschfeld was promoted Warrant Officer and found himself on a large, schnorkel-equipped boat (U-234) heading for Japan with a load of high technology equipment and, in addition, a quantity of uranium ore. The possible significance of that uranium has been deeply researched by Geoffrey Brooks and is discussed in a second appendix.

This is the story of the Terror Weapons developed by Hitler and Nazi Germany that were intended to be unleashed with devastating effect on the rest of the World. The book charts the development of the V rockets and their successes against allied targets. It then goes on to look at the even more sinister deadly weapons that Hitler was planning and developing, but fortunately did not succeed in producing. Hitler's Terror Weapons tells of the desperate efforts of the Nazis to produce war-winning weapons, and the measures taken by the Allies at the high levels to frustrate them in their aim.

The volume contains more than 70 papers covering the important topics and issues in metallurgy today including papers as follows: keynote papers covering a tribute to David Robertson, workforce skills needed in the profession going forward, copper smelting, ladle metallurgy, process metallurgy and resource efficiency, new flash iron making technology, ferro-alloy electric furnace smelting and on the role of bubbles in metallurgical processing operations. Topics covered in detail in this volume include ferro-alloys, non-ferrous metallurgy, iron and steel, modeling, education, and fundamentals.

The volume contains more than 70 papers covering the important topics and issues in metallurgy today including papers as follows: keynote papers covering a tribute to David Robertson, workforce skills needed in the profession going forward, copper smelting, ladle metallurgy, process metallurgy and resource efficiency, new flash iron making technology, ferro-alloy electric furnace smelting and on the role of bubbles in metallurgical processing operations. Topics covered in detail in this volume include ferro-alloys, non-ferrous metallurgy, iron and steel, modeling, education, and fundamentals.