Research

My research focuses on European and American naval and military history from the Early Modern to the Post-Modern eras, roughly the five hundred years between 1500 and 2000 CE, although the majority of my research is focused on the late 19th and early 20th centuries (1880 – 1920). I am particularly interested in the study of leadership, the history of industrialization, balance of power politics, European and international diplomacy, naval strategy, military and amphibious operations, and the organization of national services. I also maintain regular interest in earlier periods, such as the classical Greek and Roman world, pre-contact Mesoamerica, and non-European geographic locations, regions including Africa, India, China and Japan.

I am currently expanding my research on the development, organization and administration of British and American naval aviation during the First and Second World Wars. My PhD thesis on the Royal Naval Air Service and the evolution of British Naval Aviation during the First World War was completd in early 2019. My article on the contribution of the Royal Naval Air Service to the anti-submarine campaign of 1917-1918 was published in the British Journal for Military History early in 2018.

Recent research output:

The Royal Naval Air Service and the Evolution of Naval Aviation in Britain, 1914-1918

Operation Urgent Fury: Cold War Crisis in Grenada

The Career of Admiral Sir George Pocock

The Royal Naval Air Service and Anti-Submarine Warfare in the North Sea, 1917 – 1918

Captain Charles Middleton and the Seven Years’ War

Keeping the Genie in the Bottle: RNAS Anti-Submarine Warfare

Armour Tactics at the Battle of 73 Easting

Bunker Hill: Amphibious and Infantry Operations

Infantry Tactics at the Battle of Crecy

Any Other Name: The Origin of HMS Dreadnought (SSN, S101)