Author(s): Stuart Robertson

Military

The small, lightweight, 35mm cameras that were available by the time of the Second World War revolutionised war photography. Unencumbered by heavy equipment, including tripods and photographic plates, the photographer could now get much closer to the action and respond instinctively to changing situations, shooting a series of pictures on a single film. Although their smaller format meant that technically the images were usually less sharp and more grainy, this tonal harshness gave the pictures a gritty realism and immediacy. And with the easing of censorship, the photographers were able to publish unflinching images of conflict and the catastrophic consequences of war as never before. From a naval point of view, developments in submarine and aircraft carrier technology completely changed how a war would be fought at sea. Navies of the protagonists were expected to provide many support services, from the protection of convoys to the landing of troops on hostile shores, which literally enabled the war to go global. "Conway's War at Sea" describes the Second World War through the chronology of naval events.