Very Special Ships is the first full-length book about the six Abdiel-class fast minelayers, the fastest and most versatile ships to serve in the Royal Navy in the Second World War. They operated not only as offensive minelayers – dashing into enemy waters under cover of darkness – but in many other roles, most famously as blockade runners to Malta. In lieu of mines, they transported items as diverse as ammunition, condensed milk, gold, and VIPs.
Distinguished by their three funnels, the Abdiels were attractive, well-designed ships, and they were also unique – no other navy had such ships, and so they were sought-after commands and blessed with fine captains.
To give the fullest picture of this important class of ships, the book details the origins and history of mines, minelayers, and minelaying; covers the origins and design of the class; describes the construction of each of the six ships, and the modified design of the last two; tells in detail of the operational careers of the ships in the second World War, when they played vital roles in the battle of Crete and the siege of Malta, plied the hazardous route to Tobruk, and laid mines off the Italian coast. The post-war careers of the surviving ships is also documented.
Written to appeal to naval enthusiasts, students of World War II and modelmakers, the author tells the story of these ships through first-hand accounts, official sources, and specially- commissioned drawings and photographs.

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Preface
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Mines, Minelaying and Minelayers: Origins to the Eve of the Second World War
• Chapter 2: Getting It Just Right – Designing the Abdiel Class
• Chapter 3: The Royal Navy Readies for Mine Warfare in the Second World War
• Chapter 4: The Abdiel Completes and Proves Her Worth: Home Waters and the Mediterranean, 1941
• Chapter 5: The Latona Takes to the Water and Sails around the Cape, 1941
• Chapter 6: Pawns of Coalition War – The Abdiel and Latona on the Tobruk Run, 1941
• Chapter 7: The Manxman Enters the Fray: Malta Runs and a Disguise, 1941
• Chapter 8: The Welshman Joins the Manxman: Laying Mines for the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, 1941–1942
• Chapter 9: The Abdiel and then the Manxman to the Indian Ocean, 1941–1942
• Chapter 10: The Welshman and the Manxman to Malta’s Rescue, 1942
• Chapter 11: The Manxman, Welshman and Abdiel Wreak Havoc in the Mediterranean, 1942–1943
• Chapter 12: Hard Times for Fast Minelayers in the Mediterranean, 1942–1943
• Chapter 13: The Repeat Abdiels Take Shape, 1941–1943
• Chapter 14: The Ariadne Completes and Shows the Flag in the Pacific, 1943–1945
• Chapter 15: The Apollo Rounds Out the Six and Becomes a Yeoman Minelayer, 1944–1945
• Chapter 16: War’s End
• Chapter 17: Peacetime
• Chapter 18: Epilogue and Honours
• Appendix: Plans, Camouflage and Models
• Notes
• Sources
• Colour plate section between pages 79 and 80