Summary HMS London - PQ17 to the Yangtse With Iain Ballantyne HMS London, pennant number C69, was a member of the second group of the County-class heavy cruisers of the Royal Navy. During the Spanish Civil War, HMS London assisted in the evacuation of civilians from Barcelona and during the Second World War she participated in the Royal Navy's hunt for the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941. She then served on Russian convoy escort duties until Nov 1942 including PQ17. She finished the war with the Eastern Fleet based in Ceylon but returned to action in China in 1949, being involved in the Yangtze Incident alongside HMS Amethyst as Communist Chinese forces bombarded British ships on the Yangtze River. Iain Ballantyne has written extensively about navies past and present. A former newspaper defence reporter and current Editor of the global naval affairs magazine 'WARSHIPS International Fleet Review', Iain has also contributed to television news and documentary programmes, and radio shows. He is host of the Warships Pod podcast. Among his other naval history books are 'Warspite', 'HMS Rodney' and the award-winning 'Killing the Bismarck' (all published by Pen and Sword). In 2017, Iain was presented with a prestigious Fellowship Award by the UK's Maritime Foundation for making 'a truly outstanding contribution to stimulating public engagement in maritime issues.'

• War
• Documentary
• History
• Talk Show