The primary sources for A Hard Fought Ship are first-hand accounts of the officers and men who served on HMS Venomous and reports of proceedings in the archives. There are resources on the Internet which are an immense help to anybody researching the history of a ship and its company and were used by the authors in researching the story of HMS Venomous.

 Some of the more important are listed here.

Naval History.Net   http://www.naval-history.net
Best known for the detailed record of the service history of RN ships in WW2 it also includes casualties (searchable by name and date and only then by ship) and an almost day by day history of the war at sea backed up by detailed maps. The entry for HMS Venomous also records the convoys it escorted: http://www.naval-history.net/xGM-Chrono-10DD-09VW-Venomous.htm

Convoy Web   http://www.convoyweb.org.uk
The different series in this guide to WW2 convoys and Merchant Navy ships can appear confusing but it is invaluable and can be searched by name of ship, convoy code and date.

Uboat.net   http://uboat.net
An easily searcheable database of  U-boats and their commanders from both world wars together with RN ships and their COs and merchant ships attacked linked to a Forum.

World War II unit histories & officers   http://www.unithistories.com
A thoroughly researched reliable database of the service careers of officers in the RN, RNVR and RNR with brief details of units.

V and W class destroyer – Wikipedia   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V_and_W_class_destroyer
The best starting point for any research on V & W Class detroyers.

World Naval Ships Forums  http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/
This is the main Forum for exchanging information on RN ships and seeking the help of other researchers.

Ships Nostalgia  http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/
This popular forum is mainly about merchant ships but it does contain a sub-forum on RN ships

Other important resources for ship research
BBC People's War                                                   http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar
Clyde Shipping and Shipbuilding                              http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydeshipping
Fleet Air Arm Website                                            http://www.fleetairarm.com/
HMCS Sackville Website                                         http://steelnavy.com/Sackville.htm
HyperWar: World War II on the Web                   http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar
Indicator Loops                                                        http://indicatorloops.com/loops.htm
International Naval Research Organization             http://www.warship.org
Naval Historical Foundation                                     http://www.navyhistory.org
NavSource Photographic History of the USN          http://www.navsource.org
Official Royal Navy Website                                    http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk
Old Ships                                                                   http://www.oldships.org.uk
Royal Navy Flag Officers 1904-1945                        http://www.admirals.org.uk