A Very Strange Way to Go to War tells the astonishing story of the Great White Whale, the luxury ocean liner turned troopship, which was diverted from the Med to the heart of the Falklands war. Unlike the QE2 (also requisitioned), the Canberra went all the way into San Carlos Water to deliver its Royal Marines into battle. She was bombed ten times while in the Falklands, becoming a hospital ship when war commenced. Now, Andrew Vine has interviewed the Canberras crew and the troops who sailed on her to tell the story of a truly remarkable episode of modern war of how a luxury liner went into the heart of battle, and ordinary men and women found themselves on an adventure both terrifying and unforgettable.
