Battleship Books

Despite the success of the submarine campaign in the First World War and the failure of its surface fleet, Germany decided to pin its hopes on surface ships in the 1930's. The German naval commander Admiral Raider had developed a plan to complete a fleet of super battleships by 1942. At the outbreak of war the German's had three 10,000 ton pocket battleships which were in reality cruisers and two 30,000 ton battle cruisers. A further two super battleships the Bismarck and Tirpitz were due to be completed in 1941. (The U boat force consisted of only 30 vessels)

Raider decided on a campaign, which would use his surface ships to sink, allied merchant shipping. This book is an examination of whether that was a sensible decision. It examines two of the major naval campaigns, Operation Berlin which was the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau's raid in the Atlantic and Operation Rheinburg which was the unsuccessful sortie which resulted in the destruction of the Bismarck.

The author makes the point that although superficially Operation Berlin had some success it had significant problems. Those problems were that surface ships faced considerable problems in locating enemy merchants without air assistance. The commander of Operation Berlin Lutjzens had to use captured merchant ships to from a reconnaissance line.

The sinking of the Bismarck in fact ended German fleet operations in the Atlantic. In short what happened was that British Cruisers using radar were able to track the Bismarck and Prince Eugen as they sailed in the Denmark Straight. The Germans had not realised the efficiency of British radar and had overestimated the ability of surface ships to use bad weather to escape detection. As a result of this detection the British were able to direct two heavy ships the Prince of Wales and Hood to intercept the German ships. The battle of the Denmark Strait should have been the end of the Germans. Instead a freak shot sunk the Hood and the Germans were able to sail on. The British cruisers were still able to follow and Swordfish aircraft flown from aircraft carriers were so able to cripple the Bismarck that she was easily sunk by British capital ships.

Rhys-Jones shows that the destruction of the Bismarck was if not inevitable due to a floored operational plan. Not only was the Bismarck sunk but the battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Geneisu were vulnerable to air attack and were repeatedly damaged in French harbors. Later the pocket battleships were also shown to be vulnerable to air attack. The actual Rheinburg operation was planned very poorly. News of the operation was made available to large numbers of civilians and the ship was even given an official send of which was seen by Norwegian civilians.

The author shows clearly that Raider had little knowledge of the effectiveness of British radar and how it changed the game rules. He also was not willing to ensure that German air surveillance was available to assist his ships in avoiding enemy capital ships.

This is a short and reasonably expensive book but it is an interesting examination of the surface navel war and contains material not available eslewhere.

This book explains most of the mysteriies of the Bizmark and the contreversy surrounding it. This book also states how the ship was found and what they are going to do with the ship.

This is an outstanding puzzle book! I was surprised that there were only two reviews for it. Being a middle-aged male with a BA from a midwestern university and with an average math ability, this book provided hours of mental challanges and frustrations. Excellent for estabilishing or strengthening basic logic skills. Although I find it hard to believe that many average children would be able to complete many of the more advanced level puzzels.

The introduction is done very nicely. First, it spells out the rules then provides excellent examples in the skill of deduction. Too bad there are only 54 pages of puzzles. Perhaps a second book is in order?

My 8-year-old can't do crossword puzzles yet, because he's just an average reader. But he is a math whiz and WOW, can he do Battleships! I'm working on making this game a standard for 2nd grade math and logic classes....

HIJMS Yamato was - and will now forever be, the largest Battleship ever built. It will also forever remain a supreme curiosity that Japan - the one country which had the foresight to recognise how air power and aircraft carriers were the sea-going naval might of the future, should insist on building 2 Yamato class Battleships when their construction almost bankrupted the nation to the extent that their building even deprived the country's fishermen of their nets.

Nevertheless this magnificent vessel of death, doom and destruction went into service at a time when the Imperial Japanese Navy could do no wrong. Prior to WW2 Japan broke the terms of the peace treaties by preparing for their eventual complete domination of the Pacific region. The building of Truk Lagoon being one example. Then, in the aftermath of Pearl Harbour those plans were put into effect with devastating results. In June 1942, however, they failed to take Midway Atoll and from then on it was all downhill. Three years later, the largest Battleship ever to have been built was sent on a final mission from which she never returned.

In "A Glorious Way to Die" Russell Spurr gives an account of this great ship from beginning to tragic end. It is a complete account - as befits one of the world's greatest ships.

Perhaps the Yamato will prove to be the last great ship to be discovered by the great Bob Ballard.

NM.

This is a wonderful book which reconstructs the last mission of the super-battleship Yamato with great clarity and attention to detail. Spurr has also devoted many pages to the collateral action taking place after the US landigs on Okinawa, like the kamikaze strikes against the US naval armada and the futile trials of Japanese submarines to hit the invaders. The air strikes against the Yamato and its group of accompanying ships are perfectly explained along with details of all the possible hits attained against the battleship. The author interviewed many Yamato survivors and these men revealed also some annoying piece of information: after the battleship's demise, US fliers made low firing passes against the Japanese survivors, a nasty gesture surely for a gallant foe. I really enjoyed the chapter where Spurr presents admiral Mitscher's tactical dilemma and the way he chose to solve it. A very nice book about a forgotten episode of the Pacific War.

Excellant book on the final days of Japan's fleet. Also gives great sumary of key WWII events.

In the passage describing the part played by Torpedo Squadron 84 the attack on the Yamato contains egregious errors in the names of 12 of the 14 pilots of VT-84. The only two that are correct are squadron skipper, Lt.Cdr. Chandler Swanson, and Lt.jg Richard Walsh. This leads me to question the validity of other portions of the account that may be made up. My name is Dewey Ray. An Owen Ray appears in Russell Spurr's account . I was one of the pilots on the attack. There was no Owen Ray in our squadron and the names of the other pilots on the attack are similarly mangled or completely ficticious.

I purchased this book to obtain background info while researching information for my family tree. This book is a *gem*! It is easy-to-read, even for non-history and non-military interested people. It gives the reader an inside look into the decisions/actions that took place from both sides of the battle day-by-day and reads like a novel. Highly recommended.

I was a bit confused as to the time seting in this book. I thought that the enemy aliens were known in volume 1 of this series. So why do they come as a surprise here?
A good read and interesting characters. Definitely worth reading.

Absolutely a delight! Meluch has done a superb job melding an interesting perspective of a possible future with an Alien invasion, all held tight together with a narrative which just plain moves. The characters are rich and deep, unfolding and developing in the most natural way throughout the story arc.

The most interesting part about reading this second book in Meluch's Merrimack trilogy is that the first introduced you to a whole range of characters who developed, matured and evolved to meet the challenges which came their way - and then wiped the slate clean at the end of the book. If you haven't read The Myriad, then definitely grab it first. Though you could read this book without having first read Myriad, there is a depth of understanding and subtle background tension which you are only aware of from the first narrative found in Myriad.

More a space opera than military science fiction, the military strategy and politics really come second to the characters and the action-packed plotline. Though near the end I did find myself with the ghost of Honor Harrington in the back of my mind; in fact, I really wanted to team Meluch's Farragut up with Webber's Harrington - there would be a military pairing which would burn past all the opposition thrown their way.

In the end I have to recommend this book rather wholeheartedly. There are some more mature sexual themes which make it less appropriate for younger readers. Overall, though, this is an excellent example of Science Fiction at its best.

This is a great, fast paced sci-fi book that carries all the best elements of a great story: Great plot, great characterization, a fast-easy-stylish punchy prose or writing style that makes it delicious to chew on. There are also a couple surprise plot twists and turns that are like a knock out punch coming out of the dark. Very fun. This book isnt quite as good as the first in the series, so my actual rating is a 4 to 4.5, but it is still great and a great component of this fabulous series.
*Read this book if you like action-adventure sci-fi with intriguing plot! Great series. Cant wait for the 3rd book coming in 11/07

I started reading this book with mixed feelings, having seen the reviews here about it. Some people felt betrayed by the ending in the first book, and almost had to fight to read the second book. Some only read the second book because they had already purchased it.

I liked this book very much. The way she shows just how completely history can be changed, from the global, epic scale of events down to the insignificant minutae of someone's life - it was almost awe inspiring to follow, remembering from the first book how it had been previously, and seeing what she wrote now.

I agree that some of the characters don't seem as "lovable" in the second book, but then again that was part of the whole point I believe. What happens to us makes us who we are, and if something had happened differently, we would be colored differently by those incidents. She does a great job of weaving this new reality into being. I can't wait to see where she goes with the next book in the series.

I wonder if it's some kind of statement of style or whether the copy editor was absent or negligent, but the broken English and fragmented sentences throughout this novel greatly diminish its value. Author Meluch omits the sentence subject on page after page, paragraph after paragraph. While this might be overlooked in a work of fan fiction or a new writer's work, here it's very much out of place. Take a look and see what I mean:

From Chapter 33:

"After a slow, agonizing while, sounds of weapons fire diminished within the ship. Did not mean the enemy was on the run. You still heard enough scritching. Meant the gorgons were overwhelming the computer controls."

In one scene near the story's end, she even has Caesar, leader of the new Roman star empire, speaking in this manner. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but I prefer reading complete sentences. This book severely lacks them and suffers for it.

The G&D books cover a lot of territory. Each section begins with a short design history followed by an overview of the design, broken down into categories (armament, protection, propulsion plant, etc). When it comes to understanding a ship's armor scheme, there's no substitute for seeing a series of drawings; stats-in-a-vacuum like those in a Conway's are less than useless, and a token cross section gives only a glimpse. G&D provide a fully realized picture. The chapter on the Bismarck class is blemished by a lack of definitive information; only now is the extent of the 80mm weather deck generally becoming known, and G&D label it as 50mm throughout. In fact, plenty of questions remain on Bismarck and Tirpitz and their differences, so it's hard to fault G&D for this.
Another weakness is the reference to gun penetration data based on USN calculations; the formula for these calculations was actually intended to predict performance against homogenous armor, and its most common application has been for face-hardened armor. Thus they serve to be indicative only in the most general sense--in other words, why bother?
I find it easier to pick out the nits than to try to elaborate on the battery of qualities in the three books. They sit on the shelf within easy reach, and I refer to them regularly.

I'm not a full time literary critic, just someone who bought this book and is disappointed. I will not list the positive sides of a book that sets you back 76 $. They should be obvious. The first 10 minutes of going thru the pages without reading much though, held three major disappointments for me. Had I been in a bookstore, I would have put the book down and not bought it, thinking it's not worth the money. Here is what put me off:

1.) The line drawings look like twice xeroxed before they were printed. Large parts of thin lines (e.g. antenna lines) are missing. I can live with this in a paperback, but not here.

2.) Photos in general are of poor quality. A book of that price should provide glossy paper for photo pages.

3.) The photo on page 216 is the wrong way round.

4.) The text with the photo on page 269 is totally misleading. It refers to the battleship Tirpitz and shows the snow covered scenery of a Norwegian fjord. In the upper left hand corner you see a mid-sized ship, the bow facing you. It is the only major ship in the picture and it has two support boats moored on either side. The caption says: "... The German battleship is moored to the right, off the island of Aaroy..." What does that mean now? Does it mean the ship depicted is Tirpitz, and there is an island Aaroy to the left outside the frame? Or does it mean the ship that the full page photo refers to (Tirpitz) is not in the picture, but somewhere off to the right, and nobody seems to know (or be willing to mention) who the only big ship in the picture is? The ship shown is either Hipper or Prinz Eugen, both heavy cruisers, both stationed in Norwegian fjords, both operating with and without Tirpitz. It is not the battleship Tirpitz, as Garzke and Dulin make believe. Poor work.

I quit reading the book after that.

FIRST THOUGHTS: THIS VOLUME WAS MY FAVORITE OF THE TRILOGY

I have read many books about this subject and this volume adds some fresh perspectives and details to what I have already come to understand. Although no book on the subject can be considered either perfect or all-inclusive this series and this specific volume in particular is comprehensive and organized in a very easy and useful format making it a 'must-have' for those with an intense interest in Battleships.

IN A NUTSHELL: CASE STUDIES OF 7 DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT CLASSES OF DREADNOUGHTS FROM 4 COUNTRIES

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER TWO: THE YAMATO CLASS
CHAPTER THREE: THE SCHARNHORST CLASS
CHAPTER FOUR: THE BISMARCK CLASS
CHAPTER FIVE: GERMANY THE "H" CLASS BATTLESHIPS
CHAPTER SIX: THE "O" CLASS BATTLECRUISERS
CHAPTER SEVEN: THE VITTORIO VENETO CLASS
CHAPTER EIGHT: SPAIN
CHAPTER NINE: CONCLUSION

APPENDIXES

A- STABILITY CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BISMARCK CLASS
B- INBOARD PROFILE AND DECK PLANS OF THE BISMARCK
C- BATTLESHIP AND BATTLECRUISER GUNS


WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT: THE ZENITH OF A NATIONS TECHNOLOGY & POWER


BOTTOM LINE: THE FINAL VOLUME OF AN AWESOME HISTORIC TRILOGY

After a complete reading of the entire trilogy, I feel, I now better understand the construction and design considerations that lead to a completed Dreadnought. These books and this volume in particular have fed my interest to look deeper into the topic of Dreadnought construction. After reading this series I feel better able to grasp the technical materials that I will have to deal with as I continue to delve into the fascinating topic of 'Dreadnoughts'.

I have had a long time interest as a historian and having had personal connections with the sea, I have built up a library for about 30 years which includes the significant texts on naval construction. I have all three of the Dulin/Garzke books, and of the three books the tome on Axis/Neutral ships is by far the best production. I suspect, though, that the tome on Axis/Neutral ships is better only because the authors have had to learn something about writing in their two prior attempts. The "strengths" of Dulin & Garzke are in assessing engineering, and in condensing text for a supposed "average adult" to follow the history of a ship. Unfortunately, Dulin & Garzke miss the point: the average reader with an interest in naval architecture is most likely to have technical experience with, or possesses graduate-school background, which calls for a greater depth of writing (and dedication to subject) by the author. For example, we get tantalizing hints of strategic considerations in discusing the German "Z" program, but the reader would walk away from the book not understanding that there was a Japanese "super battleship" concept in mind which produced the Yamatos. The discussions about armour and gunnery are acceptable, but again the reader with a greater interest in nautical history walks away unsatisfied. Tabular material is decently presented, and the faults of prior texts (such as an incomprehensible armour key) are avoided. On the other hand, the reader is given pictures which are all-too common in the literature; the most interesting presentations are on the B-65 class and the proposed Italian and Spanish designs. Here again, when one expects Dulin & Garzke to go "deeper" into the material, the trail ends abruptly. At least in this book Dulin & Garke avoid the farce of presenting the same picture 5 times (!) as in the treatment of the Montana class. I have considered this book "acceptable" but I hold forth that Dulin & Garzke would have brought forth a trio of superlative books if the authors had done more digging and possessed greater dedication to the material.

The authors of this book complete their trilogy on capital ships of the World War II era with this book. They examine WWI development, the Washington Naval Conference and its effect on pre WWII designs, the escalator clause and wartime developments affecting the battleships and battlecruisers of Japan, Germany, Italy and Spain. Spain is included among the Axis powers due to Franco's right wing regime and aid received from Germany and Italy during the civil war. Step by step details of the design of Yamato and the inherent weakness of her underwater protection are discussed. The gunnery comparisons between Yamato and Iowa are surprising. The chase and sinking of Bismarck and Scharnhorst are detailed and the weaknesses in German designs are pointed out. Finally, the authors compare capital ships in four design areas: 1) battlecruisers 2} 35,000 ton designs 3) 45,000 ton designs 4) 45,000 plus ton designs. There are gunnery tables included at the end for comparison of contemporary naval artillery. This book, along with their books on Allied and US Battleships, belongs on the shelf of any wargamer or warship historian/enthusiast.

This book makes an excellent desk reference for the casual student of naval history; extensive details of each battleship designed between from 1906 through the mid-1940s are provided.

As a compendium of all the battleships and battlecruisers built from 1906 onwards, Ian Sturton's book is an essential reference. But the line drawings are rather basic and only show a profile of each ship, and the photgraphs although well chosen are poorly printed and lack contrast and detail. There are better sources of information and debate, but as a collection of often esoteric vessels this deserves a look

Towards the end of the 19th Century, the world's first great arms race was running a full speed. As either Britain or Germany (the two largest navies in the world at that time) built a big battleship - so the other side would simply design one that was even bigger. This attitude towards supremacy in weapons became infectious and, as far as battleships were concerned, continued right up to 1937 with the design and building of the ultimate Battleship of all time - the Yamato with it's 18.1in guns.

Conway Maritime Press are well known for their factual books on ships - especially warships, in which they provide the finest technical documentation. "All the World's Battleships - 1906 to Present" is hard-back measuring 11¼" x 8¾" with 190 pages of detailed and factual information. Commencing with Argentina all the world's battleships are listed by country - under which heading they are then displayed by "class of ship" commencing with the oldest vessels and ending with the latest. For each class there is one or more of those profile line drawings for which Conway's books have become so well known. These are followed by all the usual technical details such as; Displacement, dimensions, machinery, armour, armament and complement followed by the names of each ship within that class and it's builder, date laid down, date completed and fate. Next is a very "readable" potted history from which we learn of any political intrigue, variations between vessels, refits, new equipment, whatever defects or other problems that may have beset either the class or a specific ship and a short résumé of the fate of each vessel.

Finally, the book is well illustrated with an excellent selection of black and white photographs throughout with at least one photograph on almost every page.

On reading some of the criticisms voiced in earlier reviews, I would not be put off from buying this book just because a few wretched typographical errors may have crept in (I didn't notice them.). Nor would be put off just because one or two of the photographs may not be as sharp as we have come to expect in this day and age. Those photographs which are not pin-sharp are included because they are the only photographs which exist and they come from an age when (a) cameras were not widely available, (b) all photography was in black and white and (c) even photography itself was in it's infancy. As for the comment about drabness - it does not describe the book I have just reviewed.

Furthermore, at £15:00, I consider this to be one of the best deals I have come across in a long time.

NM

You get what you pay for.

Pros: Inexpensive, somewhat comprehensive in detail and scope (especially regards to "might-have-been ships such as the Owari, G3, and Lexington classes)

Cons: Weak editing in a few glaring cases (Bungo Straights, furore, calbier), black and white photos, line drawings only.
Inconsistent attention to detail (section on German ships went into detail on turret types, but this is not repeated with other nationalities).

Other notes:
1)Could be made more succesful if they included articles on various battleship related topics such as Washington Treaty, pre-dreadnought race, influence of politics upon battleship development, etc. The book has only a short intro before they begin talking about the various ships.

2) Useful as a reference book in conjunction with other books, but would not rely solely on this book as a reference.

Would recommend this as a "buy", but be aware of its limitations.

The Battleship "Warspite" was one of 5 ships of the Queen Elizabeth class and went on to serve with great distinction in World War 1 (including the Battle of Jutland) and World War 2 before finally being scrapped in 1947. Today, almost 60 years after she fired her last shot in anger (10 September 1944 off Le Havre), there are those who will remember serving on this magnificent ship and others who are interested in every facet of her history as well as her construction and technical detail. This is an excellent book for all such enthusiasts.

Conway Maritime Press are well known for their "Anatomy of the Ship" series in which they provide the finest technical documentation for specific ships or ship types ever published. "The Battleship Warspite" is hard-back measuring 10¼" (wide) x 9¾" with 120 pages of detailed and factual information. The wide format allows the publishers to produce first class detailed line drawings of every aspect of this ship in a size that is easy to see and follow. All the information is there - right down to the last nut and bolt.

Commencing with a potted history of the Queen Elizabeth class, we then have a career summary of the Warspite before coming on to a series of "Tables" which provide us with the technical details of construction, general arrangements, hull structure, protection, machinery, comparisons, armament, fire control, aircraft and so on. Next is 22 pages of historic photographs followed by 80 pages of detailed line drawings and technical information.

And detailed it is too; Under just one main heading "General arrangements" we have drawing after drawing showing every aspect of this ship in cross section - deck by deck and room by room, from aft to bows. Then everything is repeated from above as we work our way down through every level of the ship from the highest part of the superstructure to the keel. These are followed with more specific technical information under such headings as hull construction, machinery, accommodation, superstructure, rig, armament, fire control, fittings, disruptive camouflage, ground tackle, boats and finally aircraft arrangements.

The inclusion of even the humble Signal Locker (that box comprising almost 100 small "pigeon-holes" in which the different signal flags were kept) gives an indication of the attention to detail put into this book and, once again, I congratulate both the author and publishers for a job well done.

NM

A book for someone wishing to make a super- detailed model of HMS Warspite, but of little interest for the average military history buff. Drawings of the wooden buffer over the armor belt take details to the ultimate overkill.

The Warspite was one of the Royal Navy's most famous ships that saw action in both the First and Second World Wars. Launched in 1913 she was severely damaged at the Battle of Jutland after taking thirteen hits. She actually did an infamous 720o turn in front of the entire German High Seas Fleet and survived.

In the Second World War Warspite was bomb damaged in 1942 and repaired in the USA,severely damaged by guided bombs in 1943, repaired and reputed to have opened the naval bombardment on D Day, damaged by a mine later in 1944, repaired again and saw more action bombarding Brest. In a final show of defiance she broke her tow en route to scrapping, ran aground 23 April 1947 and was finally cut up where she lay.

Sadly in Britain we did not preserve any 20th century battleships, this book is a fitting tribute.

The Queen Elizabeth class battleships are without doubt the most sucessful Battleship design eve in terms of cost length of service and accomplishment, and Warspite was the most sucessfull of the class (with most battle honours of any RN Ship). This book gives a nice overview of the ship; plenty of pictures etc, but the service history is somewhat superficial which really doesn't do service to the class or the ship.

YES - YES, there is a "BUT" here. Allow me to elaborate:

IN A NUTSHELL: BOTH EARLIER REVIEWERS ARE 100% CORRECT IN THEIR REMARKS!

Since I have no objection to plain English, here goes.

This new book titled, "Battleships", by Peter Hore, is a true delight to look at and look through - a real treat! Few books on the subject of Battleships, and their kin [Battle Cruisers, Armored Cruisers, Large Cruisers, Pocket Battleships & Monitors] can boast as much visually stimulating material in a logical, easy to follow format. In fact, my 16 year old preppy daughter Angela saw this book, thumbed through it, and knew straight off that she had to get me this book, even with her own money. Thank you Angela, I am grateful, for this book does the visual, and simple historic organization part very well, and allows me to discuss Battleship "stuff" with people that don't know a Large Cruiser from a Battlecruiser. Now I can quickly show them.

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT: REASONABLY PRICED COFFEE TABLE BOOK WITH ILLUSTRATIONS!

Okay, I'm really not trying to be snide, but the closer one looks at this book, the more visible and distracting the flaws in it become. Facts are a bit garbled in places, and as one reviewer pointed out, do appear to change from one paragraph to the next. Also, it seems as though the person who wrote the book knows how to write this type of book quite well, but not necessarily on this precise topic, the "history of Battleships".

WHAT'S NOT GREAT ABOUT THIS BOOK:

For instance, while there is a good photo of each of the dozens of classes of ships examined, frequently, the exact ship is NOT mentioned in the caption, leaving us to guess which ship it is. Also, when the pictures were taken is often not mentioned, which is important, since most Battleships were refitted numerous times during their lifespan, especially in response to the growing need for air-defences. This shortcoming is probably as aggravating to modelers as it is to historians.

Another problem is the reported displacement of the ships, especially those made and/or modernized during the treaty period 1921-1936. In many cases, some of the ships were much heavier than listed, the "Deutschland Class" - "Pocket Battleships", for example, were listed as 11,700 tons. They were supposed, under treaty to displace around 10,000 tons, and I believe that the 11,700 tons was the weight the German navy gave as the fully loaded displacement. Nevertheless, most naval historians suggest the weight of this class of vessel to be in the 13-17,000 ton range, depending on whether you figure it as "standard load" or "heavy load" [battle provisioned for stores, fuel, munitions]. Here's the kicker, technically speaking, the "Deutschland Class" - "Pocket Battleships", are NOT BATTLESHIPS, but Armored Cruisers, or Heavy Cruisers, depending on who you speak to. Never were they seen as Battleships - so why are they in an Encylopedia of Battleships? Obviously, because people who have a passing interest in the subject have heard of the Graf Spee, and it is nice to have its story, though briefly told, included in this edition.

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CANOPUS?

Nevertheless, there are many true stories about real battleships, such as the "Canopus", [1 of 6 of the Canopus Class] launched around 1897, that have been omitted. Each of the other 5 Canopus class Pre-Dreadnought battleships have a blurb about their history, except for the Canopus herself. Interesting, because the Canopus herself, was the ship with the most interesting story of the class, and it involved unique and controversial tactics and Winston churchill too. Alas, not a single printed word about the Canopus, the flagship and most interesting to talk about among the six of the Canopus class!

THE ALASKA CLASS CRUISER IS NOT A BATTLESHIP:

Again, they include the "Alaska" class "Large Cruiser" [ALASKA, 1943- GUAM, 1945] in this edition. These were huge ships, over 800 feet long and 31,000 tons, built for speed and to overpower the fast heavy-cruisers that the Japanese had been up-gunning since the beginning of the war. By the time they saw action, their role had become obsolete, and they were used for the remainder of the Pacific war as escorts for the "Fast-Carriers". Nevertheless, they were not Battleships and this too tended to confuse the issues with some readers because Battleships were never designed for such an ancillary role, and including the "Alaska Class" gives that impression.

SO WHAT ABOUT "BATTLECRUISERS"?

In essence, it is probably okay to include the last incarnation of the Battlecruisers "Hood", "Scharnhorst" and the "Gneisenau" as they clearly were built as Battlecruisers, not Heavy Cruisers or Armored Cruisers or Large Cruisers. I realize that this sounds like a lot of rhetorical nonsense. Nevertheless, to those of us who try to make sense of these historically important symbols of 20th century power, accuracy is vital to understanding this subject.

However, these three ships, which looked like Battleships and had the armarments of Battleships, were surprisingly easily sunk due to a lack of the armored protection that sets a Battleship apart and above a Battlecruiser. Case in point, the Bismarck easily sunk the Hood by blowing-up the Hood's forward magazine, quite probably from the same lack of armored deck protection that caused the same disaster three times at Jutland. At the time of its tragic sinking, the Hood, a Battlecruiser laid down during World War 1 was the largest ship in the British Navy and in fact had a larger displacement than any American "Battleship". The Hood began its life, after a redesign that added 5,000 tons and was supposed to take the lessons of Jutland into consideration, at 41,200 tons, but gained weight over the years and displaced nearly 48,000 tons at the time of its sinking. This weight gain partially explains the reason why the Hood was such a "wet ship" [forecastle washed in heavy seas].

The only ships of larger displacement in the American Navy, in 1941, were the two Carriers, Saratoga and Lexington which not surprisingly were built [their hulls] from the same plans as the Battlecruiser Hood, which the British gave to the U.S. Navy during a time where feelings of marshall good fellowship ran deep, in 1918.

WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT AND DIFFERENT ABOUT BATTLESHIPS?

Battleships were built to mete out and withstand, the maximum destructive force deliverable at the time of their design and hopefully during their operational lifespan. [Which explains why each new & improved class became obsolete so fast] Unlike other naval vessels, the Battleship was built with as few compromises as economically and technically feasible toward the objectives of taking and giving maximum punishment through force. No other vessel before or after has been built so apparently with this axiom, so that the level of a nation's technical, industrial and economical development can be measured and compared to other nations, on this basis. So can a nation's will, which was the case for the Imperial Japanese Empire. This is what makes battles like Jutland so historically significant. To include the myriad of interesting naval support vessels [already listed above] in this examination of Battleships, simply muddies the water and makes the obvious more difficult to understand.

BOTTOM LINE: NICELY ILLUSTRATED -- INTERESTING TO MOST PEOPLE

This is a very good read and wonderfully interesting to look at. Having said that, I would have preferred a quantitative examination of the ships' protective systems and immunity zones as well as specifications of the naval ordnance used, rather than the inclusion of "Battleship-like" vessels.

-* RECOMMENDED READING:

- U.S. BATTLESHIPS: AN ILLUSTRATED DESIGN HISTORY, 1985, NORMAN FRIEDMAN

- BATTLESHIPS OF WORLD WAR 1, 1972, ANTONY PRESTON [very hard to find]

I'll echo the sentiments of other reviewers: Peter Hore's "Battleships" isn't the most factually sound book out there, but it's nonetheless a great overview and good value. Plenty of pictures and histories abound in this title and it's very useful for looking up some quick photos and tonnages on certain vessels.

Perhaps the best aspect of the book is the amount of information given for Pre-Dreadnoughts (my personal favorites) and World War I vessels. WW2 ships already have an overabundance of information published on them, but for enthusiasts longing for photos and information on early battleships at a price that won't break the bank, this book really delivers.

While this book does have a suprising number of photos that are not usually found in other publications, the technical data is rife with errors, even to the point of contradicting itself from one page, or even paragraph, to the next. Great for pictures, but don't buy this if you are looking for any new nuggets of information (or even to attempt to corraborate any ones you might have in other publications). I'm not sure if the problem was shoddy research, or poor editing, or a combination of the two.

This hardback book has 256 pages and a great many photos. There are some good photos of ships rarely seen elsewhere, I particularly liked the striking photo of HMS London (pre-dreadnought) in camo and the photos turn out very nicely as the paper is good quality glossy, similar quality to Robert Ballard's "Discovery of.." series.
Obviously it's not as detailed as the well known and more expensive technical history books on battleships but it is printed on nicer paper and the value is quite excellent!
Each class of battleship from various nations (Gloire through to the end of WW2) has at least one photo, technical specifications and some history. There is also a history of battleships before the main listings, featuring famous battleship actions, profiles of noteworthy people etc.
Don't expect detailed specifications and analysis of fighting ability, armament ranges etc, this would be beyond the scope of this book.
As a warship modeller I wouldn't buy this book specifically to research a ship. There are plenty of other, more expensive books out there with stunning attention to detail. This is more an enjoyable and sometimes informative look at all the world's battleships.

I bought Jane's Fighting Ships of WW1 a few weeks ago and I much prefer this book, the photographs are many times better than the sketchy, badly reproduced diagrams in the former. Now if only somebody would produce a book on battleships that combined the aesthetics and photo quality of this book, the line drawings in R.A Burt and W. Garzke's volumes and the detail of Alan Raven's books I, for one, would most certainly be putting my money down!

This book would make a great gift for a youth with an interest in battleships and, I think, would provide hours of enjoyment and be a regular reference...

I read this regular book, here in Brazil.This book has many photos, is short and easy to read.
Even as an introduction about battleships, this is just a regular book.To example, this book doesn't has almost nothing, about the use of battleships to support of landings.In all important landings of World War II, the battleships were used.About battleships after World War II, this book is weak.About the use of battleships after 1970 decade, there's nothing.
Even more than 70 years, after the fact of aircraft-carries becameing the the "sea kings", the battleship remains usefull.On first gulf war, in 1991, battleships sent powerfull artillery shells, against Iraq, with small price, no casualties among americans and good results.

Their like will never come again simply because the age of the Battleship has long-since been eclipsed by that of the Aircraft Carrier. But, whilst it lasted, it produced some incredible ships which, in many cases, met equally incredible ends.

In this book by and acclaimed author and historian, we have the complete story of those iron and steel ships which replaced the wooden vessels of the Nelsonian age. Commencing with the ironclad "La Gloire" and ending with the USS New Jersey, we are taken on a thrilling ride of freakish ships, the first arms race, the Dreadnought, the end of European naval domination of the high seas and beyond. From the Japanese victory at Tsushima, the inconclusive Battle of Jutland in WW1 to Midway and Leyte Gulf in WW2, we find the even mightier ships - such as Hood, Bismarck, Tirpitz and Yamato disappearing from the face of the earth one by one. In this book we are able to relive some of the greatest-ever naval encounters.

With excellent illustrations, photographs, maps and charts, this is book which should be read by all those with an interest in the subject. Then leave it a short while - as I did, and read it again. Somehow it seems far more interesting second time around.

NM

If you like pictures, then this book is for you. Very informative

If you like pictures, then this book is for you. Very informative

Graf Spee was a pocket battleship (12,000 tons) that raided freighters and convoys. Since she had heavier armament than most guard ships for convoys, she was considered a menace to merchant marine shipping. The Graf Spee was a dedicated ship and at the start of war, she sank 9 freighters without a loss of life. Then she met the one heavy and two light cruisers sent by the British to hunt her down. She severely damaged the Exeter, but could not shake the two light cruisers. She stayed in Montevideo harbor until forced out and then scuttled herself. The opposing forces must have breathed relief, since she outclassed all of them in fighting ability.

This is a story of the pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. It is a good, though sometimes tedious read about the three month exploits of a raider on the South Atlantic ocean. A nice read of World War Two.

This is absolutely the best written book on naval warfare that i have ever read!

Pope's writing style is so fluid, full of analogies, and taking the complex and mechanical naval warfare terminology and tactics so that any reader can understand as well as feel that edge-of-the-seat feeling of the battle!

Not only is the author's work incredible, this happens to be a critical and interesting event of the first few months of WW2. If Graf Spee had been able to sink Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles relatively unscathed, the domino effect that surface raiders have, so artfully described by the author would have been enormous, perhaps lightening the weight of British power on all the other German naval exploits, U-Boats, Bismarck, Norway and the Blucher, Tirpitz....

I highly recommend this book to any person interested in WW2, it will grab and hold your attention. Also a very sincere salut to the dynamic writing of the author, particularly the part where Spee and Exeter first sight each other!

What this book doesn't consider enough is the tactical situation. This book is a nice description of the battle, but it loses a bit in the interpretation of the issues. This book was originally written in 1957, 18 years after the battle described, but it is too close to the battle to understand Langsdorff's position as a ship that, if found, would likely be chased down. Thus, he had to sink those that found him, whoever they were. larger or smaller, and that understanding is crucial to understand the Battle of the River Platte. Author infers that Spee's commander could have let these warship targets go by. It was widely said that the Graf Spee was faster than almost anything larger (and therefore could successfully escape), and more powerful than anything smaller (and therefore could successfully wipe them out). But, that doesn't make a good tactical situation, since the faster enemy ships could keep away from you yet keep you in touch and call in their bigger buddies, with you having no way to escape those smaller ships views of where you were in the oceans once you, as a raider, had been located. So, the Graf Spee had to attack any enemy warships it saw, instead of holding that it was more powerful than the smaller enemy ships and faster than the larger enemy ships. The Graf Spee was too slow to escape the smaller ships that could call in larger ships, and in fact that is what happened in the end. Capt Langsdorff of the Graf Spee did the most he could in his tactics with the ship he was given. He was also very gallant in saving many lives on the merchant ships he attacked.

Other than this single issue of tactics, this is a masterful book of the battle, and worthy of purchase or, as in my case, buying another copy so that I could reread the battle as it happened, while keeping my thoughts of the tactics (see above) to one side. No matter one's tactics, what happened happened, and this book describes it well.