Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #124185 in Books
• Published on: 1997-12-31
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 416 pages

Customer Reviews

Loads of info - great illustrations!
This book has loads of information for anyone interested in old fighting ships - all the way from great battleships to small patrol vessels. The text includes general histories of all the worlds navies, not forgetting the smaller nations, and gives good detail in the individual ship classes and ships. Much of the data is in easily readable chart form. Book has numerous clear line drawings and photos. Highly recommended!

Second Part of a complete reference library in one book.
Conway's All the World's Fighting Ships 1906-1921 is the second in a series of 4 volumes which, as the title suggests, lists all the worlds fighting ships built between 1860 and 1995. During the period covered by this book the world's first great arms race was still running a full speed whereby, as one country built a big battleship - so another would simply design one that was even bigger.

Conway Maritime Press are well known for their factual books on ships - especially warships, in which they provide the finest technical documentation. This item is a hard-back book with 440 pages of detailed and factual information. After a brief foreword and an explanation of abbreviations used, we find three main headings; The world's great powers, coast defence navies and minor navies. Under each of these headings all the relevant ships are then listed by country. Displayed by "class" of ship, each section then commences with the largest vessels operated by that country and progresses all the way down to the smallest craft with the oldest ships appearing first. For each class there is one or more line drawings which have become Conway's trademark. These are followed by all the usual technical details; Displacement, dimensions, machinery, armour, armament and complement followed by the names of each ship within that class - it's builder, date laid down, date completed and fate. Each of these is accompanied by a very "readable" text from which we learn of the political intrigue of the day, variations between vessels, refits, new equipment, whatever defects or other problems that beset either the class or a specific ship and a short résumé of the fate of each vessel.

The book is well illustrated with an excellent selection of historic black and white original photographs throughout with at least one picture on almost every page. In summary, this is an excellent technical work of reference and one which will continue to stand the test of time. Put another way, this is one of those books you will wish you had bought - after it becomes out of print.

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