Product Description

"The Anatomy of the Ship" series provides documentation of individual ships and ship types. The books are illustrated with line drawings, both the conventional type of plan as well as explantory views, with fully descriptive keys. These are supported by technical details and a record of the ship's service history. HMS "Warspite" was arguably one of the finest capital ship designs of all time. "Warspite" and her four sister ships of the "Queen Elizabeth" class were the prototypes of the modern fast battleship, the ultimate development of the "Dreadnought" type. "Warspite" had one of the most active and successful fighting careers. Her service spanned two generations from Jutland in 1916, the last great surface engagement between battle fleets, where she received many hits, to the dawn of the missile age (she was badly damaged by a guided bomb in 1943), with battle honours that also included Narvik, Matapan and the D-Day landings. The "Old Lady", as she was affectionaly known during World War II, was finally approved for breaking up in 1946.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #589198 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 120 pages

About the Author
Ross Watton's artistic career started whilst serving in the Royal Navy. In 1977 he won first prize in a competition to design a First Day Cover for the Silver Jubilee Fleet Reviw. After leaving the Navy in 1981 he trained as a technical illustrator, working on illustrations of HMS Belfast, which developed into his first contribution to the Anatomy series. The Cruiser Belfast.

Customer Reviews

Everything you need to know about this ship.
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