Product Description

Fully updated and presented in colour throughout, this Conway Classic is a comprehensive study of the world's capital ships from the emergence of Dreadnought in 1906 to the decommissioning of the last two of the US Iowa class - New Jersey and Winsconsin - scheduled for 2007/2008. For fifty years battleships represented the military might and pride of their countries. They threatened, they impressed, they surprised in a way no other symbol could. Their like will never be seen again, as large surface ships are no longer considered practical in the missile age.This new edition provides the technical data, gives the design background and outlines the careers of the world's battleships and battlecruisers. Organised by nation, type and class, each entry contains a wealth of technical detail and extensive data on every vessel; each class or single ship is illustrated with a line diagram of the ship in profile and a photograph.It is a Conway classic that has been fully updated. It is presented for the first time in colour. It is the definitive battleship reference book. It features over 500 photographs and diagrams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18026 in Books
• Published on: 2008-10-20
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

Customer Reviews

Finally, the definitive work!
Combining the talents of some of the world's finest experts on Battleships with a combination of excellent photography, accurate line drawings and classic artwork, I do believe this is the definitive work to a type of vessel which was once the greatest warship of all time - the Battleship. This revised edition of a hugely successful book has been expanded from 190 to 240 pages and now allows all enthusiasts to find almost all the information they might require in a single book.

Towards the end of the 19th Century, the world's first great arms race was in full swing. When either Britain or Germany (the two largest navies in the world at that time) built a big battleship - so the other side simply produced one that was even bigger. This attitude towards weapons supremacy has since been adopted by other nations. As far as battleships were concerned, that race expanded and continued right up to 1937 with the design and building of the ultimate Battleship of all time - the Yamato with it's 18.1 in. guns. It is a lamentable fact that none of the former great battleships built by Britain, Germany and Japan have been preserved for posterity.

Conway's are well known for their factual books on ships - especially warships, in which they provide the finest technical documentation. In this instance, we have a large hard-back book crammed full of detail. The 15 countries which, at one time or another, operated battleships are listed in alphabetical order where the individual vessels are then displayed by class - commencing with the earliest, culminating with the latest. Each class is described in technical and historic detail with line drawings. This is supported by what can only be described as photography of an outstanding an exceptional standard plus a fair amount of extraordinary artwork.

The detail itself includes all the technical information; Displacement, dimensions, machinery, armour, armament, complement etc, followed by the names of each ship within that class, it's builder, date laid down, date completed and destiny. There is also a very useful (and very readable) potted history from which we learn of any political intrigue, variations between vessels, refits, new equipment, whatever defects or other problems may have beset either the class or a specific ship and a short résumé of the fate of each vessel.

In my view, this book is where each and every person with either an interest in the overall subject of battleships or, perhaps, a specific ship should start their own personal journey of research - if only because "all" the information really is here. The most important factors, however, are that I have thoroughly enjoyed this book and I shall also enjoy returning to it again and again as my own research continues. In addition, the photography is simply amazing and is so varied it serves to underline the degree of effort which has gone into this excellently crafted work.

NM

Probably the best overall view of the world's Dreadnoughts
This book has a good pedigree. Originally extracted and expanded in 1987 from the definitive Conway's Fighting Ships series into a specific battleship book, this is a new gestation.

A new 12 page introduction to Dreadnought development by Ian Sturton, a makeover of the layout and numerous new illustrations have expanded this from the rather austere look of it's predecessors into a more complete book.

I liked:-
The introduction - the original had none.
The new photographs - an extremely good choice
The larger print.
The overall "feel" of the book

I disliked:-
The introduction of colour - mainly artist drawn and of very dubious value to a reference work.
The lack of revision to the text beyond the introduction. The book has always been a model of accuracy but no book is perfect and some corrections should have been made. For example the Japanese Yamato class are still credited with an aircraft lift, and modern knowledge of WWII Italian major gun accuracy has been ignored.

But if you want one good book on the Dreadnoughts of the world - this is the one to buy.