Product Description

In this authoritative design history of British warships from the Washington naval treaty to the end of the Second World War, David K Brown brings the knowledge and experience of a long career as a Naval Constructor. Restricted by the inter-war naval treaties, the Royal Navy employed much ingenuity and innovation to overcome the lack of resources, and this is one of the main themes of the book. All the wartime construction programmes ar also covered, including the massive increase in convoy escorts required to fight the crucial convoy battles, and the development of an amphibious fleet of entirely original ship types. Full analysis is also provided of the lessons gleaned from wartime losses, as well as the once secret post-war damage trials. Long out of print and in great demand, this paperback edition retains the layout and all the illustrations of the hardback.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #217584 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

About the Author
DAVID K BROWN, a retired senior naval architect of the Royal Corps of Naval Constructors, is aleading expert on the history of British warships. This volume is one of a series of five highly regarded studies covering warship design since 1815, the latest of which was published in 2003 as Rebuilding the Royal Navy

Customer Reviews

Another DK Brown Classic
This is the latest (and I understand the last) in DK Brown's excellent series on British warship design. I thought his last 2 offerings (Warrior to Dreadnought and The Grand Fleet) were great, but this one is even better.

The book follows the now-standard format. The first eight chapters cover warship types I general, with one chapter devoted to each type (battleships, carriers, etc.), followed by another four chapters covering various period-specific aspects. This time they deal with modernisations, updates and scrapping, wartime damage, warship production and repair, and a discussion on "what makes a good design". There are also 20 appendices that cover other technical and background aspects in some detail.

His extensive personal knowledge on the subject (he was MOD's Deputy Chief Naval Architect) and access to MOD's design records from the period mean that he is able to go into immense detail, describing the successes and failures of the period (in the latter case he does pull his punches!). Of particular interest is the discussion on the pros and cons associated with the RN's approach to carrier design as opposed to the US approach - this is often an area for great debate, but Mr Brown offers some technical reasoning that goes beyond the arguments normally put forward. As well as describing the ships he goes into detail on damage and damage control, ship production, the various treaties limiting naval construction and some elements of basic naval architecture for the layman. The chapter on damage is particularly interesting to the wargamer and includes some impressive compilations of statistics that should serve future rule-writers well The text is clear and, whilst technical in nature, should be readily understandable to anyone with an interest in naval design, and is, as always, supported by an ample supply of photographs and diagrams. In summary an excellent production, that should be an immediate addition to any naval enthusiast's bookshelf. Highly recommended!

Another quality offering to complete the Trilogy
This is the final instalment that completes Brown's trilogy on warship design for the RN.

The formula is now familiar and highly agreeable. Brown has the ability to make technical things comprehensible to non-naval architects. Lots of new insights and a fairly sanguine view of British capability in WW2 which was nothing near the popular conception of history. Designs lagged behind, calculations had huge mistakes often un-noticed (witness the Hunt Type 1s) and there was a complete inability to see where the threat was coming from. Not a single British warship class for the whole period had an adequate air defence capability designed in.

The only criticism is the fact that Brown doesn't give us much information on the ships of any particular class: one needs to have Lenton and Colledge handy at all times - difficult when you are trying to read it on the night plane to Edinburgh! The description of the destroyers as the "xth Emergency Flotilla" rather than by letter class seems particular perverse. For this reason I can only give him 4 stars.

Nothing on Nelson class
This books title is misleading. There is nothing on Battleship design covering HMS Nelson and Rodney refering the reader to an "earlier volume".
The book it self is detailed in what it does cover, but I am dissapointed that it does not cover what I imagine would be a fasinating story of the compromises that brought about the Nelson class.
Also more comparrison with contempary foriegn ships would have been interesting.