Flottes de Combat 1972
Henri Le Masson (ed.). Paris: Editions Maritimes et D’Outre-Mer, 1971. 440 pp. Illus.
Reviewed by Richard F. Cross, III
(Mr. Cross is a 1944 graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering. He has been connected with advanced seaplane design, nuclear seaplane studies, avionics and surface weapon systems, integrated combat system, and with the Navy's DX program. He was formerly Manager, Advanced Ship Systems, Pomona Division, of the General Dynamics Corporation, and is now a consultant on naval architectural matters.)
The 1972 edition of Henri Le Masson’s Flottes de Combat brings this biannual review of the world’s fighting fleets up to the fall of 1971. Although smaller in overall dimension, this French language volume is very much like Jane’s Fighting Ships in format, but with no separate ship silhouette sections. It does have the disconcerting habit of fitting extra photographs in wherever there is space, rather than in the ship classes where they belong. While the whole book is in French, it is possible for the non-French reader to understand most of the statistics and some of the text. Le Masson’s introduction is presented in both French and English, and there is a helpful pair of pages which give English equivalents for the more important naval terms and statistics. All countries are arranged in alphabetical order, except France, which comes first, a practice long since abandoned by the other world annuals.
Henri Le Masson’s foreword is a competent, up-to-date summary of world naval progress, perhaps not as incisive as that in the 1970 edition. One point he makes is the Russian Navy’s growing interest in specialized support ships, as evidenced by the new Boris Chilikin, sort of an AOR, Soviet style. She provides the Russian fleet, finally, with alongside underway replenishment. Le Masson points out that the U. S. Navy’s support fleet is one of its vital assets in maintaining its worldwide commitments, and these ships are increasingly becoming highly specialized craft. The British Navy, although reduced to a poor third in size, has done an equally thorough job of maintaining an efficient fleet of support ships which they use intensively to allow maximum exposure of their diminishing numbers of combatant ships. The Russians now seem about to follow this lead. They have specialized support ships for their submarines; and now they are needed if their surface fleet is to become truly ocean-going in capability.
As in 1970, Flottes de Combat is particularly strong in its coverage of the French and Soviet navies. In the French section, there are the first pictures of the new 3,500-ton Aconit, a French equivalent of the DE-1040 class, but with variable depth sonar and the French-developed Malafon ASW missile rather than AsRoc. This ship, of which there will be just one, has been succeeded by the new Duguay Trouin class of three ships, now under construction. These are 2,000 tons larger (5,500 tons), 4 knots faster (31 knots), and have two screws, rather than one when compared to the Aconit. Also, the Duguay Trouin will carry the new Lynx ASW helicopter, now completing development and a possible candidate for the ultimate U. S. LAMPS vehicle. These three large ships, plans of which are included, also will carry the Exocet, France’s popular new surface-to-surface missile, and will be connected electronically by means of SENIT, the French naval tactical data system (NTDS), to the small, modern French carrier task force. This is comprised of the two new, small carriers Foch and Clemenceau; two AAW frigates with impressive electronics, and now the three ASW destroyers, really French DD-963s but smaller. All of these are backed up by the thoroughly-modernized older destroyers of the Surcouf class.
France also is building new 1,300-ton diesel-powered escorts which will reach operational status starting in 1974. These ships are designed to have considerable appeal to many of the world’s smaller navies and are thus a viable commercial product. France, like the British, is doing well in exporting her designs, having sold a number of submarines of the 700-ton Daphne class to South Africa, Pakistan, Portugal, and Spain. Now the French have developed a new 1,200-ton boat, four of which they have ordered themselves, but which is very available to the Free World. There is stiff competition, however, from comparable German and English designs, several of which have been sold to the Greeks, Turks, and South Americans. Flottes covers all of this.
In addition, France has done well in exporting high-performance, 250-ton missile-carrying small craft, derivatives of its La Combattante experimental boat. Twelve have gone to Israel, four to Greece, and 20 to Germany. There are pictures of all the boats except the Germans’, which are currently under construction. All carry Exocet surface-to-surface missiles except the Israeli craft, which mount their own Gabriel.
Russian coverage is, as usual, very good. Specific data on the Soviet ship classes, however, is much more available now, thanks to the NATO navies and the Soviets themselves. All have been quite free with good Russian ship pictures—unfortunately, seldom individually identified—all tending to prove the old axiom that secrecy hides weakness, not strength. The Russians appear anxious to make each ship play as many roles as possible, and thus are constantly changing hull numbers, much to the consternation of ship watchers. Flottes provides good coverage of Russian submarines with both photographs and drawings, the new Charlie, Yankee, and Victor classes all being included. Thus one can determine that the Soviet submarine recently in trouble off Newfoundland was one of the nuclear-powered H-class missile boats. There is good picture coverage of the new Kresta II DLGs with their unusual missile armament and associated fire control equipment. Mentioned, but not shown, are the recently-revealed 3,900-ton Krivak-class destroyers, reportedly planned for mass production, and which have surface-to-surface missiles but with no concession to aircraft support, and the 800-ton Nanuchka class. The last appears to be the successor to the numerous Osa class missile boats. Thus Russia keeps everyone guessing with its distinctive new designs. Le Masson, however, points out weaknesses in Soviet amphibious force capability, and the Russians still have to put together a surface fleet capable of sustained operations away from shore-based air support.
Late information is provided on several other navies. As an example, there is a drawing of the two modified Claude [sic] Jones destroyer escorts that are being completed by Turkey. There are also good photographs of the four Iranian Mark 5 frigates—outstanding designs, which overwhelm the four new U. S.-supplied Iranian frigates. There is appropriate photographic coverage of India’s navy, which, like that of Indonesia, is now comprised of warships from both the Free World and the Communist bloc. The Spanish Navy, with help from the United States, has finally completed its two latest destroyers (under construction for 19 years) and the photographs show them looking very much like FRAM II destroyers. Spain has moved much more expeditiously on its new U. S.-designed DEGs, however, half of which have been launched.
All in all, Flottes de Combat 1972 is an excellent book, at about half the price of Jane’s, and often with more information—if you happen to read French. There is a hazard, though, if you are thinking of ordering directly from France. I still have not received my 1970 edition (also a good year), for which I had to pay in advance.
Professional Reading
Compiled by Robert A. Lambert, Associate Editor
Aircraft of the Vietnam War
Lou Drendel. New York: Arco, 1971. 64 pp. Illus. $3.95 (paper).
Over 135 photographs and paintings, plus brief text, chronicle the wide variety of Army, Navy, Marine, and Air Force fighters, bombers, reconnaissance, and support aircraft that dominated Southeast Asia.
American National Security Policies
J. Cudd Brown. University Park, Pa.: The Pennsylvania State University Libraries, 1971. 111 pp. $2.00 (paper).
Elements of national power, security issues, security decision-making, arms control, Vietnam and revolutionary war are a few of the major subject areas covered in this unannotated bibliography.
Arctic War Birds
Stephen E. Mills. Seattle, Wash.: Superior, 1971. pp. Illus. $12.95.
Although the primary purpose of this pictorial is to record military and bush flying in defense of Alaska during World War II, there is considerable space devoted to the years before and after the war.
Armoured Fighting Vehicles of the World
Christopher F. Foss. New York: Scribner’s, 1971. pp. Illus. $5.95.
The types of vehicles covered include tanks, armored cars, personnel carriers, and self-propelled guns with technical data and development history along with lists of variants and lists of user countries.
Civil-Military Relations and Militarism
Arthur D. Larson. Manhattan, Kan.: Kansas State University Library, 1971. 113 pp. $3.00 (paper).
Limited to sources in English, this bibliography provides a guide to the large amount of popular and scholarly literature on the subject appearing since World War II. While none of the entries are annotated, each of the three sections—general, United States, foreign—is preceded by a short introductory statement.
The Confederate Navy
Tom H. Wells. University, Ala.: The University of Alabama Press, 1971. 182 pp. $7.50.
The bureaucratic structure of the South’s navy is described and evaluated in demonstrating how poor administration and unimaginative leadership were largely responsible for the Navy’s failure to adequately defend a country so dependent on waterborne transport, yet equally vulnerable to water-transported attack.
Creative Naval Architecture
G. N. Hatch. London: Thomas Reed, 1971. 236 pp. Illus. £4.50.
In this text the many complex problems are worked out step-by-step through the various stages of the evolutionary process of creating a new design.
A Dictionary of Modern War
Edward Luttwak. New York: Harper & Row, 1971. 288 pp. Illus. $7.95.
This is a guide to the weapons and concepts of modern war, intended to cover the more important weapons currently in service as well as the terms, ideas, and organizations of the military and naval fields.
The Economics of Soviet Merchant-Shipping Policy
Robert E. Athay. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The University of North Carolina Press, 1971. 150 pp. $7.50.
The Soviets are becoming increasingly aware of the need to improve economic efficiency to maintain satisfactory economic growth rates. This is an assessment of the extent to which the commitment of resources to the Soviet merchant fleet is worthwhile from the standpoint of domestic economic efficiency and the impact of that fleet on world shipping.
First World War Atlas
Martin Gilbert. New York: Macmillan, 1971. 159 pp. Illus. $4.95.
This is a graphic display of factual information and statistical detail illustrating political, diplomatic, economic, and social aspects of the war, as well as the usual battle and campaign maps for land, sea, and air.
Fitz Hugh Lane
John Wilmerding. New York: Praeger, 1971. 203 pp. Illus. $15.00.
Coastal landscapes, ships, and seascapes, in various media and styles, are brought together with excerpts from letters and newspaper clippings in this biography of a mid-19th century American artist. Only ten works are reproduced in color.
The Great Battles of World War I
Jack Wren. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1971. 434 pp. Illus. $14.95.
In a large-format volume, this is a lavishly illustrated and clearly narrated history of the major land and sea battles of the Great War. The 400 photographs and paintings of this volume provide an unusual coverage of the war, which can be made nearly total if it is joined to the equally well-illustrated Great Weapons of World War I, published in 1969.
The Great Guns
Harold L. Peterson and Robert Elman. New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1971. 252 pp. Illus. $14.95.
Beauty of craftsmanship, and performance—power, reliability, accuracy—are the selection criteria used in choosing the hand gun types displayed in this splendidly photographed book, which is long on anecdote but short on technical detail.
A History of Seamanship
Douglas Phillips-Birt. New York: Doubleday, 1971. 200 pp. Illus. $14.95.
By the author’s own admission he uses only secondary sources and presents nothing new, but that is hardly a drawback, or a criticism, for the book is a clear, well-illustrated survey of man’s efforts to move across water.
Jane’s All the World’s Aircraft 1971-1972
John W. R. Taylor (ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971. 774 pp. Illus. $55.00.
In this latest edition, the Soviet section contains references to satellites which approach other spacecraft, and, having determined their purpose, are then able to destroy them, if necessary; in the U. S. “Spacecraft” section are references to satellites which are positioned in stationary orbits over the Pacific to monitor launches of Chinese and Soviet missiles. Of more than 1,500 illustrations, over half are claimed to be new, including 657 new photographs plus new three-view drawings. The review copy was slightly defective with the contents and foreword having bleed-through—other pages are not affected.
Man Across the Sea
Carroll L Riley, J. Charles Kelley, Campbell W. Pennington, Robert L. Rands (eds.). Austin, Tex.: University of Texas Press, 1971. 552 pp. Illus. $12.50.
Some 30 scholars dissect the problem of pre-Columbian contacts between the Old World and the New; no final answer is provided, but the exercise is fun.
Merchant Prince of Boston
Carl Seaburg and Stanley Paterson. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1971. 478 pp. Illus. $16.00.
This biography tells of Thomas Handasyd Perkins, one of the most successful of the China Traders, whose ships carried coffee, silk, furs, opium, and slaves; whose investments included quarries, hotels, and railroads; whose interests were art collecting and civic improvements; and whose acquaintances during the transition from the late 18th century to the middle of the next were amongst the nation’s elite.
P-51: Bomber Escort
William Hegg. New York: Ballantine, 1971. 160 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
The best all-around aircraft of World War II is the subject of this combat pictorial.
Pacific Islands and Trust Territories
Department of the Army. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971. 171 pp. Illus. $5.00 (paper).
Compiled from unclassified material, this selected bibliography reflects the strategic, political, economic, and sociological aspects that are part of the problems and prospects of this vast region; extensive map coverage is included. DA Pamphlet 550-10.
The Rape of Ethiopia 1936
A. J. Barker. New York: Ballantine, 1971. 160 pp. Illus. $1.00 (paper).
A comprehensive account of Mussolini’s campaign from the December 1934 incident at Wal Wal to the period of the Duke of Aosta’s viceroyship in 1937.
Stuka at War
Peter C. Smith. New York: Arco, 1971. 192 pp. Illus. $6.95.
With its gull-wing shape, its frightening howl as it attacked with deadly accuracy, the Junkers Ju-87 dive-bomber was the most feared weapon in the sky. This narrative-pictorial tells the story, from prototype to VE-day, of the aircraft which for a time dominated Europe and effectively challenged Allied seapower on its fringes.
The Tribals
Martin H. Brice. Annapolis, Md.: Naval Institute Press, 1971. 256 pp. Illus. $12.50.
With technical details, lists of pennant numbers, commanding officers, and also ship’s crests, individual biographies are provided for each of the 27 Tribal-class destroyers, which served in the Royal and Dominion navies from 1938 to 1969.
Underwater Handbook
London: Ministry of Defence, 1970. various pagings. Illus. £ 3.50.
Oceanographic and meteorological data—including details of seabed characteristics, wrecks and obstructions, and marine life—is shown for the western approaches to the British Isles. This volume, N.P. 625, is the second in the series, the first of which, N.P. 623 published in 1968, covered the South China and Java Seas.
Webster’s Guide to American History
Charles Van Doren and Robert McHenry (eds.). Springfield, Mass.: Merriam, 1971. 1443 pp. Illus. $14.95.
A concise history from 1492 to 1970 is presented as four references in one—a chronology, an atlas, a quotation source, and biographies of more than 1,000 personalities; there is a 75-page cross-referenced index. The book is also profusely illustrated with photographs, etchings, magazine illustrations, posters, cartoons, and maps.
Without Prejudice
C. Bradford Mitchell. New York: U. S. Salvage Assoc., 1971. 201 pp. Illus. $5.00.
This account of the 50-year history of the U. S. Salvage Association shows the evolution, from a strictly marine insurance investigative operation, to an organization that assisted with the logistics for the Normandy invasion to now aiding in the delivery of rocket boosters for moon launches and the establishment of oil fields on Alaska’s North Slope.
Yacht Designing and Planning
Howard I. Chapelle. New York: Norton, 1971. 373 pp. Illus. $15.00.
Originally published in 1936, this standard reference has been revised and enlarged to include information on the advances that have occurred in hull and rigging design and in marine engines.
RE-ISSUES
Dieppe: The Dawn of Decision
Jacques Mordal. London: Panther [1963], 1969. 288 pp. Illus. (paper).
Free as a Running Fox
T. D. Calnan. New York: Ballantine [1970]. 1971. 308 pp. $.95 (paper).
Hitler Moves East 1941-1943
Paul Carell. New York: Ballantine [1964], 1971. 691 pp. Illus. $1.65 (paper).
The Order of the Death’s Head
Heinz Hohne. New York: Ballantine [1966] 1971. 786 pp. Illus. $1.95 (paper).
Winged Legend: The Story of Amelia Earhart
John Burke. New York: Ballantine [1970], 1971. 247 pp. $.95 (paper).