Entering service between 1937 and 1939, the ten British “Town” class cruisers were the most modern vessels of their type in the Royal Navy when World War II began. Built in response to large 6-inch gunned cruisers in the U.S. and Japanese navies and primarily designed for the defense of trade, they saw arduous service in a wide range of ...
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British Town Class Cruisers
"Southampton and Belfast Classes: Design, Development and Performance"
Available Formats: Hardcover
Cruiser Birmingham
Detailed in the Original Builders' Plans
The technical details of British warships were recorded in a set of plans produced by the builders on completion of every ship. Known as the “as fitted” general arrangements, these drawings documented the exact appearance and fitting of the ship as it entered service.
Today these plans form part of the incomparable collection of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
Andrew Foote
Civil War Admiral on Western Waters
This biography traces the life and career of one of the U.S. Navy’s first admirals, Andrew Hull Foote. As flag officer of the Union’s western naval forces, Foote was a key figure in the February 1862 Union victories at Forts Henry and Donelson in Tennessee and helped open the Confederate heartland to the Union.
Available Formats: Softcover
Destined for Glory
"Dive Bombing, Midway, and the Evolution of Carrier Airpower"
On 4 June 1942, three squadrons of U.S. Navy Dauntless dive bombers destroyed Japan's carrier force sent to neutralize Midway, changing the course of the war in the Pacific. As Thomas Wildenberg convincingly demonstrates in this book, the key ingredient to the navy's success at Midway was the planning and training devoted to the tactic of dive bombing over the ...
Available Formats: Softcover
British Fiji Class Cruisers and their Derivatives
The Fiji-class, often called the “Colony” class, cruisers were a class of eleven light cruisers of the Royal Navy that saw extensive service throughout World War II. They were an attempt to incorporate the characteristics of the preceding “Town” class within the reduced 8,000-ton limit agreed under the 1936 London Treaty. In general layout, Colony class resembled the earlier ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
On Operations
Operational Art and Military Disciplines
On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines traces the history of the development of military staffs and ideas on the operational level of war and operational art from the Napoleonic Wars to today, viewing them through the lens of Prussia/Germany, the Soviet Union, and the United States. B. A. Friedman concludes that the operational level of war should be rejected ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
The Origins of Aegis
Eli T. Reich, Wayne Meyer, and the Creation of a Revolutionary Naval Weapons System
This book provides readers with an in-depth understanding of the professional development of two notable and highly accomplished naval officers and their contributions to the development of the Aegis Weapons System. The main argument is that there was no single career path or set of formal qualifications for achieving excellence in the naval profession as characterized by selection for Flag ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
On Tactics
A Theory of Victory in Battle
On Tactics is intended to be the remedy to the chaotic and thus far unformed realm of tactical theory and to answer questions like the one above. Part One of the book will establish a tactical system meant to replace the Principles of War checklist. First, the contextual role of tactics with regards to strategy and war will be established ...
Available Formats: Softcover
Hot Spot of Invention
"Charles Stark Draper, MIT, and the Development of Inertial Guidance and Navigation"
Charles Stark Draper, often referred to as “The Father of Inertial Navigation,” was the moving force behind the development of the floated gyroscope in the United States. Engineer, scientist, inventor, inspiring teacher, and dynamic leader, Draper founded the laboratory that brought inertial navigation to fruition for operational use in submarines, aircraft, and space vehicles. These factors alone make him worthy ...
Available Formats: Hardcover
Billy Mitchell's War with the Navy
The Interwar Rivalry Over Air Power
When Billy Mitchell returned from WWI, he brought with him the deep-seated belief that air power had made navies obsolete. However, in the years following WWI, the U.S. Congress was far more interested in disarmament and isolationist policies than in funding national defense. For the military services this meant lean budgets and skeleton operating forces. Billy Mitchell’s War with the ...
Available Formats: Softcover