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Gradually evolving from the masted steam frigates of the mid-nineteenth century, the first modern cruiser is not easy to define, but for the sake of this book the starting point is taken to be Iris and Mercury of 1875. They were the RN's first steel-built warships; were designed primarily to be steamed rather than sailed; and formed the basis of a line of succeeding cruiser classes. The story ends with the last armoured cruisers, which were succeeded by the first battlecruisers (originally called armoured cruisers), and with the last Third Class Cruisers (Topaze class), all conceived before 1906. Coverage, therefore, dovetails precisely with Friedman's previous book on British cruisers, although this one also includes the wartime experience of the earlier ships.rn The two central themes are cruisers for the fleet and cruisers for overseas operations, including (but not limited to) trade protection. The distant-waters aspect covers the belted cruisers, which were nearly capital ships, intended to deal with foreign second-class battleships in the Far East. The main enemies contemplated during this period were France and Russia, and the book includes British assessments of their strength and intentions, with judgements as to how accurate those assessments were.rn As would be expected of Friedman, the book is deeply researched, original in its analysis, and full of striking insights ‰ÛÒ another major contribution to the history of British warships.
“This magnificent book reinforces Norman Friedman's unparalleled reputation as a peerless author of maritime topics.”—Australian Naval Institute Gradually evolving from the masted steam frigates of the mid-nineteenth century, the first modern cruiser is not easy to define—but for the sake of this book, historian Norman Friedman takes as a starting point Iris and Mercury of 1875. They were the Royal Navy’s first steel-built warships; were designed primarily to be steamed rather than sailed; and formed the basis of a line of succeeding cruiser classes. The story progresses with the last armored cruisers, which were succeeded by the first battlecruisers (originally called armored cruisers), and with the last Third Class Cruisers (Topaze class), all conceived before 1906. While dovetailing precisely with the author's previous book on British cruisers, this one also includes the wartime experience of the earlier ships. The two central themes are cruisers for the fleet and cruisers for overseas operations, including (but not limited to) trade protection. The distant-waters aspect covers the belted cruisers, which were nearly capital ships, intended to deal with foreign second-class battleships in the Far East. The main enemies contemplated during this period were France and Russia, and the book includes British assessments of their strength and intentions, with judgments as to how accurate those assessments were. Deeply researched, original in its analysis, and full of striking insights, this is another major contribution by Norman Friedman to the history of British warships.
A comprehensive look at Royal Navy warships in the pre-dreadnought era, with extensive photos and illustrations. The Russian war scare of 1884 and the public’s anxiety about the Royal Navy’s ability to fight a modern war at sea resulted in the Naval Defense Act of 1889 and a vast program of warship construction. Over the next twenty years a fleet of 52 battleships was built, construction finally interrupted by the revolutionary Dreadnought design. In this volume, the author presents full details of design and construction, armament, protection, machinery and performance, all backed up with accurate data tables listing design figures, trials results, and full particulars at different stages in the ships’ careers. The history of each battleship is chronicled and the reader is reminded of their major contribution in the First World War. They bore the brunt of the action at the Dardenelles, bombarded the Belgium coast, patrolled the North Sea and the Channel, reinforced the Italian Fleet, and served in East Africa, the East Indies, and the White Sea. Most were extensively modified during the war and this variety has made them of special interest to the historian, enthusiast, and ship modeler. With the addition of many new photographs from the author's massive collection, this new edition is a must-have addition to every naval library.
This is a companion volume to Norman Friedman' s highly successful British Battleships 1906-1946 and completes his study of the Royal Navy's capital ships. Beginning with the earliest installation of steam machinery in ships of the line, British Battleships of the Victorian Era traces the technological revolution that saw the introduction of iron hulls, armor plate, shell-ring guns, and the eventual abandonment of sail as auxiliary propulsion. This hectic development finally settled down to a widely approved form of pre-dreadnought battleship, built in large numbers and culminating in the King Edward VII class. As with all his work, Friedman explains why, as well as how and when, advances were made, and locates British ship design firmly within the larger context of international rivalries, domestic politics, and economic constraints. The result is a sophisticated and enlightening overview of the Royal Navy's battle fleet in the latter half of the nineteenth century. British Battleships of the Victorian Era is well illustrated--a comprehensive gallery of photographs with in-depth captions is accompanied by specially commissioned plans of the important classes by A. D. Baker III, and a color section featuring the original Admiralty drafts, including a spectacular double gatefold.
A reappraisal of the late Victorian Navy, the so-called `Dark Ages', showing how the period was crucial to the emergence of new technology defined by steel and electricity. In purely naval terms, the period from 1889 to 1906 is often referred to (and indeed passed over) as the `pre-Dreadnought era', merely a prelude to the lead-up to the First World War, and thus of relatively little importance; it has therefore received little consideration from historians, a gap which this book remedies by reviewing the late Victorian Navy from a radically new perspective. It starts with the Great Near East crisis of 1878 and shows how itsaftermath in the Carnarvon Commission and its evidence produced a profound shift in strategic thinking, culminating in the Naval Defence Act of 1889; this evidence, from the ship owners, provides the definitive explanation of whythe Victorian Navy gave up on convoy as the primary means of trade protection in wartime, a fundamental question at the time. The book also overturns many assumptions about the era, especially the perception that the navy was weak, and clearly shows that the 1870s and early 1880s brought in crucial technological developments that made the Dreadnought possible.
A history of the early days of Royal Navy destroyers, and how they evolved to meet new military threats. In the late nineteenth century the advent of the modern torpedo woke the Royal Navy to a potent threat to its domination, not seriously challenged since Trafalgar. For the first time a relatively cheap weapon had the potential to sink the largest, and costliest, exponents of sea power. Not surprisingly, Britain’s traditional rivals invested heavily in the new technology that promised to overthrow the naval status quo. The Royal Navy was also quick to adopt the new weapon, but the British concentrated on developing counters to the essentially offensive tactics associated with torpedo-carrying small craft. From these efforts came torpedo catchers, torpedo-gunboats and eventually the torpedo-boat destroyer, a type so successful that it eclipsed and then usurped the torpedo-boat itself. With its title shortened to destroyer, the type evolved rapidly and was soon in service in many navies, but in none was the evolution as rapid or as radical as in the Royal Navy. This book is the first detailed study of their early days, combining technical history with an appreciation of the changing role of destroyers and the tactics of their deployment. Like all of Norman Friedman’s books, it reveals the rationale and not just the process of important technological developments.
“An extraordinarily detailed account of the development of Royal Navy cruisers . . . a towering work” from the author of Fighting the Great War at Sea (Warship 2012). For most of the twentieth century, Britain possessed both the world’s largest merchant fleet and its most extensive overseas territories. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Royal Navy always showed a particular interest in the cruiser—a multipurpose warship needed in large numbers to defend trade routes and police the empire. Above all other types, the cruiser’s competing demands of quality and quantity placed a heavy burden on designers, and for most of the interwar period, Britain sought to square this circle through international treaties restricting both size and numbers. In the process, she virtually invented the heavy cruiser and inspired the large 6in-armed cruiser, neither of which, ironically, served her best interests. This book seeks to comprehend, for the first time, the full policy background—from which a different and entirely original picture of British cruiser development emerges. After the war, the cruiser’s role was reconsidered, and the final chapters of the book cover modernizations, the plans for missile-armed ships, and the convoluted process that turned the “through-deck cruiser” into the Invincible class light carriers. With detailed appendices of ship data, and illustrated in depth with photos and A.D. Baker’s specially commissioned plans, British Cruisers truly matches the lofty standards set by Friedman’s previous books on British destroyers. “Wow! . . . Lavishly illustrated with a photograph or line plan on almost every page. The text is packed with technical information, detail, and description of design, construction and application of these important ships.” —Clash of Steel
Norman Friedman brings a new perspective to an ever-popular subject in The British Battleship: 1906–1946. With a unique ability to frame technologies within the context of politics, economics, and strategy, he offers unique insight into the development of the Royal Navy capital ships. With plans of the important classes commissioned from John Roberts and A D Baker III and a color section featuring the original Admiralty draughts, this book offers something to even the most knowledgeable enthusiast.
An “indispensable” guide to the Royal Navy’s submarines through 1945, with numerous photos and original plans (The Naval Review). The Royal Navy didn’t invent the submarine—but in 1914, Britain had the largest submarine fleet in the world, and at the end of World War I it had some of the largest and most unusual of all submarines—whose origins and designs are all detailed in this book. During the First World War they virtually closed the Baltic to German iron ore traffic, and blocked supplies to the Turkish army at Gallipoli. They were a major element in the North Sea battles, and fought the U-boat menace. During World War II, US submarines were known for strangling Japan, but lesser known is the parallel battle by British submarines in the Mediterranean to strangle the German army in North Africa. Like their US counterparts, interwar British submarines were designed largely with the demands of a possible Pacific War, though that was not the war they fought. The author also shows how the demands of such a war, fought over vast distances, collided with interwar British Government attempts to limit costs. It says much about the ingenuity of British submarine designers that they met their requirements despite enormous pressure. The author shows how evolving strategic and tactical requirements and evolving technology produced successive types of design. British submariners contributed much to the development of anti-submarine tactics and technology, beginning with largely unknown efforts before World War I. Between the wars, they exploited the new technology of sonar (Asdic), and as a result pioneered submarine silencing, with important advantages to the US Navy as it observed the British. They also pioneered the vital postwar use of submarines as anti-submarine weapons, sinking a U-boat while both were submerged. Heavily illustrated with photos and original plans and incorporating much original analysis, this book is ideal for naval historians and enthusiasts. “Sure to become the standard reference for British submarine development for years to come” —Warship
“An entertaining and informative review of the evolution of one of the most important classes of warship, from the technology of WWII into the missile age.” —Firetrench Cruisers probably vary more in their characteristics than any other warship type and have certainly been subject to the most convoluted development. There was always a basic tension between quantity and quality, between numbers and unit size, but at a more detailed level every one of the naval powers made different demands of their cruiser designers. This makes the story of cruiser evolution in the world’s major navies fascinating but complex. This book sets out to provide a coherent history of the fortunes of this ship-type in the twentieth century, beginning with a brief summary of development before the First World War and an account of a few notable cruiser actions during that conflict that helped define what cruisers would look like in the post-war world. The core of the book is devoted to the impact of the naval disarmament treaty process, which concentrated to a great extent on attempting to define limits to the numbers and size of cruisers that could be built, in the process creating the “treaty cruiser” as a type that had never existed before and that existed solely because of the treaty process. How the cruisers of the treaty era performed in the Second World War forms the final focus of this “interesting, well-written, and well-grounded” book, which concludes with a look at the fate of the cruiser-type since 1945 (Warship International). The result is probably the best single-volume account of the subject to date.