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Angus Konstam
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British Aircraft Carriers 1939-45: 168 (New Vanguard) Paperback – Illustrated, 10 July 2010

by Angus Konstam (Author), Tony Bryan (Illustrator)
4.4 out of 5 stars 104 ratings
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With war against Germany looming, Britain pushed forward its carrier program in the late 1930s. In 1938, the Royal Navy launched the HMS Ark Royal, its first-ever purpose-built aircraft carrier. This was quickly followed by others, including the highly-successful Illustrious class. Smaller and tougher than their American cousins, the British carriers were designed to fight in the tight confines of the North Sea and the Mediterranean. Over the next six years, these carriers battled the Axis powers in every theatre, attacking Italian naval bases, hunting the Bismark, and even joining the fight in the Pacific. This book tells the story of the small, but resilient, carriers and the crucial role they played in the British war effort.
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  1. Part of series
    New Vanguard
  2. Print length
    48 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Osprey Publishing
  5. Publication date
    10 July 2010
  6. Dimensions
    18.29 x 0.31 x 25.17 cm
  7. ISBN-10
    1849080798
  8. ISBN-13
    978-1849080798
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From the Publisher

1

2

Full colour battlescenes

Beautifully illustrated battlescenes are included to bring the narrative of the conflict to life.

3

Cutaway diagrams

Specially commissioned full colour illustrations are included alongside labels and comprehensive captions to give a full breakdown of the machines and ships used in battle.

4

Photographs

Each volume features a wide range of photographs, which provide unparalleled detail of the uniforms and weaponry used by the combatants.

5

Product description

Review

An altogether interesting and readable offering from Osprey. --Miniature Wargames

Book Description

The developmental, design and operational history of some of the most remarkable vessels in the Royal Navy's arsenal in WWII.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Osprey Publishing; 1st edition (10 July 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 48 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1849080798
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1849080798
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 18.29 x 0.31 x 25.17 cm
  • Customer reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 104 ratings

About the author

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Angus Konstam

Angus Konstam

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With over 50 history books in print, Angus is a widely recognised and much-published historian. While he specialises in military and naval history he has also written numerous more general history books, designed to make the subject more accessible to a wider audience. Uniquely he has been able to draw on his expertise as a senior museum curator who has worked on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as on his academic training as a historian and as a maritime archaeologist.

His latest book is a full-length biography: Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate, which is published by Wiley & Sons. of New York (June 2006)

Angus is also just finished writing a history of the Allied landings at Salerno in September 1943 for the British publisher Pen & Sword, and he is currently working on a new project, with the working title of Supership: The Quest for the Renaissance Battleship.

Angus lives in Edinburgh, in Scotland.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
104 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book to be a great source of information and appreciate its detailed content, with one review mentioning copious drawings and photographs. The writing quality receives positive feedback, with one customer describing it as a fascinating read.

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7 customers mention ‘Information quality’7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a great source of information, with one customer noting it provides a relatively basic account of these vessels.

"...Small an compact with everything you want to know." Read more

"Great reference material with copious drawings and photographs." Read more

"A relatively basic account of these vessels. Details of their design & construction quiet good, their wartime duties very brief." Read more

"...Full of information with a potted WW2 history of each ship, many photographs and some good artwork...." Read more

5 customers mention ‘Detail’5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's detailed content, with one customer noting its copious drawings and photographs, while another highlights the brilliant paintings by Tony Bryan.

"Great reference material with copious drawings and photographs." Read more

"A relatively basic account of these vessels. Details of their design & construction quiet good, their wartime duties very brief." Read more

"...Full of information with a potted WW2 history of each ship, many photographs and some good artwork...." Read more

"...Good photographs,brilliant paintings by Tony Bryan,these are not spread over two pages,this is done only to the cutaway of H.M.S.Illustrious." Read more

4 customers mention ‘Writing quality’4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality of the book, with one customer describing it as a fascinating read and another noting it is full of history.

"Brilliant book, full of history but its not a big book full of pages. Small an compact with everything you want to know." Read more

"Well written history of the fleet carriers in R.N. service during the second world war,the development of the carrier between the wars is covered,..." Read more

"good reading" Read more

"A fascinating read..." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • gary
    5.0 out of 5 stars British aircraft carriers 1939 - 1945
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Brilliant book, full of history but its not a big book full of pages. Small an compact with everything you want to know.
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  • The Manxman
    5.0 out of 5 stars Osprey New Vanguards
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 August 2023
    Verified Purchase
    Great reference material with copious drawings and photographs.
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  • Colin60
    4.0 out of 5 stars it is limited in the information,
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 December 2021
    Verified Purchase
    the book covers british aircraft carriers but it does not go into much detail, there is not a lot of pages
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating read
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 September 2024
    Verified Purchase
    It gave me enough information without going into too fine a detail
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  • Mr. W. L.
    3.0 out of 5 stars Details of their design & construction quiet good, their wartime duties very brief
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 17 February 2015
    Verified Purchase
    A relatively basic account of these vessels. Details of their design & construction quiet good, their wartime duties very brief.
    Helpful
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  • Penelope
    5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent addition to the series
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 September 2012
    Verified Purchase
    Having previously reviewed Heavy Cruisers and the Battleship pair in this series, this one arrived and I wasn't disappointed. Full of information with a potted WW2 history of each ship, many photographs and some good artwork. On first reading could not find any obvious errors so if you want a book that goes into the minutest detail go buy a £30 volume, for me, for the price, I recommend this one. Battlecruisers is on the way and Light Cruisers is due out this month (Sept 2012). I wonder what the practicalities are of producing a similar issue on Destroyers? Would no doubt need several parts but we can live in hope.......please!!!!!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • David McIntyre
    5.0 out of 5 stars Well Written
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 July 2011
    Verified Purchase
    Well written history of the fleet carriers in R.N. service during the second world war,the development of the carrier between the wars is covered,then a description of flight deck operations followed by a wartime service history of each carrier,for a book of 48 pages these are very detailed.The final chapter gives the specifications and builders yard of each ship.Good photographs,brilliant paintings by Tony Bryan,these are not spread over two pages,this is done only to the cutaway of H.M.S.Illustrious.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Big john
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great source of information
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 August 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Great book for reference, if you are a serious modeller this book is a great source of information.
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Giuseppe Andrei
    5.0 out of 5 stars Portaerei Britanniche nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale
    Reviewed in Italy on 12 December 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Semplice, quanto ottima monografia della Osprey tradotta in Italiano sulle portaerei Britanniche nella Seconda Guerra Mondiale, riccamente dotata di disegni, foto, dati, Una pubblicazione da non perdere per appassionati di storia e wargamer.
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  • Jack D Kendall
    5.0 out of 5 stars Lots of very good photos, many of which I'd never seen
    Reviewed in the United States on 21 September 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Very well written, but brief (which is kind of the point, these books are small) narrative of the British carriers that participated in WWII. Lots of very good photos, many of which I'd never seen. A good overview of construction as well as battle history is included. The book focuses on the ships themselves - there isn't much commentary on the aircraft other than which planes the ships carried.

    Angus Konstam is one of my favorite Osprey Pub writers. If you are looking for a concise overview of British carriers, or if you have a library full of Osprey's books, this is a great one to add.
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  • Scott Bailey
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read
    Reviewed in the United States on 29 March 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Another subject matter that is not covered in much detail. After reading you get this history of ship and the battles that it fought at. You see the development from early ships to a better more robust type of ship deleloped toward the end of WW2. Great colored drawing and pictures. One little know aspect of this, is a few ship of this class are actually sunk.
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  • Stone Dog
    4.0 out of 5 stars British WWII Carriers
    Reviewed in the United States on 18 October 2014
    Verified Purchase
    This New Vanguard #168 is a good overview of British carriers that participated in WWII. Author Angus Konstam provides a fairly good chronicle of British carriers as they evolved and were employed in WWII.

    The author begins the story in WWI when the Royal Navy led the way in naval aviation. The earliest carriers were battleships or cruisers with makeshift decks above the forward turrets and, sometimes, the aft turrets. After experience showed these hybrids to be dangerous, they altered hulls to make the first "true" carriers with a flight deck that was the length of the craft.

    Konstam then delves into the interwar period in which warship design was constrained by naval treaties. Even as the US Navy converted two battlecruiser hulls into the Lexington and Saratoga and the Japanese converted a hull into Akagi, the British converted existing hulls into carriers. As war clouds darkened in Europe, the Royal Navy planned purpose built ships that became the Illustrious class carriers. All weapons design is a tradeoff in attributes and this new class carriers would trade capacity in terms of number of aircraft for armored protection. In this era, the Royal Navy made the decision that instead of carrying enough fighters to protect their carrier, they would simply button up and depend solely on AA guns and the ships' own armor to defeat an enemy attack.

    Although the British carriers were certainly better protected than their American or Japanese counterparts, they could carry far fewer aircraft. The Illustrious class was restricted to only 36 aircraft (not including a deck park) while American and Japanese carriers could carry 70-100. The author delves into British designs for ships planned during the war, but finished after hostilities ceased. I would point out that this book does not cover escort carriers for the simple reason that they were not British - the RN employed American escort carriers provided under Lend Lease and would not apply to this book.

    I think the author covers a lot of ground quite well if you consider that this type book can only serve as an overview. I would have liked the author to mention aircraft since the RN had only obsolete or unsuitable types and had to rely on American Lend Lease Avengers, Wildcats, Hellcats and Corsairs for the majority of their carrier aircraft by the end of the war.

    This book does a decent job of introducing the reader to WWII Royal Navy carriers and I recommend it to those interested with four stars.
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  • Michael E. Stiles
    3.0 out of 5 stars British Aircraft Carriers 1939-1945
    Reviewed in the United States on 12 September 2010
    Verified Purchase
    A little disappointed in content...or perhaps I should say, lack of content. Good book for fleet carriers and light fleet carriers, but their was no information concerning escort, assault, or strike carriers. The name of the book is British Aircraft Carriers...not British Fleet Carriers, so I believe the lack of any data concerning the escort, assault, and strike carriers makes the title misleading. Yet, it could have been so easy to correct such an oversight if only Osprey had knowledgable editors.
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