Although constrained by the Osprey New Vanguard series format, author David McComb has captured not just the essence of the pre-war emergence of the destroyer from the flush deck `four pipers', to reliable and survivable fighting machines, but has created a definitive reference detailing the design history and service record of the 169 vessels comprising the 10 classes of ships that succeeded the flush deck four pipers of World War I.
Mr. McComb has also captured the primary characteristics of these ships that contributed so much to the success and survivability of the Fletcher Class destroyers - the transition to high pressure systems in separate engine and boiler rooms for each shaft, enabling the ships to continue operating even after the loss of a boiler room or engine room. Mr. McComb also chronicles the stability issues arising from the increase in size and weight of the armament of these ships on treaty-limited hulls, and the measures taken to reduce topside weight, that were only fully corrected with the subsequent development of the larger-hulled Fletchers.
During my first perusal of the book, I was immediately drawn to the numerous photographs, a two-page cutaway of the USS Morris, a Sims class ship in full color, artists' renderings of the ships in action, and colored profiles illustrating camouflage of various classes developed during the pre-war years. I soon realized however, that McComb has overcome the page limitations of the Vanguard format to produce a volume that must be studied carefully to realize the depth and extent of information between its covers - much like the development of these ships overcame the constraints of the Naval Arms Limitation Conferences, It is packed with charts identifying the funding of these ships by year, each ship by hull number, design characteristics and armament of each class, construction of each class by fiscal year and the shipyard in which each ship was built, the initial squadron assignment of each ship, and identification of squadrons involved in major operations.
Additionally, a combat history of the classes is provided that illustrates the important roles these vessels played during the early war years prior to the availability of the Fletcher class destroyers, their more renowned successors, as well as their continued roles in both the European and Pacific theaters. Prior to reading this book, I had not fully appreciated the fact that even after the Fletcher class became operational, the majority of destroyer operations in the Atlantic theater continued to be conducted by the pre-war classes, as the majority of Fletchers were deployed to the Pacific as soon as they became available, and their successors, the Sumner and Gearing classes were not operational until after the war in Europe was over.
Finally, this book is not merely a cold engineering history, and operational summary, but incorporates the personal experiences of the men who operated these ships and captures their tremendous sacrifices - officers and enlisted alike - as they were truly the men who went "in harm's way" to defend the allied Army and Navy forces and to attack and destroy the enemy, even though outgunned and outnumbered.
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From the Publisher
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Full colour battlescenesBeautifully illustrated battlescenes are included to bring the narrative of the conflict to life. |
Cutaway diagramsSpecially commissioned full colour illustrations are included alongside labels and comprehensive captions to give a full breakdown of the machines and ships used in battle. |
PhotographsEach volume features a wide range of photographs, which provide unparalleled detail of the uniforms and weaponry used by the combatants. |
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Top reviews from other countries
Passarelle
Excellent book on the early US navy destroyers
Reviewed in Germany on January 13, 2021Martin81
good but basic overview of the subject
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2017
