This book is thought-provoking, also controversial, and a must read for all those interested in WWII and the war at sea. The author has offered interesting fresh insights into the maids-all-work warships during the early years of the war. – Highly Recommended
NAME: British Cruiser Warfare, The Lessons of the Early War, 1939-1941 FILE: R2846 AUTHOR: Alan Raven PUBLISHER: Pen & Sword, Seaforth Publishing BINDING: hard back PAGES: 320 PRICE: £35.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War II, World War 2, Second World War, naval warfare, cruisers, light cruisers, heavy cruisers, naval architecture, technology, tactics, Royal Navy, RN
ISBN: 978-1-5267-4763-1
IMAGE: B2846.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/y3cd2uc9 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: This book is thought-provoking, also controversial, and a must read for all those interested in WWII and the war at sea. The author has offered interesting fresh insights into the maids-all-work warships during the early years of the war. – Highly Recommended The Royal Navy started WWII in remarkably good shape. After trial mobilizations for exercises early in 1939, the RN maintained this state through the start of war. As a result, warships were already on their war stations and fuel and supplies had been stockpiled at bases around the world. Warships had been taken out of reserve for recommissioning and dockyard work had speeded up on vessels undergoing refits and modernization. It was not all good news. Generally, RN warships had been poorly prepared to face air attack and much of accepted tactics came from WWI experience. The Royal Navy learned quickly and major enhancements of capability were achieved through new tactics and new weapons systems. The author has covered this learning curve, providing fresh insights but also introducing some controversy. This has been very thoroughly supported by illustration through the body of the book, with photographs, maps and charts. This is a most comprehensive review of the operation of cruisers during the important first two years of WWII. During this period, radar was introduced and revolutionized the operation of cruisers across all of their roles. It did not immediately replace catapult launched float planes and amphibians but it made them less critical, which was an important advantage as these aircraft did not fair well in a fighter-rich environment, such as in the Mediterranean. There was also a considerable strengthening of anti-aircraft guns and many improvements to gunnery control systems. While lessons were learned and equipment and weapons improved, there were also many changes in code breaking, intelligence gathering and electronic warfare that supported cruisers in their operations. This was a period of many changes and this is the first book to look closely at what it all meant to cruisers, their crews and their operations.