Customer Reviews

Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Cruisers of World War 2 is a compilation of all the cruisers in existence during World War 2. All operational details and a history of cruisers of the major combatatants and neutral powers is included. The photo selection is good and the coverage of ships belonging to neutral contries is welcome- I bet most people didn't know that Argentina had three modern cruisers in commision during World War 2- two Italian designed and built heavy cruisers and one British built light cruiser/cadet training ship.

All in all a pretty decent reference, but the drawings are of little use except to show a basic layout- no good for modelers. Also there are some miscaptionings and factual errors, an unfortunate feature in almost all of Whitley's books. Examples- the photo captioned as HMS Dehli is of a different ship. Dehli had American pattern 5 inch guns and the ship in question still has her original British armament. Also, my copy of the book is missing the operational history of HMS Bermuda of the Fiji class. There is supposed to be a reprint which hopefully corrects these mistakes, but sloppy work should not be tolerated, especially from the Naval Institute Press.

A glance at the table of contents shows that there were a lot of cruisers in World War II! Ships are listed for 18 countries, of which Great Britain had the greatest number of distinct classes - 20 in all, although the USA had more ships. The cruisers described in this book varied enormously in size, from the Japanese Yubaris (under 3000 tons) to the massive American Alaska class - battlecruisers in all but name at 30,000 tons, and hardly inferior to the undergunned German battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. And then there were the Royal Navy's cruisers: typically medium sized, stoutly constructed to go anywhere and survive any seas, often old-fashioned in appearance but respected by friends and enemies.

This is a fine thick book that gives masses of details, together with diagrams and photographs. Quite apart from its intrinsic merit, it is ideal for flattening out curled-up papers or cardboard! As well as a bibliography and index, it has a short (4 page) introduction that gives a quick history of the cruiser type in the First and Second World Wars, and even shows the numbers of WWII cruisers lost in various ways - 10 Japanese and 20 British ships, for example, were sunk by aircraft attack.

One of the most interesting themes that emerges is the naval architects' frenzied quest for the ideal compromise between speed, striking power, protection and range. For a while, this was further complicated by the requirements of the Washington treaty with its (often infringed) 10,000 ton limit. The German Hipper class weighed in at 14,500 tons; the Italian Zaras at 11,700; and the Japanese Tone and Chikuma at 11,200. Sometimes there was a price to pay - the Hippers' machinery was prone to break down, and several of the larger Japanese cruisers were lacking in hull strength and stability. The Zaras, ironically enough, had nearly twice as much armour as the preceding Trento class; ironically because, when they were put to the test, it was by the 15-inch guns of Admiral Cunningham's battleships at Matapan, and they might just as well have been wrapped in tissue paper.

Although the coverage of most classes described is thorough and detailed, one or two mysteries remain. For instance, what were the circumstances surrounding "the loss of Tomozuru on 12 March 1934"? Tomozuru itself is not listed in this book, no doubt because it was lost before the outbreak of the Second World War.

British patriots and admirers of the Royal Navy will be delighted to read of the achievements of British cruisers, of which the Battles of the River Plate, First and Second Sirte, the Barents Sea and North Cape were only the tip of the iceberg. As Alastair Maclean noted in his best-selling debut novel "HMS Ulysses", the battleships might be bigger and stronger, but the cruisers did most of the actual patrolling and fighting - and dying.

For naval enthusiasts - especially those interested in the Second World War - this book is not to be missed.

Cruisers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia is a good reference on the cruisers of all the combatant nations of World War 2. All details are given concerning number of ships in the class, dimensions, weapons, operational history, and final disposition. The selection of photos is good; however as a modeler's reference, it falls short, primarily because the drawings are basic, showing little detail. A word of caution; in my copy of this book, the operational history of HMS Jamaica of the British Fiji class is not included.

Given the general paucity of cruiser information, this may be the most important of Whitley's encyclopedias. As with his battleship book, the drawings are perfunctory. But the book succeeds on the basis of its concentration of data--not microscopic in detail but broad in scope. No other single volume competes with this handy book, and you definitely get your dollar's worth. You could spend twice as much on a Conway's, but you still won't have the fundamental appreciation of design features you get from Whitley.

All the cruisers of 18 countries are covered, with a representive photo or drawing of each class, and listings of all vessels within that class along with date laid down, launch and completion dates, and ultimate fate.
Vital statistics given include displacement, length and beam, machinery and performance details, range, armor, guns, torpedoes, aircraft and complement. In addition, design features, modifications, and service histories are provided in brief but comprehensive narrative sections.
This fine achievement by a noted naval expert deserves a place on the permanent bookshelf of naval history students, WWII buff, modellers, and cruiser veterans of all nations.

(The numerical rating above is an ineradicable feature of the format of the site. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

Cruisers is another in Whitely's series on warships of World War II--and one that is particularly needed. The cruisers of the Royal Hellenic Navy should have been included, thought. If the Brazilian and Chilean relics were included, certainly Hellas and, particularly, Averoff, should have been.

As far as i'm concerned Cruisers were the major force in naval battles during WW2 and this book is a great refernce to all those built pre war and during the war.

The author gives great detail with photo's and drawings. it is a great buy used if you can find it buy a copy.

I have set up the purchasing of my library of books into basically two catagories. First
category is basically on logistics/beginnings, and the second on historical info regarding
war involvement, dates, personnel and revealing the fate of said ship or operation.
I enjoyed said book and how everything was categorized/rated. Very informative and easy
to understand.