The First Destroyers (Chatham Shipshape Series) [Hardcover]

David Lyon (Author), John Roberts (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Chatham Shipshape Series | Publication Date: March 1997

The Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBDs) of the 1890s--the first destroyers--were among the most glamorous naval vessels ever built. With their remarkable speed, their connotations of David and Gliath, and their initial deployment against the Royal Navy’s traditional enemy, the French, they caught the public imagination, while the command of one was coveted by all young naval officers. Drawing on Admiralty documents and plans, the author has compiled a brilliant collection of data on the early development of these vessels up to the River class of 1900. He also looks at the German response and the development in the US, particularly the Bainbridge class with its distinct raised forecastle. With its superb plans and drawings and entirely original research, this book is an essential reference for all naval historians, enthusiast and modelmakers with an interest in the development of one of the twentieth century’s most exciting warships.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

The First Destroyers provides an in-depth history based on original sources of the Torpedo Boat Destroyers of the 1890s - the first ever built. Admiralty documents and plans are used to reveal the history and development of these vessels. Plenty of photos, diagrams and descriptions enhance an excellent coverage. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author

DAVID LYON spent his working life at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, here for over twenty years he looked after the huge ships’ plans collection before becoming Curator of Naval Ordnance, then Head of Enquiries and finally Chief of Research of the Maritime Information Centre. He served in the Royal Navy Reserve and having qualified as a diving officer, was instrumental in the development of underwater archaeology in Britain, diving on the Mary Rose amongst others. He is a member of the Council of the Society for Nautical Research and of the Nautical Museums Trust. He has written and lectured extensively both in Britain and abroad anis many publications include The Sailing Navy List, The Denny List, Steam, Steel and Torpedoes, and Sea Battles in Close-up: The Nelson Era. He has first-hand experience of all manner of craft and now shares with his wife a double-ended yole, which they sail in the Thames estuary. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557502714
• ISBN-13: 978-1557502711
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,587,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entering the time, October 29, 2006

By 

Alexander T. Gafford "alex" (Midland, Ga United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The First Destroyers (Paperback)

The first thing to point out about this work is how narrow the focus is. The transition from torpedo "boat" to the destroyer class of warship in the Royal Navy is the subject. References to development outside England are only to contextualize the main subject. What is remarkable about this book is the way extensive quotations from contemporary documents and reproduction of original plans and drawings take one into the period. After a read of this book, I found myself in the late Victorian - Edwardian period. Well, not actually... but the thought and speech patterns did tend to stick with me a bit.
Very clear from the text is the relatively unsatisfactory nature of these transistional weapons systems. They sound like ghastly seaboats, imposing stresses on personnel that would violate the Geneva Conventions on treatment of prisoners. No doubt the sailors and their officers were tough and hardened in a way we do not imagine men of our era to be but the effects of repetitive motions, extreme temperatures, and limited rest on the physical and mental combat effectiveness of human beings are an objective reality. In addition, the limited range and primitive fire control systems meant that to deliver any ordnance against an enemy, suicidally short ranges to heavily armed warships would result. It is a good thing for the crews of these craft that no war actually took place while they were in first line service.
Of further interest is the insight into procurement and development contracts between the Royal Navy and private yards of the era, shown by the extensive documentary quotations referred to above. The issues remain the same now as then and only the people have changed, not the positions their roles and responsibilities put them in.
In summary this is probably not a book for the general browser into naval history but for someone with a specific research topic or need in mind.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent appraisal of the original TBDs., November 6, 1999

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This review is from: The First Destroyers (Chatham Shipshape Series) (Hardcover)

David Lyon writes an interesting book, and reproduces about as much as is possible on the elements in the rapid development of the English TBD. The gaps in this work are caused by the gaps in the Royal Navy records, not by David Lyon. I look forward to successors to this work.