The Heavy Cruiser Takao (Anatomy of the Ship) [Hardcover]

Janusz Skulski (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1994

The Takao class of Japanese heavy cruisers was approved in the 1927-31 Programme, and the Takao was the first of four vessels launched between May 1930 and April 1931. These were genuinely aggressive ships, being fast, heavily armed with both guns and torpedos, and well-protected. They saw much action in the Pacific War between 1941 and 1945, but Takao, having survived a torpedo attack during the Leyte Gulf battle preliminaries, was sunk by a British midget submarine in Singapore Harbour. The 'Anatomy of the Ship' series aims to provide the finest documentation of individual ships and ship types ever published. What makes the series unique is a complete set of superbly executed line drawings, both the conventional type of plan as well as explanatory views, with fully descriptive keys. These are supported by technical details and a record of the ship's service history.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Janusz Skulski is widely acknowledged as one of the world's leading naval draughtsmen and historians. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (August 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557503540
• ISBN-13: 978-1557503541
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,563,670 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book by Skulski, December 25, 1999

By 

wonderrat "wonderrat" (Mountain View, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heavy Cruiser Takao (Anatomy of the Ship) (Hardcover)

Janusz Skulski is probably one of the foremost IJN experts outside of Japan and his books are known for their meticulous research and first class drawings. Skulski uses sources in Japan with ties to the IJN and this is reflected in his books. This effort on the cruiser Takao is probably his best effort, with more information than the Yamato book (of course, the Yamato was sunk and information on her is sparse-Takao survived the war, albeit in a damaged state) and none of the editing flaws which marred his latest book on the Fuso.

The drawings are worth the price of the book and contain enough information for the modeler to scratchbuild or improve the only Takao model on the market, which is a pretty bad one. A must for any ship modeler or historian, especially since the only other book comparable to this one is written in Japanese.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars My Thoughts (for whatever they're worth), December 2, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (San Diego, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heavy Cruiser Takao (Anatomy of the Ship) (Hardcover)

Janusz Skulski's second contributation to the "Anatomy of the Ship" series, I thought that this was a bit more polished than the "Yamato" volume. These two books together are one of the best English-language resources (that I am aware of) for WWII Japanese navy vessels. This book has everthing; from profiles of the ship as it appeared in its career, down to the rivet patterns used to assemble the hull, all in scaled drawings.