Customer Reviews

Iowa Class Battleships: Their Design, Weapons and Equipment

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Bob Sumrall is very well known among the Naval community and this book is one of his best efforts. Of course, I am a bit prejudice as I was the structural design project leader and hull configuration manager for the reactivation of the 4 ships in the 1980's. In a way, it is a shame that the book was published before the (still debated and despised) inactivation of those tremendous Dreadnoughts. Then the author could have included their last hurrahs at Lebanon (USS NEW JERSEY) and the Arabian Gulf (USS MISSOURI and WISCONSIN). I also would like to have seen his comments on the IOWA turret II "incident". But, the book is more of an overview on the technical aspects of the ships rather than a blow by blow historical log. And that's the way it should be. Garzke and Friedman have put out books of greater technical detail, but not every reader wants that much info. Stillwell is more into the human aspects of the Battleships. Sumrall, on the other hand, justifiably ignores the personal stories but highlights the most important technical nature of the ships. Any Naval historian or student of Naval Architecture should have a copy of this book in their collection.

An authoritative monograph of such a quality is a real gem. The volume is simply stunning for the high standard it sets. The first chapter deals with the evolution of battleship design, beginning with the frame imposed by the Washington treaty and the neverending erosion of its limits. Consequently the concessions to opposing countries triggered a naval race that shaped the operational requirements for the Iowa class. This comprehensive preamble is instrumental to the chapter dedicated to narrate ships design backgrounds, development stages and construction phases. Superbly completed by snapshots at building yards and drydocks, the author delivers outstandigly all the historical details of class birth, in particular the amazing incompatibility of barbette and turret design due to different dimensions in the Service Bureaus' drawings. Armament, Fire Controls and Protection are thoroughly described; many illustrations and design sketches are available, an usefull insight of project complexity and of the inner strength of the class, true reason of its longevity.

A nice feature is printed in appendix. Many general arrangement drawings are printed full page, showing different outfits during ship career. Paintings and camouflages are very handy, since modelers can study many assembly details. For the technicalities enthusiast, internal general layouts, decks configuration, sheer, body and halfbreadth are carefully depicted.

As a naval book, this one is unrivalled for the specific warship design and history, a true masterpiece and a pleasant reading for the scholar and for the general public alike.

The authors have done a good job with this book, offering more on the techincal aspect of this class of battleships than found elsewhere. There are several color schemes shown, and details on various modifications over the years to allow more detail to come through. I do wish there had been more on the process of modernizing these ships for the last time under President Reagan, but this does not detract much if one is seeking information on the ships themselves. If used as a reference on WW2, it will not be entirely useful, but for its technical help, this book is great for modelers.

All the points previously made do hold, not sure I share the reservation on the book not having the 80's re-activation of the class, there is plenty of info online on that matter, we need more of the WWII period, which this book provides in plenty of detail.

Graphically, this is the best reference modelers can find on Big Mo and her sisters. The plan profiles given are useful, although perhaps they could have been printed on fold-outs using a bigger scale, but hey, that's a minor nit-pick. Other than that perhaps more color profiles from Walkowiak such as the one on the cover and it would been THE reference on the Iowa class.

The photograph selection is second to none, do wish some of them had been made larger, but the number given plus the depth of detail shown more than make up for it. Historical facts, service record, is only superficially covered, but based on the title of the book this wasn't the place for that. May I suggest the Paul Stillwell book, Battleship Missouri: An Illustrated History as the perfect companion to this book. Once in possession of both books and you will be set.

I found this book an excellent resource for info on the Iowa class of battleships. I was a sailor myself, too late to serve on any of these ships, but I have been on New Jersey and the Missouri and I have seen the Wisconsin while she was berthed at the Norfolk navy base. So, I am an avid fan of the Iowa class battleship and this book is my #1 resource.