Customer Reviews

The Naval Institute Guide to World Naval Weapons Systems, 1997-1998

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

 

 

This massive book is filled with more text than three $400 Jane's reference books. Like most references written by Norman Friedman, it contains so much detail it's almost unbelievable such a work is available to the public. It covers those systems that are often neglected in other naval references like Jane's Fighting Ships or Combat Fleets. Every possible combat system is included from onboard computer systems to sensors, sonar bouys, missiles of all kinds, torpedoes and lots more. It covers all systems currently in use by all navies plus an abundance of prototype Russian weapons. I was only disappointed by the lack of detail and a few greatly outdated tidbits of information on the strategic nuclear systems, but there are other books for that. The quality of the information and photos in this book, you will not find anywhere else--it is well worth the price.

Almost too much information to take. As said below, this book is a value compared to others but it's not cheap. The main thing that dissapointed me was the lack of drawings or photos of missile launching systems. I know they are out there for publishing since Mr. Friedman put so many fine examples of Talos, Terrier, and Tartar in his book "US Naval weapon Systems" a few years ago. Same goes for the Naval gun section. For the money, I would have liked to have seen this.

The book is a very comprehensive guide on Naval Weapons Systems and equally as important development programs that lead to the systems deployment. Good book to link systems and subsystems to major programs in a one stop read for research or personal knowledge.