Naval Weapons of World War II [Hardcover]

John Campbell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 5, 2002

There is no shortage of reference books on the warships that fought the Second World War, but the weapons they carried have been largely ignored. This situation is entirely rectified in this classic work, which is encyclopaedic in scope and largely based on original research. Divided by country (including minor powers not directly involved in the war), the book covers all the major weaponry of the period. Weapons of earlier vintage that were employed during the war, and those that were at an experimental, trial or design stage in 1945 are also included. The size, scope and originality of this work make it one of the most important reference works available on naval warfare during the Second World War.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The late John Campbell was an authority on naval weaponry and this book is the culmination of a lifetime's research. He was a regular contributor to the Warship journal and is the author of Jutland: An Analysis of the Fighting as well as works on Queen Elizabeth class battleships, First World War battlecruisers and he was a major contributor to the Conway's All The World's Fighting Ships series.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 404 pages
• Publisher: Conway Maritime Press (September 5, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0851779247
• ISBN-13: 978-0851779249
• Product Dimensions: 12.4 x 8.5 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,129,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE World War II Naval Weapon Reference, November 16, 2003

By 

Tony DiGiulian (SE PA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Naval Weapons of World War Two (Hardcover)

Without a doubt, this is one of the finest reference works for the purist that I have ever purchased. This is a highly technical book, and, as such, is not for everyone. If you ever wanted to know whether a naval gun was built-up, autofretted or loose-linered, then this is the book you want to purchase. If you have no clue as to what those terms mean and are looking for a more traditional work on the Second World War, then quickly move on to the next book on your shopping list; as this one is not for you.

This latest edition has apparently not been updated to correct mistakes and ommissions found in the original 1985 publication and is simply a reprint of the original work. For example, the data on Soviet/Russian weapons found in this book is quite limited. Much more data, both in terms of volume and in accuracy, has come to light on those weapons since the end of the Cold War, but none of it has found its way into this newest edition.

However, I would consider this to be a relatively minor failing, as the amount and quality of the data on nearly every other nation's weapons is simply overwhelming in its scope and in its detail.

The 2002 edition has some quality issues, and appears to have been simply digitally copied from an original rather than being a new press run. As a result, the pictures appear "grainier" than in the original 1985 printing.

All in all, I highly recommended this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Expansive, detailed coverage, January 1, 2008

By 

Jeremy (Madison, AL USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Naval Weapons of World War Two (Hardcover)

The particular value of this book, and something that must have been a labor of love for the author, is the coverage of every weapon that could emit a projectile from a warship in WW2.

The sheer quantity of weapons means that most of the smaller or less well-known weapons get a brief table of particulars and a couple of paragraphs of text. The more important weapons, such as the various US 16", British and German 15" and British 14" get two or three pages.

The selection of photos were mostly new to me and very interesting, particularly the photos of tests of mines and torpedos on destroyers.

At the risk of being critical, the book contains little discussion of the fighting value of the weapons, other than some informal comments that a weapon was or was not considered effective. There is not much in the way of penetration tables, or evaluation of warships on the receiving end of shellfire. There is a nice selection of pictures of warships with their ends blown off by torpedos, and some overall numbers such as torpedo hit percentage - but these (effectiveness) numbers would be the most interesting to wargamers.

One more point: the beautiful cutaway drawing on the cover is not at all representative of the drawings inside the book, none of which are in that color-cutaway style.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good information - Very poorly printed, October 19, 2007

By 

D. McCarthy (Port Gamble, WA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Naval Weapons of World War II (Hardcover)

As an original copy is seldom available, this bad reprint provides the best source for this data in one book. WARNING - have your reading glasses ready - this edition is a poorly scanned copy of the original - most type is readable, but blurry. Pictures have too much contrast and lack detail. Line diagrams have fine lines and small type faded away.
Even with these faults, there is still a wealth of data to make this a keeper