In an action-filled narrative, the authors tell the remarkable story of the Victorian Royal Navy’s fleet of small warships used to enforce the Pax Britannica around the world for half a century. Frequently acting without orders and largely beyond the reach of Admiralty interference, the gunboats’ young commanding officers intervened to stamp out the slave trade and stop local rulers from interfering with legitimate trade. Explaining that gunboats fought as far afield as Borneo, China, Japan, Jamaica, the Baltic, the Black Sea, Africa, the Great Lakes, the Red Sea, and Egypt, Antony Preston and John Major trace the history of gunboats from the time they were built to fight the Russians in the Baltic in 1850 and the early skirmishes of 1857 that led to the Second China War right through to the role they played at the outbreak of the World War I. Supported by a wealth of illustrations, this classic reference ends with a complete listing of the gunboats that served with the Royal Navy between 1855 and 1914 along with their career histories. First published more than three decades ago and long out of print, the book has been revised for this new edition and an introduction has been added by the distinguished naval historian Andrew Lambert.
Book Description
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you can't send a gunbot then send the book,
By Ship gearhead "Steve" (Grand Blanc Mi USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Send a Gunboat: The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854-1904 (Hardcover)
A wonderful book on the Victorian small ships. The book covers the whys and wherefores of the development of the gunboat from the middle of the 19th century until the type was phased out at the start of the dreadnought era. It is a well balanced account, containing a short history of the development, attributes, and failings of each class and a concise history of each boat. The book has a number of well reproduced photos and a few drawings, and a list of each boat in each class and the fate of each one. As an engineer and gear head, I only wish that there had been more drawings.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Send A Gunboat, Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea 1854-1904,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Send a Gunboat: The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854-1904 (Hardcover)
As someone researching my family tree I was looking for some detail regarding my Grandfathers service during the 2nd Anglo Boer War (1899-1902). As he served on a Gunboat i.e. not a sexy Battleship information was pretty sparse as to the history and duties of these tiny vessels.
This book covers not just the history of the vessels but the part they played in the creation of the Empire. The politics of the period is neatly woven into the story and an analysis of todays similar role played by much larger vessels provided some interesting matter. I would strongly recommend this work to anyone interested in the period, Royal Navy history and the growth of the British Empire.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well done update to the classic original,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Send a Gunboat: The Victorian Navy and Supremacy at Sea, 1854-1904 (Hardcover)
The book is organized into two major sections. The first is a narrative history of the gunboats and gun vessels that served in Victorian times from their first use in the Crimean War up through their removal from the Navy by Jackie Fisher early in the twentieth century. The second major section is a catalog of the two types of vessels through their various classes. This updated edition of "Send a Gunboat" has some additional material, including a section on the restoration of HMS Gannet. Additionally there has been some re-organization, including moving the footnotes all to one section at the end of the narrative history. There are numerous photos, illustrations and maps. The book does have some drawbacks. Due to the breath of the period covered, all of the gunboat/gun vessel actions are not described in detail, and certainly a working knowledge of Victorian military and political history would be of benefit to the reader to help make appreciation of some of the activities more meaningful. Still, overall it's a well done effort with excellent production quality.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
