Steam, Steel & Shellfire: The Steam Warship 1815-1905 (Conway's History of the Ship) [Hardcover]

Robert Gardiner (Author), Andrew Lambert (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1993 | Series: Conway's History of the Ship

This book is a study of the impact of technology on nineteenth-century naval design from the first application of steam machinery to a seagoing warship through to the revolutionary British battleship.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (February 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557507740
• ISBN-13: 978-1557507747
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,812,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Transistion Period in Naval History, December 19, 2010

By 

Thomas A. Goodwin (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship, 1815-1905 (Conway's History of the Ship) (Hardcover)

I discovered thsi book on Amazon.com as I am an avid arm chair historian. And a Model Ship builder. The historical period between coming solely away from Sail power to Sail and Staem power is covered fully in this text. The Illustrations are excellent and the author has done his homework. An easy read and easy to understand. This book covers a void in the periods between 1850's and the early 1900's. When Naval Ships were crossing over from sail power to a combination of both Staem and Sail. A good example of this is the French Navies Ship "The Napoleon" 1857. As well as the American ship U.S.S. Susquehanna, 1860 and the U.S.S. Kearsarge 1863. Not forgetting of course the C.S.S. Alabama 1863. Confederite Raider of the American Civil War. I call this book a Transistion Book and not many authiors seem to cover this period in Nautical History. For some reason this era is almost forgotten. But none the less. It needs to be studied and understood. So one can experience the full gammet of Naval Histories.

The book contains dates, and Illustrations of various ships from this time period. In detail and easy to follow text. The time frame of these ships and the reason this period has been overlooked is unknown to me.. But it was a critacl time for navies wishing to draw away from Full sail propulsion to a combination of Sail and Steam.

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Volume Great Series, September 6, 2010

By 

Richard Vetland ""wet weasel"" (Virginia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship, 1815-1905 (Conway's History of the Ship) (Hardcover)

I've now accumulated several volumes of Conway's History of the Ship. These have become the first references I reach for.Besides the informative text there are numbers of wonderful old photos. I've become interested in modelling the ships of the transitionfrom sail to steam, and this book has been a wonderful resource.You get details of not just the technology, but the forces driving the change. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because the focus is more on British ships than American.

4.0 out of 5 stars solid introduction, April 10, 2010

By 

J. Flynn (Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Steam, Steel and Shellfire: The Steam Warship, 1815-1905 (Conway's History of the Ship) (Hardcover)

I have found this to be one of more informative and better-written volumes in the History of the Ship series. The book is especially helpful because it focuses on a seldom-covered era. Like most sophistocated devices, armored-steam driven warships were developed over time by trial and error. Because there were few naval battles in the mid to late 19cent., many different designs and concepts arose. This book throws light on that process of "continuity and change".