Customer Reviews

United States Navy Destroyers of World War II in Action

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I was pleasantly impressed out of my wits when I received this book, which I purchased used on Amazon.

First, let me describe what I was looking for, to give you a point of reference, as we naval readers don't always have the same expectations. I am an avid WWII modeler first and an amateur historian second. To me, naval engineering or weaponry facts are secondary, as you don't really need a pictorial book such as this one to obtain that kind of data; what's more encyclopedic works from authors like Polman are better suited for that purpose. I do want to know exactly what the general configuration of a particular ship was at a given time, which marks of the various equipment were installed (ie. mark 33 versus 37 director, 5 inch guns enclosed or open, etc).

And now for the book: it is one exceptional book. The author starts with the 1898 era briefly, then moves on to the 4-stackers of WWI, then after just a few pages on to the main subject: WWII destroyers, with the Farragut class making the first step, then the Benhams, and so on. Along the way we are treated to gorgeous, large size for the most part, super sharp photos showing the ships in detail, up-close, quarter views, at sea side profiles, etc. Author has relied heavily on official naval yard photos (i.e. the ones with the white circles showing additions) as well as period in-action photos. Some are quite poignant in what they represent, sometimes very subtly. For example, on page 29 a picture shows gunners manning a 5-inch wearing asbestos gloves, which would later cause many health ailments to our dear vets.

The author really earns his keep at explaining the reasons for the updates between each class. He does so in a way I haven't read elsewhere. Easy to follow and very logically he explains what issues the designers faced and how the either solved (majority of cases) or accepted compromises. Each chapter has a caption, usually a piece of wisdom for the time, for example, chapter 11 has "We must become intolerant of delay. We must tear our way through red tape. We must pillory bureaucrats who stupidly sacrifice time in the pursuit of an impossible perfection", which is right on as far as introductions go for the subject being explained, the build-up period of 1941, right before Pearl Harbor. It is little added insights offered that add a dimension not found in other books. For these and many, many more I give this book an enthusiastic 5 stars! Get it, if you don't already have it. Easily worth $50 or more, I will trade mine for a copy in a better condition, which is something I only do with books I intend to keep forever.

There are occasions when I come to books through circuitous routes and this was one such occasion. It all began with the research of one vessel, getting side-tracked into another and yet a third before being completely enthralled by the fate of a fourth - which I found inside this particular product.

There is no doubt that this is an exhaustive work and the fruits of a great deal of meticulous research by the author. It is because research is something I understand (though never fully mastered!), I am also able to appreciate the content of works such as this simply because the author has taken so much trouble to produce a book from which there is much to be learned.

As indicated by the title, this is a book about US Navy Destroyers of WW2. Unlike other works with similar titles, however, this is not just a list of ships with their pennant numbers and specifications. Instead we have far greater detail and it is that very detail which sets the book apart from others. There are 17 chapters which, if mentioned briefly here, will give a more complete idea of what this book is all about. They include; Early Torpedo Boats & Destroyers, Flushdeckers, New Destroyer Construction, Farragut Class, Porter Class, New Construction Continues, Experimentation, The Benhams, Sims Class, Bensons & Gleaves, Build up to 1941, Antiaircraft Defence, The Fletchers, Experimental Variants, Allen M. Sumner and Gearing Classes and Large Destroyer Studies. These are followed by four extensive appendices, abbreviations, footnotes, bibliography and, finally, an index.

From that list, it is easy to see how this book reaches far into the subject in a bid to be as informative as possible.

Lavishly illustrated with plenty of black and white photographs throughout, many are close-ups of specific features which add a great deal to the reader's increasing knowledge of the subject.

Altogether an excellent product and one which I can highly recommend.

NM