Weapons of the Navy Seals [Hardcover]

Kevin Dockery (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2004

For the first time, one painstakingly researched volume unveils the weapons and ammunition that have served the SEALs in combat operations around the globe. Much more than a mere catalog of arms, this book traces each weapon from the development stage to its current form.

Also included are exclusive accounts from the men who were among the first to see these weapons used in armed conflict. Written with the cooperation of the UDT/SEAL Museum Association in Florida, and packed with detailed information and photos--some never before in print--this book offers fresh insight into the technology that for decades has sustained the Navy SEALs as an unstoppable military force.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Mercenaries, arms merchants and military reenactors will delight in this exhaustive, obsessively detailed compendium of knives, pistols, shotguns, assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers, explosives and ammo used by the celebrated commando outfit through the years. Historian and gunsmith Dockery covers virtually every weapon ever hefted by a Navy SEAL from World War II onward, chronicling the often byzantine development processes of significant weapons like the M-16 rifle and the M-60 machine gun, taking note of modifications introduced in successive models or improvised by soldiers in the field, and providing intricate explanations of firing mechanisms that only engineers will be able to follow. Specs are summarized in short, catalog-style entries listing a plethora of data, including rate of fire, range and the dimensions and weight of the weapon and its components, right down to the carrying sling. The thickets of technical information are occasionally relieved by short, action-packed stories of SEALS wreaking havoc on their enemies ("the rain of steel-jacketed 7.62mm projectiles cut through the ranks of the Al-Qaida sic"). Casual readers may find their eyes glazing over, but hard-core military buffs will deem this a valuable reference. Photos.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Kevin Dockery is a former military sniper who served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He has been a soldier in the President's Guard under Nixon and Ford, a grade school teacher, a historian, a radio broadcaster, and a gunsmith.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 544 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover (November 2, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425198340
• ISBN-13: 978-0425198346
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #880,119 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nothing new here, November 27, 2004

By 

J. Hopkins "Baja James" - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Weapons of the Navy Seals (Hardcover)

This book missed it release date many times. I had hoped it would be up to the standards of the authors previous book Weapons of the Navy Seals Volume 1 from a few years ago (there never was the promissed V2). However this book falls short of the mark. The information is dated and there are very few illustrations. The information presented on pre 1990 is pretty good, however the lack of photos and supporting data is a great detraction. I really hope the author does follow up with better supported title. Until then I reccomend Pushies book on Weapons of the Navy Seals.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Well constructed but lacking in illustrative support., November 8, 2009

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Weapons of the Navy Seals (Paperback)

As the title suggests, this is a book about the weapons used by that elite fighting force - US Navy Seals. According to his short biopic, the author is a gunsmith and weapons expert with some, albeit rather obscure, military and operational experience. Nevertheless, all things considered, he does appear well qualified to tackle this particular subject.

Weapons are included by general type. Consequently there are chapters on; Knives, pistols, submachine guns, shotguns, rifles, knock knock, hand grenades, ambush, machine guns, shots in the sandbox, 40mm grenade launchers, explosives and explosive devices. The product comprises 518 pages of mostly text plus an extensive index. Curiously, there are no decent photographs to be found anywhere within.

As an example of the technical content, the section on knives includes full details of 19 weapons of which there are two "Leatherman" type folding tools and one Swiss army knife in amongst others devised for more deadly purposes. Sixteen submachine guns are included in another chapter with all the technical details any person might require. Only 10 of these, however, include a photograph of the weapon and the layout leaves the reader uncertain as to whether or not each of these pictures relates to the weapon described before that illustration or to the one which follows. All photographs are black and white and approx. the size of a large postage stamp. With only a few exceptions, captions are confined to "Source U. S. Navy" (or whatever). Those which are exploded views of the item in question, particularly suffer from the minute size of the illustration.

On a positive note, the book contains plenty of detailed text incorporating the history of the SEALs and is clearly written by a man who has closely studied the subject. First published in 2004, the work was probably the definitive article when it first appeared. Since then, of course, the weapons used by this particular fighting force will have continued to evolve.

Altogether, useful for those with an interest in the subject.

NM
British Army major (Retired)

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great reasurch tool but little else., April 28, 2011

By 

The Real Enigma "It's so nice to be hated!" (The Forth Dimension) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Weapons of the Navy Seals (Paperback)

If you are an author looking for information about various weapons ranging from knives to to rifles, to explosives and some basic information about most but not all of them featured in this book then I would highly reccomend it. It gives a decent history of each catagory and how it relates to the seals and there for-runners the UDT's it also includes technical specs for various weapons, and explosives, including the ultra rare suppressed shotgun.

If you are looking for an entertaining story look somewhere else, you wont find it here, this is a tech guide/history book, not a non-fiction novel.

I keep this book in my library as a reference guide only.