Iowa Class Battleships And Alaska Class Large Cruisers Conversion Projects 1942-1964: An Illustrated Technical Reference (Paperback)

by Wayne Scarpaci (Author)
Key Phrases: command cruiser, proposed conversions, large cruisers, The Alaska, New Jersey, Santa Cruz (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
This book presents an overview of proposed conversions of the Iowa class battleships and Alaska class large cruisers from 1942 to 1964. This book covers 16 conversions, with line drawings and full color original art illustrations for 11 of 16 proposed projects. Coverage extends from MACK-equipped double-ended Talos Guided Missile Battleship designs to Jupiter-IRBM-carrying "Missile Monitor" designs. This is a truly unique volume that provides not only new proposed conversion information, but a look at the ongoing US Navy modernization and experimentation projects of the early postwar/cold war era. This book is a must for those who have an interest in battleships in general and the Iowa class in particular.

Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Nimble Books LLC (April 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1934840386
• ISBN-13: 978-1934840382
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.8 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #318,189 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not worth $1 per page, July 9, 2008

By	Thomas Pope (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

With 24 pages of real content (not counting index, title page, colophon, blank pages at the end) and a large typesize at that, I was very disappointed in this book.

Each conversion project was given at most two paragraphs of attention, while every other one got a nice piece of lineart and a full color painting. The projects themselves were interesting and informative, but there is only so much you can learn in a single paragraph.

Were it not for the illustrations and artwork (which are all beautiful) I would have given this one star. Were it half the price I would have given it three.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars MaritimeQuest Review, August 2, 2008

By	Michael Pocock - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The decline of the battleship began on December 7, 1941 when carrier based aircraft attacked and sank the U.S. battleship fleet at Pearl Harbor. Three days later on December 10 Japanese
aircraft sank the British battleships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse, this time the battleships were not sitting ducks like at Pearl, but were underway at full battle readiness. The reign of the battleship was over.

The Iowa class battleships of the U.S. Navy were under construction at this time, they would serve through the war, but after the guns fell silent what would become of them? The navy proposed several conversions to keep the battleship relevant, however none were carried out.
In his book, Iowa Class Battleships and Alaska Class Large Cruisers Conversion Projects, Wayne Scarpaci explores these conversions and illustrates them with his original artwork and line drawings of what the ships might have looked like. The 31 page book is a quick read and explores the proposed armament schemes and how the redesigned battleships would be employed. There has not been much written about this subject so this book should be of great interest to battleship fans around the world.

Michael W. Pocock

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Way overpriced!, December 24, 2008

By	Ian Roberts - See all my reviews

I'm a big fan of the Alaska class cruisers and I've spent a lot of time researching them, so any time a new book appears about them I buy it!

However, I must say that I am not exactly impressed with these "Nimble Books", as they are extremely pricey for what you get. The book itself is 38 pages long, of which only 24 actually contain information about the subject at hand. Five pages after the content ends are filled with information about the publisher and then followed with seven blank filler pages. The entire publication just sort of seems like it was put together by a teenager for a history project; there are many typos and misspellings that are quite easy to catch. Perhaps a new editor is called for? One thing that grates on my nerves is the author's use of the abbreviation "MACK" in all capitals; "mack" is a combination of "mast" and "stack" and, therefore, does not need to be capitalized!

The data provided about the conversion projects is interesting enough and it does an alright job of explaining them in detail. The paintings are nice, and the line drawings are just sort of decent... they are shown at such a small size as to be almost irrelevant; no detail is visible and one only gets a basic idea of what's going on with each conversion project.

I would recommend a prospective buyer to just save their money, or wait until the book decreases in price.