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R. A. Burt

British Battleships 1919-1945: New Revised Edition Hardcover – March 15, 2012

by R A. Burt (Author)

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British Battleships, 1919-1939 is one of the most sought after naval reference books since its original publication in 1993. A masterpiece of research and illustration, this new edition has been completely redesigned to feature over 70 new photographs, many never before seen in print.

Offering an unprecedented range of detail on all of the Royal Navy's battleships and battle cruisers, R.A. Burt describes the evolution of the battleship classes through many modifications and refits. He also details design features, armor, machinery, power plants, and weaponry, while examining and analyzing the performance of the ships in battle.

A delight for the historian, enthusiast, and ship modeler, this new volume is regarded as an essential reference work for one of the most significant eras in naval history and ship design.

Print length

448 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Naval Institute Press
Publication date

March 15, 2012
Dimensions

10 x 1.25 x 12 inches
ISBN-10

1591140528
ISBN-13

978-1591140528
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

R. A. Burt has researched British battleships for many years, assembling one of the most outstanding collections of photographs of the ships. He is an accomplished draughtsman and illustrator, and many of his superb drawings appear in this book. He lives in England.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Naval Institute Press; Reprint edition (March 15, 2012)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 448 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1591140528
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1591140528
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.7 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10 x 1.25 x 12 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #742,053 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,858 in Naval Military History

Customer Reviews:
77 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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Daryl Carpenter

Affordable alternative to "British Battleships of World War Two"

Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2015

Verified Purchase

With Norman Friedman's work on British battleships of the post-"Dreadnought" era due for publication in a October, I thought it would be a good time to compare two of the classic reference works on British capitol ships of the period between World War I and the end of World War II. On one side, we have Alan Raven's and John Roberts' expensive and sought-after classic "British Battleships of World War Two" of 1976. On the other side, we have R.A. Burt's "British Battleships 1919-1945," which received an update and revision in 2012. It would be easy to dismiss Burt's book as a poor man's version of Raven's and Roberts' (who, interestingly enough, will be contributing plans to the new Friedman book) book. However, that would be unfair and untrue. In some respects, Raven and Roberts' (referred to as "R&R" from now on) book still reigns supreme among British BB references. In a few key areas, however, Burt's is actually superior.

The quality of the photographs in Burt's book is definitely superior to R&R. As you'd expect from a recent Seaforth/Naval Institute title, most of the photographs are extremely crisp and detailed, presumably the result of them being scanned directly from the original negatives. R&R suffers from being published in the mid-70s on poorer quality paper, and many of the photographs are rather muddy or feature excessively high contrast. Although Burt's line drawings aren't quite as sharp looking as John Roberts', many of them actually more detailed, especially in the cross-sections of the King George V- and Nelson-class battleships, the transverse sections, and the depictions of battle damage.

Burt's book is also superior to R&R's when it comes to the histories of individual ships. Each ship here receives a fairly detailed timeline of its career post-1919, as well as detailed reports of each instance these ships received damage, accompanied by lengthy official reports and detailed diagrams. R&R features a well-written distillation of British capitol ship operations during World War II, but not as much history as Burt. There are some intimate photographs of life onboard, and of calm moments between the World Wars, giving this book a more humanistic feel. There's even a few ships covered here but not in R&R, including the ex-battlecruisers Furious, Glorious, and Courageous", which receive two chapters, and the old battleship Iron Duke, in commission until the end of the war.

In some respects, however, R&R is vastly superior. The devil is in the details, and Burt never approaches the same level achieved by R&R. R&R included numerous chapters on the lessons learned in both world wars, comparisons with foreign battleships, British capitol ship design between the wars, including chapters on the Lion-class and the genesis of the King George V-class, and the impact of the Washington and London naval treaties. Burt largely focuses on the finished ships and their histories, pushing the more detailed nitty-gritty stuff aside. I prefer the layout of R&R to Burt; R&R is helped immensely by having a detailed table of contents and a fairly comprehensive index, something which Burt lacks.

I think it's safe to describe "British Battleships of World War Two" as a rather dense technical study, while "British Battleships 1919-1945" is a beautifully illustrated tribute to these ships. Burt's only really galling omission is the HMS Vanguard, the last battleship ever launched. After spending $160 on R.A. Burt's revised and updated "British Battleship" trilogy, I now own a beautifully illustrated, detailed study of every British armored fighting ship since the HMS Devastation of 1869 - except one. R&R featured an entire chapter on Vanguard, complete with a fold-out plan. Speaking of plans, many of those in R&R are presented as foldouts, and all of the plans in this book have large gaps in the middle so detail doesn't get lost in the gutter. Catch-22, I suppose.

In the end, you might want to vote with your wallet on this one. I've seen copies of R&R going for reasonable prices on Ebay, but anyone not willing to wait months for that perfect bargain to pop up might want to buy Burt's instead. Both books have their positives and negatives. R&R is a masterpiece starting to show it's age, and Burt's is beautifully illustrated and informative, but nowhere near as ambitious. Both belong in the collection of any serious warship enthusiast.

8 people found this helpful

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Jim DavisTop Contributor: DC Comics

Not definitive but an outstanding reference nevertheless

Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2012

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R A Burt wrote three books on British battleships all of which were originally released by Arms and Armour Press in the UK and by the Naval Institute Press in the US. The first was British Battleships of World War One in 1986, the second was British Battleships 1889-1904 in 1988, and last was British Battleships 1919-1939 in 1993. The present book is a revised edition of the latter book. It covers the battleships and battlecruisers which survived the wholesale scrapings which followed the signing of the 1922 Washington Treaty. The new title is something of a misnomer as it implies that the Lion class of 1939 (never built) and the later Vanguard are covered and they are not; indeed they are hardly mentioned. The new format is very welcome; the old Arms and Armour 10" x 10" square format did not really do justice to the photos or drawings.

The pattern of the book is fairly simple. After some introductory chapters Burt follows each class of ship and each ship in the class until its final disposal whether in action or in the breakers yard. There is a fairly brief background, design, and development history followed by a fairly detailed technical description. Then the appearance changes of the ships are enumerated. Brief histories of each ship are given except when the ship was damaged or sunk in action. In these cases the histories become quite detailed. All is supported by tables, black and white photographs, and especially Burt's quite detailed line drawings which are numerous and quite detailed. Especially interesting are the one's detailing the battle damage reports that can be quite difficult to follow otherwise. Camouflage is also covered in depth supported by colored endpaper drawings.

Interestingly, the aircraft carrier conversions of Furious, Glorious, and Courageous are also covered in precisely the same detail even after their conversions all the way through to their final fates. There is even a short chapter describing the development of the aircraft carrier in the Royal Navy.

This book basically describes the "what" of these ships although it doesn't completely ignore the "why". Raven and Roberts' "British Battleships of World War Two" is superior in the "why" respect although Burt is preferable otherwise. Neither however can be considered the definitive history of the British battleship. Both books are aimed more to the "rivet counters" than the historically minded. Hopefully, Norman Friedman's attention will turn to battleships once the second book of his history of British cruisers is published.

The book could have also used a glossary and a more comprehensive index. Numerous three letter abbreviations are used with abandoned and the reader is assumed to be intimately familiar with them all. This is not a book for the complete naval tyro.

Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in this subject despite the high retail price. If you missed it the first time around don't miss out this time. Burt's books command high prices on the secondhand market. A revised edition of his "British Battleships of World War One" is in the works as well.

5 people found this helpful

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Chris Sterling

Definitive treatment

Reviewed in the United States on August 29, 2014

Verified Purchase

Informed text, excellent photos, and fine drawings (by the author, clearly an artist as well as historian) make a great combination in this study of a generation (indeed, the final generation) of British battleships. Originally published in the 1990s, and here updated with dozens of added photos, this is the final volume of a trilogy recently brought back into print. Taken together, they treat an astonishing array of vessels of fast-changing design over some six decades. Surely there is precious little about these ships not to be found here. Indeed, there is a whole section on the pioneering aircraft carriers built on battlecruiser hulls and other conversions. Thus one gets a full picture of the Royal Navy capital ship as the battleship fades from the scene and the aircraft carrier takes lead position. Recommended--as a stand alone book, but even more so as part of a definitive trilogy.

2 people found this helpful

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Lynn C. Hunneyman

An excellent overall look at the days of big guns and big ships.

Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2020

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Even though I never had the chance to serve in the navy, I'm a retired history teacher and enjoy books like this. It is amazing to me how much money was spent on ships like these only to be cut up for scrap a few years later. I'm not even sure that we have the technology and skills to produce ships like these today.

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Mike

Battleship stats

Reviewed in the United States on June 4, 2019

Verified Purchase

The book is full of wonderful photos and diagrams of the various ships. The book is filled with details and statistics of each ship. Many official documents are included in the book. There were a good many typos. I would have prefer more of a narrative format similar to Treaty Cruisers.

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Top reviews from other countries

BardM

One for the detail enthusiast

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 27, 2019

Verified Purchase

Still reading book at the moment so my thoughts must be provisional. Will appeal to the ship modeller who wants very precise detail of when and what modifications were made to particular battleships. Book dates from 1993 so recent underwater investigation of the wreck of HMS Hood isn't part of the author's analysis of the reasons for the Hood sinking so dramatically

M. J. Young

detailed history

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2019

Verified Purchase

A very detailed history of all the RN's capital ships, including statistics when built, modifications and rebuild plus damage, repairs and sinkings, as well as comparisons with other countries classes. Contains loads of statistics and technical info. Interesting but for general reading you might want to skip some of the very detailed stuff.

John Hardy

Exhaustive

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 24, 2019

Verified Purchase

This book is not designed for casual reading. The level of detail is remarkable and I flicked through sections of it. Nevertheless it gave me a new insight into the complexity and sophistication of these behemoths

Kindle Customer

Does what it says on the cover

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 5, 2019

Verified Purchase

A good concise survey of those British battleships and battlefields which fought in WW2. Useful details for ship modellers are included in the profiles and detail views included

Rob Newman

Excellent History

Reviewed in Australia on August 23, 2020

Verified Purchase

Great, easy to read history of the last British battleships and battlecruisers. I found the in depth analyses of the various damages to the ships especially interesting.
It is amazing how much information was crammed into a book covering such a vast subject. Having said that, obviously single class, or single ship books would expand on the information here greatly. But for a very good overview, I highly recommend this book. Thumbs up.