This title includes comprehensive chronological directories of battleships and cruisers, featuring over 400 warships and their specifications, construction, function and history. It comes with three fascinating directories for both battleships and cruisers, each focusing on a particular time period: pre-World War I, World War I, then World War II onwards. It describes vessels such as Gloire, Potemkin, Dreadnought, Bismarck, Azuma, Foudre and Vittorio Veneto. Specification boxes provide at-a-glance information about each ship's country of origin, launch date, size, weight, power and performance. It features more than 1200 archive photographs and illustrations from naval and military sources worldwide. This meticulously researched and illustrated book explores the fascinating history of the battleship and the cruiser. It begins with the first ironclad wooden-hulled ships of the 19th century, followed by the Dreadnoughts of World War I and the mighty battleships and battle cruisers of World War II. Progress of the cruiser is traced from early ships with muzzle-loading, broadside armament, through casemates and turrets to the age of guided missiles.
Containing a huge amount of information, together with a unique collection of more than 1200 photographs and illustrations, the book provides enthusiasts and historians with in-depth knowledge about these history-making ships.