Complete Encyclopedia Of Battleships

by Tony Gibbons

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0517378108
• Release Date: May 1985
• Publisher: Crescent
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 3.05 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Totally awesome Book

THE BEST BOOK ON BATTLESHIPS PERIOD. and not a typical battleship book that just rehashes info and pictures of the Iowa class ships either. BEAUTIFUL color artwork. Fantastically formated. Had infor on alot of late 1800s warships I had never heard of. Favorite book of my collection.

the best book of it's type ever printed.

This book is a complete and well illustrated reference on all battleships from the mid 1800's through 1983 when it was published. You can't do better in quality and basic facts about these ships and you even learn many of the ships fates. We need a book like this about earlier pre ironclad ships, and tony gibbons could do it well. Or one about at least many important cruisers or carriers until the present. This is very well researched and the artwork is accurate and detailed. There are even pictures of some of the ships and now that I own this great book I won't have to check it out of the library anymore. Get this one if you love battleships and their stories.

Best single reference source on Battleship development

This work not only details every Capital ship class from ca 1870 to the 1980s, it also has an excellent narrative on the history of ironclad development. The famous are here: Dreadnought, Bismarck, Yamato, the Iowa class. Additionally, the lesser known: Capital ships from nearly every country that sailed a coast defense ship, plus such naval powers as Austria-Hungary (yes Austria actually had a sea-going battle fleet), Brazil, and China. Each reference is listed by displacement, armor, armament and disposition, along with powerplant and top speed. Perfect for naval wargamers to develop their own campaigns. If you are such a person, or just have a general interest in these "ultimate weapons" of last 150 years by all means acquire this work. Highly recommended.

well-illustrated and thorough reference on battleships!

Tony Gibbons has produced an excellent reference work here on battleships, beginning with the first true ironclad, the French ship Gloire launched in 1860, through the present day, with the last battleships built the Soviet rocket crusiers of the Kirov class, lauched in 1980 and onwards (along with details on the Iowa class battleships, which served into the early 1990s). Every ironclad, predreadnought, dreadnought, and battle cruiser class from the Gloire on is detailed, with information provided on a variety of vital statistics, such as dimensions, machinery, armament, performance, and crew and details on the design, operational, and service history of the class. One of the ships of every class is illustrated in color, with key ships in battleship history - such as the Gloire, the HMS Warrior, the USS Maine, the HMS Dreadnought, the Scharnhosrt, and the Yamato for example - given double page spread illustrations and accompanied by photographs. Gibbons introuduces the book with a general naval history as it relates to battleships, going all the way back to the great wooden ships-of-the-line and detailing key moments in battleship history such as the role of the predreadnoughts in empire building of the late 19th century, European naval armanents races prior to World War I, the great fleet actions of that war, the Washington Naval Conference, and the role battleships played in World War II. Developments in machinery and operational use are discussed as well as they occurred through history. The various ship classes examined are divided into various chapters by era, generally each chapter covering a decade of history and opening with a detailed look at specific elements new in battleship design relating to guns, machinery, armor, etc, and ship use for those years, particularly against such emerging threats as torpedo boats, submarines, and aircraft. Battleships that later became converted to other types of ships (such as the Lexington class of American ships, planned as battle cruisers but completed as fleet carriers) or planed but never built (such as the American Montana class of battleships and the British Lion class)are discussed as well, shown both as originally plan and/or built and as they operated.All in all a good reference work on a fascinating group of ships, particularly good in my opinion for its excellence coverage of ironclads and predreadnoughts, not as well covered in my opinion as some of the more famous battleships of the 20th century, particularly those that fought in World War II. Any true fan of battleships, battle cruisers, ironclads, and predreadnoughts would be thrilled to own this.

Complete review of all battleships 1860-1946

This is the only reference work I have seen that includes all large armored ships from HMS "Warrior" in 1860 up through HMS "Valiant" of 1946. Another feature that sets this book apart is Mr. Gibbons' superbly detailed illustrations. One ship of each class is highlighted by a large illustration, statistics, and career description. Major refits of that ship are shown with smaller drawings. The only drawback is that little information is provided on other ships in a class beyond their names. A must-have book for battleship enthusiasts.