Most helpful customer reviews
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Piling On, Nov 14 2001
I'm adding my voice to the chorus of praise for the G&D books. The attention to detail is impressive. The authors go so far as to account for the different definitions of "inch"--an inch of armor in the Royal Navy was actually 0.98in, and this reflects correctly in the figures cited for the KGV, Lion, and Vanguard classes. In citing the damage inflicted on France's Dunkerque by exploding depth charges, the authors properly tally, not the amount of explosive in all the depth charges lying alongside the ship, but only the amount which detonated properly. Impressive work.
It should be no surprise that more recent revelations have overtaken G&D's look at Soviet designs. Still, the info they do present is generally representative of the design's actual properties. A similar state applies in the chapter on Dutch Design 1047.
The only caution requiring the reader's attention is that the occasional typo pops up to confuse the statistical information. This is a general caveat for all three volumes rather than this one in particular.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Unrivalled technical analysis, Feb 25 2001
Among many books dedicated to capitol ships in the II WW, this volume is a very pleasant reading. It comes close to the experience of on the spot study of the design, construction and operational life of dreadnoughts of allied Navies, leading every naval buff to the very insight of the ship themselves. Each class is thoroughly illustrated, giving detailed information of ship's armament, protection systems, engineering and machinery. The best facet is the careful examination of operational career of each ship and the analysis of battle damage sustained by the ship according to testimonies, technical data and the most probable reconstruction of incoming shell trajectory. The damage studies are interesting since they are presented with extensive use of line drawings, further explaining the ships' innermost structural architecture. Another remarkable feature is the extensive chapter dedicated to Soviet wartime effort to build capital ships. It literally casts a light on the subject, providing many facts and photographs of this unknown page of II WW. Profiles, armor diagrams, shear,frame & body plans, line drawings are very accurate as they are results of blueprints' deep investigation.This book is really an authoritative source for studying battleships from their inception to their final days.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Technical Analysis par excellence, Jul 18 2000
Mssrs Garzke and Dulin have written a trio of detailed, comprehensive and objective analyses of the battleships of the World War II era (designs past 1930). In this volume, they analyze the capital ships of the Netherlands, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Overall, they rate the units of France as the best in the 35,000 treaty class due the Richelieu's fine protection and speed coupled with excellent firepower. The authors analyze the loss of Prince of Wales to Japanese air attack and the loss of Hood to Bismarck in intricate detail. For any wargamer or student of warships or naval history, this book is a must. Even designs contemplated but never laid down or completed are discussed, including the Lion class and French Alsaace class. A must read.
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