British Cruisers

Product Description

For most of the twentieth century Britain possessed both the world's largest merchant fleet & its most extensive overseas territories. It is not surprising therefore that the Royal Navy always showed a particular interest in the cruiser
- a multi-purpose warship needed in large numbers to defend trade routes & police the empire. Above all other types the cruiser's competing demands of quality & quantity placed a heavy burden on designers & for most of the inter-war years Britain sought to square this circle through international treaties restricting both size & numbers. In the process she virtually invented the heavy cruiser & inspired the large 6in-armed cruiser neither of which ironically served her best interests. For the first time this book seeks to comprehend the full policy background from which a different & entirely original picture emerges of British cruiser development. After the war the cruiser's role was reconsidered & the final chapters of the book cover modernisations the plans for missile-armed ships & the convoluted process that turned the 'through-deck cruiser' into the Invincible class light carriers. With detailed appendices of ship data & illustrated in depth with photos & A D Baker's specially commissioned plans British Cruisers truly matches the lofty standards set by Friedman's previous books on British destroyers.