British Cruisers

Product Description

Gradually evolving from the masted steam frigates of the mid-nineteenth century the first modern cruiser is not easy to define but for the sake of this book the starting point is taken to be Iris & Mercury of 1875. They were the RN's first steel-built warships; were designed primarily to be steamed rather than sailed; & formed the basis of a line of succeeding cruiser classes. The story ends with the last armoured cruisers which were succeeded by the first battlecruisers (originally called armoured cruisers) & with the last Third Class Cruisers (Topaze class) all conceived before 1906. Coverage therefore dovetails precisely with Friedman's previous book on British cruisers although this one also

Includes:: the wartime experience of the earlier ships.rn The two central themes are cruisers for the fleet & cruisers for overseas operations including (but not limited to) trade protection. The distant-waters aspect covers the belted cruisers which were nearly capital ships intended to deal with foreign second-class battleships in the Far East. The main enemies contemplated during this period were France & Russia & the book

Includes:: British assessments of their strength & intentions with judgements as to how accurate those assessments were.rn As would be expected of Friedman the book is deeply researched original in its analysis & full of striking insights
- another major contribution to the history of British warships.