Destroyers: An Illustrated History of Their ImpactOn July 4, 1991, the Arleigh Burke class of destroyers, the most powerful surface combatants in naval history, was commissioned. It was the culmination of a century-and-a-half evolution of the destroyer—an evolution captured in this vivid and timely history of the world's most popular warship. Destroyers: An Illustrated History of Their Impact tells the story of one of the most-recent, most-rapidly evolving additions to the world's navies. Coverage ranges from the 1882 launch of the first destroyer, through the nonstop technical and strategic innovations of the world war eras, to the current high watermarks of destroyer design such as the Arleigh Burke class (named for the navy's most-famous destroyer squadron combat commander). With its ship-by-ship analysis, this masterful volume shows how destroyers have continually met the challenge of protecting naval and land operations from ever more dangerous attacks. The book also captures the flavor of shipboard life for officers and crew and looks at the crucial role of the destroyer as a standard-bearing status symbol of naval might and political intention. |
Contents
1 | |
2 From Experimental Vessel to Warship 18601918 | 23 |
3 Advancements during the Interwar Years and World War II 19191945 | 69 |
4 The Cold War and After 19462004 | 117 |
Destroyers and Frigates of the World | 181 |
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Common terms and phrases
21-inch torpedo tubes 5-inch guns addition Age of Fighting Allied armed Art-Tech/Aerospace/M.A.R.S./TRH/Navy Historical UNITS ASROC ASW launcher battleships boilers that produced Britain British destroyers CLASS Courtesy coastal defense Cold War combat Courtesy of Art-Tech/Aerospace/M.A.R.S./TRH/Navy craft crew cruisers DATES OF CONSTRUCTION depth charges destroyer design destroyer production destroyers and frigates enemy entered service escort destroyers Exocet feet and displaced Fighting Sail fire force France French German gun houses guns in single helicopter HULL DIMENSIONS inches and displaced Italian Jane's Information Group Japan Japanese knots COMPLEMENT MACHINERY maximum speed measured naval officials naval powers officers operations produced a maximum propulsion role Royal Navy Russian scrapped shaft horsepower shipyards single mounts sloops Soviet Navy Soviet Union steam stern submarines SUMMARY tons ARMOR torpedo attacks torpedo boats torpedo tubes triple-expansion engines Turbines powered TYPE AND SIGNIFICANCE U.S. destroyers U.S. Navy vessels warships weaponry World World War II