British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War [Hardcover]

This book is Norman Friedman's long awaited "pre-quel " to his well acclaimed " British Destroyers and Frigates -the Second World War and After "

It's been well worth the wait - the book is truly one of the greats.

Starting in the 1870's with the genesis of the torpedo boat, the book goes through to the last of the classic British destroyers, the "I" class of the 1935-36 program. Details and photos of the Second World War modifications to the pre-1937 British ships, and the ex-American flush deckers are also included. Not only are the Destroyers themselves covered but also the gun-boat, catcher, and light cruiser types associated with anti torpedo boat tactics and destroyer history.

The book is the long overdue filling of a vacuum. With the exception of the V and W classes, and David Lyons book on the turtlebacks, no serious specific work has been done which adequately covers the pre 1925 destroyers since R.D. Manning's " British Destroyers " of almost fifty years ago. (A veil will be drawn over Edgar March's book of 1966, except to say it has good photographs ! ).

What do you get for your money ?

(a) The best account yet of the convoluted history of anti-torpedo boat strategy and the evolution of the destroyer from a coast offence/defence ship to a fleet vessel.A far more complex story than I personally had realised, showing unexpected light on many other facets of the pre 1920's naval scene.

(b) A magnificent collection of photos, many of which, coming from US sources (probably ex ONI/USNISC ), are new to most of us. Printing quality is superb, and the choice excellent. A few are guttered over two pages but done reasonable well so little of the photo has actually been lost in the crease. One (HMS Attentive ) has even had the text lines parted so as not to obscure the yards! There are some detailed onboards, and a few of models. Most have good extended captions although not all are dated .Unfortunately very few of specific onboard items.

(c) A very large number of superb profiles and deck plans mostly by Dave Baker. Many inboard GA's, mostly profile . Again very well reproduced and nearly all covering from side to side of a page (the short side ).

(d) A brief and somewhat incomplete bibliography

(e) Voluminous notes, not only of sources, but to amplify the text without confusing the narrative.

(f) Separate ship class data tables and ship lists . The data tables could well have been expanded to give more details of the weaponry, especially gun and mount mark numbers - or a section specific to armament and equipment added.

(g) An index. This is a bit "hit and miss" . For example looking for " Hedgehog" and "Squid" will only find the references under "Depth Charges" .

I've mentioned a few quibbles but then nothing is perfect. As this book is as near perfect as it gets. If you are seriously into naval history- buy it.If you just like great warship photos - buy it. And if you are a model maker - buy it.
You will not be disappointed.

The Frigate may have been around in the days of Nelson but not the Destroyer. Towards the end of the 19th century, Britain's mastery of the seas remained uncontested. Not since the days of Trafalgar (1805) had any navy or combined navies dared to threaten that supremacy. These, however, were years of great change with the arrival of the Dreadnought battleship making the entire British Fleet obsolete at a stroke. Other nations could now build their own ships at the same rate as Great Britain and, therefore, finally challenge the one country they all wished to see removed from power.

Then came the motorised torpedo. This device could be fired from a very small vessel and carry sufficient explosive to sink the largest warships afloat. By comparison to the money, time, resources and technology required to produce a single Battleship, the torpedo and, most important of all, the means of delivering that weapon to its intended target, was relatively inexpensive. Consequently, small craft capable of the high speeds required to get close enough to deliver the torpedo were born. Torpedo-catchers, Torpedo Gunboats and even the Torpedo-boat Destroyer were some of the names used until the latter was finally reduced to "Destroyer" and a whole new type of craft entered the Navies of the world. As a type of ship (not to be confused with "Class." There are different classes of Destroyer, just as there are different classes of Aircraft Carrier), the development and continual improvement of all aspects of the Destroyer was far more rampant within the Royal Navy as she sought to defend and protect her role as "Ruler of the waves." This is the story of that development and of the vessels which were introduced along the way.

Author Norman Friedman tells this story from the earliest concept through to the beginning of WW2. I have deducted one star for two reasons. Firstly, he concludes his account just as WW2 was beginning. I would have preferred the work to have ended either in 1938 - just as Europe was approaching those war years, or in 1945, allowing the reader to evaluate the results of all those improvements and developments against how each class of Destroyer fared in action. For me, this "premature" ending creates its own confusion. For example, a very popular wreck dive in Malta comprises the remains of HMS Maori - a Tribal class Destroyer built by Fairfield in 1937. When I came across a reference to an HMS Maori undertaking trials in 1912 (page 84), therefore, I took an immediate interest and consulted the index to access all entries for this ship. "This" HMS Maori is also described as a Tribal class Destroyer built by Denny and launched in 1909. Towards the end of the book are details of other ships from 1942 and further references to as late as 1944. Whilst I was previously unaware of the existence of two "Tribal" classes of destroyer - albeit many years apart (most unusual for any Navy), I now find the subject is adequately covered in other works. My 1937 Maori, however, is not mentioned in this book at all when other topics from 7 years after her launch are included. Whilst I may have personally learned a very valuable lesson, I cannot help but feel something is missing in this work.

Amongst the excellent selection of photographs, I particularly enjoyed the images of the earlier boats. Sadly, and "yet" again, none of these, as far as I am aware, were ever preserved for posterity! This is especially so with those which look like they were nothing more than a large torpedo (with funnel) themselves.

In summary, this is still an excellent product. Friedman's meticulous research and detailed analysis coupled with an excellent selection of illustrations, line drawings and photographs, combine to create the complete history of the evolution of the British Destroyer from original concept to the beginning of WW2. It is, therefore, highly recommended for those with an interest and is one of those books to which I shall continually return in the years to come.

NM

Norman Friedman has made naval technical history his own preserve. This does not disappoint at any level, how torpedo boats evolved into torpedo boat destroyers and ultimately destroyers and the thinking behind each change is carefully and methodically explained without becoming bogged down in unnecessary detail. The detail is there, but in footnotes for the less involved reader. This will be a standard text.