Military Model Scene

Title: The Modern Cruiser
Author: Robert C Stern
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-5267-3791-5

The evolution of the ships that fought the Second World War, this is a 288-page large format hard-cover book, though also available in e-book formats.
Right at the start of the book are notes on units and nomenclature, a table giving calibres in both metric and imperial measurements plus another helpful list of abbreviations ad acronyms that are used throughout the book. The introduction then explains the constraints of the book in explaining just what is and is not included. It then goes on to describe the early development of the type of ship we classify a a cruiser, and how that developed as the world changed from the times of sail to new steam powered armoured ships. It then moves to the times when all sorts of designs which were then used during WW1, described overall as 'Cruisers of All Shapes ad Sizes'. Eventually all these designs were tested in combat as WW1 began, and some stories of how some battles worked out. Improvements in designs and wartime production led to some standard results which saw service through to 1922. After WW1, expense was of interest to all nations and it led to controls ad limitations on new warship construction, limiting the size and armament of this class of vessel, and the numbers that could be operated by the various nations who signed up to the Washington Treaty. This in turn led on to so-called 'Treaty' cruisers, as many countries built new vessels up to the maximum limits allowed. These include ships built in places such as the UK and USA, Germany, France, Italy and Japan among others. The various classes are covered, and include tables listing basic detail such as Displacement, Dimensions, Speed, Protection, Armament etc. There were light and heavy cruiser types and the second part of their Test of Battle makes up chapter 11, covering WW2 from 1939-45. Yet more changes took place after 1946 and through to the present day, when the role of the cruiser has been steadily replaced by other platforms, such as satellite reconnaissance, so that this type of ship has gradually been rendered unnecessary.
The final Afterword summarises the story of the cruiser and just where we are at today. I found it a really interesting read and personally learnt a lot. Covering the ships of multiple countries around the world with lots of detail, and illustrated with a large number of archive photos, this is in my view another really good book from the author and Seaforth Publications.
Thanks to Pen & Sword for our review copy.

Robin