US Heavy Cruisers 1943–75

Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782006338
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

Book Description
This title follows on from a companion book covering the US heavy cruisers that were built prior to the war, together forming the definitive guide to the US's heavy cruiser classes. Versatile warships, the heavy cruisers of the Baltimore class, and their successors in the Oregon City and Des Moines classes, commonly acted as carrier escorts throughout World War II, but also performed bombardment duties in support of amphibious landings. Post-World War II, the heavy cruisers continued to see service, chiefly in Korea and Vietnam. Even after the heyday of the heavy cruiser had passed, the ships continued to serve – several were converted into the earliest examples of guided missile cruisers, and created an enduring legacy in the US Navy. From an established expert on the US and Pacific naval history, this is an invaluable resource richly illustrated with artwork and photographs.

US Heavy Cruisers 1943–75

Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782006346
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 102

US Heavy Cruisers 1941–45

Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782006311
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 107

Book Description
Designed and produced under the regulations of the Washington Naval Treaty, the heavy cruisers of the Pensacola, Northampton, Portland, New Orleans and Wichita classes were exercises in compromise. While they possessed very heavy armament – the Pensacolas, for example, carrying a main battery of ten 8” guns – this came at the cost of protection – armor was the same thickness as a gun cruiser, and incapable of protecting the vessels from enemy 8” fire. As the classes evolved, these flaws began to be corrected, with the main battery being reduced, and increased protection being added to the vital areas of the ship. Despite these drawbacks, the pre-war heavy cruiser classes served with distinction throughout World War II.

US Heavy Cruisers 1941–45

Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1782006303
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

Midway-Class Aircraft Carriers 1945–92

Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472860470
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 99

Book Description
The Midway-class were the US Navy's biggest carriers built during World War II. Superbly illustrated, this explains how they became the backbone of the Cold War fleet. Entering service in September 1945, the Midway-class aircraft carrier was the US Navy's ultimate World War II-era design, and these would be its frontline carriers as the Cold War dawned. A fine design and one big enough to accept significant modernizations over the decades, the class saw combat in the Vietnam War, and Midway even launched the first carrier airstrikes of the Gulf War in 1990. In this book, naval expert Mark Stille explains how the Midway class was the US Navy's attempt to build a much larger and more survivable version of the wartime Essex class; its extensive new protection system included the first armoured flight deck in the US Navy. He highlights how new weapons systems transformed the Midways during the jet age, from angled flight decks and catapults to CIWS, until Midway found her last home as a museum ship in San Diego, the only non-Essex-class American carrier to be preserved. Illustrated with archive photos and superb original art, including profiles detailing how the ships were rebuilt throughout their careers, this book explores the heart of the US Navy's carrier fleet during the early Cold War.

Essex-Class Aircraft Carriers 1945–91

Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 147284582X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 49

Book Description
A history of the enduring Essex-class ships, the US Navy's finest and most numerous fleet carrier during World War II, which were modernized repeatedly and served with distinction. The Essex class was the USN's war-winning ship class of the Pacific War. Of the 24 ships completed, 14 saw action, making the Essex class the largest class of fleet aircraft carriers ever built. These ships had a fine balance of striking power, protection, and speed and were modernized during and after the war. There were five distinct programs carried out, adding not only angled flight decks for jet operations, but repeated upgrades to sensors, weapons, and equipment. Essex-class carriers were used in a number of roles and provided the vast majority of US Navy air power in the Korean War, and a sizeable proportion of air power in the Vietnam conflict. However, as the “super carriers” began to enter service in the early 1960s, the Essex class was relegated to secondary roles– a single Essex carrier served until 1991 as the US Navy's training carrier. Using detailed artwork and photos, this book provides an in-depth portrait of this important and enduring class of ship, and looks at its development and modifications while considering the many and varied actions it took part in.

US Navy Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers

Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472835255
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 49

Book Description
Faced with an increasingly formidable anti-ship cruise missile threat from the Soviet Union in the early days of the Cold War, and with the recent memory of the kamikaze threat from World War II, the USN placed a great priority on developing air defence cruise missiles and getting them to sea to protect the fleet. The first of these missiles were sizable, necessitating large ships to carry them and their sensors, which resulted in the conversion of a mix of heavy and light cruisers. These ships, tasked with protecting carrier groups and acting as flagships, entered service from 1955 and served until 1980. The cruisers served in the front lines of the Cold War and many saw combat service, engaging in surface actions from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. Complementing the conventionally-powered missile cruisers was a much smaller number of expensive nuclear-powered cruisers, including the Long Beach, the USN's largest-ever missile cruiser. Until replaced by the Ticonderoga and Burke classes of Aegis ships, the USN's 38 missile cruisers were the most capable and important surface combatants in the fleet and served all over the globe during the Cold War. Using specially commissioned artwork and meticulous research, this illustrated title explores the story of these cruisers in unparalleled detail, revealing the history behind their development and employment.

U. S. Heavy Cruisers in Action

Author: Al Adcock
Publisher: Squadron/Signal Publications
ISBN: 9780897474221
Category : Cruisers (Warships)
Languages : en
Pages : 50

Book Description
Restrictions on battleship construction imposed by the 1921 Washington Naval Treaty led the US to develop heavy cruisers. 17 were completed between '29 and '37. Losses at Pearl Harbor forced the US to rely greatly on them during the early years of WWII.

US Navy Light Cruisers 1941–45

Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472811429
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 121

Book Description
During World War II, the United States built 72 light cruisers of various classes. In response to the severe air threat that surface ships faced, new cruisers were designed with increasingly heavy antiaircraft weaponry as well as the traditional 6in guns. With the speed and range to keep up with aircraft carriers, and their considerable antiaircraft capability, they were a mainstay of the carrier escorts. This book examines every US light cruiser produced, including those of the Fargo and Worcester classes, which were actually complete after World War II had ended, tracing their design, development and evolution throughout the war and beyond.

Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers

Author: Edward Hampshire
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1472817419
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 52

Book Description
A fully illustrated study of the Soviet Navy's biggest and most powerful surface combatants of the Cold War. Heavily armed and formidable, guided missile cruisers formed the core of the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. From the last class of conventional Sverdlov-class cruisers through to increasingly complex and formidable missile cruisers, these ships ensured that NATO took the Soviet naval threat seriously. Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers covers all classes of these impressive warships, from the early Sverdlov through the Kynda, Kresta, Kara and Slava to the enormous Kirov classes. Together, these vessels marked the apogee of Soviet naval technology and capability and they remain today the largest non-aircraft carrier warships built since 1945. Containing material previously only available in Russian and fully researched from specialist defence journals, this comprehensive volume examines the design, development, and intended role of these impressive, hi-tech warships, and recounts their dramatic operational history as NATO and Soviet warships faced off against each other during the long Cold War at sea.