By the author of Grounded: The Case for Abolishing the United States Air Force
“Farley deploys an incisive and brutally direct style” —Warships: International Fleet Review
From the moment when the launching of HMS Dreadnought made every capital ship in the world obsolete overnight, we have been fascinated with these powerful surface combatants. Here Robert M. Farley looks at the history and folklore that makes these ships enduring symbols of national power—and sometimes national futility. From Arizona to Yamato, here are more than sixty lavishly illustrated accounts of battleships from the most well-known to the most unusual, including at least one ship from every nation that ever owned a modern battleship. Separate essays and sidebars look at events and lore that greatly affected battleships.
Ships profiled include
HMS Victoria
USS Oregon
HIJMS Mikasa
SMS Schleswig-Holstein
Danton
HMS Dreadnought
HMS Invincible
Sao Paulo
USS Michigan
SMS Ostfriesland
SMS Goeben
RN Dante Alighieri
USS Utah
Espana
HMS Lion
Sevastopol
USS Arkansas
SMS Friedrich Der Grosse
HMS New Zealand
HMAS Australia
Giulio Cesare
SMS Viribus Unitis
ARA Rivadavia
Volya
USS New York
Almirante Latorre
HIJMS Kongo
USS Oklahoma
HMS Iron Duke
HMS Warspite
SMS Lutzow
SMS Szent Istvan
Bretagne
HMS Barham
HIJMS Yamashiro
SMS Baden
HMS Royal Sovereign
USS Arizona
USS Mississippi
HMS Renown
HIJMS Hyuga
HMS Hood
USS California
USS Maryland
HIJMS Nagato
HIJMS Kaga
USS Lexington
HMS Rodney
Admiral Scheer
RN Littorio
Strasbourg
Scharnhorst
Tirpitz
Jean Bart
HMS Prince of Wales
HIJMS Yamato
USS Washington
USS Massachusetts
USS Wisconsin
HMS Vanguard
USS Guam
RFS Pyotr Velikiy
Cover painting by Burnell Poole, The Sixth Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet Leaving the Firth of Forth
