Commonwealth Cruisers 1939-45

by Angus Konstam, Paul Wright (Illustrator)

Overview

In the early 20th century Britain's largest colonies established their own small naval presence, and their ships fought alongside the Royal Navy during World War I. These fleets were expanded during the inter-war years, and in 1939 the Royal Australian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy willingly joined the fight on behalf of the British Commonwealth. For the most part these small navies consisted of a few cruisers and destroyers, designed to protect territorial waters and local sea lanes. However, these warships and their crews soon found themselves involved in a global war, and consequently were called upon to fight wherever they were needed, against the Germans, the Italians and the Japanese. This book tells the story of these small cruiser forces, and the men who served the Allied cause so well during the long and brutal war at sea.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472805034
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	10/20/2015
Series:	New Vanguard , #226
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	24 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Angus Konstam hails from the Orkney Islands, and is the author of over 50 books, 30 of which are published by Osprey. This acclaimed and widely published author has written several books on piracy, including The History of Pirates, and Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate. A former naval officer and museum professional, he worked as the Curator of Weapons at the Tower of London and as the Chief Curator of the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum in Key West, Florida. He now works as a full-time author and historian, and lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for most of his career, specializing in steel and steam warships from the late 19th century to the present day. Paul's art has illustrated the works of Patrick O'Brian, Dudley Pope and C.S. Forester amongst others, and hangs in many corporate and private collections all over the world. A Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, Paul lives and works in Surrey, UK.
Angus Konstam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and has written widely on naval history, with well over a hundred books in print. He is a former Royal Navy officer, maritime archaeologist and museum curator, who has worked in the Royal Armouries, Tower of London, and Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. Now a full-time author and historian, he lives in Orkney.
Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for most of his career, specializing in steel and steam warships from the late 19th century to the present day. Paul's art has illustrated the works of Patrick O'Brian, Dudley Pope and C.S. Forester amongst others, and hangs in many corporate and private collections all over the world. A Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, Paul lives and works in Surrey.

Table of Contents

Introduction 4

Dominion Navies 6

The Royal Canadian Navy

The Royal Australian Navy

The Royal New Zealand Navy

Royal Australian Navy Cruisers 20

Town class

County class

Perth class

Royal New Zealand Navy Cruisers 26

Leander class

Crown Colony class

Royal Canadian Navy Cruisers 30

Modified Crown Colony class

Swiftsure class

The Dominion Fleets at War 33

Ship Details 37

HMAS Adelaide (1939)

HMAS Australia and Canberra

HMAS Shropshire

HMAS Sydney, Perth and Hobart

HMS (later HMNZS) Leander and Achilles

HMS (later HMNZS) Gambia

HMS (later HMCS) Uganda

HMCS Ontario

Further Reading 47

Index 48