US Cruisers 1883-1904: The birth of the steel navy

by Lawrence Burr, Ian Palmer (Illustrator), John White (Illustrator)

Overview

By the end of the Civil War the US Navy was the most advanced in the world, but in subsequent years America's naval might dwindled. However, in the 1880s a 'New Navy' was born and at the forefront of its fleet were the mighty cruisers. Naval historian Lawrence Burr details how these cruisers allowed America to rebuild their navy, exploring the design and development of these ships. Placing these advances in context, through vivid accounts of how US cruisers performed in the Spanish-American War of 1898, notably at Manila Bay and Santiago, he investigates the emergence of the US Navy as a major power. Illustrated with early photographs and full-colour artwork, this is a concise history of the birth and development of a modern navy that was the precursor to the development of modern steel fleets around the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781780962702
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Publishing
Publication date:	12/20/2011
Series:	New Vanguard , #143
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Lawrence Burr was a Co-Producer of the Channel 4 documentary, "Jutland-Clash of the Dreadnoughts". Lawrence took part in the expedition that surveyed the underwater wrecks of the battlecruisers by divers and camera equipped ROV. Lawrence has had a long interest in naval history, and resides on the Gulf Coast of Florida, USA. Tony Bryan is a freelance illustrator of many years' experience who lives and works in Dorset. He initially qualified in Engineering and worked for a number of years in Military Research and Development, and has a keen interest in military hardware – armour, small arms, aircraft and ships. Tony has produced many illustrations for partworks, magazines and books, including a number of titles in the New Vanguard series.
Ian Palmer is a highly experienced digital artist with two decades of experience in the video games industry, both as a 3D artist and an Art Director. He has a passion for military history, gaming and riding his motorbike. He lives in Warwickshire with his wife, daughter and menagerie of pets.
John White was born in Knebworth, Hertfordshire, in 1941. After school in NW London he achieved a scholarship to Harrow Collage of Art. He then took up an apprenticeship with the Forestry Commission in Lincolnshire, before qualifying for a place at the FC Forester Training School at Benmore in Argyllshire to study botany and dendrology. He remained with the Forestry Commission, joining their research division in 1962 and following the late Alan Mitchell as Research Dendrologist. He retired in 1996. He has contributed to many publications on the subject of northern hemisphere trees, and illustrated his own Forest and Woodland Trees for OUP in 1995.

Table of Contents

Introduction     4
A Naval Renaissance     4
Design and Construction     8
The Ships     11
Ships authorized in 1883
Ships authorized in 1885
Ships authorized in 1886
Ships authorized in 1887
Ships authorized in 1888
Ships authorized from 1890 to 1891
Ships authorized in 1892
Ships authorized from 1893 to 1898
Ships authorized in 1899
Ships authorized in 1900
Ships authorized from 1902 to 1904
Cruisers in Action     25
The Spanish-American War, 1898
The battle of Manila Bay
The battle of Santiago
Naval diplomacy
Pointing the Guns     36
The men behind the guns
USS Olympia     37
Conclusion     43
Select Bibliography     44
Appendix     46
Index     48

Editorial Reviews

These short histories provide the salient details of the individual ships — noting especially the improvements made over their predecessors — without a reader having to acquire a large, expensive 'encyclopedia' of American cruiser history. Each section is extremely well illustrated, with photographs as well as lavishly detailed, illustrated, original artworks.” —J. Graeme Arbuckle, The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord (Sept 2009)

“Overall, a very valuable point of reference for the ship modeler, researcher, or student interested in the steel navy cruiser era. Highly recommended from this modelers point of view!” —Mark R. Smith, Model Shipwrights

“In addition to the superb period photographs of these vessels, there is the artwork of Ian Palmer and John White to further enhance the experience of reading this book. It makes for a well rounded publication and a book that I can most highly recommend to you.” —Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (June 2008)

From the Publisher