Modern Warships Up Close

Dougherty, Martin J. Modern Warships Up Close. Part of the Military Technology: Top Secret Clearance series. 2016. 224p. ISBN 978-1-50817084-6. Available at 623.82 DOU on the library shelves.

The First World War was the glory age of giant naval battleships, armed with large cannons and able to destroy targets miles away. Following this conflict, military planners assumed that battleships would remain the best naval weapons, but the development of aircraft made the aircraft carrier more valuable. Battleships found themselves vulnerable during the Second World War. Nations adopted by building more destroyers, missile ships, and frigates.

With evolving roles away from naval battles and towards operations support and interdiction, naval ships and strategies have adapted to new realities. This book profiles increasingly sophisticated warships with a multitude of roles, from aircraft carriers to helicopter and troop transports, to military hospital ships and missile platforms. Technological advances have allowed ships to downsize while packing better weapons to strike at enemy forces and for self-protection.

Fans of military history and of equipment will enjoy reading about the evolution of warships and the functions they play in today’s world.

The Military Technology: Top Secret Clearance series include Small Arms Up Close, Warplanes of World War II Up Close, Military Jets Up Close, and Tanks of World War II Up Close.