Charting RN’s changes

Rebuilding the Royal Navy: British Warship Design Since 1945

By D. K. Brown and George Moore.
Chatham Publishing.
225pp. $59.90.

Reviewer: Ross Gillett

This is an excellent visual and narrative description of the warships and auxiliaries built for the Royal Navy from the end of World War II, an era of challenge for a navy no longer the largest fleet, nor at the forefront of emerging technology.

One of the more unusual conversions was that of Girdle Ness from a landing craft maintenance ship to prototype missile ship to test the Sea Slug missiles that would eventually arm the County class guided missile destroyers.

A major highlight of the book is its numerous line drawings and artists’ impressions of planned but never built warship designs, including a 1960 escort cruiser armed with Sea Slug missiles and a hangar for eight Wessex helicopters and a 1961 version armed with Sea Slug and a twin 4.5 inch turret, plus a more conventional flight deck and hangar for the helicopters.

Austria’s Navy is represent via Sydney and Melbourne, the three Daring class destroyers, Type 15 frigate conversions, new Type 12 anti-submarine frigates, Oberon class submarines and Ton class minesweepers. Highly recommended.