Cacciatorpediniere - USA: libri di storia illustrati

U.S. Destroyers - An illustrated design history (Revised Edition)

This is one the most comprehensive references available on the entire development of U.S. Destroyers, from their early torpedo boat forebears to the mass-produced Fletcher-class of World War II, through the Spruance and Perry classes of the Cold War, and to the workhorse Arleigh Burke-class of the contemporary Navy. Like the other books in Friedman's design-history series, U.S. Destroyers is based largely on formerly classified internal U.S. Navy records.

Friedman, a leading authority on U.S. warships, explains the political and technical rationales of warship construction and recounts the evolution of each design. Alan Raven and A.D. Baker III have created detailed scale outboard and plan views of each ship class and of major modifications to many classes. Numerous photographs complement the text.

The Norman Friedman Illustrated Design History series of U.S. warships books has been an industry standard for three decades and has sold thousands of copies worldwide. To mark and celebrate this achievement, the Naval Institute Press is proud to make these books available once more.
Digitally remastered for enhanced photo resolution and quality, corrected, and updated, this series will continue to serve - for scholars and enthusiasts alike - as the foundation for U.S. naval warship research and reference for years to come.

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US Destroyers 1934-45 - Pre-war Classes (Osprey)

Since the beginning of the 20th century, destroyers have been all-purpose ships, indispensable in roles large and small - from delivering the mail at sea to screening other vessels and, where larger ships were not present, forming the front line in battle.

This title details the 169 ships of ten US Navy classes introduced in the 1930s: early 1,500-tonners and 1,850-ton destroyer leaders designed to conform to the 1930 London Naval Treaty, plus the successor 1,570-ton Sims class and 1,620- and 1,630-ton Benson and Gleaves classes.
In wartime, most 1,500-tonners and leaders initially saw front line duty in the Pacific but were relegated to secondary assignments as newer vessels arrived; while the later 1,620- and 1,630-tonners became the standard destroyers of the Atlantic War.
This volume reveals the fascinating design story behind these pioneering classes - from the constraints of peacetime treaties to advances in propulsion engineering, and wartime modifications. With an operational overview of their service and tables listing all ships by class, builder, and initial squadron, this is the definitive guide to the pre-war US destroyer classes.

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US Destroyers 1942-45 - Wartime Classes (Osprey)

Few if any 20th century warships were more justly acclaimed than the destroyers of the U.S. Navy's Fletcher class. Admired as they were for their advanced and rakish design, it was their record as workhorses of the Pacific War that placed them among the most battle-tested and successful fighting ships of all time.

This title describes the Fletchers and their Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class derivatives, their machinery, armament, and construction, with a listing of all 343 ships by hull number and builder. It features an operational history of the 287 ships commissioned during World War II, which traces the evolution of night surface action tactics in the Solomon Islands and the parallel development of the Combat Information Center; the drive across the Pacific and liberation of the Philippines with tables showing the rapid introduction of new squadrons; and the radar pickets' climactic stand against kamikaze aircraft at Okinawa.
With summaries of losses and decorations and specially commissioned artwork, this is a definitive book on the wartime US destroyer classes.

Contents: Introduction - Design and development - Service modifications and conversions - Operational histories - Conclusion.

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US Flush-Deck Destroyers 1916-45 : Caldwell, Wickes, and Clemson classes (Osprey)

Quattro tubi di fumo e ponti a filo: queste navi rappresentavano un design di cacciatorpediniere tipicamente americano. Ideate immediatamente prima e durante il coinvolgimento degli Stati Uniti nella Prima Guerra Mondiale, dominarono le forze di cacciatorpediniere della Marina statunitense fino alla Seconda Guerra Mondiale.
Furono impiegati nei convogli del Nord Atlantico e del Mare di Norvegia, e praticamente ovunque nel Pacifico, dall'Alaska all'Australia.

Cinquanta di questi aerei furono ceduti alla Gran Bretagna nel momento del bisogno, nel 1940, e molti altri avrebbero prestato servizio in altre marine militari, combattendo sotto le bandiere sovietica, canadese, norvegese e persino imperiale giapponese.
Svolsero inoltre una varietà di ruoli, fungendo da navi appoggio per idrovolanti, mezzi di trasporto ad alta velocità, dragamine e posamine. Una di esse fu persino utilizzata come mina semovente durante l'Operazione Chariot, distruggendo il bacino di carenaggio di Saint-Nazaire.

Completamente illustrato con opere d'arte commissionate e fotografie dell'epoca, questo volume svela la storia operativa di queste navi della Marina degli Stati Uniti che si distinsero in entrambe le guerre mondiali.

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US Navy Destroyer Escorts of World War II (Osprey)

The Destroyer Escort was the smallest ocean- going escort built for the United States Navy - a downsized destroyer with less speed, fewer guns, and fewer torpedoes than its big brother, the fleet destroyer. Destroyer escorts first went into production because the Royal Navy needed an escort warship which was larger than a corvette, but which could be built faster than a destroyer. Lacking the shipyards to build these types of ships in Britain, they ordered them in the US.

Once the US unexpectedly entered World War II, its navy suddenly also needed more escort warships, even warships less capable than destroyers, and the destroyer escort was reluctantly picked to fill the gap. Despite the Navy's initial reservations, these ships did yeoman service during World War II, fighting in both the Atlantic and Pacific, taking on both U-boat and Japanese submarines and serving as the early warning pickets against kamikazes later in the war.
They also participated in such dramatic actions as the Battle of Samar (where a group of destroyers and destroyer escorts fought Japanese battleships and cruisers to protect the escort carriers they were shielding) and the capture of the U-505 (the only major naval vessel captured at sea by the US Navy).

The destroyer escorts soldiered on after World War II in both the United States Navy and a large number of navies throughout the world, with several serving into the twenty-first century. This book tells the full story of these plucky ships, from their design and development to their service around the world, complete with stunning illustrations and contemporary photographs.

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USN Destroyer vs IJN Destroyer - The Pacific, 1943 (Osprey)

This book covers the fierce night naval battles fought between the US Navy and the Imperial Japanese Navy during late 1943 as the Allies advanced slowly up the Solomons Islands toward the major Japanese naval base at Rabaul. During this period, several vicious actions were fought featuring the most modern destroyers of both navies.

Throughout most of 1942, the Imperial Navy had held a marked edge and a key ingredient of these successes was their destroyer force, which combined superior training and tactics with the most capable torpedo in the world. Even into 1943 mixed Allied light cruiser/destroyer forces were roughly handled by Japanese destroyers.

After these battles, the Americans decided to stop chasing Japanese destroyers with cruisers so the remainder of the battles in 1943 (with one exception) were classic destroyer duels.
The Americans still enjoyed the technical edge provided to them by radar, and now added new, more aggressive tactics. The final result was the defeat of the Imperial Navy's finely trained destroyer force and the demonstration that the Japanese were unable to stop the Allies' advance.

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USN Fleet Destroyer vs IJN Fleet Submarine : The Pacific 1941-42 (Osprey)

In vista della guerra del Pacifico, gli strateghi navali giapponesi credevano che si sarebbe combattuto uno scontro decisivo tra flotte contro la Marina degli Stati Uniti. In inferiorità numerica rispetto alla USN, la Marina imperiale giapponese pianificò di utilizzare i suoi grandi sottomarini oceanici per indebolire gradualmente l'avversario prima della grande battaglia.
Per raggiungere questo obiettivo, alla flotta sottomarina della Marina imperiale giapponese fu affidato il compito di effettuare lunghe ricognizioni della flotta da battaglia della Marina statunitense, anche in porto, per poi pedinarla e attaccarla.

Da parte sua, la Marina degli Stati Uniti era pienamente consapevole della potenziale minaccia rappresentata dai sottomarini giapponesi, e gli equipaggi dei cacciatorpediniere erano addestrati ed equipaggiati con moderne armi e tattiche antisommergibile per proteggere la flotta da battaglia.

Smentendo l'assunto che i sottomarini giapponesi fossero inefficaci durante la guerra del Pacifico, questo studio riccamente illustrato esamina i loro scontri con la Marina degli Stati Uniti, nonché i successi e i fallimenti dei cacciatorpediniere americani nella protezione delle loro navi da guerra principali.

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USS Kidd (DD-661): From WWII and Korea to Museum Ship (Legends of Warfare)

L'USS Kidd (DD-661) è l'unico cacciatorpediniere di classe Fletcher conservato nella configurazione della Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Con un totale di 175 unità varate, i cacciatorpediniere della classe Fletcher furono la classe più numerosa e influente della Marina degli Stati Uniti durante la Seconda Guerra Mondiale.

La DD-661 prese il nome dal contrammiraglio Isaac C. Kidd, caduto in combattimento a bordo della corazzata Arizona a Pearl Harbor. La USS Kidd partecipò a operazioni sia nell'Atlantico che nel Pacifico. Nell'aprile del 1945, la nave fu gravemente danneggiata da un attacco kamikaze. La Kidd fu rimessa in servizio durante la guerra di Corea e definitivamente radiata nel 1964.

Gli interni e gli esterni della nave sono stati meticolosamente restaurati e conservati a Baton Rouge dalla Louisiana Naval War Memorial Commission. Quest'opera si avvale di fotografie a colori per offrire ai lettori un tour illustrato della nave, sia sul ponte che sottocoperta.

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