Battleships - USA: books - history and deployment (1/2)

U.S. Battleships 1939-45

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For nearly 50 years, battleships were the most powerful naval weapons, used by the US Navy and other fleets. Their dominance seemed over when Japanese aircraft sank many at Pearl Harbor in 1941, marking the rise of aircraft carriers. However, US battleships continued to serve in World War II and the Cold War.

Naval historian Ingo Bauernfeind explores the history of US battleships and battlecruisers, from the early South Carolina-class dreadnoughts to the unbuilt Montana-class. This illustrated book details each ship's career, fate, and significance in American naval history.
It covers battles in the Pacific and key operations, including shore bombardments at Iwo Jima, Okinawa, and Normandy. It also examines the Iowa-class battleships' roles in the Korean and Vietnam wars, and their surprising return in 1991's Operation Desert Storm, where USS Missouri and USS Wisconsin used guided missiles, drones, and their 16-inch guns.
The book concludes with a tour of USS Missouri, an overview of seven preserved battleships now serving as museums, and a look at the wrecks of USS Arizona and USS Utah at Pearl Harbor.

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U.S. Battleships : An Illustrated Design History

Naval historians and enthusiasts alike will find U.S. Battleships to be the most comprehensive reference available on the entire development of U.S. battleships, from the Maine and Texas of 1886, through the Montana class of World War II, up to the recommissioned Iowas.
Like the other books in Norman Friedman's design-history series, U.S. Battleships is based largely on formerly classified internal U.S. Navy records.

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

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US Navy Battleships 1886-98 : The pre-dreadnoughts and monitors that fought the Spanish-American War (Osprey)

After the American Civil War, the US Navy had been allowed to decay into complete insignificance, yet the commissioning of the modern Brazilian battleship Riachuelo and poor performance against the contemporary Spanish fleet, forced the US out of its isolationist posture towards battleships.
The first true US battleships began with the experimental Maine and Texas, followed by the three-ship Indiana class, and the Iowa class, which incorporated lessons from the previous ships. These initial ships set the enduring US battleship standard of being heavily armed and armoured at the expense of speed.

This fully illustrated study examines these first six US battleships, a story of political compromises, clean sheet designs, operational experience, and experimental improvements. These ships directly inspired the creation of an embryonic American military-industrial complex, enabled a permanent outward-looking shift in American foreign policy and laid the foundations of the modern US Navy.

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US Navy Battleships 1895-1908 : The Great White Fleet and the beginning of US global naval power (Osprey)

The last predreadnought battleships of the US Navy were critical to the technological development of US battleships, and they were the first tool of international hard power wielded by the United States, a nation which would eventually become the world's dominant political and military power of the 20th century.
These battleships were the stars of the 1907-09 Great White Fleet circumnavigation, in which the emerging power and reach of the US Navy was displayed around the world. They also took part in the bombardment and landings at Veracruz, some served as convoy escorts in World War I, and the last two were transferred to the Hellenic Navy and were sunk during World War II.

This book examines the design, history, and technical qualities of the final six classes of US predreadnought battleships, all of which were involved in the circumnavigation of the Great White Fleet. These classes progressively closed the quality gap with European navies - the Connecticuts were the finest predreadnought battleships ever built - and this book also compares and contrasts US predreadnought battleships to their foreign contemporaries.

Packed with illustrations and specially commissioned artwork, this is an essential guide to the development of US Navy Battleships at the turn of the twentieth century.

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US Standard-Type Battleships 1941-45 (1) : Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Mexico Classes (Osprey)

Written by US Navy expert Mark Stille, this book offers a unique insight into the Standard-type classes of US battleships. It provides a detailed investigation into the histories of each of the warships in the Standard-type battleship classes, the first three of which, the Nevada, Pennsylvania and New Mexico, formed the US Navy's main force in the inter-war period.

The Standard-types reflected a new design philosophy: by designing each class to meet common standards of maneuvrability and handling, vessels of different classes could operate as a single tactical unit without being limited by the performance of the slowest and least maneuvrable ship.
At the time of their construction, these ships incorporated the latest design features such as triple gun turrets. Although they were rendered increasingly obsolete by evolving naval doctrines and the ascendance of the fast battleship, they served with distinction throughout World War II.

This study combines analysis of design features and an absorbing narrative of operational histories to offer a comprehensive picture of the Standard-type battleships, from the brutal destruction of the USS Arizona to the triumphant occupation of Japan.

Contents: Introduction - Pre-war naval strategy and the role of the battleship - Design developments - Weapons - Radar - Nevada class - Pennsylvania class - New Mexico class - Analysis and Conclusion - Bibliography - Index.

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US Standard-Type Battleships 1941-45 (2): Tennessee, Colorado and Unbuilt Classes (Osprey)

This book completes an authoritative two-part study on the Standard-type US battleships of World War II - ships that were designed to fight a different type of war than the one that unfolded.
It gives precise technical details of the design history and features of the Tennessee, Colorado and the unfinished South Dakota and Lexington classes, whilst providing an operational history of the former two.

Written by a leading expert on the US Navy in World War II and augmented by contemporary photographs and specially commissioned illustrations, this is the other half of the story of the US Standard-type battleships - from the terrible damage they sustained at Pearl Harbor to their support of the war-winning landings of the US Marine Corps and US Army.

Contents: Introduction - World War II naval strategy and the role of the battleship - Design developments - Weapons - Fire control - Tactics - Tennessee class - Colorado class - South Dakota class - Lexington class - Analysis and Conclusion - Bibliography - Index.

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Super-Battleships of World War II: Montana-class, Lion-class, H-class, A-150 and Sovetsky Soyuz-class (Osprey)

At the start of World War II the battleship was still king, and all the major powers were designing even mightier battleships to surpass their most modern and powerful classes. But when World War II broke out, aircraft carriers would dominate naval warfare, and none of these monster warships were completed.

In this book, naval expert Mark Stille uncovers these lost battleships as they are reconstructed with superb new full-colour artwork. The US Navy wanted five Montana-class ships, based on the Iowas but with a heavier main battery and improved protection, and the Royal Navy began work on three 16in-gun Lion-class fast battleships.
The German Navy developed its H-class designs: initially an improved Bismack-class, they became more fantastical, culminating in the 141,500-ton, 20in-gun H-44. The Japanese A-150 was based on the Yamato-class but with 20.1in guns, while the 15 ships planned for the USSR's Sovetsky Soyuz-class would have rivalled the Montanas in size.
Explaining the design, intended roles and fate of these ships, this is the story of the last battleship designs in history.

Contents:
- Introduction
- Battleship design practices
- Protection
- Propulsion
- Firepower
- The super-battleship classes
- The United States Navy - the Montana-class
- The Royal Navy - the Lion-class
- The Kriegsmarine - the H-class
- The Imperial Japanese Navy - Design A-150
- The Soviet Navy - the Sovetsky Soyuz - class
- Analysis and conclusion
- Further reading
- Index.

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