This is the latest in the Squadron/Signal Warships in Action series and one that I never thought would be seen. Usually one thinks of glamorous ships like cruisers and destroyers, but landing craft not only outnumbered these other types by a large margin, but were seen in every theater of operations.

As with most in Action books, this one is strong on photos and light on historical background. That is fine. I have used the in Action series for decades as a primer on a subject. If more interest is shown in the subject, then the reader can go on to more in-depth books on the type. The rest of us will have a good book to use for any upcoming building projects!

The book is broken down into several segments. They are as follows:

Landing Craft, Personnel and Vehicle
Landing Craft, Mechanized
Landing Craft, Tank
Landing Craft, Infantry and Support
Landing Ship, Medium
Landing Ship, Tank

Naturally, they all use the typical abbreviations such as LSM for Landing Ship, Medium. There are also a number of subtypes and other variations on the theme. In fact, the actual number of differences is really quite impressive. As the size of the boat/ship increases, so does its carrying capability and armament. Some LSM's were literally armed to the teeth with rockets and other shore bombardment armament. Some of the vessels were modified to gunships and others (especially the LSTs) were turned into PT boat tenders, repair ships, salvage craft and a number of other very useful variants. Their ability to pull right up onto the beach made them extremely useful in these and other tasks.

In addition to information on the types themselves, information on the various camouflage schemes is given. I always thought of these as being standard navy grey, but there were a number of interesting painting options and schemes applied to these craft; especially as they got larger. The author shows as many of the different major modifications as he can in the 50 pages that comprise this book. I get the feeling that there is a lot more information that could have been included were space not a premium. As usual, there are a number of well done profiles in the center section as well as equally nice paintings on the cover and back page. I know that Squadron only prints on the outside of the covers, but I think they should consider increasing the amount of color in the books by utilizing the inside covers as do a number of other books of this type. Perhaps it isn't cost effective, but it would be nice.

This is a book that I found particularly fascinating about a subject that was basically new to me. In fact, I read it in one sitting right after I opened the package from Squadron containing it. It isn't often that a book strikes me in such a manner and I think you'll find it just as interesting. Highly recommended.

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