The New Vanguard series is one of my favorites from the Osprey publishing group. This particular edition covers Commonwealth Cruisers operated by countries of the United Kindom's commonwealth of nations. Not all of these nations operated ships of this size. For instance, South Africa had no need for anything that large as they had little in the way of an ocean-going navy.

For that reason, the only countries that operated cruisers during the war were Australia, Canada and New Zealand. These ships, for a considerable part of the war, operated in conjunction with either the Royal Navy or, when Japan entered the picture, the US Navy.

Australia operated more heavy ships than the other dominion navies. One reason is that for much of the interwar period, the RAN was also responsible for the defense of New Zealand, though that changed in the late 1930s. The RAN operated three heavy cruisers: two Kent class ships, the Australia and the Canberra as well as the London class cruiser, the Shropshire. There were also four light cruisers. One was the Birmingham class HMAS Adelaide, then there were three Perth class ships, the Sydney, Perth, and Hobart. These ships were rather active during the war, first service in the Mediterranean, and then in the waters around Australia. The Canberra was sunk at the Battle of Savo Island, Sydney was sunk in an epic battle with the German raider Kormoran, while the Perth was sunk during the Battle of the Java Sea. Hobart was hit by a Japanese submarine and so damaged that she was out for most of the war.

The Royal New Zealand Navy operated two Leander class light cruisers, the Leander and the Achilles as well as one Cape Colonly class light cruiser the Gambia. These ships spent the early part of the war with the Royal Navy, the Achilles being active at the Battle of the River Platte. She was transferred to the Indian Navy at the end of the war.

The Royal Canadian Navy had little use for cruisers as most of their naval war effort was escorting Atlantic convoys and for that task, destroyers and smaller were much more useful. However, they did have two cruisers. There were two Cape Colony class light cruisers. One was the HMCS Uganda, which operated towards the end of the war with the British Pacific fleet. The other was the HMCS Ontario which did not get into service until the last days of the war.

The authors cover a history of the dominion navies prior to WWII then the various classes of ships and their war record. The various modifications made to these ships is also covered as some saw a rather long war career while others did not. The book is full of period photos, some great illustrations of the ships in action as well as the usual tables on each class of ship that is the norm for this series. In all, it makes for a well done reference on these ships and is a book that enthusiasts and naval modelers will find most useful.

September 2015

For more on the complete line of Osprey books, visit http://ospreygrp.com. In the US, it is Osprey Direct at 44-02 23rd St, Suite 219, Long Island City, NY 11101., where you can get a catalogue of available books.

If you would like your product reviewed fairly and fairly quickly, please contact the editor or see other details in the Note to Contributors.