Allow me to being this one by stating that the book is more encompassing than the title may indicate. Coverage within the covers consists of ALL USN light cruisers ever built. The Light Cruiser was an appellation that did not appear until post WW 1 and went away once the last of the ships was scrapped. Before that there were covered cruisers or armored cruisers or just plain cruisers. In fact, the US Navy of the late 19th century was pretty much a cruiser navy, with the armored cruisers basically being fast battleships.

The original light cruisers in the US Navy were the Omaha class. These were the result of WW 1 and though the first one wasn't laid down until Dec of 1918, ten were built. They were fast and provided what was needed for the time. They were also quite crowded with one of the major issues being a lack of proper toilet facilities! All saw service in WW 2, though mostly in secondary tasks like convoy escort or shelling beaches. They were considered to be obsolescent at the start of the conflict and were soon scrapped after the war.

US light cruisers were pretty much limited to 6 inch guns and the next two classes, the Brooklyn and Atlanta classes would be considered 'Treaty Cruisers'. The Atlanta class has 5 inch guns and were designed as destroyer leaders, but found greater use as anti-aircraft cruisers, thanks to the 5/38 guns they carried.

By far the largest class of cruisers in the world were the Cleveland class and the later Fargo class. The Cleveland light cruisers were built without the restrictions of the various treaties. Many of these ships were converted while under construction to light aircraft carriers and post war, many were converted to missile cruisers. Quite a few were also sold or given to foreign navies. One ship, the USS Phoenix, has the dubious distinction of being the only ship ever sunk in action by a nuclear submarine. This occurred while she was the Belgrano in Argentine service and sunk during the Falklands War. Only one light cruiser has been preserved and that is the USS Little Rock, a Cleveland class ship that is a museum in Buffalo, NY.

The last class of light cruiser were the Worcester class. Only a few of these were completed and like many of the late build Cleveland class, were commissioned post-war and brief active duty lives.

Like other books in this series when it comes to ships, the author covers the reason for them being designed and built, the weapons they carried as well as their battle history. Each section on the various classes covers any modifications made to the shipe during their service. Due to the sheer number of ships covered, this material is succinct, but brief. There are superb photos and illustrations provided to give one a sense of what these ships were like. If you are a nautical modeler or a fan of ships, or just want to know more about these vessels, I highly recommend picking this one up.

July 2016

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