Ship Craft #28: British Escort Destroyers of WWII

Author/Artists: Les Brown

Publisher

Pen & Sword

Price

$28.95 from Casemate

Reviewer:

Scott Van Aken

Notes: 64 pages, softcover, 120 illustrations
ISBN: 978-1-
3990-8175-7

When it was obvious that war was coming, the Royal Navy realized that they needed a smaller class of ship that was almost the size of destroyers, able to keep up with the fleet, but also such that they could be used to help guard convoys. The idea was to put destroyer armament on these smaller ships. The result was a fairly seaworthy smaller craft with decent armament that included a good air defense suite. Of course, it would have to be able to deal with submarines so depth charges were also required. While many did not have torpedo tubes, some did  and often those ships had a gun turret removed to help save weight.

In addition, the Royal Navy was provided with 50 old USN destroyers, which were converted in a variety of escort ships and fast transports. These ships often had boilers removed along with stacks either removed or shortened to better balance the ships. They were also rearmed with British AA armament.

The book follows a standard format. The first quarter of it is a history of the various ship classes. This is followed by most of the rest of the book covering model builds along with kits and accessories. It ends with a section on camouflage and drawings of a couple dozen ships. In all, it is a nice addition to the series and one you should seriously consider getting this one.

June 2022

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