During the mid-1930s, the Royal Navy realized that aircraft were a major concern to surface ships. While extant ships could add AA guns, that all added topside weight and so limited how much extra could be attached. It was planned to convert older C, D, and E class light cruisers, but money was a real issue. So the conversion was a really slow process.

By the time the Second World War was underway, that need became even more obvious. As a result, more ships were scheduled for conversion. These conversions were fairly major as the older main armament had to be removed and specialized AA guns with their directors had to be incorporated. Often parts of the superstructure had to be moved and modified for the new role. Armament was usually twin 4mm dual purpose guns along with smaller caliber AA guns. In addition to modifiying light cruisers, other ship types were put into AA service, mostly commercial types taken over by the Navy specifically for this purpose. Their slow speed was not an issue when it came to escorting equally slow moving convoys.

This series mixes history and modeling together and this book follows a familiar format. The first quarter of it is a history of the various ship classes. This includes any combat operations in which they were involved.  This is followed by a section covering various kits and accessories along with several feature builds in various scales. Several pages of plan drawings are provided and there is also a very nice section on the varied camouflage schemes carried by these ships. In addition to all this, in much of the book are some very nice and clear period photographs of these ships. The majority of the book is dedicated to modeling which includes kits and most of all, build images.  In all, it is a nice addition to the series and one you should seriously consider getting this one.

July 2026

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