It is always a delight to receive a book from Stratus. They choose interesting subjects and the books are well researched. This one is no exception and happens to be part of a series of which I was quite unaware. The series covers USN ships and this is the first part of volume 4. It concentrates on torpedo boats and then goes into destroyers.

I found the torpedo boat section to be quite interesting as I knew nothing of what are actually quite small craft. Not surprising that the number built was fairly small with the last one being commissioned in 1902. These were followed by the first destroyers, which, though the torpedo boats grew with each class, were significantly larger ships and built in considerably larger numbers.

The author has divided each book into the various classes of ship and provides us, where possible, with at least one decent period photo of each vessel. Heading each ship is a name/hull number, builder, date the keel was laid, date of launch and date of commission. There then follows a brief history of the ship that includes its fate. At the end of each class of ship are statistics that include size, complement, speed, engines, armament and so on.

This volume covers all the torpedo boats and destroyers up through the Wilkes class of four-stackers, ending with DD-185. Many of the latter ships saw service during WWII and include those that were provided to the British as part of lend-lease. The final section of the book contains information on the various camouflage schemes and patterns used on these vessels. In all, it is an outstanding reference on the type and one that any naval enthusiast should seek.

May 2023

Review book courtesy ofwww.casematepublishers.com. You can get your now at this link. 

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