Osprey Publishing

British Destroyers 1892-1918 New Vanguard 163

by  Jim Crossley; Illustrated by Paul Wright

Reviewed By  Luke R. Bucci, IPMS# 33459

MSRP: $17.95 ISBN: 978-1-84908-119-1 Website: www.ospreypublishing.com Thanks to Kerry Serini of Osprey Publishing for the review copy. Jim Crossley is a self-confessed addict for early British destroyers, and it shows well in Osprey's New Vanguard series 163 paperback book entitled British Destroyers 1892-1918 (aka British Destroyers - The Early Years). While the topic may not conjure up instant recognition or excitement, hold on - this book is not stodgy or dreary or boring - it's a tease. It is a primer for the first destroyers and their evolution to the direct relatives of destroyers we still have on duty. I only wish it was more in-depth. British DDs 1892-1918 is standard Osprey Vanguard fare - 7.35 by 9.75 inches with color cover and some illustrations, and plenty of (mostly) high quality black and white photographs (OK, they did not have color photography over there back then). The book is divided into four main sections: 1) introduction and background; 2) class-by-class descriptions; 3) armament and 4) combat history. The only annoying part of this book (and many others) is that two-page illustrations or photographs cross the seam, making it impossible to get the full picture. To their credit, most illustrations are on a single leaf, but some very informative illustrations are less than ideal. Please stop the madness of seam-crossing pictures! A book this short for such a large subject can only give preliminary information, but even this fills a large gap in naval history - destroyer development. The period 1892-1918 saw the birth of destroyers and their gradual increase in size and importance for naval warfare. By 1918 they were an essential fixture in navies. The term destroyers is a derivative of their first official name of Torpedo Boat Destroyers (TBDs). To counter the growing numbers of small, torpedo-armed boats favored by the French Jeune D'Ecole (New School) over huge and expensive battlefleets, the British, who had overwhelming naval superiority worldwide, and protected their country with battlefleets, naturally developed the antidote to a bunch of pesky little boats - bigger pesky little boats that could chase, run down and destroy (hence the name) smaller torpedo boats. Indeed, the first TBDs were still called boats and did not even qualify as bona fide ships yet. Lessons were learned the hard way, and revolutions in torpedo development and propulsion machinery, mostly pioneered by the British, led to larger and larger boats, then ships. In true Victorian fashion, the first TBDs were the A class, followed by going up the alphabet to name each successive class, culminating in the W class of 1918. Hundreds of these craft were built by Great Britain, yet few have heard of these nimble and potent fighting machines. Battle tactics were honed in the Great War (aka WW1), and the British predilection for strong, forward-facing gun armament over heavier torpedo armament was a strategic victory. By 1918, the V and W classes were the penultimate destroyer, and most were active in WW2. The book has several full-color illustrations of class examples that provide excellent detail, plus a few illustrations of battles fought. This book would be useful for modelers, even though there are relatively few kits of anyone's destroyers from this era. H-P Models in Germany has resin models of M and later classes in 1/700 scale, but this era of British destroyers is sorely lacking for representation with model kits.

The battle actions section is strictly an overview with focus on a few battles, and even that focus is very short. I wish this section was expanded further - it only teases the reader into getting a glimpse into life on destroyers, and the important role they played in navies. By the end of WW1, no capital ships went anywhere without destroyer escort. That is mute testimony to importance of destroyers. Summary Would I have bought this book from the title? No. Would I have bought this book if I knew how well it was done? Yes! Many book sellers carry this book at a discount, which makes it a good bargain. I really liked this book even though I have no intention of building these ships. The topic is important for understanding evolution of naval warfare, but also as a window on technological evolution and how rapidly, and sometimes too quickly, that technology is applied to war machines. Recommended as "light reading" for naval warfare enthusiasts and erstwhile modelers of early British destroyers. It is not comprehensive, but a successful primer, leaving you wanting more information on the hundreds of destroyers of all nations swept into the War To End All Wars. If Jim Crossley writes a bigger book on this topic, I am buying it.