The Design and Construction of British Warships: 1939-1945

At the end of World War II, the Director of Naval Construction set the various design teams within his department the task of recording their wartime efforts, in an attempt to preserve the experience of the war while memories were still fresh. Chapters were commissioned on all types, from the largest fleet carriers to the humblest tugs and tankers. These summaries set out all the principal achievements and distilled the essential lessons of combat, pointing the way toward post-war improvements. By a quirk of history, these essays were never published, although in modified form a few found their way into the 1947 edition of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects proceedings. This volume, therefore, is the first complete publication, including the intended illustrations. Some minor editing has been necessary to avoid duplication and to explain obscure references, but it is very much the official story as seen by those involved. As such, it offers the historian and buff an insight into the design procedure and rationale of British warships in World War II.