US Navy Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers
US Navy Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers

Author: Mark Stille

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2020-02-20

Total Pages: 49

ISBN-13: 1472835255

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Faced with an increasingly formidable anti-ship cruise missile threat from the Soviet Union in the early days of the Cold War, and with the recent memory of the kamikaze threat from World War II, the USN placed a great priority on developing air defence cruise missiles and getting them to sea to protect the fleet. The first of these missiles were sizable, necessitating large ships to carry them and their sensors, which resulted in the conversion of a mix of heavy and light cruisers. These ships, tasked with protecting carrier groups and acting as flagships, entered service from 1955 and served until 1980. The cruisers served in the front lines of the Cold War and many saw combat service, engaging in surface actions from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. Complementing the conventionally-powered missile cruisers was a much smaller number of expensive nuclear-powered cruisers, including the Long Beach, the USN's largest-ever missile cruiser. Until replaced by the Ticonderoga and Burke classes of Aegis ships, the USN's 38 missile cruisers were the most capable and important surface combatants in the fleet and served all over the globe during the Cold War. Using specially commissioned artwork and meticulous research, this illustrated title explores the story of these cruisers in unparalleled detail, revealing the history behind their development and employment.

US Navy Light Cruisers 1941–45
US Navy Light Cruisers 1941–45

Author: Mark Stille

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2016-07-28

Total Pages: 52

ISBN-13: 1472811410

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During World War II, the United States built 72 light cruisers of various classes. In response to the severe air threat that surface ships faced, new cruisers were designed with increasingly heavy antiaircraft weaponry as well as the traditional 6in guns. With the speed and range to keep up with aircraft carriers, and their considerable antiaircraft capability, they were a mainstay of the carrier escorts. This book examines every US light cruiser produced, including those of the Fargo and Worcester classes, which were actually complete after World War II had ended, tracing their design, development and evolution throughout the war and beyond.

Cruisers and Battle Cruisers
Cruisers and Battle Cruisers

Author: Eric W. Osborne

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA

Published: 2004-11-23

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 1851093702

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Fast cruisers, the eyes of the fleet, were the standard-bearers of empire, the ultimate warships of gunboat diplomacy—no other vessel class was so well equipped to serve as both a working war machine and a projection of national might. Cruisers and Battle Cruisers explores the pivotal importance of cruiser-class ships to naval warfare and, in a wider scope, world politics. In vivid but accessible detail, it describes the milestones of cruiser design and deployment from mid-19th century development of steam-propelled, ironclads to the World War I introduction of battle cruisers; from the decisive naval engagements of World War II and the addition of missiles and computerized systems to the most recent developments. Readers will see how specific technological changes progressively increased the destructive power of cruisers and altered their combat roles, how design innovations altered the quality of life aboard ship, and how cruisers came to be called upon to serve a variety of noncombat roles in war and peace.

US Heavy Cruisers 1943–75
US Heavy Cruisers 1943–75

Author: Mark Stille

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-09-20

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 1782006338

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This title follows on from a companion book covering the US heavy cruisers that were built prior to the war, together forming the definitive guide to the US's heavy cruiser classes. Versatile warships, the heavy cruisers of the Baltimore class, and their successors in the Oregon City and Des Moines classes, commonly acted as carrier escorts throughout World War II, but also performed bombardment duties in support of amphibious landings. Post-World War II, the heavy cruisers continued to see service, chiefly in Korea and Vietnam. Even after the heyday of the heavy cruiser had passed, the ships continued to serve – several were converted into the earliest examples of guided missile cruisers, and created an enduring legacy in the US Navy. From an established expert on the US and Pacific naval history, this is an invaluable resource richly illustrated with artwork and photographs.

US Heavy Cruisers 1941–45
US Heavy Cruisers 1941–45

Author: Mark Stille

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2014-04-20

Total Pages: 50

ISBN-13: 1782006303

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Designed and produced under the regulations of the Washington Naval Treaty, the heavy cruisers of the Pensacola, Northampton, Portland, New Orleans and Wichita classes were exercises in compromise. While they possessed very heavy armament – the Pensacolas, for example, carrying a main battery of ten 8” guns – this came at the cost of protection – armor was the same thickness as a gun cruiser, and incapable of protecting the vessels from enemy 8” fire. As the classes evolved, these flaws began to be corrected, with the main battery being reduced, and increased protection being added to the vital areas of the ship. Despite these drawbacks, the pre-war heavy cruiser classes served with distinction throughout World War II.

The United States Navy in World War II
The United States Navy in World War II

Author: Mark Stille

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2021-11-11

Total Pages: 396

ISBN-13: 1472848039

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A comprehensive overview of the strategy, operations and vessels of the United States Navy from 1941 to 1945. Although slowly building its navy while neutral during the early years of World War II, the US was struck a serious blow when its battleships, the lynchpin of US naval doctrine, were the target of the dramatic attack at Pearl Harbor. In the Pacific Theatre, the US was thereafter locked into a head to head struggle with the impressive Imperial Japanese Navy, fighting a series of major battles in the Coral Sea, at Midway, the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf and Okinawa in the struggle for supremacy over Japan. Having avoided the decisive defeat sought by the IJN, the US increased industrial production and by the end of the war, the US Navy was larger than any other in the world. Meanwhile in the west, the US Navy operated on a second front, supporting landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, and in 1944 played a significant part in the D-Day landings, the largest and most complex amphibious operation of all time. Written by an acknowledged expert and incorporating extensive illustrations including photographs, maps and colour artwork, this book offers a detailed look at the strategy, operations and vessels of the US Navy in World War II.

History of United States Naval Operations
History of United States Naval Operations

Author: James A. Field, Jr.

Publisher: University Press of the Pacific

Published: 2001-12-01

Total Pages: 520

ISBN-13: 9780898756753

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Americans think of the Korean War as death and hardship in the bitter hills of Korea. It was certainly this, and for those who fought this is what they generally saw. Yet every foot of the struggles forward, every step of the retreats, the overwhelming victories, the withdrawals and last ditch stands had their seagoing support and overtones. The spectacular ones depended wholly on amphibious power -- the capability of the twentieth century scientific Navy to overwhelm land-bound forces at the point of contact. Yet the all pervading influence of the sea was present even when no major landing or retirement or reinforcement highlighted its effect. When navies clash in gigantic battle or hurl troops ashore under irresistible concentration of ship-borne guns and planes, nations understand that sea power is working. It is not so easy to understand that this tremendous force may effect its will silently, steadily, irresistibly even though no battles occur. No clearer example exists of this truth in wars dark record than in Korea. Communist-controlled North Korea had slight power at sea except for Soviet mines. So beyond this strong underwater phase the United States Navy and allies had little opposition on the water. It is, therefore, easy to fail to recognize the decisive role navies played in this war fought without large naval battles.