WesWorld

Squadron's warships "In Action" series have good color profiles, but the drawings are rather small and are profile only with no plan views. I get most of my profiles from Siegfried Breyer's Battleships and Battlecruisers book, but it is totally lacking in any color drawings.

If you´re new to warships I guess you need some books granting an overview first. Colored shemes are a problem but if you´re interested in technical data and drawings in general I recommend:

On capital ships (battleships and battlecruisers)

- Siegfried Breyer "Battleships and Battlecruiser 1905-1970"

(a good book to start from even though it is a little bit older and thus lacking some modern information; some also say it is biased but I do not agree - at least regarding its original german version, not sure about the translated variant)

- William Garzke & Robert Dulin "Battleships - Allied Battleships in World War II"

- William Garzke & Robert Dulin "Battleships - Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II"

(the G&D books are very expensive, big and detailled but include many information you won´t find anywhere else so they are worth having)

- Alan Raven & John Roberts "The British Battlehsips of World War II"

(some rate this as _the_ book about british battleships and it was a little bit difficult to get lately but as I heard there is a new version available now"

On airplane carriers

- Roger Chesneau "Aircraft Carriers of the World, 1914 to the Present"

(probably the best alround book currently available on carriers and its also relatively cheap)

On cruisers of all kind

- Mike J. Whitley "Cruisers in World War II"

(I rate this as the best book about cruiser in general when it is your intention to get an idea what cruisers are about - they are the most complex group of warships when it comes to roles and design)

- Antony Preston "Cruiser 1880-1990"

(not a very detailed book when technical features are your focus but it provides a good overview regarding the development of cruisers as a family)

- Eric Lacroix & Linton Wells II "Japanese Cruisers of the Pacific War"

(there are many books about individual classes, ships or cruisers of a specific nation like M. J. Whitleys "German Cruisers of World War II" and it makes little sense to go into detail here - nevertheless I really recommend to get your hands on the Lacroix/Wells book as it is the most detailled and impressive when it comes to technical details and design history/philosophy even though it is also very expensive and BIG)

On destroyers

- Mike J. Whitley "Destroyers of World War II"

(another one of Whitleys books with the typical drawings which are not very detailed but good enough to get an idea of technical solutions&details)

On warships & fleets in general

- Richard Worth "Fleets of World War II"

(the author is also known as Tiornu on several boards in the web and his sometimes confusing humor can also be found in his book which allows a good overview about the worlds fleets and their weaknesses and strengths)

- Conways "All the Worlds Fighting Ships"

(there are two issues (1906-1921 and 1922-1946) which include some errors but are generally good enough to to tell you which unit was in service when and where but you shouldn´t expect too much technical detail)

- John Campbell "Jutland"

(if you ever heard of this greatest naval battle of all times you are surely infected by this overwhelming image of titans made of steel clashing each other - and this is the book to provide you with all the details including an in depth analysis of the individual damage each shell did or each ship suffered)

Keep in mind: If you want to know more we also have a book review section down the site...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0760712…glance&n=283155

This book should have just about all the colour profiles that you want. Its in the same style as the other profiles on your website (same series of book I think). If you want data or histories, don't buy this book, but there are good colour profiles.

Nice to see you again, Tariff.

I forget the name of the series offhand, but recently there's been a series of pocket guides for military topics popping up at Borders. I've seen books for pretty much the entire Kriegsmarine (from E-boats to the Battleships), and I saw one on British Battlecruisers. I'm assuming they have books for most of the rest of the ships, and they have decent colored graphics. Next time I'm at Borders or my hobby shop I'll try and remember the name.

Sorry missed this post but I can add a few more books to your list.

Allied coastal forces of WW2 by John Lambert and Al Ross

Volume one: Fairmile designs and U.S. subchasers
Volume two: Vosper MTB's and U.S. Elco's

Lots of line drawings, cutaways and other neat drawings, saddly no colour pictures.

Mike J. Whitley also has a book on battleships

Another book with many line drawings is "Warships of the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1869-1945" by Hansgeorg Jentschura, Deiter Jung and Peter Mickel. This bok has drawings of almost every Japanese ship class in the time frame specified by the title.

In addition to the "Squadron Signal" series of soft cover books, "Warship Pictorial", by Steve Wiper, has some decent line drawings and a at least one colour picture. Eack book covers a specific ship, sometimes the entire class.

Quoted

I just looked them up on Amazon and placed 48 orders that came to over $500 in war books. My wife is going to shoot me.

Just shows you how dangerous life can be.

Just look at it this way: you'll have plenty of reading material while recovering in the hospital!

Wow!...and I thought spending 280 bucks on M.J. Whitleys BB and cruiser books.

Which books did you order Tarrif?

Wow, you must have a huge book collection and if you don't...you do now!