British Battlecruisers 1914- 1918 (New Vanguard)

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

Great, 2007-04-08

I realy liked this book. The author has spend a lot of effort reserching and producing an original work that argues well that these ships deserve more credit than they get.

Very slim but well work the read.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

A good research source, 2007-03-14
Although this it is a small book, it is well researched. The illustrations are first rate. It is loaded with details and provides the best explanation of why the battlecruisers blew up so easily at the Battle of Jutland.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

Quick refreshing read, 2007-02-09
This is a refreshing change; albeit in a very small volume (hence the 4 rather than 5 start Review). Rather than regurgitate the hackneyed "Battlecruisers were a flawed concept" the author puts forward a rather different angle - that of a successful concept ahead of its time (and probably technology). A concept that was brought into disrepute by the loses incurred through poor strategy and incorrect cordite handling procedures. Its a pity that the companion Volume (British Battlecruisers 1939-45) however Does not follow in this vain- instead it takes the traditional approach to the subject and absolutely contradicts statements made in this volume. It I a pity tat the authors on these two volumes did not collaborate to provide a consistent theme to this story. Of the two I recommend this one because of the difference in view-The second volume adds nothing new to the subject

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

A Cut Above the Rest in New Vanguard, 2006-09-26
Naval aficionado Lawrence Burr has done something fairly unusual in an Osprey New Vanguard volume - he has introduced an original thesis and used the slim 48-page format to defend it, as well as to describe the actual subject in some detail. There is nothing stale or rehashed in this volume, but rather, a fresh look at a well-known story. Burr begins by stating that the standard view of British battlecruisers - that they were a flawed design and dangerously underarmored - is incorrect. Instead, Burr writes that, "British battlecruisers were a highly successful class of warship" and proceeds to defend his thesis with great vigor. Furthermore, the author's narrative on the Battle of Jutland provides fresh insight on that much-debated battle, which should also give the reader pause to consider the battlecruiser's role in that action.

There is some similarity between this volume and the earlier NV volume by Angus Konstam on "British Battlecruisers 1939-45," but the overall approach in this volume is far more analysis-based than the previous title. The author spends about a dozen pages discussing the development of the battlecruiser concept under Admiral Fisher in 1904, which the author describes as the marriage of speed, firepower and global communications to produce a weapons system that could be wielded to defend Britain's far-flung interests. However, the execution of Fisher's concept was under undermined when a new First Sea Lord, Admiral Wilson, was appointed in 1910 and he began to tinker with the armament of the battlecruisers. The author notes that Wilson imposed an inferior fire control system upon all but one of the battlecruisers (HMS Queen Mary) and rejected development of improved armor-piercing shells. These two mistakes would cost the battlecruisers dearly at the Battle of Jutland in 1916 and sully their reputation. The color plates in this volume by Tony Bryan are excellent and include the normal plan and side views, as well as a view of the underwater wreck of HMS Invincible.

The middle of the volume then has a brief description of each class of battlecruiser, along with its basic data, but there is somewhat less technical detail than in Konstam's earlier volume. Given the space limitations, the author could not squeeze everything in and this is where he decided to skimp. The section on battlecruisers at war is rather detailed for such a small volume and begins with the action at the Heligoland Bight (he does omit the role of British battlecruisers in the pursuit of the German battlecruiser Goeben in 1914, which might have impacted on his thesis), the Battle of the Falklands, Dogger Bank and the Dardnelles bombardment. He then devotes seven pages to Jutland and describes the battlecruiser's role in detail. The section on Jutland best supports the author's thesis that it was ineffective gunnery rather than weak armor that lead to the loss of three British battlecruisers at Jutland. The author, who was involved in recent underwater expeditions to the wrecks of Jutland, then uses modern underwater evaluations of the wreck to further support his thesis that sloppy ammunition handling procedures in the turrets of the British battlecruisers was more responsible for their loss than inadequate armor plate. Certainly the author does an admirable job expounding his thesis and he is fairly convincing, although he omits to mention that there are still some details that don't fit into his hypothesis. For example, the British supposedly rectified the deficiencies noted in their battlecruisers at Jutland, but then 25 years later HMS Hood - not much different from a WW1 battlecruiser - sank after an explosion not unlike what happened to the three lost battlecruisers at Jutland. So maybe inadequate armor was a factor after all. In any event, this volume is well-worth having for its thought-provoking analysis, excellent color plates and incisive battle analysis.