There is no shortage of reference books on the warships that fought the Second World War, but the weapons they carried have been largely ignored. This situation is entirely rectified in this classic work, which is encyclopaedic in scope and largely based on original research. Divided by country (including minor powers not directly involved in the war), the book covers all the major weaponry of the period. Weapons of earlier vintage that were employed during the war, and those that were at an experimental, trial or design stage in 1945 are also included. The size, scope and originality of this work make it one of the most important reference works available on naval warfare during the Second World War.

An in-depth reference to the naval weapons used by Britain, Germany, the US, and the other combatants in the Great War, with photos: “Superb…invaluable.”—History of War Although the Great War might be regarded as the heyday of the big-gun at sea, it also saw the maturing of underwater weapons, the mine and torpedo, as well as the first signs of the future potency of air power. Between 1914 and 1918 weapons development was both rapid and complex, so this book has two functions: on the one hand it details all the guns, torpedoes, mines, aerial bombs and anti-submarine systems employed during that period; but it also seeks to explain the background to their evolution: how the weapons were perceived at the time and how they were actually used. This involves a discussion of tactics and emphasizes the key enabling technology of fire control and gun mountings. In this respect, the book treats the war as a transition from naval weapons which were essentially experimental at its outbreak to a state where they pointed directly to what would be used in World War II. Based largely on original research, this sophisticated book is more than a catalogue of the weapons, offering insight into some of the most important technical and operational factors influencing the war at sea.

John Lambert was a renowned naval draughtsman, whose plans were highly valued for their accuracy and detail by modelmakers and enthusiasts. By the time of his death in 2016 he had produced over 850 sheets of drawings, many of which have never been published. These have now been acquired by Seaforth and this is the third of a planned series of albums on selected themes, reproducing complete sheets at a large page size, with an expert commentary and captioning. The initial volumes concentrate on British naval weaponry used in the Second World War, thus completing the project John Lambert was working on when he died. His interest was always focused on smaller warships and his weapons drawings tend to be of open mountings – the kind that present a real challenge to modelmakers – rather than enclosed turret guns, but he also produced drawings of torpedo tubes, underwater weapons, fire-control directors and even some specific armament-related deck fittings. Following the earlier volumes on destroyer and escort armament, this one covers the multitude of weapons carried by Coastal Forces, many of which were improvised, ad hoc or obsolescent, but eventually leading to powerful purpose-designed weaponry. An appendix covers the main deck guns carried by British submarines of this era. The drawings are backed by introductory essays by Norman Friedman, an acknowledged authority on naval ordnance, while a selection of photographs adds to the value of the book as visual reference. Over time, the series will be expanded to make this unique technical archive available in published form, a move certain to be welcomed by warship modellers, enthusiasts and the many fans of John Lambert’s work.

“For anyone wishing to super-detail any British destroyer of this era, this book looks to be a real must-have.” —Nautical Research Guild's Model Ship World John Lambert was a renowned naval draftsman, whose plans were highly valued for their accuracy and detail by modelmakers and enthusiasts. By the time of his death in 2016 he’d produced over 850 sheets of drawings, many of which have never been published—until now. Lambert’s interest was always focused on smaller warships and his weapons drawings tend to be of open mountings—the kind that present a real challenge to modelmakers—rather than enclosed turret guns, but he also produced drawings of torpedo tubes, underwater weapons, fire-control directors, and even some specific armament-related deck fittings. This first volume in a series covers all such weapons carried by British destroyers of this era, with additional appendices devoted to earlier guns still in service, and destroyer-caliber weapons only mounted in larger ships. The drawings are backed by introductory essays by Norman Friedman, an acknowledged authority on naval ordnance, while a selection of photographs add to the value of the book as visual reference.

“Lambert was a drafter of no mean skill . . . his drawings are concise, clear, and invaluable to scratchbuilders and super-detailers. Very highly recommended!” —Nautical Research Journal John Lambert was a renowned naval draftsman whose plans were highly valued for their accuracy and detail by modelmakers and enthusiasts. By the time of his death in 2016 he had produced over 850 sheets of drawings, many of which had never been published. Now they have become available in these remarkable collections, with expert commentary and captioning included. The initial volumes concentrate on British naval weaponry used in the Second World War, thus completing the project Lambert was working on when he died. His interest was always focused on smaller warships and his weapons drawings tend to be of open mountings—the kind that present a real challenge to modelmakers—rather than enclosed turret guns, but he also produced drawings of torpedo tubes, underwater weapons, fire-control directors, and even some specific armament-related deck fittings. Following the earlier volumes on destroyer and escort armament, this one covers the multitude of weapons carried by Coastal Forces, many of which were improvised, ad hoc, or obsolescent, but eventually led to powerful purpose-designed weaponry. An appendix covering the main deck guns carried by British submarines of this era is included, along with an introductory essay by naval ordnance authority Norman Friedman and a selection of photos.

Winston Churchill famously claimed that the submarine war in the Atlantic was the only campaign of the Second World War that really frightened him. If the lifeline to north America had been cut, Britain would never have survived; there could have been no build-up of US and Commonwealth forces, no D-Day landings, and no victory in western Europe. Furthermore, the battle raged from the first day of the war until the final German surrender, making it the longest and arguably hardest-fought campaign of the whole war. The ships, technology and tactics employed by the Allies form the subject of this book. Beginning with the lessons apparently learned from the First World War, the author outlines inter-war developments in technology and training, and describes the later preparations for the second global conflict. When the war came the balance of advantage was to see-saw between U-boats and escorts, with new weapons and sensors introduced at a rapid rate. For the defending navies, the prime requirement was numbers, and the most pressing problem was to improve capability without sacrificing simplicity and speed of construction. The author analyses the resulting designs of sloops, frigates, corvettes and destroyer escorts and attempts to determine their relative effectiveness.