British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War - Hardcover

"Friedman's British Destroyers: From Earliest Days to the Second World War is a remarkably clear and lucid work on the early development of surface combatants - describing complex and sophisticated development activities in ways that should be understood by any professional or keen amateur. It is both a good read and illuminating. It is a work that helps us understand how modern surface combatants evolved into what they are today and helps us better understand warship design in a world where a sea fight is expected rather than a rare occurrence. British Destroyers is highly recommended for the Australian audience." --Australian Naval Institute "Superlative work...a valuable reference work that makes for compulsive reading -- it would have a worthy place in any mariner's library." -- Starshell

A Proceedings Magazine 2010 Notable Naval Book Noted historian Norman Friedman provides the first detailed study of the Royal Navy's destroyer from its predecessors from the 1880s to the 1930s, and its use in both World Wars. He shows how the Royal Navy developed the torpedo and its surface carrier--the destroyer--as both an offensive and defensive naval weapon. Friedman also discusses the influence the British exerted on foreign navies, including the American and Japanese fleets, destroyer design and tactics, and the British use of U.S.-supplied destroyers during World War II. The book is profusely illustrated with hundreds of photographs and drawings by A.D. Baker III and Alan Raven.