Town Class Destroyers
Regular price
€25.99
Early in World War II, fifty obsolete US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy in return for a 99-year lease British bases in the Caribbean, Bahamas and Newfoundland. Though they were obsolete and far from ideal, they played a vital role in the Royal Navy's campaign. This is their complete story. Topics covered include the background to the acquisition of the ships - the Battle of the Atlantic; their specification and design, and modifications in RN service; operations and achievements, such as the St Nazaire Raid and finally, losses and accidents. This authoritative text is supported by many contemporary photographs and twenty eight detailed plans prepared specially for this book.
John Henshaw was educated at Wesley College and Melbourne University. Since creativity and the discipline of a naval career tend to be incompatible, he made a career choice he often regrets, to design and construct buildings for most of his working life and to compensate by keeping an interest in naval matters that started with the purchase with his pocket money of 'Jane's Fighting Ships'. As the Australian equivalent of a Chartered Surveyor, his business life was engaged in all aspects of property development, mainly self-employed. His 2008 essay, 'HMAS Albatross: White Elephant or Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?' won Second Prize in Australia's Navy League Essay Competition. He has had various articles published in yachting magazines and won a cruising yacht design competition.