Military Model Scene

Title: US Navy Gun Destroyers 1945-88
Author: Mark Stille
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4728-5512-1

New Vanguard 322 from Osprey Publishing, 'Fletcher class to Forrest Sherman class'. A 48-page soft-cover book.
After the end of WW2 there was a host of military equipment in service, many of which still had plenty of service life left in them. This was true for the US Navy as well as the other armed forces. In this case we are given a good look at the use of the gun armed destroyer as the Cold War developed and new technology came along. Some of the numbers I found quite staggering. Starting with the Fletcher class, 175 units were built, and 100 of these served on through much of the Cold War. Then the Sumner class (58 units), the Gearing class (98 units) all served on followed by the Mitscher class (just 4 units) and finally the Forrest Sherman class (18units). Many, but not all, were modernised in various ways over the years and there are sections on both the various weapons and sensors that were fitted. The Cold War included periods or war and peace, with war in both Korea and Vietnam. Plenty of tables list the basic details of the various classes, with the vessel name & number, commissioning date, any modernisations, decommissioning date and final fate. It is rounded off with a short section of Analysis and Conclusions considering all the various factors regarding the service story of these gun armed destroyers in US Navy service.
The text makes for interesting reading, and the various data tables are a great reference. If that isn't enough, there are plenty of archive photos plus some excellent artwork from Adam Tooby, with ship profiles, a 3D 'cutaway' and some 'battle' scenes. Plenty of information and great value for a handy reference for your bookcase.
Thanks to Osprey Books for our review copy.

Robin