Military Model Scene

Title: Warships of the Soviet Fleets 1939-1945 Vol III
Authors: Przemyslaw Budzbon, Jan Radziemski and Marek Twardowski
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-3990-2281-1

Volume III: Naval Auxiliaries, the third part of this series from Seaforth Publishing is now on sale. A 320-page hardcover book and also available in e-book formats.
This third volume completes the set and makes for a very complete catalogue of vessels operated by the Soviet Navy during WW2. Just the endpapers help with the overall value of this as the maps provide a fine overview of the vast area that their navy needed to stretch their resources. From fleets in the Baltic, the Black Sea, Arctic and Far East, along with detachments on rivers such as the Don and the Danube. It is divided by types of vessel, then listing the various classes/types under each heading with details (where available) of the names, significant details, dates in commission, the assigned fleet and Remarks which contain key notes on the history of each individual vessel. There are a large variety of ship types, such as Survey, Salvage, Training, Icebreakers, Oilers, Tugs and more. For the final sections in the book, additional detail such as captured vessels, common types of armament, including guns both large and small, torpedoes, rockets, mine warfare and sensors such as radar fittings. There is even a long listing of Project Numbers. Throughout the book there are archive images, many showing ships I'd never seen before, and many also have some profile line drawings, though sadly not to a common scale.
Like the earlier 2 volumes, this is not really a book to read as a narrative, but it is a fantastic reference. For so many, naval warfare focuses on the larger warships, such as aircraft carriers, battleships, cruisers, submarines etc. What this clearly demonstrates is just how many other supporting craft are needed to make up a complete Navy, especially one with tasks spread worldwide. Lowly tugs and survey ships may not be glamorous but they are still vital to enable the larger ships to be operated. This book, along with the 2 earlier volumes are a fantastic reference that I think deserve a place on the reference shelves of any WW2 naval historian. Recommended without any reservation.
Thanks to Seaforth/Pen & Sword for the review copy.

Robin