Cruisers - Russian Navy: books - history and ships

Russian Battleships and Cruisers of the Russo-Japanese War (Osprey)

This book examines the major warships of the Imperial Russian Navy which participated in the Russo-Japanese War. The focus is on the battleships, coastal defence warships, and cruisers of the Pacific Squadron and Baltic Squadron that fought during the war. It discusses in detail their design and development between the years of 1885 and 1905, concentrating particularly on battleships and cruisers.

The book explores, in depth, the mutually influential relationship between Russian and foreign warship design, as Russia progressed from a reliance on foreign designs and shipyards towards an ability to produce its own influential ships, such as the Novik.
The title also outlines the gripping operational history of the Russian warships which participated in the Russo-Japanese war, tracing their activity before and during the combat, as well as the post-war fate of those ships which were bombarded, scuttled, captured, or salvaged.

Packed with contemporary photography and full-colour illustrations, this title offers a detailed and definitive guide to the design, development, and destiny of the Russian warships which battled the Japanese in the Eastern seas.

Russian Battleship vs Japanese Battleship - Yellow Sea 1904-05 (Osprey)

The first major clash between a European and Asian state in the modern era signalled the beginning of Japan's rise as a major power on the world stage. Watched by the rest of the world's superpowers, this incredibly violent war was disastrous for the Russians who, despite their superior numbers, were defeated by the Japanese underdogs in a spectacular fashion. The key technical elements of firepower, protection, maneuverability and communications for each side are covered in detail and accompanied by first-hand accounts and specially commissioned artwork to explain and illustrate this historically significant duel.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and development - Technical Specifications: Firepower (main and secondary batteries, fire control, ammunition), protection (armour belts, quality of steel, damage control), Maneuverability (speed, turning ability, sea keeping), communications (internal within ship, with other battleships) - The Combatants: The Japanese Battleship Crew (Composition, individual and crew training, morale, strengths
weaknesses and fleet doctrine), The Russian Battleship crew (same as above) - Combat - Aftermath.

Cruisers of the 1st Rank: Avrora, Diana, Pallada

An illustrated monograph dedicated to the story of the construction, building and service of the three Russian sister-ships - the Pallada-class cruisers 'Aurora', 'Diana' and 'Pallada' - commissioned into the Russian Navy in the beginning of the 20th century.
All of them participated in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905 and the first two served in the Baltic Sea during World War One (1914-1918).
The Aurora was involved in the 1917 October Revolution and has been a preserved museum ship, a major tourist attraction in St. Petersburg visited (to date) by 28 million people. She has now been re-commissioned as the honorary flagship of the Russian Navy.

"Cruisers of the 1st Rank" features more than 300 photographs, mostly previously unpublished, and many scale plans including original ones created for this book.
This is a rarely documented aspect of early 20th-century naval history; essential reading for naval enthusiasts and historians, maritime modellers and collectors.

The Russian Battleship Marat (Super Drawings in 3D)

The "Marat" was built as "Petropavlovsk" in Saint Petersburg and entered service with the Russian Navy in 1915. This book in the "Super Drawings in 3D" series describes the design, armament and career of this Russian Gangut-class battleship, which was renamed "Marat" in 1921.

A volume in the Super Drawings in 3D Series. With ground-breaking 3D imagery, each corner, angle, and dimension of the ship is viewable.
With various close-up views, and each 3D image based on actual technical scale drawings and photographs, this is an exceptional reference tool.
Information on the design, development and combat history of the vessel is also included, as well as numerous photographs.

Alliierte Schlachtschiffe - England, Frankreich und UdSSR 1939-1945 (Typenkompass)

Ce livre de référence présente les cuirassiers utilisés par les marines de la France, le Royaume Uni et l'URSS pendant la Deuxième Guerre Mondiale.

Chaque type est présenté à l'aide d'une photo, d'une description historique et d'une fiche technique.

Super-Battleships of World War II: Montana-class, Lion-class, H-class, A-150 and Sovetsky Soyuz-class (Osprey)

At the start of World War II the battleship was still king, and all the major powers were designing even mightier battleships to surpass their most modern and powerful classes. But when World War II broke out, aircraft carriers would dominate naval warfare, and none of these monster warships were completed.

In this book, naval expert Mark Stille uncovers these lost battleships as they are reconstructed with superb new full-colour artwork. The US Navy wanted five Montana-class ships, based on the Iowas but with a heavier main battery and improved protection, and the Royal Navy began work on three 16in-gun Lion-class fast battleships.
The German Navy developed its H-class designs: initially an improved Bismack-class, they became more fantastical, culminating in the 141,500-ton, 20in-gun H-44. The Japanese A-150 was based on the Yamato-class but with 20.1in guns, while the 15 ships planned for the USSR's Sovetsky Soyuz-class would have rivalled the Montanas in size.
Explaining the design, intended roles and fate of these ships, this is the story of the last battleship designs in history.

Contents:
- Introduction
- Battleship design practices
- Protection
- Propulsion
- Firepower
- The super-battleship classes
- The United States Navy - the Montana-class
- The Royal Navy - the Lion-class
- The Kriegsmarine - the H-class
- The Imperial Japanese Navy - Design A-150
- The Soviet Navy - the Sovetsky Soyuz - class
- Analysis and conclusion
- Further reading
- Index.

Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers (Osprey)

Heavily armed and formidable, guided missile cruisers formed the core of the Soviet Navy during the Cold War. From the last class of conventional Sverdlov-class cruisers through to increasingly complex and formidable missile cruisers, these ships ensured that NATO took the Soviet naval threat seriously.

"Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers" covers all classes of these impressive warships, from the early Sverdlov through the Kynda, Kresta, Kara and Slava to the enormous Kirov classes.
Together, these vessels marked the apogee of Soviet naval technology and capability and they remain today the largest non-aircraft carrier warships built since 1945.

Containing material previously only available in Russian and fully researched from specialist defence journals, this comprehensive volume examines the design, development, and intended role of these impressive, hi-tech warships, and recounts their dramatic operational history as NATO and Soviet warships faced off against each other during the long Cold War at sea.

Contents: Introduction - Strategic and operational context - Sverdlov class (Project 68bis, Project 70E) - Grosnyy class ('Kynda' - Project 58) - Admiral Zozulya class ('Kresta I' - Project 1134) - Kronstadt class ('Kresta II' - Project 1134A) - Nikolayev class ('Kara' - Project 1134B) - Slava class (Project 1164) - Kirov class (Project 1144) - Operational service: tactics and confrontations - Bibliography - Index.