Cruceros - EE.UU.: libros - historia y despliegue

US Cruisers 1883-1904 - The birth of the steel navy (Osprey)

By the end of the Civil War the US Navy was the most advanced in the world, but in subsequent years America's naval might dwindled. However, in the 1880s a 'New Navy' was born and at the forefront of its fleet were the mighty cruisers.
Naval historian Lawrence Burr details how these cruisers allowed America to rebuild their navy, exploring the design and development of these ships. Placing these advances in context, through vivid accounts of how US cruisers performed in the Spanish-American War of 1898, notably at Manila Bay and Santiago, he investigates the emergence of the US Navy as a major power.

Illustrated with early photographs and full-colour artwork, this is a concise history of the birth and development of a modern navy that was the precursor to the development of modern steel fleets around the world.

Contents: Introduction - A Naval Renaissance - Design and Construction - The Ships - Cruisers in Action - Pointing the Guns - USS Olympia - Conclusion - Select Bibliography - Appendix - Index.

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US Heavy Cruisers 1941-45 - Pre-war Classes (Osprey)

Diseñados y producidos bajo las regulaciones del Tratado Naval de Washington, los cruceros pesados de las clases Pensacola, Northampton, Portland, New Orleans y Wichita fueron ejercicios de compromiso. Si bien poseían un armamento muy pesado, los Pensacola, por ejemplo, llevaban una batería principal de diez cañones de 8 pulgadas.

A medida que evolucionaron las clases de cruceros, estas deficiencias comenzaron a corregirse: se redujo la batería principal y se mejoró la protección de las zonas vitales del buque. A pesar de estos inconvenientes, los cruceros pesados de antes de la guerra sirvieron con distinción durante toda la Segunda Guerra Mundial.

Contenido: Introducción - Estrategia naval estadounidense y el papel del crucero pesado - Diseño y desarrollo de los cruceros pesados estadounidenses e impacto de los Tratados Navales de Washington y Londres - Armamento - Radar - Las clases de cruceros pesados - Análisis y conclusión.

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US Heavy Cruisers 1943-75 : Wartime and Post-war Classes (Osprey)

Los versátiles buques de guerra, los cruceros pesados de la clase Baltimore y sus sucesores de las clases Oregon City y Des Moines, actuaron habitualmente como escoltas de portaaviones durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pero también realizaron misiones de bombardeo en apoyo de los desembarcos anfibios.
Tras la Segunda Guerra Mundial, los cruceros pesados continuaron en servicio, principalmente en Corea y Vietnam.

Incluso después de que la época dorada de los cruceros pesados hubiera pasado, estos buques continuaron en servicio. Varios de ellos fueron convertidos en los primeros ejemplos de cruceros con misiles guiados, creando un legado perdurable en la Armada de los Estados Unidos.
De la mano de un reconocido experto en la historia naval de Estados Unidos y del Pacífico, este es un recurso invaluable, ricamente ilustrado con dibujos y fotografías.

Este título es la continuación de un libro complementario que trata sobre los cruceros pesados estadounidenses construidos antes de la guerra, conformando juntos la guía definitiva de las clases de cruceros pesados de Estados Unidos.

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US Navy Armored Cruisers 1890-1933 (Osprey)

At the dawn of the "Steel Navy" era, the rapidly expanding US Navy's fleet of capital ships consisted not only of battleships but also armored cruisers, the forerunner of the battlecruiser.
Armored cruisers sacrificed the battleship's superlative firepower and protection for superior speed and range but, as this study shows, their role was not always easy to define. Controversial because they were as large and expensive as battleships but not able to withstand a battleship in battle, contemporary strategists pointed out that, "naval wars are not won by running away from stronger ships."

Despite being produced at great expense, tactically they never really had a legitimate mission-traditional deployments were commerce raiding and protection, but despite this, author Brian Lane Herder illustrates how successful the use of armored cruisers was for the US Navy.
After 1906, some replaced US battleships in the Pacific, functioning as oversized gunboats, most notably, the modified armored cruiser Pennsylvania which witnessed the first landing of an airplane on a ship.
On November 5, 1915, North Carolina became the first cruiser to launch an aircraft from a catapult while underway. After the war, surviving US armored cruisers represented the US Navy on their Asiatic station until the final cruiser was scuttled in 1946.

Using detailed, color artwork and photos, this fascinating book describes the development and deployment of these controversial but intriguing ships, providing examples of the key service they played in the US Navy in a variety of defensive and escorting roles.

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US Navy Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers (Osprey)

Faced with an increasingly formidable anti-ship cruise missile threat from the Soviet Union in the early days of the Cold War, and with the recent memory of the kamikaze threat from World War II, the USN placed a great priority on developing air defence cruise missiles and getting them to sea to protect the fleet.
The first of these missiles were sizable, necessitating large ships to carry them and their sensors, which resulted in the conversion of a mix of heavy and light cruisers. These ships, tasked with protecting carrier groups and acting as flagships, entered service from 1955 and served until 1980.

The cruisers served in the front lines of the Cold War and many saw combat service, engaging in surface actions from Vietnam to the Persian Gulf. Complementing the conventionally-powered missile cruisers was a much smaller number of expensive nuclear-powered cruisers, including the Long Beach, the USN's largest-ever missile cruiser.
Until replaced by the Ticonderoga and Burke classes of Aegis ships, the USN's 38 missile cruisers were the most capable and important surface combatants in the fleet and served all over the globe during the Cold War.

Using specially commissioned artwork and meticulous research, this illustrated title explores the story of these cruisers in unparalleled detail, revealing the history behind their development and employment.

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US Navy Light Cruisers 1941-45 (Osprey)

Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial, Estados Unidos construyó 72 cruceros ligeros de diversas clases. Ante la grave amenaza aérea que sufrían los buques de superficie, se diseñaron nuevos cruceros con armamento antiaéreo cada vez más potente, además de los tradicionales cañones de 6 pulgadas. Gracias a su velocidad y alcance, que les permitían seguir el ritmo de los portaaviones, y a su considerable capacidad antiaérea, se convirtieron en un pilar fundamental de las escoltas de portaaviones.

Este libro examina todos los cruceros ligeros estadounidenses producidos, incluidos los de las clases Fargo y Worcester, que de hecho se completaron después de que terminara la Segunda Guerra Mundial, y analiza su diseño, desarrollo y evolución a lo largo de la guerra y posteriormente.

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US Navy Protected Cruisers 1883-1918 (Osprey)

After the American Civil War, the powerful US Navy was allowed to decay into utter decrepitude, and was becoming a security liability. In 1883, Congress approved four new steel-constructed vessels called the "ABCD" ships.
The three protected cruisers Atlanta, Boston, and Chicago were the first steel warships built for the US Navy, whose 1880s-1890s technological and cultural transformation was so total it is now remembered as the "New Navy". This small fleet was joined by a succession of new and distinctive protected cruisers, culminating in the famous and powerful Olympia.

These 11 protected cruisers formed the backbone of the early US steel navy, and were in the frontline of the US victory in the 1898 Spanish-American War. It was these warships that fought and won the decisive Battle of Manila Bay. These cruisers also served faithfully as escorts and auxiliaries in World War I before the last were retired in the 1920s.

Written by experienced US naval researcher Brian Lane Herder, and including rare photographs, this book explores the development, qualities, and service of these important warships, and highlights the almost-forgotten Columbia-class, designed as high-speed commerce raiders, and to mimic specific passenger liners.
All 11 protected cruisers are depicted in meticulously researched color illustrations with one depicting the Olympia deploying her full sail rig.

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USN Cruiser Vs IJN Cruiser : Guadalcanal 1942 (Osprey)

Although the war in the Pacific is usually considered a carrier war, it was the cruisers that dominated the early fighting. This thrilling duel presents the cruiser clashes during the battles for Guadacanal , highlighting the Battle of Savo Island and the Battle of Cape Esperance. The first was a Japanese victory that resulted in the loss of four Allied cruisers.
However, in the latter, the Americans managed to turn the tables despite the battle being fought throughout the night.

This book presents a view of the design and development of the opposing weapons systems, illustrated with newly commissioned digital artwork. It uses firsthand accounts to bring the battles to life and explain why the Americans suffered early on, but eventually had their revenge.

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USS Indianapolis (CA-35): From Presidential Cruiser, Delivery of the Atomic Bombs, to Tragic Sinking in WW II (Legends of Warfare)

A pesar de las limitaciones del Tratado Naval de Washington, el USS Indianapolis era un imponente buque de guerra. Fue ampliamente utilizado por dignatarios estadounidenses en la década de 1930, incluido el presidente Franklin D. Roosevelt, quien navegó a bordo del barco en numerosas ocasiones.
Tras el estallido de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, prestó servicio cerca de Alaska antes de adentrarse en aguas más cercanas a las islas principales de Japón. Allí, fue alcanzada por un kamikaze y se vio obligada a regresar a Estados Unidos para ser reparada.

Tras finalizar las reparaciones, el Indianapolis fue seleccionado para transportar componentes de la bomba atómica desde Estados Unidos continental hasta Tinian, en las Islas Marianas. En el viaje de regreso, fue torpedeado y hundido por un submarino japonés, convirtiéndose en el último gran buque de guerra perdido por Estados Unidos durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
La demora en la misión de rescate de la tripulación superviviente provocó la mayor pérdida de vidas a bordo de un solo buque en alta mar en la historia de la Armada de los Estados Unidos. El hundimiento del Indianapolis sigue rodeado de controversia, y los restos del naufragio no fueron localizados hasta 2017.

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USS Olympia - Herald of Empire

The USS Olympia is the oldest extant steel-hulled warship in the world. Constructed as part of a congressionally mandated program to build a modern fleet prior to the turn of the 19th century, she became famous as Adm. George Dewey's flagship at the Battle of Manila Bay. Today she is part of a naval shrine at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia.

This is a flesh-and-steel history of a pivotal warship that straddled the eras of commerce raiding and battle fleet confrontation in naval warfare. From her conceptual beginnings on drawing boards in Washington to the battle to protect her against age, scrapping, and the advent of big-gun battleships, this landmark study celebrates one of America's classic historic ships.

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