There isn't one, just the little thumbnails of ships above the XO dialog.
Several UI mods add in a more complex and complete rec manual. For example, you can bring up the Ships of All Nations (SOAN) book in TheDarkWraith's NewUI by clicking the little white notepad icon in the middle top right of the screen. This also uses the "E" key by default to toggle visiblity. Then drag it from the left side of the screen, you'll see a little tab to drag.
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