"Anatomy of the Ship" Series Review-A-Thon

[Subnuts]

Anatomy of the Ship: The Type VII U-Boat
David Westwood
1984
The Type VII U-boat, a medium-range ocean-going patrol submarine built in a number of variants between 1936 and 1944, was the ideal vessel for carrying out Karl Donitz's concept of a...

Hey Subnuts. This is Daryl talking. You're not writing this review for Yahoo Answers. This is SUBSIM.COM for God's sakes. Everyone here, with the exception of designer-shoe-selling spambots, is quite aware of what the Type VII U-boat was, and has some idea of the boat's basic specifications and the differences between the different models. Can you get on with this review already?

Well, fine then.

For the third entry in the "Anatomy of the Ship" series, Conway chose to focus on an entire class of ships, rather than just a single vessel. After all, the VII might be the most recognizable submarine design in history, and it's small size guaranteed a smaller, and therefore less expensive book. The Aircraft Carrier Intrepid was only 96 pages long, and did an excellent job depicting that ship's World War II arrangement. Could they capture lightning in a bottle again?

A four page introduction starts us off with a history of the VII design's genesis, while a set of tables includes specifications of the different VII sub-types, and information on torpedoes and gun mounts. 24 photographs are included, including some interesting shots of the captured U-570, a few clear interior photos, and numerous full-boat portraits and conning tower close-ups. As always, the rest of the book is occupied by drawings.

Of the 69 pages of drawings presented here, 41 are devoted entirely to general arrangement plans. Opening with a perspective view of a "Type VIIC as in 1936" (I'm assuming that's a typo), section A then moves on to depict 1/200 scale plan and profile views of each VII type, ranging from the early VIIAs, through the late-war VIIC/41s, to the VIID mine-layer and VIIF torpedo transport. The rest of section A includes profile and perspective views of various Turm configurations, including the basic early-war design, the U-Flak, and U-995's final arrangement.

Section B details the internal arrangements of the different subtypes, with a cross-section and plan views of each deck, again at 1/200 scale. Along with basic internal layouts, this section also includes more detailed plans of the interior arrangements of the VIIB and VIIC, a structural plan showing plating thicknesses, and drawings of the air supply and exhaust trunking fitted in the schnorchel-equipped VIICs. Section C provides 11 1/100 scale transverse sections through a late-war VIIC.

Section D depicts the internal arrangement of the boat from stern to bow, showing each compartment at 1/100 scale, with a longitudinal section and plan views of each level, though the control room and conning tower are only depicted in side view. This section also shows the arrangement of the anchor gear and rather crude perspective views of the captain's cabin and forward torpedo tubes. The final section includes drawings of the 2cm MG C30 AA gun, the 3.7cm SKC30U, the 8.8cm SKC35 deck gun, the different shells used by these guns, the G7e and G7a torpedoes, a torpedo tube and it's loading gear, and a few of the bridge fittings.

The biggest issue I have with The Type VII U-boat is the relative lack of material contained within, and the lack of detail present throughout much of the book. Compared to the two preceding series entries, this book is very much "Anatomy Lite," very rarely exploring the boat's design at a more than superficial level. David Westwood may be a fine historian, but the drawings here lack the passionate attention to detail shown by John Roberts and many of the draftsmen (and one draftswoman) who later produced their own Anatomies. There's definitely a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on here - most of the drawings in Sections A and B are pretty crude and workmanlike, but the later chapters detailing the boat's internal arrangements are crisply executed and filled with details I'd never gleaned before. Compared to John Lambert's entry on the submarine Alliance, which is packed with dozens of elaborately detailed drawings of machinery, propulsion systems, weapons, and inner workings, The Type VII U-boat is child's play.

Would I pay the $29.70 this book currently commands on Amazon right now? Certainly not. I was lucky enough to find a used copy of the 1986 reprint for $18, and I noticed a few used copies starting at $9 available right now. I wouldn't call this one "bad," but it pales compared to the better Anatomies, and I'd really only recommend it unless you have to own every U-boat book in existence.

Ironically, one can view a translated version of Volume M of U-570's Design and Specification book online for free, which includes a ton of detail that isn't included in this book: http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-570DesignBook.htm

Final rating: 6/10

[Subnuts]

Anatomy of the Ship: The Fairmile 'D' Motor Torpedo Boat
John Lambert
1985

When you think of a World War II-era warship, the image that probably comes to mind is a sleek destroyer cutting through the waves, or a massive battleship letting loose with a salvo from it's main guns. For the most part, the thousands of coastal craft, such as motor launches and torpedo boats, tend to get lost in the shuffle. One of these small vessels was the Fairmile D combined Motor Gun/Torpedo Boat, of which 229 were constructed were built during the war by 30 British shipyards. Prefabricated and shipped as giant "kits" for on-site assembly, the 'D's were cramped Frankenships which used American engines, were armed with whatever weapons were available, and were so ugly that their crews took to calling them "Dog Boats." Under their ungainly exterior, however, was a vicious little fighter which packed more firepower than a pre-World War I destroyer.

Like the American PT Boats, the Fairmile Ds had a "hard chine" hull shape and were constructed from diagonally-planked mahogany. Intended as a counter to the German Schnellboote, the Fairmile D MGB/MTB evolved into the most heavily armed, on a ton-per-ton basis, warship of World War II. Displacing 105 tons, a typical late-war Fairmile D might mount four 18-inch torpedo tubes, two Quick-Firing 6-pound guns, a pair of Vickers twin heavy machine guns, a twin 20mm Oerlikon Anti-Aircraft gun, and four depth charges. With a top speed of 32 knots, they were substantially slower than the PTs and Schnellbootes, but more than capable of taking back some of what they could dish out.

For the fifth book in the series, Conway once again chose to focus on an entire class rather than a single ship. This is the first of two entries by John Lambert, a naval historian and draughtsman best known for his superbly detailed plans of British naval weapons and warships of Destroyer size and smaller. The result is a book that's superior to The Type VII U-Boat, but which still suffers from some nagging flaws.

The introduction, though only 16 pages, is longer and more detailed than those found in most Anatomies. Opening with a history of the development of Fairmile's A, B, and C motor launches, Lambert describes the evolution of the D design throughout the war, each type of gun and torpedo that could be mounted, and the particulars of the machinery. A number of tables are also included, showing which boats were constructed at which yards, the completion date and fate of each "D," detailed specifications of each weapon, performance data for the B through D Fairmiles, variations in machinery installations, and the scantling dimensions for the B through H models. The next section includes 23 large and fairly obscure photographs that Lambert managed to acquire during his research. These include photos of the prototype "D" under construction, a number of "in action" shots, and onboard images of the weapons carried.

The drawings chapter is divided into seven sections:
A - Developments and variations of Fairmile types
B - General arrangements
C - Hull structure
D - Machinery
E - Superstructure and rig
F - Armament
G - Fittings

Section A opens with 1/150 scale profile and cross-section views of the Fairmiles, A, B, and C designs. The rest of the chapter traces the design of the D model, depicting 16 representative vessels in profile and occasionally plan, including the type fitted as an RAF rescue boat, and an unbuilt ASW conversion, noting the differences in armament fit in each. Section B includes sectional and plan views of an early "D" gun boat, sectional, plan, and profile views of a late-war combined gun/torpedo boat, and 1/75 scale plans of the hull lines. Section C features three 1/50 scale sections showing the arrangement of the hull structure, and several perspective views showing details of bulkhead, planking, and frame construction.

Section D is by far the most detailed of the seven sections. This chapter includes detailed plans of the water cooling, bilge, and lubricating oil systems, the fuel tanks and their piping, fire protection equipment, propeller shafting, the engines and their carriers, and the exhaust system. Section E depicts the arrangement of the bridge, details of the mast, and some of the electronics aerials. Section F details the boat's armament, including the Mk 11A six-pounder, the 20mm Oerlikon and it's various mounts, the Vickers 0.5 inch machine gun, 18 and 21-inch torpedoes, and the rocket flare launcher. The final section shows the location of each deck fitting, depicts the different types of guardrails and several deck fittings, and details the hull markings and draft lines.

As you've probably started to notice by now, every book in this series is superb in some areas and merely "blah" in a couple areas. Regardless of Lambert's skill as a draughtsman, this book suffers from a number of annoying production flaws. Although some of these books do a fine job circumventing the issue, the idea of segregating the text, photographs, and drawings into separate sections is a pretty flawed one. Some later Anatomies managed to get around this by including more detailed text and notes along with the drawing keys, a luxury not afforded to the reader here. In several instances, the drawings are unlabeled but the equipment being depicted is described in greater detail in the introduction, forcing the reader to jump between the text and plan. The most grating example is Lambert's superb drawings of the engine room, showing the space in plan, profile, and at four sections. Unfortunately, these plans are unlabeled, forcing the reader to "piece together" the compartment from the other drawing keys in Section D.

There's also a heavy emphasis on weapons Vis-à-vis internal arrangements and hull structure. Granted, a warship isn't much without weapons, but I'm more of a naval architecture geek myself. Only 3 1/2 pages are devoted to hull construction, compared with 24 pages of armament details. Having detailed views of the six-pounder's ammunition feed rail, cutaways of an Oerlikon magazine, and close-ups of a Vickers MG gas plug, is nice and all, but doesn't really say much about the design of the actual ship.

I've considered giving this one 7/10, but I'm bumping it up to 8/10 for four reasons. John Lambert is a superb draughtsman, and once you get over the somewhat awkward format, you'll kick yourself knowing he only published one other Anatomy. Secondly, there's still quite a bit of material here for the serious naval geek to chew on, probably more if naval weaponry is your thing. Thirdly, you'll never find this much material on this type anywhere else, so if you're planning on modeling a Fairmile D, this is the place to start. Finally, it introduced me to an obscure and impressive breed of fighting ship, which I'd previously only heard snippets about. Despite it's annoying flaws, this book is a treasure trove of "good stuff" for anyone interested in coastal craft.

Final Rating: 8/10

[sharkbit]

Thanks for sharing.

I have 3 of the 4 you've reviewed so far and I agree with your reviews. I was pretty dissapointed with the Type VIIC book as well.
I'm eagerly awaiting more, especially on the Bismarck. Amazon is pretty proud of that one and I want to see if it is worth the price.

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Thanks for sharing.

I have 3 of the 4 you've reviewed so far and I agree with your reviews. I was pretty dissapointed with the Type VIIC book as well.
I'm eagerly awaiting more, especially on the Bismarck. Amazon is pretty proud of that one and I want to see if it is worth the price.

Hope you hold onto your receipt. I don't actually own the Bismarck book, but I checked it out through inter-library loan one time. The General Arrangement plans are nice, but there's almost nothing about machinery and hull structure, no perspective views, and the drawings are pretty lifeless (all hairline thicknesses). I don't expect art from these books, but I need some visual interest to draw me in. I'm a little tired right now, but I'll get around to reviewing The 74-Gun Ship Bellona tomorrow.

[Subnuts]

Anatomy of the Ship: The 74 Gun Ship Bellona
Brian Lavery
1985

Gather 'round the campfire kids, while I bring you back to a mysterious time in naval warfare. A time when mankind managed to make entire forests float, and propel them through the water with oversized novelty handkerchiefs. A time when ships were made entirely from splinters, and carried as many guns as a small nation's army. A time when nations fought giant pissing contests across the seven seas - even when naval battles were fought at ranges shorter than an average pissing contest.


Yes, folks, I'm talking about the Age of Sail, a time when men were men and women ran in terror from our smell. A glorious, romantic age of vomit, scurvy, unidentifiable food, and amputation as a cure for bed rash.


Ya' know, like this.

The 74-Gun Ship Bellona was the first book in this series to depict a sailing warship, though to be utterly pedantic, the Fairmile D was the first wooden ship to be depicted. Although this book has the same basic layout as the preceding Anatomies, Brian Lavery, an esteemed naval historian in his own right had to take a different tack in approaching the subject. He takes some baby steps in doing so, and the occasional giant leap, but the final result is a bit mixed.

Bellona (named after an ancient Roman war goddess, and not a disturbing lunch meat or a Stevie Nicks solo album, as you might have assumed) was one of the first 74 gun ships and served as a prototype for the class. Laid down in 1758, Bellona fought in four wars and wasn't broken up until 1814. To quote Lavery's own Nelson's Navy: "The 74 was a great success because it was the ideal compromise. It combined good sailing qualities with strong gun power, being the smallest practicable ship to carry a full battery of 32-pounders on the lower deck. It had scantlings strong enough to withstand any likely attack, but, unlike the three-decker, it did not need the largest and most expensive pieces of timber. As a two-decker, it was well proportioned and weatherly." While only 10 ships with 100 guns or more were in service with Royal Navy in 1804, 94 74s were in commission.

The introduction is a little more detailed this time, and makes extensive use of tables. Lavery briefly describes the development of the 74-gun ship, before describing Bellona's history, structure and layout, decorations, fittings, masts and yards, and so on. The 20 tables cover subjects as varied as the sizes of gun tackles, dates and costs of repairs, dimensions of caps and tops, and observations on the ship's sailing qualities from 1763 and 1783. Photographs are a bit limited - there are nine in total, seven showing two period models of the ship, and two paintings from the same era.

The first set of drawings show a sheer, half-breadth, and body plan of the ship, and a rather crude longitudinal section. Section B details the ship's structure in great detail. Numerous plan and profile views of every part of the hull are included, with exploded views of keel, deck beam, and stem scarphs construction. Perspective views of the bow, stern, and midships framing are included, along with a midships section, and plans of the hull framing, wales and planking, the waist and gangways, and the diagonal bracing fitted in 1805.

Section C depicts the arrangement and structure of the hold and four decks at 1/192nd scale, with plans depicting the deck arrangement on the right side, and deck structure on the left. Section D details the decorations of the stern and quarter galleries, and the arrangement of the head, while Section E depicts a number of external details, such railings, hammock netting, hatches, bulkheads, and bitts. Section F focuses on the ship's fittings, including the steering system, anchors, capstans, pumps, boats, and copper sheathing. Section G looks at accommodations (if you want to use that word), with plans of the gun deck hammock arrangements, the galley stove, and the layout of officer's cabins on the upper deck.

The masts and yards are shown in Section H, with forward and side views of each spar, close-ups of mast tops, and perspective views showing the assembly of masts, yards, and yardarm fittings. Section I details the sails and rigging. As expected, we're presented with views of the standing and running rigging, examples of different types of blocks, details of various sails and their fittings, and profiles showing the rigging associated with each mast. The final section covers Bellona's armament, with views of each type of cannon carried and their carriages, details of gun tackles, and plans showing the arrangement of the main magazine and aft powder room.

As evidenced by my delay in reviewing it, I still haven't come to a definite conclusion regarding The 74-Gun Ship Bellona. The book covers a lot of ground in a short span, and I'm certain that Lavery's skill as a historian unearthed plenty of details an ordinary draughtsman may have missed. Who would have thought that the upper surface of the false keel was covered in a composition of hair and tar, to make it unnecessary to remove it for re-sheathing? Or that many British ships after 1780 had "made masts" scarphed together from four or five sections, due to the inability to acquire the necessary wood from North American forests?

Unfortunately, we're presented with another "Anatomy" where a good chunk of the drawings are crude or lacking in detail. Lavery's views of the hull structure, decoration, and rigging are uniformly nice, but elsewhere the drafting quality is all over the place. To be diplomatic, Brian Lavery is a better historian than he is a draftsman. Most of the drawings in Sections E and F have a sketch-like quality, and the lack of a belaying plan is a curious omission. The drawings get the point across well enough, but modelers and ship buffs will probably be dissapointed by the lack of detail.

The 74-Gun Ship Bellona is certainly a better book than The Type VII U-Boat, but it's far from being in my Top 10 favorites. It does an admirable job depicting an important and forgotten warship from the Age of Sail, but it falls short of being truly excellent. Two years later, John McKay would come along and set a new standard for detail with his book on the HMS Victory.

Final rating: 7/10

[Subnuts]

Utterly shameless necrothread bumpage, but I fully intend on reviewing the rest of this series when I get over my writer's block. Here's how collection stands right now:


Here's how I'd rate each:

Agassiz: Excellent
Alliance: Excellent
Bartolmeo Colleoni: Decent
HMS Beagle: Good
HMS Belfast: Good/Very Good
Bellona: Decent
Bertha L Downs: Very Good
Blandford: Very Good
Bounty: Very Good
Campbeltown: Fair
USS Constitution: Fair
Dreadnought: Excellent
Diana: Very Good
Endeavour: Good/Very Good
Essex: Very Good
Fairmile 'D': Good/Very Good
Fuso: Very Good
Granado: Very Good
Hood: Very Good/Excellent
Intrepid: Good/Very Good
Pandora: Very Good
Queen Mary: Very Good
Takao: Very Good/Excellent
Type VII: Fair/Good
Type XXI: Fair/Good
Victorious: Very Good
Victory: Fair/Good (Print quality of 2010 edition is atrocious!)
Warspite: Good
Yamato: Very Good

I recently obtained a copy of the the Type XXI volume, and it's a bit of a disappointment. It was originally printed in Germany as an unrelated title, and got "Frankensteined" into an Anatomy of the Ship book when republished in English. Lots of interesting pictures, but most of the drawings are redrawn versions of original shipyard plans, many of which are basic General Arrangement plans which have been reproduced elsewhere. I'm still waiting for a definitive warts-and-all technical study of the XXI. These boats have always fascinated me, even if they've been hopelessly mythologized over the years. If you have to choose between the three submarine "Anatomies," go with the one on Alliance. If you're interested in the XXI, Eberhard Rossler's The U-Boat has a lot of excellent material on the Elekroboot designs.

[Sailor Steve]

The only one I own is Dreadnought, and I agree it is excellent. Amazing, in fact. I bought it because of my interest in naval development in all periods, but especially the beginnings of modern warship design.

I keep meaning to get more, but my true collecting love is for Conway's Warship series. I have about one-third of them and am currently in a position to get more, so I am. They have wonderful articles on specific ship development, as well as weapons and other things.

I'm glad to see you bring this back. I especially enjoyed re-reading your Bellona review. 'Pissing contest' indeed!

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

Utterly shameless necrothread bumpage, but I fully intend on reviewing the rest of this series when I get over my writer's block. Here's how collection stands right now:


Here's how I'd rate each:

Agassiz: Excellent
Alliance: Excellent
Bartolmeo Colleoni: Decent
HMS Beagle: Good
HMS Belfast: Good/Very Good
Bellona: Decent
Bertha L Downs: Very Good
Blandford: Very Good
Bounty: Very Good
Campbeltown: Fair
USS Constitution: Fair
Dreadnought: Excellent
Diana: Very Good
Endeavour: Good/Very Good
Essex: Very Good
Fairmile 'D': Good/Very Good
Fuso: Very Good
Granado: Very Good
Hood: Very Good/Excellent
Intrepid: Good/Very Good
Pandora: Very Good
Queen Mary: Very Good
Takao: Very Good/Excellent
Type VII: Fair/Good
Type XXI: Fair/Good
Victorious: Very Good
Victory: Fair/Good (Print quality of 2010 edition is atrocious!)
Warspite: Good
Yamato: Very Good

I recently obtained a copy of the the Type XXI volume, and it's a bit of a disappointment. It was originally printed in Germany as an unrelated title, and got "Frankensteined" into an Anatomy of the Ship book when republished in English. Lots of interesting pictures, but most of the drawings are redrawn versions of original shipyard plans, many of which are basic General Arrangement plans which have been reproduced elsewhere. I'm still waiting for a definitive warts-and-all technical study of the XXI. These boats have always fascinated me, even if they've been hopelessly mythologized over the years. If you have to choose between the three submarine "Anatomies," go with the one on Alliance. If you're interested in the XXI, Eberhard Rossler's The U-Boat has a lot of excellent material on the Elekroboot designs.

Now that is a nice collection.