Naval history of the Pre Dreadnought battleships of the Royal Navy shown in antique chromolithographs and photographs of the time. Battleships include HMS Hero, HMS Colossus, HMS Royal Sovereign and sister ship HMS Resolution, HMS Rodney, HMS Victoria and HMS Centurion.

LIST OF ROYAL NAVAL PRE DREADNAUGHT BATTLESHIPS BUILT BETWEEN 1857 AND 1906.

To see details of the ships class click the 'view class' link. To see details on a specific ship click the ships name.

To See Photographs of life on board a Pre Dreadnought click here

Coastal Defence Turret Ships

WARRIOR CLASS IRONCLADS            View Class

SCORPION CLASS                  View Class

CERBERUS CLASS                         View Class

Warrior to Dreadnought by D K Brown

Warship Development 1860 - 1905

Order code BK5290.

Post: UK- £6.00 (max post for multiple books £7.00).

For Europe £12.00 (each plus one charge of £3.00 recorded fee per total shipment)

Rest of World £15.00 (each plus one charge of £3.00 recorded fee per total shipment)

In the half century which separated Warrior  from Dreadnought there occurred a revolution in warship design quite unparalleled in naval history.  This book traces all the technological changes which transformed warships from the fully-rigged broadside ironclads of the mid-nineteenth century, through the centre battery ships, early turret vessels and barbette ships, to the turbine-powered Dreadnought battleships and battlecruisers which were to fight in the First World War.   The author D K Brown, a warship designer himself, shows how the nineteenth-century designers responded to developments in engine technology, armour protection and armament in their attempts to produce the best possible fighting ships,  He details the development of more efficient engines which finally brought an end to the age of the sailing warship, and the competition between armour and armament, with every increase in the hitting power of guns stimulating the development of tougher and more sophisticated systems of protection.  Importantly, he challenges the traditional perception of the Victorian Royal Navy as being reactionary and obstructive to technological change, showing that it was in fact at the forefront of such change, for example in the development and employment of torpedoes and of countermeasures to them.   Full accounts are given of the famous events of the period, such as the loss of the turret ship Captain , the bombardment of Alexandria in 1882, the ramming of the Victoria by the Camperdown in 1893, the Spanish-American War of 1898 and the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05.  Illustrated throughout with many rare contemporary photographs, this is an indispensable study of one of the most exciting periods in warship development.

Birth of the Battleship.  British Capital Ship Design 1870 - 1881

Order code BK5344.

Post: UK- £6.00 (max post for multiple books £7.00).

For Europe £12.00 (each plus one charge of £3.00 recorded fee per total shipment)

Rest of World £15.00 (each plus one charge of £3.00 recorded fee per total shipment)

The 1870s and 1880s have traditionally been seen as the 'Dark Ages' of British warship design, where technological conservatism and a lack of any definite design policy produced a confusing mix of ship types, with armament and machinery which were outmoded before the ships were even completed.  This new book, however, is a powerful refutation of that view, expanding the scope of its study of the ships of the period beyond the narrowly technological to reveal the full range of strategic, logistical and administrative factors which influenced warship development, arguing that it is here that the origins of the modern battleship can be found.   The author gives an insight into the difficulties faced by warship designers in an age of rapid technological change, and sets out the valid strategic and technical reasons that lay behind such seemingly 'reactionary' policies as the fitting of sails in cruising ironclads, and the Navy's retention of muzzle-loading guns well into the 1880s.  Far from having no plan, it is shown that the warship designers of this period had a very clear idea of the types of ship required to meet the range of roles the Royal Navy was called upon to fulfill in defence of a global empire, and that the problems that the ships of this period had owed more to political, financial and administrative pressures than any lack of competence on the part of their designers.  This fascinating study, based on primary sources, tackles a misunderstood aspect of warship history with sufficient rigour to satisfy professional historians while providing enough new detail to please the enthusiast, and as such is indispensable for any true understanding of the revolution in warship design that took place in the later nineteenth century.

Price £35

The Long Arm of Empire.  Naval Brigades from the Crimea to the Boxer Rebellion by Richard Brooks.

Book serial number BK8404. Book price £25. Hard back with 330 pages.

To order your copy: secure order form

This is the first full history of Naval Brigades - the intrepid sailors of the Royal Navy who brought their unique skills ashore in support of the army in a wide variety of 'small wars' and larger campaigns.  Since there were no major ship-to-ship actions during the period of Pax Britannica, Naval Brigades were at the heart of the action in the Victorian period, providing heavy artillery and machine gun support as well as an opportunity for Royal Navy officers to gain combat experience and earn promotion.  The Brigades constituted a flexible means of imperial intervention wherever the navy could take its ships or gunboats.   Richard Brooks analyses the strategic importance of Naval Brigades drawing on first hand accounts to evoke the experiences of the officers and men who formed them.  He vividly describes the reckless daring of Sir William Peel who led Brigades in both the Crimea (where they won ten Victoria Crosses) and the Indian Mutiny as well as the dogged courage and sense of humour that was to characterise Naval Brigades in Zululand, Egypt, the Second Boer War, the Boxer Rebellion in China, and other conflicts.  This highly readable book, accompanied by maps and illustrations, not only throws much light on how the Victorian Navy functioned as a fighting service, but also provides a new and refreshing angle on a remarkably popular period of British imperial history.

Post: UK- £5.00 (max post for multiple books £6.00).

For Europe £7.00 (each plus one charge of £3.00 recorded fee per total shipment)