River Gunboats Book Review
By David L. Veres
| Date of Review | September 2023 | Title | River Gunboats |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author | Roger Branfill-Cook | Publisher | U.S. Naval Institute Press |
| Published | 2018 | ISBN | 9781682477328 |
| Format | 320 pages, hardbound | MSRP (USD) | varies on Amazon |
Review
Alphabetically arranged by country, the utterly absorbing River Gunboats: An Illustrated Encyclopedia from Naval Institute Press spans 56 spellbinding sections alphabetically arranged by country.
From Argentina and Austria-Hungary through Manchukuo and Mozambique to Vietnam and Yugoslavia, the picture-packed study surveys purpose-designed gunboats, conversions of sea-going and coastal warships for riverine operations, and adaptions of civilian vessels for combat use.
Text traverses a vast array of vessel types. It spans the earliest 19th century steam subjects to today’s “stealth” units. And it even recaps gunboat service with ultra-small, landlocked navies like Bolivia’s and Malawi’s.
Hundreds of photos, drawings, sketches, and paintings season the hefty hardback. Dimensional and performance specifications accompany subjects. And it provides plenty of eye-popping disclosures.
What a source for scratch-building and diorama inspiration!
Rabidly recommended!
Purchased by the reviewer from Amazon.com.