"Any recommendations for modern /cold war naval books?" Topic

Can anybody recommend some good books on modern /cold war naval tactics and ships? I'm currently reading "rebuilding the royal navy" and would like something similar on soviet or American ships. I'd also like something from an operations point of view discussing tactics :)

Tough to find, though I suppose Tom Clancy's nonfiction is about as close as you can get without running afoul of a security issue.

Ben,

Best one I read on Soviet era ships was book titled "Naval Institute Press Guide to the Soviet Navy,5th editon" by Norman Polmar--written before collapse of the USSR so most up-to-date one on Soviet Navy.

Any of the Janes Fighting Ships editions from the 1980's+90's will work for various navies ships;less expensive alternatives are the Salamander Pocket Guides,usally about $7 USD-9USD a copy.

Also look at "Cold War at Sea:An Illustrated History" by Kit and Carolyn Bonner--concise history of ships,ops,tactics of the period.

Strongly recommend Adm. Sandy Woodward's "One Hundred Days" which is his account of the Falklands War--great book on the tactics and operations of the British fleet during the Falklands conflict--very exciting account especially of the Argentine air attacks in there too!

Last take a look at some of the Harpoon gaming books--very good at explaining weapons,tactics,and some of the historical ops (such as Praying Mantis in April 1988.)

Hope these help.

Norman Friedman's "Modern Warship: Design and Development" is the best I've seen. It's quite old -- 1979 -- but as it explains the principles of design, it keeps its value rather better than fashion-driven gee-whiz technophile tripe.

Unfortunately, there seems to be very little in print on naval tactics, in any era.

All the best,

John.

I suggest Tanker War for the descriptions of the issues faced and tactics actually used:

link

And I second the suggestions for the Friedman and the Woodward books. I thought Friedman did an exceptional job describing the issues faced by (then) modern ship designers back in the day when I did that for a living.

Rick

Carrier Air Power by Friedman for the nuts & bolts of operating carriers.

thanks guys really appreciate the help, i was at a bit of loss. just ordered Norman Friedman's "Modern Warship: Design and Development" looking forward to getting it. Now i have my self a bit of a reading list :)

For ship lists and details, there's also the Combat Fleets of the World series (I picked up the '76-77 and '82-83 editions dirt cheap late last spring, and I like them). The ISBN13 of the '82-83 edition is 978-0870211256, and Amazon shows used copies starting at USD 4.99 plus shipping. There are used copies available cheaply for various years through 1995 (I'd like to snag a copy of the 1995 myself).

For a very general overview of tactics and operations along with representative ship types, there's Miller and Miller's Modern Naval Combat. I have the 1986 edition, and it won't set the world on fire but it isn't bad. The ISBN of the 2001 edition is 978-0861012312, and used copies start at USD 1.33 plus shipping on Amazon.

It is an age of wonders in which we live. If we are spared, there is even better to come. :-)

Browse the Naval Institute Press' book sales list, and I'm sure you'll find plenty of things to check out, in addition to the above.

Some of the fictional books for the period can be quite good too, though some go a bit too far into the fictional arena, as opposed to the more likely, hypothetical scenarios.

Just got my copy of Norman Friedman's "Modern Warship: Design and Development" looks really good, just the kind of thing I was after! Thanks for the recommendations, I'm positive I'll be picking a few more of them up soon :)

Dear Ben,
For tactics:
Vego, Milan (1992) "Soviet Naval Tactics" (Annapolis:Naval Institute Press.[here after "NIP"])

Hughes, Wayne P.(2000)"Fleet Tactics and Coastal Warfare" 2nd Edition (NIP.)

Uhlig, Frank Jr. (1994) "How Navies Fight" (NIP.)

Miller, David and Miller, Chris (1991) "Modern Naval Combat" (London: Tiger Books.)

Nitze, Paul H, et al (1979) "Securing the Seas" (Boulder: Westview Press.)

Grove, Eric with Thompson, Graham, (1991) "Battle for the Fiords" (NIP.)

Hill, J.R. (1984) "Anti-Submarine Warfare"(London: Ian Allan.)

Hill, J.R. (1988) "Air Defence at Sea"(London: Ian Allan.)

Cheers,
Bertie