With the world’s largest merchant fleet and extensive overseas territories during most of the twentieth century, the Royal Navy depended on the cruiser to defend Britain’s trade routes and police the empire. In this handsomely illustrated book, the noted ship historian Norman Friedman provides insights into the cruiser’s development and Britain’s efforts to come to terms with the competing demands of quality and quantity. The first book to offer a comprehensive explanation of the policy background, it presents an entirely original picture of cruiser development.

The book’s final chapters cover post-war modernizations, plans for missile-armed ships, and the process that turned the through-deck cruiser into the Invincible-class light carrier. With detailed appendixes of ship data and extensive photos and ship plans by A.D. Baker III, Alan Raven, Paul Webb, and John Dominy, the work matches the high standards set by Friedman’s book on British destroyers.

“Brimming with detail, Friedman does a fine job of guiding you thru the linkages between policy and naval architecture in the design of a broad range of British warships. There are no real weaknesses but the portions dealing with the classic artillery ships of the first half of the 20th century are the best. If you’re interested in the topic and missed out on Raven & Roberts’ classic study this book is well-worth the acquisition.”

“An essential work for anyone interested in the Royal Navy and modern naval operations.” — The NYMAS Review “…We enthusiastically recommend British Cruisers for those who are interested in the history of the British, Australian or New Zealand navies, and technology buffs interested in the history of radar, communications, and electronics in naval weapons systems.” — <>iThe Northern Mariner “…An extraordinarily detailed account of the development of Royal Navy cruisers…This is a towering work, and one which any reader with even a passing interest in British cruiser development will want to own.” — Warship 2012″

#010422 pp. 320 (Very large heavy book.)