U.S. Battleships: An Illustrated Design History

The Norman Friedman Illustrated Design History series of U.S. warships books has been an industry standard for three decades and has sold thousands of copies worldwide. To mark and celebrate this achievement, the Naval Institute Press is proud to make these books available once more. Digitally remastered for enhanced photo resolution and quality, corrected, and updated, this series will continue to serve–for scholars and enthusiasts alike–as the foundation for U.S. naval warship research and reference for years to come.

U.S. Battleships is one the most comprehensive references available on the entire development of U.S. battleships, starting in 1886, with Maine and Texas, continuing to South Carolina, the U. S. Navy’s first dreadnought, through to the behemoth Montana-class of World War II, Friedman authoritatively analyzes the design and performance histories of this popular type. The long careers of the Iowa-class, including their recommissioning in the late Cold War, are covered. Like the other books in Friedman’s design-history series, U.S. Battleships is based largely on formerly classified internal U.S. Navy records.

Friedman, a leading authority on U.S. warships, explains the political and technical rationales for building battleships and recounts the evolution of each design. Alan Raven and A.D. Baker III have created detailed scale outboard and plan views of each ship class and of major modifications to many classes. Numerous photographs complement the text.