For most of the twentieth century Britain possessed both the world's
largest merchant fleet and its most extensive overseas territories. It
is not surprising, therefore, that the Royal Navy always showed a
particular interest in the cruiser, a multi-purpose warship needed in
large numbers to defend trade routes and police the empire. Above all
other types, the cruisers competing demands of quality and quantity
placed a heavy burden on designers, and for most of the inter-war years
Britain sought to square this circle through international treaties
restricting both size and numbers. In the process she virtually invented
the heavy cruiser and inspired the large 6in-armed cruiser, neither of
which, ironically, served her best interests. For the first time this
book seeks to comprehend the full policy background, from which a
different and entirely original picture emerges of British cruiser
development. After the war the cruisers role was reconsidered and the
final chapters of the book cover modernizations, the plans for
missile-armed ships and the convoluted process that turned the
through-deck cruiser into the Invincible class light carriers. With
detailed appendices of ship data and illustrated in depth with photos
and A. D. Baker's specially commissioned plans, British Cruisers truly
matches the lofty standards set by Friedman's previous books on British
destroyers.
