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Monday 30 December 2019

European Ironclads 1860-75: The Gloire sparks the great ironclad arms race

On Sunday Sue and I made one of our frequent visits to Bluewater, during which I pad a visit to the local branch of Waterstones. Whilst looking at the rack of Osprey books that was on display, I saw a copy of EUROPEAN IRONCLADS 1860-75: THE GLOIRE SPARKS THE GREAT IRONCLAD ARMS RACE. As I already had a copy of BRITISH IRONCLADS 1860-75: HMS WARRIOR AND THE ROYAL NAVY'S 'BLACK BATTLEFLEET' (which I bought in November 2018) and I'd just finished reading Antoine Vanner's excellent BRITANNIA'S INNOCENT, I just had to buy a copy.


The book is divided into five chapters, arranged as follows:
  • Introduction
  • Design and Development
    • The first ironclad
    • From broadside to turret
  • Europe's Ironclad Fleets
    • Austria-Hungary
    • Denmark
    • France
    • Germany
    • Italy
    • The Netherlands
    • Russia
    • Spain
    • Turkey
  • Ironclads in action
  • Further Reading

EUROPEAN IRONCLADS 1860-75: THE GLOIRE SPARKS THE GREAT IRONCLAD ARMS RACE was written by Angus Konstam, illustrated by Paul Wright, and published in 2019 by Osprey Publishing (ISBN 978 1 4728 2676 3) as part of their New Vanguard series (No.269).

6 comments:

  1. I read this a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it. The short description of the battle of Lissa is pretty good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Simon,

      It is a very useful short guide to the subject, and I agree that the description of the Battle of Lissa is better than some longer ones that I have read.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. I was thinking that the cover illustrations looks as though it's from the Lissa battle. I read a fine account of that action in the book "25 Centuries of Sea Warfare" (Jacques Mordal), my copy of which has fallen to pieces.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Archduke Piccolo,

      You are spot on; It is an illustration by Paul Wright of the Battle of Lissa.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Sounds like an a good book to have and useful as a reference book for your naval games. Will check this out later.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Steve J.,

      It’s an excellent small reference book, and well worth the price of £11.99.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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