Waters, Conrad British Fiji Class Cruisers and their Derivatives. Design, Development and Performance

In this major study, Conrad Waters makes extensive use of archive material to provide a technical evaluation of the Fiji class design and its subsequent performance. He outlines the classs origins in the context of inter-war cruiser policy, explains the design and construction process, and describes the characteristics of the resulting ships and how these were adapted in the light of wartime developments. An overview of service focuses on major engagements, assessing the extent to which the class met its designers expectations and detailing the consequences of action damage. Later chapters continue the story into the Cold War era, examining the various post-war modernisation programmes and concluding with the radical redesign of the Tiger class that produced the Royal Navys last conventional cruisers. Heavily illustrated with contemporary photographs, original plans and drawings by Dave Baker, John Jordan and George Richardson, "British Fiji Class Cruisers" provides a definitive reference to one of the Royal Navys most important Second World War warship designs.