Volume 1 of 5 This is a significant work of reference in that it provides the personnel state of the Royal Navy as at the end of the Great War; the list is corrected to 18th December 1918. And not just the personnel are featured, for here are listed HM ships of all types including merchant vessels commissioned as HM Ships. With most of the ships listed type, armament, displacement and propulsion details are given, e.g, LION. Battle Cruiser. 26,350 tons. 70,000 HP. 8-13.5 inch, 16-4 inch, 4-3pdr. This publication begins with the alphabetical list of the officers on the active list of the Royal Navy and the Royal marines showing their rank, seniority and of the retired and emergency officers serving, where serving and this includes retired and emergency officers. If the name is preceded by a number, this identifies the ship or shore station in which he is serving (they are all numbered). This is followed by a list showing officers according to seniority. Other lists are of Royal Marines; ships/shore stations with their identifying number and showing officers serving with them; RNR, RNVR, Dominion naval officers; retired RN, RM and RNR officers; invalided officers and much more. There is a section for Honours and Awards including VC (shown after the Orders of Knighthood, the DSO and Royal Red Cross), DSC, DSM and foreign awards. At the end there is a section on Dress Regulations for officers of the Fleet and even a list of lantern slides available in local libraries. The description given above by no means exhausts the information available.

During the Pacific War the most successful component of the Imperial Japanese Fleet was its destroyer force. These ships were larger and, in most cases, better-equipped than their Allied counterparts. Armed with a powerful, long-ranged torpedo, these ships proved formidable opponents. Initially, they were instrumental in an unbroken string of Japanese victories, but it was not until the Guadalcanal campaign that these ships fully demonstrated their power. In a series of daring night actions, they devastated Allied task forces with their deadly torpedoes. This volume details the history, weapons and tactics of the Japanese destroyers built just before and throughout the war, including the famous Kagero and Yugumo classes, the experimental destroyer Shimakaze that boasted a top speed of almost 40 knots and 15 torpedo tubes, and the Matsu class that represented the Japanese equivalent to an Allied destroyer escort. These ships were designed to be built quickly and cheaply, but proved to be very tough in combat.

The sea shaped the course and conduct of World War II, from the first moments of the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, to the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. The impact could be felt far beyond the shoreline, as the arms and armies carried across the oceans were ultimately destined to wage war ashore. Populations and industries depended on the raw materials and supplies in a war that increasingly became a contest of national will and economic might. Ultimately, it was the war at sea that linked numerous regional conflicts and theaters of operation into a global war. As the war grew in complexity and covered an increasingly larger geographical area, the organization of the maritime effort and the impact it had on the formulation of national strategy also evolved. This volume illustrates the impact of naval operations on the Second World War by highlighting topics previously neglected in the scholarship. In doing so, it provides new insights into political, strategic, administrative, and operational aspects of the maritime dimension of the war.