United States Navy Destroyers of World War II (0713710268)

United States Navy Destroyers of World War II (0713710268)

by John C. Reilly Jr (Author), Frank D. Johnson (Editor), Hardcover, 160 pages. Pre-owned in very good condition.
 The author starts with the 1898 era briefly, then moves on to the 4-stackers of WWI, then after just a few pages on to the main subject: WWII destroyers, with the Farragut class making the first step, then the Benhams, and so on. Along the way we are treated to gorgeous, large size for the most part, super sharp photos showing the ships in detail, up-close, quarter views, at sea side profiles, etc. Author has relied heavily on official naval yard photos (i.e. the ones with the white circles showing additions) as well as period in-action photos. Some are quite poignant in what they represent, sometimes very subtly. For example, on page 29 a picture shows gunners manning a 5-inch wearing asbestos gloves, which would later cause many health ailments to our dear vets.