ARMED BLUEJACKETS ASHORE
£45.00
US Navy Landing Guns 1850-1942
by Nelson H Lawry
Among other major navies, the United States put armed naval landing parties ashore during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was not just to protect American interests, but also to safeguard international communities against the ‘savage hordes’ of ‘uncivilised’ nations. The specially designed light field guns carried aboard gunboats and larger warships were a testament to the strategic and tactical prowess of the US Navy. Most American naval landings of the nineteenth century took place in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. In contrast, the following century saw landings against larger and otherwise civilised nations such as Mexico and Russia. The last of these landings were made in conjunction with the Allied assaults on North Africa in November 1942. The first purpose-built landing guns, the bronze Dahlgren muzzleloading smoothbore howitzers, saw extensive deployment during the Civil War and postwar in Korea. The US Navy’s very first steel breechloading guns were landing pieces. Five different marks of 3-inch breechloading guns and several guns of other calibres followed in successive decades, serving for varying periods. The history and characteristics of these landing guns are chronicled in a scholarly yet highly readable account, shedding light on a subject area barely considered in previous US naval histories.
Description
US Navy Landing Guns 1850-1942
by Nelson H Lawry
Among other major navies, the United States put armed naval landing parties ashore during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This was not just to protect American interests, but also to safeguard international communities against the ‘savage hordes’ of ‘uncivilised’ nations. The specially designed light field guns carried aboard gunboats and larger warships were a testament to the strategic and tactical prowess of the US Navy. Most American naval landings of the nineteenth century took place in Africa, Asia, and Central and South America. In contrast, the following century saw landings against larger and otherwise civilised nations such as Mexico and Russia. The last of these landings were made in conjunction with the Allied assaults on North Africa in November 1942. The first purpose-built landing guns, the bronze Dahlgren muzzleloading smoothbore howitzers, saw extensive deployment during the Civil War and postwar in Korea. The US Navy’s very first steel breechloading guns were landing pieces. Five different marks of 3-inch breechloading guns and several guns of other calibres followed in successive decades, serving for varying periods. The history and characteristics of these landing guns are chronicled in a scholarly yet highly readable account, shedding light on a subject area barely considered in previous US naval histories.
Additional information
| Book Author | Nelson H Lawry |
|---|---|
| Genre | General Interest |
