Features

History on CD-ROM

Accurately identifying enemy ships has always been difficult. During World War Two the Navy Department produced booklets with information on the ships of other nations. They compiled what was known about these ships and formatted it in a form that could be used to train lookouts on ships. The Japanese ships were included in ONI 41-42 which is now available from History on CD-ROM in a form you can access on your computer.

The CD contains two Adobe Acrobat PDF files, one is a catalog listing the other CD's available. The other file is actually a the entire book converted to PDF format in one searchable file. Most computer users already have Acrobat on their systems as it is probably the most popular document exchange format. If not it is included on the CD, or you can download the latest version free from Adobe.com. If Acrobat is on your system already then simply double click the file on the CD and it will load into a window similar to your internet browser. You now browse from page to page or use the menu on the left to jump to the ship type that interests you. Pages can be displayed as tiled images or zoomed in for a closer look. Each ship type is organized by category and includes a profile drawing with statistical data and notes. Aerial 3-D views are shown from most points of the compass and surface targeting views are shown from angle increments of 10-15 degrees. Photo's are also included to help identify some of the ship types, and similar ships the might be misidentified are also listed for reference.



Ships that had been seized by Japan during the war, and ships of Thailand and Manchuria are shown as well. The CD also contains spotting tips and information on the armament used by Japanese Navy ships.
Conclusions: It should be noted that the information on this CD is based on what was known about IJN Ships during 42-43, so This CD contains 308 page document describing 269 ships/classes including 1021 aerial/target views, 263 pictures, 150 silhouettes, and 318 line drawings. The CD works well with both a Windows PC or a MAC computer or any operation system that can run Adobe Acrobat. If you would rather have a printed copy then simply print what you need as the pages are scanned in at 600 dpi. A test print of several pages shows that the output is at least as good as the reprint of a USN Book that I have in my library. This CD is item # N580 and sells for $29.95. You can buy it direct via the website using credit card, money order or check.
Click the logo above to check out this CD or any of the many others in their catalog.