River Gunboats

An Illustrated Encyclopaedia

By Roger Branfill-Cook

Naval Institute Press

Reviewed by Devin Poore, May 2020
 
 
BOOK
RIVER GUNBOATS is a sizeable book, over 300, 9.5" x 11.5", pages, with either photos or drawings on almost every one. It's broken down into chapters, based on individual countries, 56 in total. Current countries are covered, with still in-service vessels from the United States, Russia, Switzerland, and others, as well as past nationalities, such as Austria-Hungary and the Confederate States of America.

The subject matter sticks to riverine gunboats, but there are several instances where vessels that served both on rivers and off the coasts, such as Coast Guard cutters and harbor protection ships, are included. Information on boats is typically given in a paragraph of development and deployment history of the vessel, or class of vessels. Launch dates, fates, dimensions, armament, crew size, and other statistics are given in table format. While there are no plans in the book, photos are prevalent throughout, and many examples have a profile line drawing of the subject boats.

While there are a lot of vessels covered in the title, the sheer volume of those covered dictates that information on each is brief. Therefore, the result is less like one of Friedman's books on an individual class of vessel, and more of an overall generalization on the vessels that fulfill the concept of riverine warfare. Still, it's a great stepping-off point for anyone interested in the subject.

 
click images
to enlarge
CONCLUSIONS
I served in the Blue Water Navy, but I've always had a fascination with the Brown Water variety. I love the utilitarian feel of a craft that's made to go into as shallow water as possible while carrying the biggest guns it can. While there are no plans of the featured vessels in this book, there are plenty of photos and profile sketches to spark the model maker's interest, and to start the process of research. 

Highly Recommended. Review sample courtesy of my own wallet and a Barnes and Noble gift card. 


© ModelWarships.com