British Anti-Aircraft Cruisers. ‘C’ Class, Dido Class and Mercantile Conversions ShipCraft Number 35. By Les Brown. Seaforth Publishing, Barnsley, 2026. ISBN 978-1-0361-5317-5 (Paperback) ISBN 978-1-0361-5318-2 (ePub).
Reviewed by David Hobbs
This is another very successful book by Les Brown in Seaforth’s ShipCraft series. It expands the series’ coverage of British cruisers of the World War Two era and includes a wide variety of ships, the majority built as warships but also a number of significant ships extensively converted from mercantile hulls.
The text is supported by colour photographs showing a number of outstanding ship models; both coloured and black and white drawings which show camouflage schemes and technical details to complement an excellent selection of black and white photographs which appear throughout the text.
The book follows this series’ usual 64-page format and comprises an opening section of text which includes an introduction to the evolution of anti-aircraft cruiser designs together with brief details of the ‘C’ class, ‘D’ class and mercantile conversions, armament changes, a summary of their operational careers and ultimate loss or disposal. The second section comprises coloured artwork which shows the broad range of kits that are available together with detail enhancements that can be purchased separately to build more accurate models. Next there is a modelmakers’ showcase, a feature in all ShipCraft editions, with coloured images of ship models built in both 1:350 and 1:700 scales. These are followed by coloured drawings which show camouflage schemes worn by selected ships at different stages of the war. A further text section describes the Dido class cruisers and the Bellona class modified from them together with summaries of their individual histories. A written description of individual ships’ camouflage paint schemes and their specifications is followed by a final section which has side and plan view drawings of selected ships to show their fittings in detail. As usual, there is a bibliography and a list of manufacturer’s websites on page 64.
This well-presented little book serves both as a reference work which provides readers with an overview of ships’ specifications, operational careers and, interestingly, what they looked like in close detail. It is, therefore, much more than a modellers’ guide since it allows warship enthusiasts and naval historians to gain a ‘feel’ for the ships in question. The photographs of completed models allow readers to gain a very good impression of how the real ships appeared at angles from which few contemporary photographs show them. The concept of getting to understand ships’ layouts by modelling them has both considerable merit and a long history; the Admiralty’s Ship Department employed dedicated model-makers for many years who made models of both what future ship designs might look like and of foreign warships for use by the intelligence community. The firm of Bassett & Lowke made excellent models in a variety of scales that were used during the war to teach ship recognition.
In summary, this book provides a wide range of potential readers with information about some important RN fleet units that played a significant part in World War two in addition to giving insight into what is both available and possible for those who might wish to model them. While none of them served with the RAN, several served alongside RAN units in the Mediterranean and British Pacific Fleets and are mentioned in G Hermon Gill’s History of the RAN. I am very happy to recommend this book highly.
