British Naval Weapons of World War Two (Hardback)
The John Lambert Collection, Volume III - Coastal Forces Weapons
Pages: 208
Illustrations: 120 plans, 50 b/w photos
ISBN: 9781526777102
Published: 7th August 2020
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John Lambert was a renowned naval draughtsman, whose plans were highly valued for their accuracy and detail by modelmakers and enthusiasts. By the time of his death in 2016 he had produced over 850 sheets of drawings, many of which have never been published. These have now been acquired by Seaforth and this is the third of a planned series of albums on selected themes, reproducing complete sheets at a large page size, with an expert commentary and captioning.
The initial volumes concentrate on British naval weaponry used in the Second World War, thus completing the project John Lambert was working on when he died. His interest was always focused on smaller warships and his weapons drawings tend to be of open mountings – the kind that present a real challenge to modelmakers – rather than enclosed turret guns, but he also produced drawings of torpedo tubes, underwater weapons, fire-control directors and even some specific armament-related deck fittings. Following the earlier volumes on destroyer and escort armament, this one covers the multitude of weapons carried by Coastal Forces, many of which were improvised, ad hoc or obsolescent, but eventually leading to powerful purpose-designed weaponry. An appendix covers the main deck guns carried by British submarines of this era.
The drawings are backed by introductory essays by Norman Friedman, an acknowledged authority on naval ordnance, while a selection of photographs adds to the value of the book as visual reference. Over time, the series will be expanded to make this unique technical archive available in published form, a move certain to be welcomed by warship modellers, enthusiasts and the many fans of John Lambert’s work.
For the fan of British small craft during this period, this book is a gold mine and a real necessity, given the lack of other good material out there. Very highly recommended!
Nautical Research Guild - Nautical Research Journal, Winter 2020, Vol.65, No.4
"This book is handsomely produced to Seaforth’s high standards and is naturally very well illustrated. It is a must for serious naval model makers, naval ordnance professionals, researcher and enthusiasts."
Ordnance Society - Newsletter No.134, 07/2021
The plans are clearly reproduced and contain masses of detail. I shall certainly find them useful when trying to identify these boats and their equipment, and I’m sure they will also be of great value to the modeller. Lambert’s work deserved to be published, and this series of three books has done him proud.
History of War
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Again Masterpiece of the Naval draughtsman John Lambert thanks to the friend Norman Friedman.
Miniaturas JM
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This is an excellent publication and should be on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in coastal forces operations of WW2. Very highly recommended.
World Ship Society - Marine News, January 2021
... if a reader wishes to know what made Coastal Forces move and fight with all the associated technical detail of construction, weapons and machinery, then this is the book for you.
The Naval Review, May 2021
Review by David Manley
Naval Wargames Society
This is an excellent publication and should be on the bookshelf of anyone with an interest in coastal forces operations of WW2. Highly recommended!
This will interest the naval historian while it is a goldmine for modellers, both for small scale modellers as well as those who like larger scale models suitable for radio control on a boating lake.
Military Model Scene, Robin Buckland
A beautiful collection and very neatly presented. First class and definitely recommended.
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One of the great delights for a military history reviewer is the preservation of outstanding definitive books and images. The unique collection of John Lambert books and drawings has been preserved by Seaforth, who are now republishing with new introductions and editing, in this case by leading naval historian Norman Friedman – Most Highly Recommended
Firetrench
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About Norman Friedman
NORMAN FRIEDMAN is arguably America’s most prominent naval analyst, and the author of more than thirty books covering a range of naval subjects, from warship histories to contemporary defence issues. His most recent titles in a series of successful works for Seaforth are the two volumes of his history of British Submarines.
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