Before the Battlecruiser

Name: Before the Battlecruiser
Price: 65 AUD
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ISBN: 9781036157173

The Big Cruiser in the World's Navies 1865–1910

Aidan Dodson

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Paperback

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English

Pen & Sword Books Ltd
01 June 2026

History; Maritime history; Naval forces & warfare; Ships & shipping: general interest

The battlecruiser is perceived by many as the most glamorous of warships, remembered for its triumphs and tragedies in both world wars. Often forgotten are its lineal ancestors, the big cruisers that were constructed as capital ships for distant waters, as commerce raiders, and as fast scouts for the battlefleet during the last decades of the nineteenth century and the first years of the twentieth.

In this new book by bestselling author Aidan Dobson, the 200 or so big cruisers that were built for the world's navies from 1865 are described and analysed in detail. The type came into being in the 1860s when the French built a series of cruising ironclads to project its power in the Far East. Britain followed suit as did Russia. By the 1890s the general adoption of these fast, heavily-armed and moderately armoured vessels ushered in the golden age of the big cruiser. These great ships would go on to be key combatants in the Spanish-American and Russo-Japanese wars, the Japanese employing them within the battlefleet in a manner that heralded later battlecruiser tactics.

In Britain, in reply to the launch of the big Russian Rurik in 1890, there was spawned the freakishly huge HMS Powerful and HMS Terrible, ships that underlined the public's view of the glamour of the 'great cruiser'. Indeed, the two ships' cap-tallies became ubiquitous on the sailor suits of late Victorian British children. In some navies, particularly those of South American republics, the big cruiser became the true capital ship, while the Italians built the Giuseppe Garibaldi as a more affordable battleship. By the beginning of the twentieth century the type became yet bigger and guns approached battleship size; with HMS Invincible the British created what was, in 1912, officially dubbed the 'battlecruiser'. Despite their growing obsolescence in the new century some had remarkably long careers in patrol and other subsidiary roles, the Argentine Garibaldi still sailing as a training ship in the 1950s.

The design, development and operations of all these great vessels is told with the author's usual attention to detail and depth of analysis and will delight naval enthusiasts and historians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

AUTHOR: Aidan Dodson has taught at the University of Bristol since 1996, and combines the disparate academic fields of naval history and Egyptology, being honorary Professor of the latter subject. He holds a BA from the University of Liverpool, and an MPhil and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, and was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2003.. He is the author of some thirty books, covering both his academic disciplines, the present volume forming a companion to The British Hawkins class Cruisers, published by Seaforth in 2024.

By: Aidan Dodson
Imprint: Pen & Sword Books Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 276mm, Width: 219mm,
ISBN: 9781036157173
ISBN 10: 1036157172
Pages: 304
Publication Date: 01 June 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active

AIDAN DODSON has taught at the University of Bristol since 1996, and combines the disparate academic fields of naval history and Egyptology, being honorary Professor of the latter subject. He holds a BA from the University of Liverpool, and an MPhil and a PhD from the University of Cambridge, and was elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London in 2003.. He is the author of some thirty books, covering both his academic disciplines, the present volume forming a companion to The British Hawkins class Cruisers, published by Seaforth in 2024.

Reviews for Before the Battlecruiser: The Big Cruiser in the World's Navies 1865–1910

""The book not only matched my expectations, it exceeded them, and I thoroughly recommend it."" --Wargaming Miscellany ""The book discusses the Big Cruiser in war and peace and it is this coverage, together with the ships' design features through their relatively short reign, and the reasons for their decline, make this book well worth acquiring. Half of the book is devoted to line drawings and ship class data while the book's narrative half is well illustrated.... Before the Battlecruiser provides the full story of this warship type in the world's navies and their role in naval diplomacy and warfare in a fascinating period of world history."" --The Australian Naval Institute ""Before the Battlecruiser is a major contribution to the literature of naval development in the later nineteenth century. It is a beautifully presented, thoroughly analyzed, and lucidly written presentation of a long-neglected topic. It needs to find a place in the library of any serious student of warship history of the period."" --Nautical Research Journal ""The book is well printed, on thick, good quality paper. This is an unusual, intriguing title, absolutely crammed full of little-known information."" --Warship ""Well-illustrated, with photographs, diagrams, and even full color images of some original plans, Before the Battlecruiser is a valuable reference for anyone interested in the evolution of the modern warship."" --Strategy Page