Название: Gunboat! Small Ships at War
Автор: Bryan Perrett
Издательство: Castle Books
Год: 2003
Формат: PDF
Страниц: 248
Размер: 125,9 МБ
Язык: Английский

Britain, like other colonial powers, established, controlled and accessed her empire from the seas. It was realised that the preservation of secure trading conditions required armed ships able to operate in shallow coastal and river waters. The gunboat was developed to meet this need: a small, shallow-draft, steam-powered screw or paddle driven vessel, sufficiently fast and manoeuvrable to take the enemy, whether on shore or afloat, by surprise.