The Kelly's
British J, K, N Destroyers of World War 2

Author: Christopher Langtree

By: Shane Jenkins

The J, K, N class of destroyers were a highly succesful class and participated in most theatres in WW2. They were used by the Royal Navy (RN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Dutch, and Polish Navies.This book (the Author's first) is named after possibly the most famous of the J, K, N's: HMS Kelly commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten and covers the development and history of the J, K, N's.

The great line drawings by John Lambert and camouflage profiles by John Roberts add immensely to the book and it's a pity that due to publishing constraints more could not be included. Included in the appendices is a listing of each ship covering their deployment, Anti-Aircraft modifications, specifications of the class, Flottila organisations, Commanding Officers, Launch and Commisioning dates, etc.

Also included is a very comprehensive listing of the sources used in writing this book both primary and published. This list gives the researcher ample opportunity to conduct their own research in the J, K, N's and the fact that this is included is throughly appreciated by the reviewer.

This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone building any of the various J, K, N Destroyers or indeed anyone interested in British destroyer development. I throughly enjoyed reading this book, even though I would have personally/selfishly liked to have seen more coverage of the RAN N class ships. The fact that this outstanding book is the Author's first, makes the book an even more enjoyable read. This effort ranks him amongst the more notable maritime authors such as Alan Raven, John Roberts, Norman Friedman, etc and I look forward with high anticipation to more works from this Author.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Publisher: Chatham Publishing

ISBN: 1 86176 166 X

Copyright © SMML 2004