The Leander Class Frigates are generally held to be one of the most outstanding designs of Frigate post WW2. They saw service with a variety of nations including Australia, New Zealand, Chile, India, The Netherlands and of course the UK.

The first chapter of this book covers the designs leading up to the Type 12 and through to the Leanders. This evolution covers the availability of ships post war, conversions of existing ships and new construction to suit the changing needs of the Royal Navy.

The next few chapters cover in detail the Leanders and the subsequent conversions to Ikara (Batch 1), Exocet (Batch 2), Towed Array Sonar (Batch 2A) and Sea Wolf (Batch 3). It also includes service history of each ship in the Royal Navy.

The "overseas Leanders" have a chapter all their own with attention given to each nation that used them. Each navy gets a short rundown on their particular ships with notes on local adaptions and service.

The final chapter deals with the Leander's contemporaries from various countries including the UK and puts the Leanders into a historical perspective as well as analysing the success of the Leander Frigate design over their lifespan. This is followed by a glossary detailing the specifications of the class with notes on the weapons and sensors.

This book, published by the World Ship Society is a must have for anyone interested in Leanders and post war Frigate designs. With over 110 photos detailing various Leanders, modellers will be delighted especially if used in conjunction with Jim Alloway's book. Now all we need is a decent 1/700 kit of the Type 12! This is the first book I have from the World Ship Society and based on this I'll be searching out more.

Highly recommended

Published by the World Ship Society
ISBN: 0 905617 56 8