In June 2008, Osprey Publishing released US Cruisers, 1883-1904: The Birth of the Steel Navy. Written by Lawrence Burr and illustrated by Ian Palmer and John White, this addition to Osprey’s New Vanguard series examines the shift from wooden to iron ships. This book is priced at $17.95 USD or $21.00 CDN.

Burr previously wrote Osprey’s 2006 title British Battlecruisers 1914-1918. That book successfully challenged the notion that battlecruisers were a flawed idea. Having hypothesis and structuring the book so as to defend it is a very different approach for a writer to take to Osprey. The approach evident in US Cruisers, but not quite so strikingly executed as Burr’s thesis, (i.e., steel hulled ships represented a change in naval strategy and the beginning of an expansionist foreign policy) is less contrarian.

Initial Impressions
US Cruisers runs 48 pages, with 11 being full-colour. This title has a couple of significant differences from most Osprey releases. First, it examines both a technical and tactical transition in navy ships with a broad scope (versus the narrower focus of most Ospreys). Second, it examines something of a boutique period that is not generally addressed by history books with wide releases.

Upon opening the book, I was initially struck by the number of pictures the author has obtained of, frankly, awkward looking ships and how these pictures themselves tell a story of the incremental nature of change in ship design during this time. An initial scan of the text also showed the book considers not just technical changes in ships, but the political and economic issues and tactical considerations.

A Naval Renaissance
Burr begins by discussing the technical and numerical decline in the US Navy following the American Civil War. The lack of an effective navy in the latter half of the 19th century—a time when European powers were seeking expanded markets in Africa, Asia and the Pacific—posed economic and political problems for the United States. In response, the US government authorized the development of four steel-hulled ships and rationalized ship production and officer training.

Design and Construction
Developing modern warships provided a technical challenge, including a lack of effective ship-building capacity and domestic steel industries. This entailed some compromises in ship design and armament until these deficiencies could be remedied. Although perhaps of limited interest to gamers, the discussion of infrastructure is useful. This theme recurs during most periods of re-armament, as industrial capacity is developed or re-tasked and government expenditures facilitate the development of an industrial base with both military and (subsequently) civilian application.

The Ships
The largest portion of the book is Burr’s detailed discussion of the ships commissioned. This discussion (sensibly) proceeds chronologically. The lack of overseas coaling stations and unreliable steam engines required the 1883 series of ships to have traditional sailing rig. The weight of masts and sails reduced the displacement available for weaponry and the result was highly unsatisfactory. These ships did provide a useful test-bed for double hulls, water-tight compartments and electrical power plants.

The development of ship-building capacity on both coasts was a priority in this time before the Panama Canal and Burr provides some discussion of this. He also related the positioning of the armament on the ships to their intended tactical employment (commerce raiding requiring a different arrangement than fleet actions).

Burr details improvements in power plants, the development of armoured hulls and decks and changes in the weaponry through the 1880s. The USS Olympia (authorized in 1888 and launched in 1892) represented a significant leap forward in ship design. Tactical changes (towards fleet-based actions) were also occurring at this time and the authorizations after 1890 focused on developing battleships to provide significant protection to both coasts.

Cruisers in Action
The Spanish-American War of 1898 provided a testing ground for the new ships and tactical doctrine. In the Pacific, Commodore Dewey attacked Spanish ships and installations in Manila Bay. Burr provides a useful discussion of the prelude to the battle. The explanation of the battle would have been improved with a map. Of note is the relatively low level of accuracy (2.42% on moored targets) from ships in motion.

In the Atlantic, US ships were blockading the port of Santiago. Following the loss of Santiago to ground forces, the Spanish fleet sortied. The ensuing firefight was ultimately a one-sided victory for the Americans. This battle has significant potential for gaming, with diverging victory conditions and a poor initial US disposition. Again, a map would have been useful.

Point the Guns
Burr spends two pages discussing the difficulties the US Navy faced in getting hits on enemy ships in the two battles it fought during the Spanish-American War. Among the issues were inadequate range finding, sighting and gunnery equipment, little opportunity to practice shooting and the decision making of individual gunnery captains. Initial improvements by adopting British methods followed by centralized fire control improved matters somewhat.

USS Olympia
In the last 10 pages of the book, Burr provides a lengthy discussion of the USS Olympia. The Olympia represents a fundamental leap forward in ship building for the US Navy. The book details the ship’s construction. Among the innovations of the Olympia was the use of turreted gunmounts on a cruiser (harkening back to the use of turrets on Civil War monitors) and the use of water-absorbing materials between hulls to create a self-sealing hull. The ship’s participation in the battle of Manila Bay is reiterated. Barr then examines the ship’s various refits and service during the Mexican Revolution and WW1.

Graphic Appeal
This 48-page book is a typical Osprey, with a perfecting binding and a mixture of black and white and colour photographs and diagrams. There are 11 full-colour pages. These include two full-page paintings, both of the USS Olympia in service, several colour pictures of preserved period ships and machinery, and two pages of colour ship profiles. There is also a full colour cut-away drawing of the Olympia. Oddly, this drawing contains an incorrectly positioned officer’s wardroom. This error is noted in on the diagram but not explained: did we really need to see what a conference room looked like?

The author has done a good job of providing pictures of many of the ships that were built during this transitional period for the navy. This collection is impressive and helped me understand the changes each ship design brought about. The only major omission in this text are maps of the two battles (Santagio and Manila Bay) which it describes.

Commentary
Like many gamers, I’ve dabbled in naval gaming. Right now, I’m helping a friend playtest a set of fleet-scale rules in the age of sail. In the past, I’ve played some enjoyable WW1 and WW2 naval fleet-level games and I have a long-time interest in torpedo boats. Yet I’ve never run across a book that explained how navies transitioned from wooden-hulled sailing ships to steel-hulled, prop-driven boats. Although I don’t lie awake at night wondering about this, I was curious how ships evolved between Trafalgar to Jutland?

Burr has done an admirable job of outlining this transition in the US Navy. His explanation of technical, political and economic aspects of the transition is highly readable and provides an excellent high-level analysis. He also does a nice job of explaining the tactical evolution of these ships through the last decades of the 19th century.

At 48 pages, I found the book a bit short. The book is also really two books: the first three-quarters explains the transition of the navy and the last 10 pages is focused on the history of the USS Olympia. While the Olympia is clearly an important ship (and its history is interesting), the transition between the sections is awkward and it looks like the author simply padded out a thin manuscript. I’d have preferred that they excise the material on the Olympia and better developed the central thesis of the book.

That criticism aside, this is really quite an interesting book. The technical and strategic requirement for hybrid ships (steel hull with sailing rig) as the navy modernized is interesting and provides important context. A few years back, a friend ran a fictional interwar naval game and we’ve always meant to return to the rules (Iron Ships and Wooden Heads by Tim Gow) and run a campaign. This book suggests that a campaign driven in part by the possession of coaling stations might be the way to approach it.

Conclusion
Overall, US Cruisers 1883-1904 is an interesting book that differs from Osprey’s more typical offerings in approach (analyzing a transitional period) and topic (the transition from wooden to iron ships). It nicely addresses the economic, technical and political issues that impacted this change and fills a hole in the literature on the period.

Burr also provides gamers with enough material about two major encounters (Manila Bay and Santiago) to inspire scenarios. Additional material (e.g., maps of the battles) would have been useful. There is certainly room (even with a 48-page limit) for fuller descriptions and maps to be included; space could easily be taken from the historical notes about the USS Olympia.

Pros

• Addresses an interesting and largely ignored topic.
• Explains the transition from a wooden to steel navy well.
• Material for two scenarios included.

Cons

• The book is short and could have used more discussion of tactical doctrines.
• History of the USS Olympia is awkwardly inserted and unnecessary.