Ships of the Royal Navy: A Complete Record of All the Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy

by J.J. Colledge, Ben Warlow

Universally known as the Colledge, this valuable reference is the automatic starting point for research on Royal Navy ships. First published in 1970, it has been revised four times to keep it thoroughly up to date. Anyone wanting information about any British warship since the fifteenth century should turn to this book first. Each entry gives concise details of dimensions, armament, and service dates, and its alphabetical and chronological arrangement makes it easy to track down the right ship and avoid any confusion caused by the navy's tradition of re-using names. This fourth revision, published in one volume, reintroduces material omitted in the previous edition. Even numbered Coastal Forces craft have been restored, resulting in a single-volume listing of all significant vessels.

396 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

James Joseph Colledge (1908-1997) was a British naval historian and author of Ships of the Royal Navy the standard work on ships of the Royal Navy from the 15th Century to the present day.

Reviews

[JD]

This book is just a list, but still a great reference guide to all Royal Navy ships through the centuries. It lists all ships alphabetically (there are many ship names reused ie: HMS Lion x 19), then gives the following details of each ship: ship type, displacement, dimensions, original armament, builder, launch date and fate.

[Mr Michael R Stevens]

For Reference - Not Reading

Packed with accurate information this is a reference book, not for reading but for information.
If you are ex R.N as I am it is worthwhile having.

[Will Kastner]

Further revised in 2010.

[Ian Bates]

Essential resource for every student of the Royal Navy. Regular updates have sorted out some earlier errors. A reference book to keep next to your dictionary.