The Naval Institute Guide to Combat Fleets of the World, 2000-2001; Their Ships, Aircraft, and Systems

Oversized book, measuring 9-1/4 inches by 12 inches. xxiii, [1], 1107, [5] pages. Illustrations. Technical Data. Includes: Preface; Introduction; Worldwide Naval Forces in the New Century; Terms and Abbreviations; Conversion Tables; Addenda; Index. Yellow highlighting on several pages. The compiler had been developing the information in this book from 1978 until the book's publication in 2000. The author was a regular columnist for the U.S. Naval Institute magazines Proceedings and Naval History and had written and illustrated some sixty books on naval history and technology. A magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University, Mr. Baker served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1967 until his retirement in 1997. He was a Special Assistant to the secretary of the navy for intelligence and historical matters from 1982 to 1987, he served on the staff of the president's Commission on Merchant Marine and Defense from 1987 to 1989. He was a recipient of the navy's Distinguished Civilian Service Award. This edition captures the information after the completion of the Persian Gulf War and before the Global War on Terrorism/Post-September 11 military operations. All information in Combat Fleets has been derived from unclassified, open-source publications and from correspondence received from around the world. The official publications of many navies have been consulted, where made available, but for some fleets, particularly that of North Korea, some of the data is still estimated. Of particular value in preparing the Russian section was the encylopedic and authoritative Voennoe-Morskoy Flot SSSR, 1945-1991, by Captains First Rank V. P. Kuzin and V. I. Nikol'lskiy, Russian Navy, and the pioneering compilation Warships of the USSR and Russia, 1945-1995, by A. S. Pavlov, translated by Gregory Tokar and edited by Norman Friedman. Combat Fleets is normally published every two years, but the work of revision is continuous. Derived from an annotation by BookNews, Inc.: This biennially updated reference on the world's naval and paranaval forces presents accurate and timely data about the composition of the afloat, coastal defense, and aviation arms of about 180 countries and territories, as well as information about coast guards and other armed maritime government services. It contains not only details about the characteristics and capabilities of ships and craft ranging from giant aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines to small tugboats and launches, but also the retirement or transfer abroad of older warships. Ship classes within type are arranged from new to old. Extensively illustrated with photographs and drawings, 90 percent of which are new to this edition.…