At the end of World War II, the Director of Naval Construction set the various design teams within his department the task of recording their wartime efforts, in an attempt to benefit from the experiences of the War while memories were still fresh. Chapters were commissioned on all the types, from the largest fleet carriers to the humblest tugs and tankers. These relatively short summaries set out all the principal achievements, distilled the essential lessons of combat and pointed the way towards postwar improvements. By a quirk of history, these essays were never published, although in modified form a few found their way into the 1947 edition of the Royal Institution of Naval Architects proceedings. Part of a three-volume set, this second volume looks at submarines, escorts and coastal forces. It offers the historian or enthusiast insight into the design procedure and rationale of British warships in World War II.
