Anthony Preston (naval historian)
Encyclopedia
Antony Preston was an English
naval historian
and editor, specialising in the area of 19th and 20th-century naval history and warship design.
, and educated in South Africa
at King Edward VII School, Johannesburg
, and the University of Witwatersrand. On his return to England he spent some years at the National Maritime Museum
, Greenwich
, before becoming Editor of the periodical “Defence”. During the 1970s he was employed by a specialist publisher, Conway Maritime Press, as editor of their Warship annual. He also produced the specialised newsletter Navynt. In the early nineties he took over as chief-editor of the magazine Naval Forces at the German editorial group Mönch. He left to resume as editor of Warships in 1996. Antony Preston lived in London until his death in 2004.
to modern seapower; the bibliography given below illustrates the breadth of his expertise. He wrote on general military history, as well as most aspects of naval history and modern-day naval matters. He was a pugnacious writer and was usually willing to take up one side of a controversy, even in a work of reference (see brief collection of quotes below).
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
naval historian
Naval history
Naval history is the area of military history concerning war at sea and the subject is also a sub-discipline of the broad field of maritime history....
and editor, specialising in the area of 19th and 20th-century naval history and warship design.
Life
Antony Preston was born in 1938 in Salford, LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, and educated in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
at King Edward VII School, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, and the University of Witwatersrand. On his return to England he spent some years at the National Maritime Museum
National Maritime Museum
The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England is the leading maritime museum of the United Kingdom and may be the largest museum of its kind in the world. The historic buildings forming part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site, it also incorporates the Royal Observatory, Greenwich,...
, Greenwich
Greenwich
Greenwich is a district of south London, England, located in the London Borough of Greenwich.Greenwich is best known for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time...
, before becoming Editor of the periodical “Defence”. During the 1970s he was employed by a specialist publisher, Conway Maritime Press, as editor of their Warship annual. He also produced the specialised newsletter Navynt. In the early nineties he took over as chief-editor of the magazine Naval Forces at the German editorial group Mönch. He left to resume as editor of Warships in 1996. Antony Preston lived in London until his death in 2004.
Work
Antony Preston was a prolific author both of books and articles, and published on subjects ranging from the American RevolutionAmerican Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
to modern seapower; the bibliography given below illustrates the breadth of his expertise. He wrote on general military history, as well as most aspects of naval history and modern-day naval matters. He was a pugnacious writer and was usually willing to take up one side of a controversy, even in a work of reference (see brief collection of quotes below).
Memorable quotes
- LionHMS Lion (1910)HMS Lion was a battlecruiser of the Royal Navy, the lead ship of her class, which were nicknamed the "Splendid Cats". They were significant improvements over their predecessors of the in terms of speed, armament and armour...
-class battlecruisers - "ton for ton, the least satisfactory ships built for the RN in modern times" - French - "unfit for combat with any existing cruiser"
- Fast attack craft - "a fresh coat of paint and a display of flags can hide a multitude of shortcomings"
- German Panzerschiffe - "more of a political gesture than a significant contribution to the history of capital-ship design"s - "the most grotesque craft ever seen".
World's Worst Warships
The World's Worst Warships is a book about warship design. While nobody sets out to design a bad warship, some ships turn out unsuitable for the tasks which they are asked to perform. Antony Preston regarded the following designs as particularly poor:- US Civil war era MonitorsMonitor (warship)A monitor was a class of relatively small warship which was neither fast nor strongly armoured but carried disproportionately large guns. They were used by some navies from the 1860s until the end of World War II, and saw their final use by the United States Navy during the Vietnam War.The monitors...
- Turret ship
- Russian coast defence ships NovgorodRussian battleship NovgorodThe Novgorod was an Imperial Russian warship. It was one of the most unusual warships ever constructed, and still survives in popular naval myth, often described as the "ugliest warship ever built". Together with her near-sister ship Rear Admiral Popov, they were affectionately called "popovkas",...
and her sister, Vice-Admiral Popov - Armoured rams and
- Russian armoured cruiser Rurik
- Dynamite cruiser
- British protected cruisers
- Russian s
- Destroyer
- Austo-Hungarian s
- French s
- American s
- US flush-decker destroyers
- British K-class submarinesBritish K class submarineThe K class submarines were a class of steam-propelled submarines of the Royal Navy designed in 1913. Intended as large, fast vessels which had the endurance and speed to operate with the battle fleet, they gained notoriety, and the nickname of Kalamity class, for being involved in many accidents....
- British light battlecruisers, , ,
- Battlecruiser
- US
- Swedish cruiser GotlandHMS Gotland (cruiser)HMS Gotland was a seaplane cruiser of the Swedish Navy built by Götaverken.The design of the ship started out in December 1926 as a seaplane carrier with room for twelve aircraft. When presented with the design Sweden's Naval Construction Board decided that they wanted the ship to have cruiser and...
- French Duquesne-class heavy cruisersDuquesne class cruiserThe Duquesne Class were the first class of post Washington Treaty heavy cruisers built for the French Navy. They have been criticised by naval architects for having very little armour and being lightly built...
- German pocket battleships
- Italian Condotierri-class light cruisersCondottieri class cruiserThe Condottieri class was a sequence of five, different, light cruiser classes of the Regia Marina , although these classes show a clear line of evolution. They were built before World War II to gain predominance in the Mediterranean Sea...
- Japanese aircraft carrier RyūjōJapanese aircraft carrier RyujoRyūjō was a light aircraft carrier of the Imperial Japanese Navy. She was laid down by Mitsubishi at Yokohama in 1929, launched in 1931 and commissioned on 9 May 1933. Her final design resulted in a top-heavy unstable vessel and within a year she was back at Kure Naval Yard for modification...
- Japanese s
- Japanese s
- German ]s
- British s
- Hydrogen peroxideHydrogen peroxideHydrogen peroxide is the simplest peroxide and an oxidizer. Hydrogen peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water. In dilute solution, it appears colorless. With its oxidizing properties, hydrogen peroxide is often used as a bleach or cleaning agent...
-fuelled submarines - Soviet Alfa-class submarineAlfa class submarineThe Soviet Union/Russian Navy Project 705 was a class of hunter/killer nuclear powered submarines. The class is also known by the NATO reporting name of Alfa...
s - British Type 21 frigateType 21 frigateThe Type 21 frigate or Amazon-class frigate was a Royal Navy general-purpose escort designed in the late 1960s, built in the 1970s and that served throughout the 1980s into the 1990s.-History:...
s