"The world's greatest battleships features 52 of the greatest warships to have sailed and fought over the last five centuries. Beginning with English king Henry VIII's flagship, Henry Grace áa Dieu, the book covers all the main periods of battleship development, including the great sail ships, such as Sovereign of the Seas, Santisima Trinidad, and Victory. The advent of steam-driven warships provide the core of the book, beginning with the introduction of Gloire in 1859 and continuing through all the major pre-Dreadnoughts, such as Inflexible, Mikasa, Indiana, and Tsessarevitch. The author continues with detailed coverage of the great battleships of the two world wars, including Derfflinger, Nagato, Hood, Scharnhorst, Vittorio Veneto, Yamato, and Iowa. The book closes with the last new battleship to be commissioned, Vanguard, in 1946. Included are some of the world's greatest and most powerful capital ships. Many had eventful careers and participated in famous actions - such as the Prince of Wales's and Hood's pursuit of the German raider Bismarck; others, such as the Tirpitz, are remembered as a lurking threat; yet some, such as the USS Maine, are only remembered for being sunk in mysterious circumstances."--Dust jacket.