Antony Preston (naval historian)
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2008-03-30T10:19:06Z
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'''Antony Preston''' (b. [[1938]], d. [[December 25]], [[2004]]) was an [[England|English]] [[naval history|naval historian]] 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]], [[Lancashire]], and educated in [[South Africa]] at [[King Edward VII School (Johannesburg)|King Edward VII School]], [[Johannesburg]], and the [[University of Witwatersrand]].<ref>Publisher's preface, ''The World's Worst Warships'' (Conway Maritime Press 2002) ISBN 0-85177-754-6</ref> On his return to England he spent some years at the [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]], before becoming Editor of the periodical “Defence”.<ref>Publisher's preface, ''Sea Power: A Modern Illustrated Military History'' (Exeter Books 1980) ISBN 0-89673-011-5</ref> During the 1970s he was employed by a specialist publisher, [[Conway Maritime Press]], as editor of their ''Warships'' annual; he resumed this post in 1996. Antony Preston lived in London until his death in 2004.<ref>Publisher's preface, ''The World's Worst Warships''</ref>
==Work==
Antony Preston was a prolific author both of books and of articles, and published on subjects ranging from the [[American Revolution]] to modern seapower; the bibliography given below illustrates the breadth of his expertise. Although he wrote on general military history, as well as most aspects of naval history and modern-day naval matters, the focus of his work was on ship design, technology and materiel. He was a pugnacious writer and was usually willing to take up one side of a controversy, even in a work of reference (see quotes below).
==Bibliography==
Even though restricted to books, following list (sourced primarily from [[Amazon.com|Amazon]]) is far from complete. Only the four most recent ''Warship'' annuals are listed; other titles are listed in reverse order of publication.
*''Warship 2005'' (Ed). Conway Maritime Press (July 15, 2005). ISBN 1-84486-003-5
*''Warship 2004'' (Ed). Conway Maritime Press. (July, 2004). ISBN 0-85177-948-4
*''Warship 2002-2003'' (Ed). Conway Maritime Press. (Dec, 2002). ISBN 0-85177-901-8
*''Warship 2001-2002'' (Ed). Conway Maritime Press. (April, 2002). ISBN 0-85177-926-3
*''Send a Gunboat!'' (with John Major). Chrysalis Books (February 28, 2003) ISBN 0-85177-923-9
*''The World's Worst Warships''. Conway Maritime Press (2002). ISBN 0-85177-754-6
*''The Royal Navy Submarine Service: A Centennial History''. Conway Maritime Press (November 2001). ISBN 0-85177-891-7
*''The World's Great Aircraft Carriers: From the Civil War to the Present''. Thunder Bay Press (CA) (July 2000). ISBN 1-57145-261-3
*''Submarine Warfare: An Illustrated History''. Thunder Bay Press (CA) (April 1999) ISBN 1-57145-172-2
*''An illustrated history of the navies of World War II''. Military Book Club (January 1, 1998). ASIN B0006R987I
*''Aircraft Carriers: An Illustrated History''. PRC Publishing Ltd. (1997). ASIN B000CORWY6
*''Pictorial History of South Africa''. Gallery Books (Aug 1989). ISBN 0-83176-905-X
*(with Richard Natkiel) ''Weidenfeld Atlas of Maritime History''. Weidenfeld & Nicholson (May 1986). ISBN 0-29778-653-9
*''Battleships (Warships)''. Lifetime Books (August 1982). ISBN 0-8119-0462-8
*''Cruisers (Warships)''. Lifetime Books (August 1982). ISBN 0-8119-0465-2
*''Sea combat off the Falklands''. Willow Books (1982). ISBN 0-00-218046-4
*''Sea Power: A Modern Illustrated Military History'' (with Louis S Casey & John Batchelor). Exeter Books (September 1980). ISBN 0-89673-011-5
*''Decisive Battles of the Pacific Wars''. Book Sales (May 1980). ISBN 0-89009-293-1
*''Dreadnought to nuclear submarine (The ship)''. HMSO/National Maritime Museum (1980). ISBN 0-11-290319-3
*(contributor) ''Navies of the American Revolution''. Leo Cooper (April 1975). ISBN 0-85052-191-2
*(contributor) ''Navies of World War 3''. BISON BOOKS (1986). ISBN-0-86124-114-2
==Quotes==
*''…ton for ton, the least satisfactory ships built for the RN in modern times.'' (of the [[HMS Lion (1910)|Lion]] class battlecruisers) – ''Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships, 1906-1921'' (1985) ISBN 0-85177-245-5
*''Unfit for combat with any existing cruiser''. (of the French [[Duquesne]] class – “The World’s Worst Warships”
*''A fresh coat of paint and a display of flags can hide a multitude of shortcomings''. (of Fast Attack Craft) – Ibid
*''More of a political gesture than a significant contribution to the history of capital-ship design'' - (of the German ''Panzerschiffe'' ([[pocket battleships]])) – “Sea Power: A Modern Illustrated Military History”
==World's Worst Warships==
''The World's Worst Warships''. Conway Maritime Press (2002). ISBN 0-85177-754-6 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 [[Monitor (warship)|Monitors]]
* Turret ship [[HMS Captain (1869)]]
* Russian Coast defence ships [[Russian battleship Novgorod|Novgorod]] and ''Vitse Admiral Popov'' 1871
* Armoured rams [[HMS Polyphemus (1881)]] and [[USS Katahdin (1893)]]
* Russian Armoured Cruiser [[Rurik (1892)]]
* Dynamite cruiser [[USS Vesuvius (1888)]]
* British [[Powerful class cruiser|Powerful]] Class protected cruisers
* Russian [[Borodino class battleship]]s
* Destroyer [[HMS Swift (1907)|HMS Swift]]
* Austo-Hungarian [[Viribus Unitis class battleship]]s
* French [[Normandie class battleship]]s
* American AA Class submarines
* US [[Flush-deck]]er destroyers
* [[British K class submarine]]s
* British light battlecruisers, [[HMS Glorious]], [[HMS Furious (47)]], [[HMS Courageous (50)]]
* Battlecruiser [[HMS Hood (51)]]
* US [[Omaha class cruiser]]
* Swedish [[HMS Gotland (cruiser)|Cruiser Gotland]]
* French [[Duquesne class cruiser|Duquesne class heavy cruisers]]
* German [[pocket battleships]]
* Italian [[Condottieri class cruiser|Condotierri class light cruisers]]
* [[Japanese aircraft carrier Ryūjō]]
* Japanese [[Mogami class cruiser]]s
* Japanese [[Yamato class battleship]]s
* German [[Bismarck class battleship]]s
* British [[Implacable class aircraft carrier]]s
* [[Hydrogen Peroxide]] fuelled submarines
* Soviet [[Alpha class submarine]]s
* British [[Type 21 frigate]]s
* [[La Combattante]] type missile fast attack craft
==References==
<references />
[[Category:1938 births|Preston, Antony]]
[[Category:2004 deaths|Preston, Antony]]
[[Category:English naval historians|Preston, Antony]]
[[Category:English historians|Preston, Antony]]
[[Category:People from Salford|Preston, Antony]]
[[Category:Old Edwardians|Preston, Antony]]