Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers (New Vanguard)

The book was excellent and the care taken in proper packaging was fantastic. Book was left in the rain by USPS but still was unscathed when unpacked.

The post-World War II Soviet Navy was not in a position to directly challenge the U.S. Navy and British Royal Navy. What it did was build a series of increasing robust cruisers, visibly armed with naval guns and missiles, to project both threat and presence in Soviet waters and on the high seas. At their peak, the Soviet cruiser force became a potent weapon of international diplomacy for Moscow..."Soviet Cold War Guided Missile Cruisers" is an Osprey New Vanguard Series book, well authored by Edward Hampshire, with illustrations by Paul Wright. The introduction sets the stage for Cold War competition, followed by a discussion of shipboard systems and the several generations of Soviet cruiser types. The discussion is nicely supported by period photographs and breakaway diagrams of the cruiser types. Perhaps the most interesting chapter, for this reviewer, is the operational history of the Soviet guided missile cruisers. Their presence at sea and especially in the Mediterranean during a series of Middle East crises underline their importance for Moscow.This book is a concise but well written introduction to the topic. It crams a lot of information into less than fifty pages, and is recommended to students of the period.

Pretty good for a 48 page booklet. It discusses the concepts behind the Soviet rocket cruisers designs. There is also some discussion of the design development history of the various classes of ships. Tabulations of ship dimensions, displacements, propulsion system horsepower and ship speed, and weapons systems carried are also given. The only disappointment is that there is no information on the capabilities and performance of the missile and gun systems, but I guess you can't have everything in a 48-page book.The fate of each ship is also presented in a table at the end of the book. it's kind of strange to see that almost all the Soviet missile carrying ships that were so significant in the Cold War era in the 1960s through the 1980s have now been scrapped.There are also some brief commentaries on the slow disintegration of the old Soviet command economy in the 1980s, at least as the Navy was affected. Ships could be maintained and modernized only with great difficulty, and in some cases not at all.

I have given this book only 4 stars, because I found it somewhat inconvenient to read as the author insists on referring each ship by its project number rather than class name and/or NATO designation. I found myself having to refer back to the content page when the author was writing about the deployment of P1144 vessel to the pacific fleet, etc. It would have been so much easier for me if the author had just named the class, i.e. Kirov Class, Slava Class, when talking about deployment. This problem foe me also spilt over into the names of the weapon and sensor systems. The author continually used the Russian (Soviet) name of system rather than the NATO designation. I for one am more familiar that type of designation.Another reviewer has taken the book to task for its brevity, but this book is the same size as all the other books in this series. I have nothing to complain about in that regard. This being said, I found the book informative, the art work excellent, and the pictures on point

This is a very good, concise guide to the ships that formed the backbone of Admiral Gorshkov's blue-water Soviet fleet. All key aspects of the ships' design, development, and systems are covered, though briefly. Photos are small, but clear and plentiful. Kudos to Osprey for avoiding "binder-itis" in the two-page cut-away drawing of the Kirov Class, which is a highlight of the volume. Only annoyance (as another reviewer noted) is the decision to refer to ship classes throughout the text by their project number rather than name. Overall, a valuable addition to a topic for which there are not a lot of dedicated reference works in English. Recommended for anyone interested in Cold War naval affairs.

The book isnt that big, and at first that disappointed me.Then I opened it up and read it and loved it! It 'fills in' details that bigger more formulaic books pass over. This book and the American cruisers book were ordered together and I love them and they hold important places in my NAval library.

I knew the book itself was going to be a bit smaller than normal before I bought it and only 45 pages, only about the thickness of a magazine. I was hoping for larger pictures, many are only about 2"x3" and are photos you can find on the internet. It does have a couple of "ok" sized photos, but most are too small. The book gives info and stats and artist illustrations of several types of cruisers up to the current type. I think the book is a little pricey for what you get.

I new a lot about these cruisers when I was in the U.S. Navy. This is has some I interesting Cold War stories. I also like the post Soviet Union history.

A good overview of the subject at a reasonable cost. Some excellent photographs and line drawings. A little too heavy on the technical side for the amateur enthusiast : some expert speculation on the overall likely effectiveness of the weapons systems featured would have been of more interest.

The New Vanguard series of books offer an introduction to various aspects of Military History for the lay person and the enthusiast and this title is a great addition to the series.Much of the Cold War period is shrouded in a mystery that is only now starting to be dissolved as documents are declassified. Traditional reference guides use NATO classifications to identify Soviet weapons, sensors and classes of vessels but the central plank of this book are the reference tables covering weapons and sensors, giving both NATO and Soviet classifications.The reader will be used to referring to Kirov, Kara and Kresta I class cruisers, but perhaps not to Projects 1144, 1134B or 1134 class vessels. Some might find this confusing at first but the fresh data will soon sink in and the book generally gives an insight into Soviet maritime perceptions and the strategies developed from them. Soviet naval operations, using the Cruisers specifically covered in the book, are also featured and the ignominious fate of these vessels is relayed in brief as the Soviet empire collapsed.The author has packed a huge amount of previously classified information into 48 pages and in such a way that it will appeal to as wide an audience as possible. The text is concise, fitting in excellently with the format of this series of books.

It lacked in every department ..very little information photo graphs were not the best .Information given could of been found anywhere quickly on the net and cost nothing ...very poor value for money .

A high quality review with many high quality photographs. The contained information stimulated considerable further research.

Normal Osprey product, provides a good but brief overview of the subject. Some good quality pictures and profiles.