Buy THE FAST STARS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Light, fast, over-armed and manned by a handful of men on board, the motor launch proved its effectiveness during the Second World War, whether in the North Sea, the Mediterranean or the Pacific. Between 1939 and 1945, the fleets involved in the fighting fielded more than 3,500 of these small vessels in torpedo-launching or cannon-armed versions. The Italian historian and sailor Erminio Bagnasco analyzes in this work the origins of this type of boat as well as their use during the Great War before providing a complete overview, country by country, of the different models of speedboats that participated in the second global conflict. All classes are detailed and accompanied by numerous plans and period photographs. A monumental work and a reference, for the first time in French!