This is the fourth fully revised edition of a book first published in 1970. This longevity is testimony to its enduring value as a reference work-indeed, "Colledge," as the book is universally known, is still the first stop for anyone wanting more information on any British warship from the fifteenth century to the present day when only the name is known. Each entry gives concise details of dimensions, armament, and service dates, and its alphabetical and chronological arrangement makes it easy to track down the right ship-otherwise the Royal Navy's tradition of reusing the same names can be misleading.
When originally published, the second of the two volumes was devoted to minor fighting ships and hired and requisitioned vessels. For the third edition, published in one volume, this material was omitted, but for this edition, all the genuine fighting ships-like the numbered Coastal Forces craft-have been restored, resulting in a convenient but comprehensive single-volume listing of all significant vessels.
Since the death of Jim Colledge, who was widely respected for his pioneering research on the technical details of warships, his magnum opus has been updated, corrected, and expanded with similar enthusiasm and attention to detail by Ben Warlow, a retired naval officer and author of a number of books in the field.
