US Navy Gunboats 1885–1945

For more than half a century, gunboats were the United States' most visible military presence around the world. Most famously operating in the Philippines and China, many US gunboats were built, purchased, captured, or reassembled overseas, where they usually spent their entire careers never coming within 7,000 miles of the country they served. These little warships and their crews often had colorful, unpredictable lives, serving and fighting in the Spanish-American War, the Yangtze Patrol, and the Caribbean "Banana Wars." Gunboat service gave command experience to the future leaders of the US Navy, such as Chester Nimitz, Bill Halsey, and John S. McCain Sr. World War II spelled the end of the gunboat era, however, as Japan's overwhelming 1941-42 offensives destroyed or captured many of them, and by 1945, the mighty US Navy had outgrown its need for gunboats to show the flag on far-flung shores. This fascinating book outlines the gunboats' types, origins, and capabilities, and tells the story of their key role in America's global expansion. Book jacket.