The World’s Merchant Fleets 1939: The Particulars and Wartime Fates of 6,000 Ships

The Second World War must have caused the loss of more ships, and the deaths of more seamen, than any other conflict in history. The characteristics, and the careers, of the warships involved have been the subject of numerous books, but it is my impression that less attention has been paid to the merchant ships. While some details of them might be found distributed through various editions of such periodicals as Lloyd’s Register, and others in specialised monographs published later, this work attempts to bring together in one volume the particulars of every ocean‐going ship in service at the...