Combat Fleets of the World 2002-2003. (On the Armada Bookshelf).

This massive, 1100-page biennially published behemoth has become a standard in the libraries of defence journalists, military analysts, ambassadorial and military officials and any other naval professional who requires a complete picture of the world's naval and paranaval fleets. More than 4500 photographs and illustrations complement the comprehensive and timely display of the afloat, coastal defence and aviation arms from more than 180 countries and territories. The author and the Naval Institute Press consistently create and publish this definitive, internationally acknowledged tome that combines and exposes the status and standings of the world's fleets, gathered from information provided from over 100 correspondents around the globe. Combat Fleets of the World 2002-2003 is a striking overview of what is on, under and above the world's waters and the country to which each vessel belongs. Sections are broken down by nation, each beginning with an overview of that country's naval, marine and naval aviation bases, forces and organisation. This fully indexed encyclopaedic volume provides naval terminology, acronyms and abbreviation tables (who was to know that `YFR' is the abbreviation for a Refrigerated Lighter service craft?), and also provides a variety of conversion tables of length, temperature, weights and power. The publication is also available on CD-Rom for Windows operating systems (CD cover pictured).