This volume reproduces a representative selection of official plans depicting the main types of warship with which the Royal Navy fought the Second World War. Carefully chosen from the incomparable collection at the National Maritime Museum, these range from battleships and fleet aircraft carriers, through cruisers, destroyers and submarines, to examples of the vast array of specialist vessels built during the war. Concentrating on as fitted drawings which show the warships as they first entered service, this collection offers an unprecedented wealth of detail on the equipment and fittings of some of the Royal Navys most famous ships. It also documents how their appearance changed over time, since many of the plans include alterations and additions made in different shades of ink and wash, and here printed in full colour for instant understanding of the modifications. With an accompanying text and detailed individual captions by one of the leading experts in the field, this book provides an insight into the warship design process itself, and explains for the benefit of ship modellers and technical historians which types of plan contain the most valuable information. For anyone with more than a passing interest in warship design and construction, this book will be a revelation.