At the outbreak of war in 1939 over 6,000 ships, which traded across the world's oceans, became the quarry in the global conflict which permeated the operations of every shipping line on every continent. This book gives the details of all the ocean-going ships which were extant in 1939 and also describes the fate of those which were lost during the course of the War. The book is divided by country and by shipping company. Here can be found the ships of those great companies such as British India and the United States Lines which are now no more than a memory. Details of the builders, dimensions, funnel markings, propulsion, routes, passengers and cargoes are all given and 300 photographs illustrate a representative selection. Details of the losses of around 3,000 of these vessels in the War are also given. For merchant ship enthusiasts as well as Second World War historians, this encyclopacdia will hold pride of place on any bookshelf. It is a magnificent tribute to that era's merchant fleets, portraying both a golden age of ship design as well as the terrible repercussions of the War. This reprint is in a more compact format, cheaper cased edition. ROGER JORDAN was editor of Lloyd's Log for twelve years and has been a regular contributor to Ships Monthly and Sea Breezes.