DUNN, Lawrence

Soviet Merchant Ships 1945-1968

London: Kenneth Mason, 1969. First U.K. Edition. Octavo. 25.5cm. Publisher's white paper covered boards titled in red to spine. Dustjacket. 280pp. Slight bowing to the boards, bumping to spine ends and some very light soiling in places; internally clean and illustrated throughout; in a clean, strong dustjacket with some light wear and soiling, ink notation to spine and traces f removed label and some largely unnecessary tape reinforcement to the verso. A very good, clean copy.

Illustrated with photographs of various weights and types of Soviet merchant shipping. The fact that the USSR had a state run and owned merchant fleet (after most other nations had diversified and privatized seafreight interests) was a source of considerable interest and suspicion during the cold war period. The headlines abounded with stories of suspicious Soviet merchant shipping, spy ships, fishing trawlers with espionage gear, and all the trappings of a slightly paranoid 007 fantasy, all the parts which weren't true anyway. Dunn's pretty exhaustive data mentions that he differentiates between merchant and naval vessels, but that the Soviet habit of "refitting and repurposing" vessels for different roles that often zig-zagged across classifications, makes definitive judgements tricky. An interestingly multi-faceted reference volume.

Price: $175.00

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