Video
A Book or Two to Review (33): The World's Merchant Fleets 1939
Study A Book or Two to Review (33): The World's Merchant Fleets 1939, a Dr. Alex Clarke video from 17 Sept 2021, with 7 time notes. Topics include Book Reviews, Merchant Shipping, Naval Logistics.
Time notes
- 0:23A reference guide to the world's merchant fleets in 1939Chapter
Roger Jordan's catalogue covers roughly 6,000 merchant ships and arranges them by country and company.
- 3:41Using ship specifications to compare company fleetsNotable Point
A Standard Oil example shows how the book records builders, tonnage, fuel capacity, crew, dimensions, speed, and explanatory keys.
- 7:24Limits on converting merchant ships into armed merchant cruisers and escort carriersNotable Point
The vessel data expose the limits of assuming that many commercial ships could quickly become armed merchant cruisers or escort carriers.
- 8:00Tracing wartime merchant losses by nation and causeChapter
The book's loss records connect individual merchant ships to marine hazards, wartime attacks, and the submarine responsible where known.
- 12:54Shipping-line lists as prompts for further researchNotable Point
Comparing Cunard-White Star with larger companies demonstrates how a fleet directory can reveal unexpected patterns worth investigating.
- 15:10The recurring Maru suffix in Japanese merchant-ship namesNotable Point
A scan of the Japanese entries highlights how consistently merchant-ship names use Maru and raises a question about how maritime incidents are labeled.
- 15:57A long-term reference for merchant-shipping researchChapter
The final recommendation is for a fact-rich reference work that remains useful whenever a historical merchant vessel needs identifying or contextualizing.