How To Build An Aircraft Carrier by Chris Terrill - Book Review

Sometimes, I just shouldn't be left in charge of a gift card when perusing the shelves of Waterstones. That's how I ended up buying this tome from Chris Terrill. How to Build an Aircraft Carrier is not an actual how to guide (though you could do worse than pick up Airfix's re-release of HMS Victorious in 1/600 scale) but the tale of how HMS Queen Elizabeth went from shipyard to first operational cruise from the viewpoint of her first captain and crew. 

Let me say that I really, really wanted to like this book. However, whilst there are some strong points in its favour, there are several that detract from what could have been an excellent look at both the Royal Navy's new flagship and the people who choose to serve within its ranks.

The good stuff first, and Terrill captures the experience of serving in the Royal Navy tremendously well, from both a professional perspective and the more relaxed occasions. There are some good stories told here about individual crew members, highlighting the changes in the service over the last couple of decades and how inclusive it tries to be. Call me cynical, but there is a recruiting pitch in here somewhere. 

In all seriousness though, the core story is one that is worth telling and Terrill goes good work here. You get to know the individuals he focuses on well and they are at the heart of the story. That leads to the first problem I have with this book: the dialogue.

I get that this is aimed at the casual reader, and I completely understand that some dramatic licence is required when portraying events, but at times (though certainly not always), the dialogue the author relates sounds completely implausible coming from various speakers. It's not exactly condescending but there is a lot of explanation left to the dialogue that, for example, you know two pilots would never say to each other. Don't get me wrong, it's not that bad most of time time but on occasion, the false tone hits you like a hammer and really detracts from the flow and believability. 

The same can be said for the comparisons the author makes. When describing something and saying it is the equivalent of powering Swindon, that's great if you know roughly how big Swindon is. I don't, although I was on better ground with Aberdeen. However, those comparisons become meaningless when the author doesn't get the technical details right, and this is where my main complaint lies.

There's not much in the way of huge clangers, but the multiple smaller errors add up. It begins with calling HMS Dragon a frigate, and then quoting tech specs twice about the F35, one figure being 200mph higher than the other. The statement that Jutland was a British victory lacks even a scintilla of nuance, and when the author states the carrier's radar can detect a tennis ball-sized object travelling at supersonic speeds at 2 miles, eyebrows are raised. BAe System's website states that ability at 25km. My favourite is the GPMG that fires "7.92x57 Mauser ammunition." This from an author who was embedded with Royal Marines in Afghanistan. 

There is also the political angle, which has dated slightly/been taken over by events, but crucially is delivered with all of the subtlety of a Tom Clancy novel, i.e. none at all.

You might be thinking I am being a little harsh here. You might be thinking that, as this book is aimed at the general public rather than naval aficionados, the author should be cut some slack when it comes to the technical stuff. In my humble opinion, no. If you want to write a book about how the crew of the Royal Navy's largest surface warship managed to get from the dock to completing trials, you need to get the technical stuff right, because if that side is lacking, what does that say about the personal dimension?

It's sad because Terrill puts across the human story very well and that's what kept me going. However, the cack-handed dialogue and the factual inaccuracies spoil it to the point where I can't recommend it whole-heartedly. You will learn some stuff here, there is no denying that, but it's one of those books where it's also best to have your phone/tablet to hand in order to verify what the author is saying is actually true. A shame then, but such was the risk when being let loose with a gift card. It may have been better as a cheaper paperback purchase.

You can buy How to Build an Aircraft Carrier from the usual high street and online stores.