David Doyle's book on the US Coast Guard Cutter 37 is one of the latest entries in the 'Legends of Warfare' series with entries in Ground, Naval, and Aviation. Schiffer Publishing’s The Legends of Warfare series has expanded rapidly since its 2017 debut in the market with now over 100 titles released. This hard cover series covers a wide variety of monographs at a good price point. Catch up with Schiffer Publishing at https://www.facebook.com/schifferpublishing.

After many years of being published in enthusiast publications focused on military vehicle restorations, David Doyle 'graduated' to full-fledged books in 2003. His first book was a hefty 512 page history of US military vehicles. He has now had more than 175 books published in military vehicles, aviation and naval topics. David and his wife Denise have amassed a collection of ten Vietnam era military vehicles that still displays at shows. In June 2015, was honored with the Military Vehicle Preservation Association's Bart Vanderveen Award, given in recognition of "...the individual who has contributed the most to the historic preservation of military vehicles worldwide." Be sure to check out David's website at www.DavidDoyleBooks.com and Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/DavidDoyleBooks.

Schiffer’s latest is their standard [9.313” x 9.375”] format square-back hardbound publication that is 144 glossy pages. The front cover features a color photograph of US Coast Guard 37 as a museum ship in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor. The rear cover features a black and white image of the Taney in April 1944. She was operating with Task Force 66 with the US Atlantic Fleet, escorting convoy UGS 38. Her camouflage appears to be Measure 22 which was composed of Navy Blue [5-N] on the hull below the lowest level of the main deck. Haze Grey [5-H] is on the remaining vertical surfaces and Deck Blue [20-B] appears on the horizontal surfaces. I counted 241 photographs: 89 in color and 152 in black and white. Many of the archival photographs are being published for the first time.

David Doyle kicks off the Introduction with a brief history of the US Coast Guard. This includes a 1933 memorandum stating the US Coast Guard requirements for replacing several obsolete US Coast Guard cutters. Chapter 1 gets into the details of the background of the Treasury-Class cutters and specifically, the Roger B. Taney. Each chapter begins with a few pages of text, followed by period and modern-day photographs. The grand niece of Roger B. Taney, Corinne F. Taney is shown in both photographs on Page 10. She is shown holding roses and a champaign bottle for the christening. Roger B. Taney was the US Secretary of Treasury under President Andrew Jackson. He was also the first Catholic to serve on the US Supreme Court and the fifth chief justice of the US Supreme Court, succeeding John Marshall. Roger B. Taney’s views were complicated, but his leading role in the Dred Scott decision resulted in his name being removed from the museum ship in 2020 due to the George Floyd riots.

The Roger B. Taney was launched on June 3, 1936, and commissioned on October 24, 1936. The cutter would serve in WWII in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters and would serve in the Vietnam War. The black and white photograph on Page 56 shows off some of the upgrades made to the Taney at Mare Island Naval Shipyard near San Francisco, Florida. She was re-gunned with four single-mount 5-inch guns and eight 20mm guns. One Hedgehog and six K-gun Depth charge throwers were also added. She then departed to the Atlantic to escort convoys to Europe. She again was re-configured at the Boston Navy Yard for conversion to an amphibious command ship in late 1944 before continuing to Pacific service. This configuration can be seen on Page 74 with the twin 40mm anti-aircraft guns installed. The Taney also benefited from new communication equipment to fulfill her role as an amphibious command ship. March 1945 saw her in service off of Okinawa. She remains one of only two surviving vessels [the tugboat Hoga also still survives] from the Pearl Habor attack on December 7, 1941. Decommissioning occurred on December 7, 1986, when she was turned over to the city of Baltimore, Maryland.

The last fifty-plus pages are a walk-around of the US Coast Guard Cutter 37, mostly in color. A color photograph of the starboard bow can be spotted on Page 100. Details of the hull construction can be seen with the horizontal rows of steel plates called strakes. An additional steel plate covers the hull just below the hawsepipes with the retracted anchors. These are clear photos, coupled with descriptive and informative captions, with many interior shots.

Table of Contents

• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1: Construction [Page 010]
• Chapter 2: Pre-World War II Service
• Chapter 3: Taney in World War II [Page 056]
• Chapter 4: Post-World War II Service [Page 074
• Chapter 5: Museum Ship [Page 100]
• Specifications [Table]

Model wise, the USCG Cutter Roger B. Taney is available in 1/302 and 1/350 scales. The 1/302-scale kit was issued by Revell in 1956 as the USCG Cutter USS Campbell. This kit was re-issued in 1975 with the Taney decals and was last issued in 2010. If you wish to dress it up, photoetch and 3D Printed 5” mounts are available. Niko Model has released a 1/350-scale resin Taney circa 1944 that can be completed full hull or waterline and is currently available online.

This is a gorgeous hardbound book and is well worth the money at the MSRP of $24.99. Primarily a photo-essay, David Doyle provides plenty of detailed photographs with detailed captions. This is an excellent reference book solely for the pictures. I have been lucky enough to visit the Rober B. Taney several times, and she is definitely worth a visit if you are in Baltimore, Maryland. I am looking for more monographs in this affordable series of books from Schiffer.

My thanks to David Doyle Books, Schiffer Publishing, and IPMS/USA for the chance to review this great book.