Features

Reviewed by Timothy Dike

For many years now Ron Smith founder of AA Military Research has been digging away at the National Archives. He has worked as a paid researcher finding those rare and often controversial photo's and documents that help determine the actual fit and colors of some of our favorite ships. Now Ron is compiling some of that information is this handy well organized CD-ROM. This one covers the USS Maryland BB-46 from her building to her construction and launching in 1917 to VJ day in 1945. The CD is set up much like their website with easy to use buttons to take you to each category of photos. The sections are broken down 1917-29, 1930-1939, 1941 coverage of her damage and salvage at Pearl Harbor, 1942, 1943, and 1945. There are plenty of photos in each section around 250 total. That is more than any one single source in print or online. The photos even include some surprises such as the quad 50 mm gun mount that was fitted to her. If you have always wanted some higher resolution photos showing her at Pearl then you will appreciate the high resolution photos taken during and after the attack. A section on damage control is also included with reports of the Kamikaze and Torpedo attack on the ship. The Dictionary of American Fighting Ships (DANFS) history of the Maryland is also presented in an easy to read fashion. The photos are all very high resolution and are much better than anything currently on the web. As always I have severely restricted the image size on the images I am showing here. I have reduced them in pixel size and quality to make them display faster on the internet and to save bandwidth. Note the image on the lower right to see the amount of detail on the full size vs reduced size image. Newer browsers will fit the image to your screen, but you can zoom in on the images and see them in amazing detail. If you can access this review then your browser will open the CD with no problems.	click images to enlarge



Conclusions: Whether you are building a Maryland or are fascinated with history this CD is a must have. I love the menu and high quality photos. I was very impressed with the quality of the photo's and the ease of use. Priced at $30.00 US it is a real bargain. Since we can't all afford to spend hours combing over the files in the National Archives, this is the next best thing to being there. You can order these via the Military-Research.com website with their online paypal shopping cart. Note you don't have to be a Paypal customer to order as long as you have a credit card.