From war to peace : the conversion of naval vessels after two world warws /Nick Robins.

"From War to Peace tells the story of the resourceful conversion of naval ships to peacetime roles after the two world wars. Numerous classes of warships which became surplus to requirements with the advent of peace were converted and adapted for commercial use, filling significant gaps in merchant ship fleets around the world. The most successful classes to transfer to the merchant service were the Hunt Class minesweepers of the Great War, Tank Landing Craft, the salvage tugs of World War Two, and the wooden-hulled Fairmille launches which became familiar at seaside resorts in the 1950s and '60s; and, of course, the MFV classes that helped the fishing industry in the postwar years. The story includes the successful commercial conversions of many of the Flower and Castle Class corvettes and River Class frigates, notably the 1954 conversion of HMCS Stormont to a luxury yacht for the Greep shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. The author also reveals how warship design promoted developments in postwar merchant ship design. Former naval vessels showed the war for the early development of the Ro-Ro ferry for instance, and their layouts helped to introduce numerous other design inovations such as the raised foredeck common for so many years on salvage tugs. Most importantly, in the economically straitened years after both world wars, many ex warships, stripped of their military hardware, provided opportunities for modest investment where otherwise there would have been none."--Provided by the publisher.