For my web review I propose to examine websites that cover the history of U.S. Navy ship design in the modern age. (Most naval historians date the modern age of naval design in the United States Navy to 1884 when the first steel cruisers were authorized). There are scores, if not hundreds, of sites that cover U.S. Navy ships (see links below). They vary greatly in their clarity in explaining the historical evolution in ship design from the 1880s to the present, by discussing the multiple factors that influence the design of U.S. Navy ships, including changing technology, strategy, politics, economics, world naval developments, industrial base, and bureaucracy/human error. Instead, most sites concentrate on the operational history of ships, especially during war, or only explore a single type of ship. This is understandable because most people do not care how ships were designed and built, only how they were used. This is unfortunate because a greater understanding of how ships are designed and built would foster a better understanding of the outcome of many naval operations and, more generally, provide insight into how the defense/industrial establishment functions and how it has evolved over the last 120 years. In summation, I propose to review various U.S. Navy related websites' success at explaining all of the historical factors that influence the composition of the USN.
The U.S. Navy Historical Center
The Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships
The Destroyer Escort Sailors Association
Tin Can Sailors: The National Association of Destroyer Veterans
HyperWar: A Hypertext History of the Second World War