Tin Cans and Greyhounds: The Destroyers that Won Two World Wars

by Clint Johnson

"Mr. Johnson has ... produced a technical history of destroyers as all-around naval weapons. Anyone interested in these ships will value his efforts." —The Wall Street Journal

A “well-written” and “enjoyable history of destroyer class warships” filled with “memorable sea battles in which destroyers played prominent roles.” —Publishers Weekly

For men on destroyer-class warships during World War I and World War II, battles were waged “against overwhelming odds from which survival could not be expected.” Those were the words Lieutenant Commander Robert Copeland calmly told his crew as their tiny, unarmored destroyer escort rushed toward giant, armored Japanese battleships at the Battle off Samar on October 25, 1944. 

This action-packed narrative history of destroyer-class ships brings readers inside the half-inch-thick hulls to meet the men who fired the ships' guns, torpedoes, hedgehogs, and depth charges. Nicknamed "tin cans" or "greyhounds," destroyers were fast escort and attack ships that proved indispensable to America's military victories. Beginning with destroyers' first incarnation as torpedo boats in 1874 and ending with World War II, author Clint Johnson shares the riveting stories of the Destroyer Men who fought from inside a "tin can"—risking death by cannons, bombs, torpedoes, fire, and drowning.

The British invented destroyers, the Japanese improved them, and the Germans failed miserably with them. It was the Americans who perfected destroyers as the best fighting ship in two world wars. Tin Cans & Greyhounds compares the designs of these countries with focus on the old, modified World War I destroyers, and the new and numerous World War II destroyers of the United States. 

Tin Cans & Greyhounds details how destroyers fought submarines, escorted convoys, rescued sailors and airmen, downed aircraft, shelled beaches, and attacked armored battleships and cruisers with nothing more than a half-inch of steel separating their crews from the dark waves. 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction, World War I, Maritime, Military History

320 pages, Paperback

Published April 28, 2020

About the author

After writing about the American Civil War for 13 books, Clint chose another field of history: Naval History. He was inspired to write about naval destroyers after discovering the coincidences surrounding the sinking of USS Jacob Jones (DD-61) in WW I, and the USS Jacob Jones (DD-130) in WW II. DD-61 was the only U.S. warship sunk by enemy fire in WW I. DD-130 was the only U.S. warship lost in American territorial waters in WW II. TIN CANS & GREYHOUNDS: The Destroyers That Won Two World Wars covers the history of destroyers from 1874 through 1945 with a focus on U.S., Great Britain, Japan and Germany.

Clint lives in the mountains of North Carolina with his wife Barb.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was happy to see a book about Destroyers and this one covers them right from their beginnings through World War II. Lots of information and a fair number of pictures. I found the detail quite good at the onset but after a while it gets to be too much detail and repetition. Once I run across too much repetition within a historical book, I tend to lose focus and start skimming through the later chapters. Some very interesting Destroyer stories. Looking at some of the other reviews out there it seems that a fair amount of information in the book is incorrect, but I would have never known if I did not happen across those reviews. One nice item in the book's Appendix is the listing of Ship Museums and related info. Solid three stars I think.

[Peter Goodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Tin Cans and Greyhounds: the destroyers that won two world wars,” by Clint Johnson (Regnery History, 2019). Aside from the typical hyperbolic subtitle, this is an interesting and valuable history of the destroyer, from the first use of a torpedo, during the Civil War, through the development of the Whitehead torpedo, the torpedo boat, and the torpedo boat destroyer up to the end of World War II. He looks at the British, American, Japanese and German developments: the Brits were always way ahead, the Japanese were innovative, the Germans were not really comfortable at sea so their ships weren’t either, and the Americans caught up very fast when they had to. By the time he gets to World War II he is mostly going rapidly through various destroyer actions, with details about the ships’ sizes and armaments, and various elements of their design. The ships gradually got bigger and more capable up to the American Fletchers and the late-war Japanese vessels. He talks about how nobody knew how to fight submarines at first, the invention of the depth charge, American use of radar. But the book is hobbled by annoying errors and omissions,. For example, in talking about the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, he does not say anything about how the four American destroyers were either sunk or completely disabled; he talks about how ships used sonar, but he never describes either how it works or how it was developed; he describes Bismarck as a pocket battleship; at one point he says “east” when he meant “west,” etc. There are tiny hints of politics (Regnery is a conservative publishing house): he denigrates FDR by describing him as indecisive, and a pacifist; he talks about the pacifist forces in the US, rather than the usual term, “isolationist.” And he always capitalizes Destroyer Men, But there are lots of illustrations of the ships, details of their construction and seakeeping qualities, and good yarns.

https://clintjohnsonbooks.com/books/t...

[Jesica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for anything discussing the history of the Destroyer class of ships and this did not disappoint. There were times where this book became extremely technical and it was hard to follow while it was giving the history of the long journey to what would one day become the WWII Destroyers used by the U.S., Japan, and Germany. Due to this there was times that I felt I had to slough through pages.
However and why I overall am giving this a 4 is that Clint Johnson did a greatbjob telling the story of some of my favorite ships to ever sail under the U.S. flag. Just hearing about the stories from conception of the idea of Destroyers to the end where the proud O'Bannon (DesRon 21) along with 2 other Destroyers led the way to the peace treaty with Japan was enjoyable and highly recommended for anyone that enjoys learning about U.S. History/War History/or ships in general.

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johnson provides a narrative history of the class of naval vessels that came to be known as destroyers. While he makes the argument that destroyers and their crews were decisive to the outcomes of both World Wars, his focus is on telling the stories rather than comparative analysis.

[Harvey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good overview of the subject, but badly needs an editor to curb the author’s fascination with coincidence, and fix wobbly sentence structure. Strangely, the digital volume has giant full page photos of individuals like admirals, and tiny postage stamp photos of the ships.

[Alan Carlson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Johnson tells a good story, but as a newcomer to naval history, he does not have a solid grasp of his subject. For example, he refers to the 8" guns of light cruisers, when such ships are literally defined by having 6" guns. He states that the German warship Bismarck was a "pocket battleship," when in fact it was the largest warship in service in the world during its one operational cruise in May 1941. He accords much significance to a 10% difference in the maximum range of guns, with no attention paid to the accuracy of the weapons. He also focuses more on the weight of individual shells than on, e.g., the advantages of "VT" (proximity fused) shells in hitting and destroying aircraft. Some of his political assertions are biased (FDR is depicted as both a warmonger and a "pacifist"), others are flat-out wrong (Hitler's agreements with Japan did NOT require him to declare war after Pearl Harbor). Some errors are just somewhat annoying (Wildcats are designated F4F; the F4U is the Corsair; the US is WEST of Ireland, the first day of WW2 in Western Europe was September 3, 1939, not the 1st; it was Vichy French forces that fired on US forces off North Africa, not German). As a another reviewer observed, Johnson also really likes hsis coincidences.

Overall, an OK book, but I have little interest in tracking down his other works.

[Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tin Cans and Greyhounds: The Destroyers that Won Two World Wars by Clint Johnson is the story of the destroyer-class warships during World War I and World War II. The book is detailed to a fault. I found it as interesting as reading the manual that came with my new refrigerator. Two things I found concerning. First, Johnson has a total lack of respect for the men and some women who died from all countries. He simply listed the dead count. And second, he treated the reader as if they were an imbecile. For example, on page 73 he says, “In the years prior to 1939, German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler….”, He added German Fuhrer so the reader was not confused with Adolf Hitler the candlestick maker, or Adolf Hitler the Swedish Chef, or Adolf Hitler the British butler. I did learn a lot from the book, just as I did from reading the refrigerator manual. But I can’t say it was very interesting.

[Charles Temm · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent read about the part of the US Navy often ignored in both the world wars, the little guy navy (destroyers) Written about the period when the US Navy became THE world naval power and how much of that was because of the guys in the literal tin cans; lightly armored and often lightly armed but so often the saviors of the fleet.

Screening the major fleet units, taking on ships far larger and better armed, fighting aircraft, hunting submarines, rescuing downed aircrew, trading salvos with shore guns, and escorting slow merchants across great distances...these little ships did it all. They constantly evolved facing ever greater threats too.

The book comes into it's own detailing WW2, I even found my Dad's ship (USS Raymond DE 341) is mentioned. He'd have liked to see that story in print...

So yeah, even for a grunt this story is worth the time to read.

[Paul J. Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Well Researched History of Destroyers

At times a bit repetitive and not always chronological, but nevertheless a very well researched history of destroyers and many of the battle stars they earned. If you are a history buff you'll like this book and I was relieved to find the narrative interesting, not just saw dates, times and locations. I rate it 4 stars, even though there are lots of books on WWII naval engagements, this book fills a unique space.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tin Cans & Greyhounds details the destroyer's genesis. Describing how they fought submarines and defeated them; escorted convoys, rescued sailors and airmen, downed aircraft, shelled beaches and attacked armored battleships and cruisers with nothing more than a half-inch of steel separating their crews from the elements and possible if not probable death. A well written, easy to read narrative worth the time investment to read.

[John Bohnert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though I was a U.S. Navy cruiser sailor, I've long had a sweet spot for destroyers. I'm glad I read the book review for this destroyer book in a recent Wall Street Journal. I finally got to go aboard a destroyer during a Fleet Week in San Francisco. I admire the sailors that served aboard destroyers during wartime.

[Mike Mekinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

My grandfather (and my hero) served on the Destroyer Escort (DE-326, a "Tin Can") USS Thomas J Gary in WWII (and my father on the guided missile frigate USS Canberra in Vietnam), so I'm understandably biased in loving this book. That said, it IS a well-written and fascinating history of Destroyers, Destroyer Escorts, and the sailors who served on them.

[Kraig Dodge · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book spends some time early on going over the development of destroyers -- they early history and several of the different classes of ships before WWII. Once it reaches WWII, the book is basically a review of the Atlantic and Pacific theaters and the role destroyers played, and key actions involving destroyers. It is basically a history lesson. It was enjoyable.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my kind of book. I love stats and this book is crammed full of them. This is a linear history of the destroyer craft from its first inception during the civil war to the end of ww2. I loved it great read

[Ed Obarowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very well written and researched novel on the history of destroyers, and more importantly, the men who crewed them in two world wars. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and could have kept reading it if it was double the size.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an encyclopedic work about destroyers. It covers much of the history of these ships. Alas, just like an encyclopedia, it is not particularly engaging for reading. Very broad reference, but therefore also very shallow.

[Jim Becker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very detailed book about the importance of the destroyer class ships in WWII. It was interesting.

[Clyde · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is pretty much what the title suggests -- a history of the destroyer class of warships. It covers development and employment of these tough little fighting ships from the earliest days through WW2. (For information on newer classes you will have to look elsewhere.)
Well written and well researched, I found the stories of these light fast ships and those who manned them to be very interesting. I recommend it for naval warfare buffs and those interested in the world wars in general.
I listened to the audio version because I got it on special sale. Tom Perkins provides a good quality narration. However, a drawback for me was the constant inclusion of the hull numbers after the ship names for American ships (in parenthetical voice). I found that distracting, but expect that it wouldn't be noticeable in text. YMMV.

[Jeremy Vetock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting subject, not great writing.

[Nick Crisanti · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Clint Johnson says that Germany declared war on the United States after war was declared on Japan because the Tripartite Pact required it (it didn't), I can't fully trust that everything else in the book is accurate. Not only was I skeptical of the veracity of what I was being told but it wasn't very enjoyable to read either. There are a lot of ship names in this book, a seemingly endless supply, with short descriptions of exploits listed one after the other. This could be used as a reference book, provided that at least the majority of what is contained in here is accurate, but not as an intriguing, historical narrative. When he says he stopped the book after World War II because it would have been too long, I'm very thankful that he did.

[Robert Snow · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are the ships that won WWII they are overlooked far too much in history due to their size. Most of the battles won by the allies in WWII were decided by the early actions of Destroyers. They charged head long into battle guns blazing with no armor to speak of and their only advantage was their speed. To my liking the greatest day in US Navy history was the Battle of Samar where a tiny force of destroyers went head to head with a overwhelming superior force of the Imperial Japanese Navy and turned it around saving the United States Navy a defeat that in my estimation would have been far greater than Pearl Harbor or the Battle of Savo Island. That being said the weapon systems on WWII Destroyers and their development would have made this book much better, at best the technical achievements that are touched upon seem superficial at best. This is the only fault I found with the book, still it was a good read.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, this book is extremely well researched and interesting. This is a must read for anyone in the pentagon or in the navy so that they realize the importance of the “tin cans.”

However for the common reader the marketing that this is a “action packed” and “meet the shipmates” narrative will be disappointed. I’ve read other books on these naval encounters that gave this aspect.

Furthermore the introduction claims the navy was THE most important force in winning BOTH World Wars. The book gave no comparison between the military branches in their cost to the enemy so I would see that as unproven.