What you are looking for is basically Jane's All the World's Fighting Ships.

Begun in the late 1880's it was an annual overview of the fleets of all the world. It included a brief history and notes on each type of ship, the specifications, and photos of each that were available. Along with some general commentary on the state of naval affairs. It is actually still around today, just in the form of an online database you pay to access.

You could see if your local library has some of the older copies, additionally the WW2 versions at least were reprinted in the 80's as a condensed set with updated info.