Full Description
A complete illustrated study of the German Kriegsmarine throughout World War II.
Hamstrung at first by the terms of the Treaty of Versailles, during the 1930s, the German Navy underwent a programme of rearmament in defiance of the restrictions, building modern warships under limitations which forced technological innovation. Submarines were strictly prohibited by the treaty, and yet, following years of covert development, they became one of the Kriegsmarine's most deadly weapons.
Blooded in the Spanish Civil War, the surface ships of the Kriegsmarine went on to play a crucial role in the opening salvoes of World War II during the invasions of Poland and Norway, although serious losses here set back plans for the invasion of Britain, and by the end of the war, only a handful of surface vessels remained to be divided up among the Allies. From the beginning of the war, but especially after the fall of France, the dreaded and extraordinarily successful U-boats stalked the Atlantic, threatening vital British shipping convoys and choking off the lifeline of munitions and supply from the US. Once Italy and Japan entered the war, German naval operations expanded to the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean.
This highly illustrated volume is a comprehensive study of the German Navy throughout the war, from pocket battleships to torpedo boats.
Contents
INTRODUCTION: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE KRIEGSMARINE
Strategy and Doctrine
CHAPTER ONE: OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW
1939
The Polish Campaign
Commerce Raiding
1940
Denmark and Norway
Commerce Raiding
1941
Battle of the Denmark Strait
The Sinking of the Bismarck
E-boats and U-boats
1942
The Channel Dash
Operation Rösselsprung
Battle of the Barents Sea
1943
Battle of the North Cape
The Last Capital Ship: Tirpitz
1944-45
The Sinking of Tirpitz
CHAPTER TWO: HITLER'S SHIPS
Capital Ships
Pre-Dreadnoughts
The Scharnhorst Class
The Bismarck Class
Cruisers
The Deutschland Class
The Admiral Hipper Class
Light Cruisers
Auxiliary Cruisers
Destroyers
Aircraft Carriers
U-Boats
CHAPTER THREE: COASTAL AND MISCELLANEOUS VESSELS
E-boats
The Security Branch (Sicherungsverbände)
Minesweepers (Minensuchboote)
Outpost or Patrol Boats (Vorpostenboote)
Sub-Chasers (U-Jagd Boote)
General-Purpose Boats (Mehrzweckboote)
Barrier-Breakers (Sperrbrecher)
Escort Boats (Geleitboote)
Torpedo Boats
Fleet Auxiliary Supply Ships (Tross-Schiffe)
Tenders/Escorts
Miscellaneous Vessels
Accommodation Ships (Wohnschiffe)
Miscellaneous Vessels
Kleinkampfverbände der Kriegsmarine
CHAPTER FOUR: SERVICE IN HITLER'S NAVY
Seamen, NCOs and Officers
Other Service Roles
CONCLUSION
FURTHER READING
GERMAN NAVAL RANKS AND EQUIVALENTS
INDEX
