German Destroyers of World War II [Hardcover]

Gerhard Koop (Author), Klaus-Peter Schmolke (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 2003

Restricted by the 1919 Versailles Treaty to sixteen destroyers of no more than 800-tons, Germany's true destroyers did not make their appearance until the mid-1930s and the Anglo-German Naval Treaty. This new English translation of a volume by noted German warship historians Gerhard Koop and Klaus-Peter Schmolke examines the destroyer's development from the nascent Möwe-class and Wolf-class destroyers through its full-service history. The operational narrative of this dauntless class of warship, considered the workhorse of the Kriegsmarine, is supplemented by war diary extracts, combat reports, technical tables, detailed ship plans, and a comprehensive selection of photographs, many published in an English reference for the first time. The book makes a fine addition to the history of German warships of the World War II era. 272 pages. 100 photos. 40 illustrations. Hardcover. 8 x 10 inches.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (May 31, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591143071
• ISBN-13: 978-1591143079
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,083,661 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Seeking camo schemes, May 5, 2008

By 

Javier Martinez Casares - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: German Destroyers of World War II (Hardcover)

I've bough this book when I was looking for german destroyers camo schemes. Althugh small in numbers of pages I like toomuch de detailed presentation of German destroyers evolution since 1934 up to the end of the war, and also a history of each one of the vessels included some captured destroyers that were in Kriegsmarine service. In all I've enjoy this book.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best of the series so far, July 21, 2009

By 

William A. Hensler (Holt, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: German Destroyers of World War II (Hardcover)

The author gives us a really good overview of the Destroyers that Germany had in WWII. In Pocketbattlships of WWII the author has fairly poor drawings. In this book a person gets enough information to make a good model of the ship. Also, the Author will show the difference between the various "Narvic" ships of the Narvic class.

The book itself is broken up in near chapters. First, the reader is given a back ground into the effects of the treaty ending the Great War and how that limited the German Navy. Second, the reader is given a chapter of the design and building of the Narvic and other types of German ships. Then the Author gives a short history on all the Destroyers that Germany built in WWII. Yes, every destroyer gets a write up.

I've never read such a good analysis of German ship construction. Now, the German destroyers were all very well armed, some were the equal of an American light cruiser (155mm guns X 6). But the trouble is the hulls were small and the power plants were dreadful. Many times the power plants of the German destroyers would blow a steam tube just before going into battle (a good way to quickly lose a fight). The Author says the British "Tribal" class destroyers never had an engine breakdown before a fight. Honestly, I can say I've never read such a thing about American cruisers, destroyers, or carriers. Indeed, American carriers were extremely sturdy. German engines were cranky and more than once put their crews at risk. Gerhard does an excellent job of showing the short comings of the German navy in WWII.

I highly recommend this book. It will give a student of the German WWII Kreigsmarine an excellent overview of the main type of combat ship the Germans used in WWII, a look into its design history, and the operational development in the ships.

Five stars and its well worth the money.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great source for German destroyers in WWII, July 20, 2010

By 

Robert J Ruff - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: German Destroyers of World War II (Hardcover)

As a pseudo naval historian and one who has written magazine and newspaper stories on naval history I can highly recommend this study of the Kriegsmarine destroyers in WWII......... The destroyers of all navies in that conflict have often been overlooked so finding good data both technical and operational can be nearly impossible........ In this book you will find many answers to details about the often over rated and as often under rated German destroyers........... No collection on German warships of the second world war should be without this important source..........