German Battleship Helgoland

German Battleship Helgoland PDF Author: Aidan Dodson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 152674760X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
This volume presents complete and annotated facsimiles of the official builders’ plans for Germany’s WWI era dreadnaught battleship, SMS Helgoland. Launched in 1909, SMS Helgoland was the lead battleship in her class and represented a major improvement over the earlier Westfalen class. Helgoland featured 12-inch guns, matching those of her British counterparts, and served in the German Imperial Navy’s High Seas Fleet throughout the First World War. She fought in the Battle of Jutland, was ceded to Britain as part of the peace terms and was broken up in 1924. The official builders’ plans are now preserved by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Using the latest scanning technology to make digital copies of the highest quality, this volume reproduces the complete set of documents in full color, with many close-ups and enlargements that make every aspect clear and comprehensible. Extensive captions point the reader to important features to be found in the plans, and an introduction covers the background to the design. The result is a supremely authoritative reference that will be a revelation to any warship enthusiast.

German Battleship Helgoland

German Battleship Helgoland PDF Author: Aidan Dodson
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 152674760X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 150

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Book Description
This volume presents complete and annotated facsimiles of the official builders’ plans for Germany’s WWI era dreadnaught battleship, SMS Helgoland. Launched in 1909, SMS Helgoland was the lead battleship in her class and represented a major improvement over the earlier Westfalen class. Helgoland featured 12-inch guns, matching those of her British counterparts, and served in the German Imperial Navy’s High Seas Fleet throughout the First World War. She fought in the Battle of Jutland, was ceded to Britain as part of the peace terms and was broken up in 1924. The official builders’ plans are now preserved by the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, England. Using the latest scanning technology to make digital copies of the highest quality, this volume reproduces the complete set of documents in full color, with many close-ups and enlargements that make every aspect clear and comprehensible. Extensive captions point the reader to important features to be found in the plans, and an introduction covers the background to the design. The result is a supremely authoritative reference that will be a revelation to any warship enthusiast.

German Battleships 1914–18 (1)

German Battleships 1914–18 (1) PDF Author: Gary Staff
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1780963378
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 109

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Book Description
This volume covers the history of the Deutschland to Osfriesland classes of German battleships, beginning with the last of the pre-dreadnought battleships and explaining the revolutionary developments, particularly the vast increases in size and armament, that took place within the German Imperial Navy as it readied itself for war. Gary Staff describes the design and technology of these classes, focusing on the development and combat experiences of individual ships. Supported by official documents, first-hand accounts and drawings, this book also contains specially commissioned artwork depicting the battleship Pommern fighting at Jutland and ships of the Osfriesland class destroying HMS Black Prince in a dramatic night-time engagement.

German Battleships 1914–18 (1)

German Battleships 1914–18 (1) PDF Author: Gary Staff
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849082588
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
This volume covers the history of the Deutschland to Osfriesland classes of German battlecruisers, beginning with the last of the pre-dreadnought battleships and explaining the revolutionary developments, particularly the vast increases in size and armament, that took place within the German Imperial Navy as it readied itself for war. Gary Staff describes the design and technology of these classes, focusing on the development and combat experiences of individual ships. Supported by official documents, first-hand accounts and drawings, this book also contains specially commissioned artwork depicting the battleship Pommern fighting at Jutland and ships of the Osfriesland class destroying HMS Black Prince in a dramatic night-time engagement.

The Kaiser's Battlefleet

The Kaiser's Battlefleet PDF Author: Aidan Dodson
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1473881552
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 334

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Book Description
This illustrated study of the German Imperial Navy presents a ship-by-ship history from the dreadnaught era through WWI. The battleships of the Third Reich have been written about exhaustively, but there is little in English devoted to their predecessors of the Second Reich. In The Kaiser’s Battlefleet, Aidan Dodson fills this significant gap in German naval history by covering these capital ships and studying the full span of battleship development during this period. Kaiser’s Battlefleet presents a chronological narrative that features technical details, construction schedules and the ultimate fates of each ship tabulated throughout. With a broad synthesis of German archival research, Dodson provides fresh data and corrects significant errors found in standard English-language texts. Heavily illustrated with line work and photographs drawn from German sources, this study will appeal to historians of WWI German as well as battleship modelmakers.

The Battle of Heligoland Bight

The Battle of Heligoland Bight PDF Author: Eric W. Osborne
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 0253111862
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 161

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Book Description
The battle of Heligoland Bight was the first major action between the British and German fleets during World War I. The British orchestrated the battle as a warning to the German high command that any attempt to operate their naval forces in the North Sea would be met by strong British resistance. Heligoland Island guarded the entrance to the main German naval anchorage at Kiel. Fought on August 28, 1914, the engagement was complicated by dense fog, the piecemeal engagement of German forces, and the unexpected appearance in the area of additional British ships, which were hard to distinguish from foe. Initial British damage was significant; however, fearing that the protracted battle would allow the bulk of the German fleet to join the battle, the British brought in their battle cruiser reinforcements and won the day, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans. The battle was significant for its political and strategic ramifications for the two sides. The Germans became reluctant to engage large forces in an attempt to gain a decisive maritime victory. After this defeat, any plans for large-scale fleet operations had to be approved by the Kaiser, which hampered the German fleet's effectiveness. This left the North Sea to Great Britain for much of the war.

Heligoland

Heligoland PDF Author: Jan Rüger
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199672466
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 383

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Book Description
On 18 April 1947, British forces set off the largest non-nuclear explosion in history. The target was a small island in the North Sea, fifty miles off the German coast, which for generations had stood as a symbol of Anglo-German conflict: Heligoland. A long tradition of rivalry was to come to an end here, in the ruins of Hitler's island fortress. Pressed as to why it was not prepared to give Heligoland back, the British government declared that the island represented everything that was wrong with the Germans: 'If any tradition was worth breaking, and if any sentiment was worth changing, then the German sentiment about Heligoland was such a one'. Drawing on a wide range of archival material, Jan Ruger explores how Britain and Germany have collided and collaborated in this North Sea enclave. For much of the nineteenth century, this was Britain's smallest colony, an inconvenient and notoriously discontented outpost at the edge of Europe. Situated at the fault line between imperial and national histories, the island became a metaphor for Anglo-German rivalry once Germany had acquired it in 1890. Turned into a naval stronghold under the Kaiser and again under Hitler, it was fought over in both world wars. Heavy bombardment by the Allies reduced it to ruins, until the Royal Navy re-took it in May 1945. Returned to West Germany in 1952, it became a showpiece of reconciliation, but one that continues to wear the scars of the twentieth century. Tracing this rich history of contact and conflict from the Napoleonic Wars to the Cold War, Heligoland brings to life a fascinating microcosm of the Anglo-German relationship. For generations this cliff-bound island expressed a German will to bully and battle Britain; and it mirrored a British determination to prevent Germany from establishing hegemony on the Continent. Caught in between were the Heligolanders and those involved with them: spies and smugglers, poets and painters, sailors and soldiers. Far more than just the history of a small island in the North Sea, this is the compelling story of a relationship which has defined modern Europe.

German Battlecruisers 1914–18

German Battlecruisers 1914–18 PDF Author: Gary Staff
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 178096336X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
The task of Germany's new Große Kreuzer at the beginning of the 20th century was to form an independent reconnaissance division that was able to perform special tasks. With a speed superiority of at least 3 knots, they should also be capable of fighting in the line, and would thus require heavy armour and good defensive qualities. The battlecruisers that were built did indeed have a remarkable ability to withstand battle damage, as demonstrated by the Goeben, which suffered five mine hits on one occasion. This title details all the classes of German battlecruiser, with particular emphasis on each individual ship's battle experience and deployment in conflict.

Battleship Bismarck

Battleship Bismarck PDF Author: William H. Garzke
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1526759756
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 968

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Book Description
“A complete operational history of the Bismarck . . . with period photos [and] underwater photography of the wreck, allowing a forensic analysis of the damage.” —Seapower This new book offers a forensic analysis of the design, operation, and loss of Germany’s greatest battleship, drawing on survivors’ accounts and the authors’ combined decades of experience in naval architecture and command at sea. Their investigation into every aspect of this battleship is informed by painstaking research, including extensive interviews and correspondence with the ship’s designers and the survivors of the battle of the Denmark Strait and Bismarck’s final battle. Albert Schnarke, the former gunnery officer of Tirpitz, Bismarck’s sister ship, aided the authors greatly by translating and supplying manuscript materials from those who participated in the design and operations. Survivors of Bismarck’s engagements contributed to this comprehensive study including D.B.H. Wildish, RN, damage control officer aboard HMS Prince of Wales, who located photographs of battle damage to his ship. After the wreck was discovered in 1989, the authors served as technical consultants to Dr. Robert Ballard, who led three trips to the site. Filmmaker and explorer James Cameron has also contributed a chapter, giving a comprehensive overview of his deep-sea explorations on Bismarck and sharing his team’s remarkable photos of the wreck. The result of nearly six decades of research and collaboration, this is an “encyclopedic and engrossing” account (Naval Historical Foundation) of the events surrounding one of the most epic naval battles of World War II. And Battleship Bismarck finally resolves some of the major questions around her career, not least the most profound one of all: Who sank the Bismarck, the British or the Germans?

The Battleship Builders Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships

The Battleship Builders Constructing and Arming British Capital Ships PDF Author: Ian Buxton
Publisher: Seaforth Publishing
ISBN: 1848320930
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 323

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Book Description
The launch in 1606 of HMS Dreadnought, the worlds's first all-big-gun battleship, rendered all existing battle fleets obsolete, but at the same time it wiped out the Royal Navy's numerical advantage, so expensively maintained for decades. Already locked in the same arms race with Germany, Britain urgently needed to build an entirely new battle fleet of these larger, more complex and more costly vessels In this she succeeded spectacularly; in little over a decade fifty such ships were completed, almost exactly double that of what Germany achieved It was only made possible by the companyÍs vast industrial nexus of shipbuilders, engine manufacturers, armament fleets and specialist armour producers, whose contribution to the Grand Feet is too often ignored. This heroic achievement, and how it was done, is the subject of this book. It charts the rise of the large industrial conglomerates that were key to this success, looks at the reaction to fast-moving technical changes, and analyses the politics of funding this vast national effort, both before and beyond the Great War. It also attempts to assess the true cost- and value- of the Grand Fleet in terms of the resources consumed. And finally, by way of contrast, it describes the effects of the post-war recession, industrial contraction, and the very different responses to rearmament in the run up to the Second World War.

German Battleships 1914–18 (2)

German Battleships 1914–18 (2) PDF Author: Gary Staff
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1849082863
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Book Description
Supported by official documents, personal accounts, official drawings and specially commissioned artwork, this volume is an informative history of the key classes Kaiser, König and Bayern that formed the backbone of the German Imperial Navy throughout World War I, detailing the technological revolution that had taken place to enable the building of these large dreadnought classes.