German Cruisers of World War Two in Action

50 pages. Illustrations (some with color). Warships Number 24. Robert C. Stern has been writing naval history for more than thirty years, during which time he has published nine major works, numerous magazine articles, and pictorial monographs. Cruisers that fought in WWII descended from sail-powered frigates of the 18th and 19th century. These vessels were designed for long-range independent operation (cruising) to gain information about the movement of an enemy, to raid the enemy's commerce, or to track down enemy commerce raiders. This title covers Germany's WWII Light and Heavy Cruisers of the Kriegsmarine. Included are the Light Cruisers Emden, Karlshuhe, Koln, Konigsberg, Leipzig and Nurnberg, and the Heavy Cruisers Admiral Hipper, Blucher, and Prinz Eugen. Also covers 'Z' Plan and Shipboard Aircraft. Illustrated with 120 b/w photos, 6 color profiles, 19 b/w line drawings. The German navies of the 1920s through 1945-the Reichsmarine and later Kriegsmarine-built or planned a series of heavy cruisers starting in the late 1920s, initially classified as Panzerschiffe (armored ships). Four different designs-the Deutschland, D, P, and Admiral Hipper classes, comprising twenty-two ships in total-were prepared in the period, though only the three Deutschland-class ships and three of the five Admiral Hipper-class cruisers were ever built. Germany completed six heavy cruisers, all of which saw extensive service with the fleet. Most of the heavy cruisers were used as commerce raiders during World War II, of which Admiral Scheer was the most successful; Admiral Graf Spee was scuttled after the Battle of the River Plate. Blücher was sunk by Norwegian coastal batteries during Operation Weserübung , the German invasion of Denmark and Norway, just four days after the ship joined the fleet.…