The warships of the World War II era German Navy are among the most popular subject in naval history with an almost uncountable number of books devoted to them. However, for a concise but authoritative summary of the design history and careers of the major surface ships it is difficult to beat a series of six volumes written by Gerhard Koop and illustrated by Klaus-Peter Schmolke. Each contains an account of the development of a particular class, a detailed description of the ships, with full technical details, and an outline of their service, heavily illustrated with plans, battle maps and a substantial collection of photographs. These have been out of print for ten years or more and are now much sought after by enthusiasts and collectors, so this new modestly priced reprint of the series will be widely welcomed.??This volume covers the Admiral Hipper class, among the largest heavy cruisers to serve in World War II. Intended to be a class of five, they enjoyed contrasting fortunes: Seydlitz and LÙtzow were never completed; BlÙcher was the first major German warship sunk in action; Admiral Hipper became one of the most successful commerce raiders of the war; while the Prinz Eugen survived to be expended as a target in one of the first American nuclear tests in 1946.

Exceptional reference guide for modelers and historians This lavishly illustrated volume in the War Camera Photobooks series presents a detailed photo history of the heavy cruisers which served with the German Navy, the Kriegsmarine, during World War II. The heavy cruiser was a type of naval warship designed for long range, high speed and an armament of naval guns roughly 203mm caliber (8 inches). The heavy cruiser can be seen as a lineage of ship design from 1915 until 1945, although the term 'heavy cruiser' only came into formal use in 1930. The heavy cruiser's immediate precursors were the light cruiser designs of the 1900s and 1910s, rather than the armored cruisers of before 1905. With numerous aerial, close-up, profile and in action photographs, this book is an exceptional reference guide for both modelers and historians alike. About the Series This lavishly illustrated new series presents a detailed photo history of the key machines used during warfare. With aerial, close-up, plan view and profile photography, War Camera Photobooks are dedicated tributes to the supreme machinery of military technology.

A concise, authoritative, heavily illustrated summary of this class of German WWII-era warships, covering their design histories and careers. The Admiral Hipper class was among the largest heavy cruisers to serve in World War II. Intended to be a class of five, they enjoyed contrasting fortunes: Seydlitz and Lützow were never completed; Blücher was the first major German warship sunk in action; Admiral Hipper became one of the most successful commerce raiders of the war; while the Prinz Eugen survived to be expended as a target in one of the first American nuclear tests in 1946. Part of a six-volume series on the German Navy’s WWII-era warships written by Gerhard Koop and illustrated by Klaus-Peter Schmolke, this book contains an account of the development of the Admiral Hipper class, a detailed description of the ships with full technical details, and an outline of their service, heavily illustrated with plans, battle maps, and a substantial collection of photographs.

"The German heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen was a remarkable vessel by any standard. She was arguably one of the most handsome major warships ever constructed. The third ship of the Admiral Hipper-class and named for a French hero of the Austrian Empire, the ship represented the spirit and tradition of the old Austro-Hungarian Royal and Imperial navy. She participated in some of the most interesting naval actions of World War II in European waters including the Battle of the Denmark Strait where she helped the German battleship Bismarck sink the British battlecruiser Hood, and the Channel Dash ten months later when she sailed through the English Channel in broad daylight, successfully repelling British sea and air attacks along the way. She fought the Russians in the Baltic and was the largest German warship to survive the war"--

The subject of this volume is the largest and most sophisticated German cruiser class of WW2. The five ships suffered very different fates. Blucher was sunk during the invasion of Norway in 1940, whereas Admiral Hipper fought right through the war. The most famous, Prinz Eugen, escaped when Bismarck was sunk and survived to be expended in a postwar

Following the defeat in the World War I, the Treaty of Versailles limited the tonnage of the German Navy to 144 thousand tons. Moreover, the treaty stipulated that new warships could only be built to replace the decommissioned ones. In 1921 a new law was enacted which brought about the creation of the Reichsmarine. The few warships that Germany was allowed to keep were modernized and new ones were being built to replace the obsolete ones. Construction of light cruisers was a priority and the first of those, built to replace the Niobe launched in the 19th century, was the Emden. In 1927, during the disarmament conference in Geneva, Germany demanded equal right as far as the expansion of the navy was concerned. Those demands were rejected, therefore, the Reichsmarine drew up the "expansion plan". It stipulated construction of new warships within the coming years, including submarines, which were forbidden by the Treaty of Versailles...

The German heavy cruiser PRINZ EUGEN was an enlarged version of the Admiral Hipper class ships. The keel was laid on 23 April 1936, she was launched on 22 August 1938, and commissioned on 1 August 1940. She took part in the first mission of the battleship BISMARCK, during which they sank the British battlecruiser HMS HOOD. Having split with BISMARCK, PRINZ EUGEN was supposed to commence hunting the Allied convoys, but due to engine failure she sailed back to France. Once repaired, she participated in Operation "Cerberus" - the passage of German ships from France to Germany through English Channel.