Military Model Scene

Title: Hitler's Navy
Author: Gordon Williamson
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-4728-4792-8

A detailed look at the history of both the operations and breadth of the fleet of the German Kriegsmarine in WW2. A 256-page hardcover book which doesn't just focus on the major warships such as the Bismarck and Tirpitz, but also the armed Auxiliary Cruisers, Minesweepers and various other small vessels.
Following the scene setting of the Introduction, explaining what happened after WW1, the book is split across 4 main chapters. These cover the Operational Overview: Hitler's Ships: Coastal & Other Vessels: and Service in Hitler's Navy. It is all wrapped up by a Conclusion plus some suggested further reading and a list of German Naval Ranks and Equivalents. In terms of operations, there are summaries of the main operations during the war, including well known stories such as the hunt of the Bismarck and Tirpitz, the Battle of the North Cape and of course the U-Boat war among others. Hitler's Ships describe the various classes of Capital ships, as well as cruisers, the Auxiliary cruisers used as commerce raiders, destroyer classes, U-Boats, and more. These have lots of information on technical specifications, service history, armaments, radars etc.. They are illustrated not only with archive photos but also a lot of the marvellous artwork Osprey are so well known for. Cut-away views and camouflage patterns over time are all featured. In chapter 3 there are details of the many smaller vessel types, such as E-Boats, Minesweepers, Escorts, Tenders, Flak ships and more. The final chapter looks at the Training arrangements of Seamen, NCOs and Officers and the work of the various specialist sections of the service.
While there is plenty of material on the major surface vessels and the U-Boats, these are all covered but I found the detail on the operation of the many smaller vessels, and how the men were trained made for particularly interesting reading. Add the references amidst the colour artwork seen throughout the book, this I am sure will be especially attractive to naval modellers. A good value reference to add to your reference shelf.
Thanks to Osprey for our review copy.

Robin