German Navy Handbook 1939-1945

by Jak P. Mallmann Showell

This latest addition to Sutton's 'Handbook' series takes an overall look at the Kriegsmarine, or German Navy, as it evolved during the Second World War. It was founded in 1935 shortly after the emergence of the Nazi State, but went through a major re-organisation in 1939. The Kriegsmarine is synonymous with such infamous Second World War battleships as the Bismarck, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz, and for the marauding U-boat packs which nearly defeated Great Britain in the Battle of the Atlantic. In particular the book concentrates on the origins of the Kriegsmarine in the post-Versailles Treaty era and its resurgence under the Nazi regime. The author describes the training and organisation of the German Navy during the war years and examines the different roles of the Fleet. Comprehensive technical data is provided for ships and U-boats and a separate chapter looks at the wide range of uniforms and insignia worn by men of the German Navy.

274 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Monty Milne]

This book is well laid out, contains a wealth of information, and has some excellent photographs. In many ways, it is an excellent book. But I find it very difficult to give it a positive rating. The reason? The outrageous pro-Nazi basis shown by the author.

For example: the invasion of Poland is described as "German forces occupying territories seized from them after WWI". So that's allright then... If you take this author at face value, you will learn that all U Boat crews acted with gallantry and only ever sank hospital ships and passenger liners full of children by accident, and accounts of them machine gunning survivors in the water were all invented by the vengeful Allies, who themselves committed numerous atrocities on the U Boat crews which were never brought to justice....this kind of thing just made me want to retch, and it is a pity the author's naked bias obscures what could have been a really good book.