SCHARNHORST AND GNEISENAU

Con oltre 200 foto a colori e bianco e nero, questo volume fornisce uno sguardo autorevole, dettagliato, e informativo sulla Scharnhorst e sulla Gneisenau, le prime navi capitali della Kriegsmarine tedesca, dal loro concepimento ai primi anni di successo della Seconda Guerra Mondiale, fino al loro destino finale.

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An authoritative and informative look at the careers of Nazi Germany’s most successful battleships.

• An insight into the strategic thinking behind and deployment of the Kriegsmarine’s capital ships
• The dramatic story of the most infamous engagements of the war including the Channel Dash and the last duel between British and German battleships at the Battle of North Cape
• Beautifully illustrated with many rare and unpublished photographs 
• A must-have for military and historians, enthusiasts, modellers, gamers and those interested in the complexities of naval warfare during the Second World War

In February 1942, six Swordfish armed with torpedoes encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire in the English Channel and were shot down but not before two torpedoes were launched at a German battleship sailing at high speed.

This attack was part of a wider British effort to stop the battleships Scharnhorst and Gneisenau from making their way back to Germany. The Scharnhorst is one of the most famous capital ships to have served with the Kriegsmarine. Yet she and her sister ship Gneisenau have been largely overshadowed by the Bismarck and Tirpitz, despite the fact that they played a more proactive role in the Second World War and were Germany’s most successful battleships.

This volume provides an authoritative and informative look at the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, the first capital ships of the Kriegsmarine, from their conception through the first successful years of the Second World War to their respective losses. This is a detailed account of naval warfare against the Royal Navy off the coast of Norway and the war against Allied commerce from the German perspective.