Kaiser's Cruisers, 1871-1918

This new book covers the Imperial German Navy's cruising vessels between 1871 and 1918, including corvettes, avisos, sloops, torpedo cruisers, III- and IV-class cruisers, and small cruisers. It provides a chronological narrative, technical details, and rare photographs, and is accompanied by an extensive selection of archival material. It will appeal to those with an interest in the German navy and those who have been waiting for the sequel to _The Kaiser's Battlefleet_.

Format: Hardback
Length: 256 pages
Publication date: 16 November 2021
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

While shelves groan with works on the capital ships of the German Third Reich, there is little in English devoted to their predecessors of the Second Reich. Thus, this new book will fill a clear gap in its study of German cruisers of the period, from wooden-hulled corvettes to the fusion of overseas and home vessels into the modern small cruisers that evolved and fought in the First World War. The book covers the full range of cruising vessels operated or ordered by the Imperial German Navy between 1871 and 1918, excluding the large cruisers previously covered by the author's companion volume, The Kaiser's Battlefleet. These include corvettes, avisos, sloops, torpedo cruisers, III- and IV-class cruisers, and small cruisers, and are described and arranged in a chronological narrative. This includes both design and operational histories, the latter continuing down to the end of ships' service after the fall of Imperial Germany, and it is accompanied by an extensive selection of many rare photographs. The ships' technical details are tabulated in the second half of the book, which also includes sketches of ships' internal layouts and armor and changes in appearance over time. The authors have made extensive use of archival material, particularly relating to the political and technical background to design and procurement, and present a developmental history of this ship class that is unique in the English language. It will have huge appeal to all those with an interest in the German navy and to those who have been waiting avidly for the sequel to The Kaiser's Battlefleet.

Weight: 1576g
Dimension: 283 x 229 x 26 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781526765765