Series: Warships of the Kriegsmarine
By Gerhard Koop and Klaus-Peter Schmolke
This edition first published in Great Britain in 2014 by Seaforth Publishing
Copyright © Bernard & Graefe Verlag, Bonn, 1983, 1994,
English Language Edition © Lionel Lenenthal Ltd, 2002
ISBN 978 1 84832 194 6
MSRP – £16.99 UK / $27.60 US
Soft Cover – 223 pages

The Warships of the Kriegsmarine is a series of books devoted to the types and class of German warships in the Second World War. There are six highly detailed reference books from the same authors; German Destroyers, German Light Cruisers, Battleships of the Bismarck Class, Pocket Battleships of Deutschland, Heavy Cruisers of the Admiral Hipper Class and Battleships of the Scharnhorst Class. Each of these books in is packed front to back with a tremendous amount of technical data, plans and photographs.

As part of the Warships of the Kriegsmarine series of books by Gerhard Koop and Klaus-Peter Schmolke, German Light Cruisers of World War II covers an in depth look at the six light cruisers of the German Navy during the Second World War. Klaus-Peter Schmolke, who served on the Leipzig from 1943 until the end of the war, provided a tremendous amount of information surrounding these vessels.

Contents

• Forward
• Introduction
• Data
• Armour
• Armament
• Fire Control System
• Machinery
• Refits
• The Spähkreuzer Programme
• Scale Drawings
• Emden
• Königberg
• Karlsruhe
• Köln
• Leipzig
• Nürnberg
• Conclusions
• Index of Ships




As seen in the other books of the series, the front section of German Light Cruisers of World War II is dedicated to technical data surrounding the light cruisers of the Kriegsmarine. There are numerous diagrams and scale drawing supporting the technical data including the 15cm C/25 SK/L60 triple turrets, supporting armor and even scale drawings with camouflage schemes.

Each of the six ships is outlined superbly throughout this book in a pictorial format. Each of the photographs is supported with highly detailed text. Many of the photographs presented in this book are rare; combined with the archival photos, this book is packed with amazing reference shots of these impressive ships.

Conclusion

German Light Cruisers of World War II by Gerhard Koop and Klaus-Peter Schmolke is a fascinating and comprehensive look into the German Light Cruisers of the Kriegsmarine during WWII. The authors have provided a highly detailed pictorial walk around and a tremendous amout of technical data of these six ships. I would highly recommend this book as a reference for any individual interested in German Naval history as well as for any modeler of these Light Cruisers of the Kriegsmarine during the Second World War.

I would like to thank Pen & Sword Books for providing this review sample,