Book Review of
The German Battleship SMS Derfflinger
Super Drawings in 3D No. 16079
Authors: Marsden Samuel & Gary Staff
Kagero Publishing
ISBN: 978-83-66679-05-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2020
MSRP: $37.95
ISBN: 978-83-66679-05-2
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2020
MSRP: $37.95
SMS Derfflinger was a battlecruiser of the German Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial Navy) built in the early 1910s during the Anglo-German naval arms race. She was the lead ship of her class of three ships; her sister ships were Lützow and Hindenburg.
The Derfflinger-class battlecruisers were larger and featured significant improvements over the previous German battlecruisers, carrying larger guns in a more efficient super firing arrangement. Derfflinger was armed with a main battery of eight 30.5 cm (12 in) guns, compared to the 28 cm (11 in) guns of earlier battlecruisers.
She had a top speed of 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) and carried heavy protection, including a 30-centimeter (11.8 in) thick armored belt. Derfflinger was completed shortly after the outbreak of World War I in 1914; after entering service, she joined the other German battlecruisers in I Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet, where she served for the duration of the conflict.
As part of this force, she took part in numerous operations in the North Sea, including the Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in December 1914, the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, and the Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft in April 1916. These operations culminated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, where Derfflinger helped to sink the British battlecruisers HMS Queen Mary and Invincible. Derfflinger was seriously damaged in the action and was out of service for repairs for several months afterward.
The ship rejoined the fleet in late 1916, though by this time the Germans had abandoned their strategy of raids with the surface fleet in favor of the U-boat campaign. As a result, Derfflinger and the rest of the High Seas Fleet saw little activity for the last two years of the war apart from patrol duty in the German Bight.
The fleet conducted one final operation in April 1918 in an unsuccessful attempt to intercept a British convoy to Norway. After the end of the war in November 1918, the fleet was interned in Scapa Flow. On the order of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, the interned ships were scuttled on 21 June 1919 to prevent them from being seized by the Allied powers.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Derfflinger
Namesake: Georg von Derfflinger
Ordered: 1912–1913 Naval Program
Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Laid down: January 1912
Launched: 12 July 1913
Commissioned: 1 September 1914
Nickname(s): "Iron Dog"
Fate: Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1939, broken up after 1946
Class and type: Derfflinger-class battlecruiser
Displacement: Normal: 26,600 t (26,200 long tons), Full load: 31,200 t (30,700 long tons)
Length: 210.4 m (690 ft. 3 in) (o/a)
Beam: 29 m (95 ft. 2 in)
Draft: 9.2 m (30 ft. 2 in)
Installed power: 18 × water-tube boilers of 63,000 PS (62,000 shp)
Propulsion: 4 × steam turbines, 4 × screw propellers
Speed: 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph)
Range: 5,600 nmi (10,400 km; 6,400 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 44 officers, 1,068 men
Armament: 8 × 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50 guns, 12 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, 4 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns, 4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor: belt: 300 mm (11.8 in), Conning tower: 300 mm, Deck: 30 to 80 mm (1.2 to 3.1 in), Turrets: 270 mm (10.6 in)
The Derfflinger-class battlecruisers were larger and featured significant improvements over the previous German battlecruisers, carrying larger guns in a more efficient super firing arrangement. Derfflinger was armed with a main battery of eight 30.5 cm (12 in) guns, compared to the 28 cm (11 in) guns of earlier battlecruisers.
She had a top speed of 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph) and carried heavy protection, including a 30-centimeter (11.8 in) thick armored belt. Derfflinger was completed shortly after the outbreak of World War I in 1914; after entering service, she joined the other German battlecruisers in I Scouting Group of the High Seas Fleet, where she served for the duration of the conflict.
As part of this force, she took part in numerous operations in the North Sea, including the Raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in December 1914, the Battle of Dogger Bank in January 1915, and the Bombardment of Yarmouth and Lowestoft in April 1916. These operations culminated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, where Derfflinger helped to sink the British battlecruisers HMS Queen Mary and Invincible. Derfflinger was seriously damaged in the action and was out of service for repairs for several months afterward.
The ship rejoined the fleet in late 1916, though by this time the Germans had abandoned their strategy of raids with the surface fleet in favor of the U-boat campaign. As a result, Derfflinger and the rest of the High Seas Fleet saw little activity for the last two years of the war apart from patrol duty in the German Bight.
The fleet conducted one final operation in April 1918 in an unsuccessful attempt to intercept a British convoy to Norway. After the end of the war in November 1918, the fleet was interned in Scapa Flow. On the order of Rear Admiral Ludwig von Reuter, the interned ships were scuttled on 21 June 1919 to prevent them from being seized by the Allied powers.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Derfflinger
Namesake: Georg von Derfflinger
Ordered: 1912–1913 Naval Program
Builder: Blohm & Voss, Hamburg
Laid down: January 1912
Launched: 12 July 1913
Commissioned: 1 September 1914
Nickname(s): "Iron Dog"
Fate: Scuttled at Scapa Flow on 21 June 1919, wreck raised 1939, broken up after 1946
Class and type: Derfflinger-class battlecruiser
Displacement: Normal: 26,600 t (26,200 long tons), Full load: 31,200 t (30,700 long tons)
Length: 210.4 m (690 ft. 3 in) (o/a)
Beam: 29 m (95 ft. 2 in)
Draft: 9.2 m (30 ft. 2 in)
Installed power: 18 × water-tube boilers of 63,000 PS (62,000 shp)
Propulsion: 4 × steam turbines, 4 × screw propellers
Speed: 26.5 knots (49.1 km/h; 30.5 mph)
Range: 5,600 nmi (10,400 km; 6,400 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph)
Complement: 44 officers, 1,068 men
Armament: 8 × 30.5 cm (12 in) SK L/50 guns, 12 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, 4 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns, 4 × 50 cm (19.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor: belt: 300 mm (11.8 in), Conning tower: 300 mm, Deck: 30 to 80 mm (1.2 to 3.1 in), Turrets: 270 mm (10.6 in)
THE BOOK:
Kagero Publishing is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft cover of 90 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format, wrapped in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
Years ago the first sample of one of Kagero’s 3D series books I got WAS printed in 3D and included a pair of cardboard glasses with one blue lens and one red one to use to see the images in 3D. However, all samples of Kagero’s books marked 3D, ever since are NOT 3D or have the glasses inserted in them. I don’t know why Kagero does not remove that 3D designation from this series of books?? It’s miss-leading!!
The book contains 59 color walk-around type illustrations of every inch of the SMS Derfflinger.
The cover art shows the SMS Derfflinger as an above bow color illustration. She has a gray hull with a black bottom. Superstructures are gray and there are black and white rings on top of the gun turrets. She carries her coat of arms shield insignia on the sides of her bow.
The back cover shows a above stern color illustration that is partially cut-away in the hull side. It is flying the Imperial German Navy flag above its stern.
Kagero Publishing is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft cover of 90 pages in 8 ¼” x 11 ¾” page format, wrapped in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
Years ago the first sample of one of Kagero’s 3D series books I got WAS printed in 3D and included a pair of cardboard glasses with one blue lens and one red one to use to see the images in 3D. However, all samples of Kagero’s books marked 3D, ever since are NOT 3D or have the glasses inserted in them. I don’t know why Kagero does not remove that 3D designation from this series of books?? It’s miss-leading!!
The book contains 59 color walk-around type illustrations of every inch of the SMS Derfflinger.
The cover art shows the SMS Derfflinger as an above bow color illustration. She has a gray hull with a black bottom. Superstructures are gray and there are black and white rings on top of the gun turrets. She carries her coat of arms shield insignia on the sides of her bow.
The back cover shows a above stern color illustration that is partially cut-away in the hull side. It is flying the Imperial German Navy flag above its stern.
The color walk-around type illustrations include:
The top, 2 of the bow and stern, 3 of its sides, 37 of the turrets with 14 of the turret interiors, a wood walkway, 13 of superstructure interiors, a cutaway of one of them, a biplane being recovered, 3 of searchlights, 7 of its deck, the coat of arms insignia, 2 of lifeboat hoists and 13 of the lifeboats, 7 of smoke-stacks, 2 of the tower with the ship’s compass on it, 7 of masts, 3 of capstans, 5 of shafts & couplings, 2 of torpedo tubes, 2 of torpedo's, 2 of an officer’s wardrobe, 2 of machine guns, 5 of the high-pressure turbine, 2 inside the forward conning tower, 1 of a steam launch, 1 of a buoy and 1 of a life raff.
The last page of the book shows 9 black and white cover arts of other Kagero books in their Naval Series.
Inserted into the book is a sheet of line drawings of the SMS Derfflinger, printed on both sides in 26 ¼” x 18 ¾” format, folded 4 times to fit the book.
The face side shows 1/350th scale line-drawings of the masts, side, top and cutaways.
The top, 2 of the bow and stern, 3 of its sides, 37 of the turrets with 14 of the turret interiors, a wood walkway, 13 of superstructure interiors, a cutaway of one of them, a biplane being recovered, 3 of searchlights, 7 of its deck, the coat of arms insignia, 2 of lifeboat hoists and 13 of the lifeboats, 7 of smoke-stacks, 2 of the tower with the ship’s compass on it, 7 of masts, 3 of capstans, 5 of shafts & couplings, 2 of torpedo tubes, 2 of torpedo's, 2 of an officer’s wardrobe, 2 of machine guns, 5 of the high-pressure turbine, 2 inside the forward conning tower, 1 of a steam launch, 1 of a buoy and 1 of a life raff.
The last page of the book shows 9 black and white cover arts of other Kagero books in their Naval Series.
Inserted into the book is a sheet of line drawings of the SMS Derfflinger, printed on both sides in 26 ¼” x 18 ¾” format, folded 4 times to fit the book.
The face side shows 1/350th scale line-drawings of the masts, side, top and cutaways.
The reverse side shows 37 cutaway line-drawings of hull sections.
This is one neat book on this ship. It will be of interest to ship modelers and naval historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All Kagero book titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web-site at:
This is one neat book on this ship. It will be of interest to ship modelers and naval historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for this review sample.
All Kagero book titles can be viewed on Casemate’s web-site at:
Highly recommended.