Book Review of
The Battleships Scharnhorst & Gneisenau
Vol. II
Authors: Miroslaw Skwiot & Mariusz Motyka
Kagero Books
ISBN: 978-83-66673-80-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $69.95
ISBN: 978-83-66673-80-9
By Ray Mehlberger
Copyright: 2022
MSRP: $69.95
History of the Scharnhorst:
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936.
Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During her first operation, Scharnhorst sank the armed merchant HMS Rawalpindi in a short engagement (November 1939). Scharnhorst and Gneisenau participated in Operation Weserübung (April–June 1940), the German invasion of Norway.
During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious as well as her escort destroyers Acasta and Ardent. In that engagement Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history.
In early 1942, after repeated British bombing raids, the two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel from occupied France to Germany. In early 1943, Scharnhorst joined the Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union.
Scharnhorst and several destroyers sortied from Norway to attack a convoy, but British naval patrols intercepted the German force. During the Battle of the North Cape (26 December 1943), the Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York and her escorts sank Scharnhorst. Only 36 men survived, out of a crew of 1,968.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Scharnhorst
Builders:
Deutsche Werke: Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
Operators: Kriegsmarine
Preceded by: L 20e α-class battleship (planned)
Succeeded by: Bismarck-class battleship
Built: 1935–1939
In service: 1938–1943
Completed
Scharnhorst
Gneisenau
Lost: 2
General characteristics:
Type: Fast battleship/Battlecruiser
Displacement: Standard: 32,100 long tons (32,600 t)
Full load: 38,100 long tons (38,700 t)
Length: 235 meters (771 ft), overall, 226 meters (741 ft), waterline
Beam: 30 meters (98 ft)
Draft: 9.69 meters (31.8 ft) at 37,303 tons
Installed power: 12 × water-tube boilers of 151,893 PS (149,815 ihp; 111,717 kW)
Propulsion: 3 × steam turbines, 3 × screw propellers
Speed: 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Range:
Scharnhorst: 7,100 nmi (13,100 km; 8,200 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Gneisenau: 6,200 nmi (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at 19 knots
Complement: 1,669 (56 officers, 1613 enlisted)
Armament: 8 × 28 cm/54.5 (11 inch) SK C/34, 12 × 15 cm/55 (5.9") SK C/28, 14 × 10.5 cm/65 (4.1 inch) SK C/33, 16 × 3.7 cm/L83 (1.5") SK C/30, 10 (later 16) × 2 cm/65 (0.79") C/30 or C/38
Armor: Belt: 350 mm (13.8 in)
Deck: 50 to 95 mm (2.0 to 3.7 in)
Turrets:200 to 360 mm (7.9 to 14.2 in)
Conning tower: 350 mm
Aircraft carried 3 × Arado Ar 196A-3
Aviation facilities: 1 × catapult
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is hard bound and like most of Kagero’s books comes in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cover art shows a color head on bow view of the Gneisenau. It is in shade of grey and white, with a red water line on the bottom of the hull and is posed against an all black background.
The back cover has a color photo of the metal badge worn by battleship crewmen.
The book contains 344 pages in 8 ½” x 12” page format. (4 pages are blank). There are 61 black and white photos of the Gneisenau and 44 of the Scharnhorst. There is one map.
There are 365 color 3-dimensional illustrations split between the 2 battleships. They are walk around type mostly and illustrations of the launches and float planes.
These are viewed using a cardboard pair of glasses that have one blue lens and one red one. Unfortunately, for me, because I am partially color-blind, I cannot see the illustrations in 3-D with these glasses…sigh.
Also inserted into the book are 3 line-drawing blueprints. They are single sheets, printed on both sides.
Two are both 25” x 18” folded 4 times each to fit the book.
The 1st sheet shows the Gneisenau as it appeared on March 6, 1941. A stern view and starboard view in 1/200th scale are shown.
The reverse side shows the Gneisenau port side and deck, also in 1/200th Scale.
The 2nd sheet, on the face side, shows the front view and starboard view of the Scharnhorst in 1/200th scale with a line drawing of its framework included.
The reverse side shows its port side and deck, also in 1/200th scale.
The 3rd line-drawing blueprint is 16” x 11 12” format, it is folded twice to fit the book.
The face side shows 6 line-drawings of the Arado Ar-196A-2. The top, bottom, port side, starboard side, front and rear, in 1/72nd scale.
The reverse side shows a 4-view line-drawing of the Arado Ar-196A-1. The port side, starboard side, top and front views, in 1/72nd scale.
A 2-view of the post and starboard sides of the Arado Ar-196A-2 and port side view of an Ar-196A-5, in 1/72nd scale also.
The first book I got by Kagero to review was printed in 3D and included the paper glasses. The cover art said 3D in large letters. However, later books
still kept the 3D on their covers but they were not printed in 3D or had the glasses included. I told them to drop that logo on the covers as it was very
miss-leading. However, they left it…sigh.
This book will be of great interest to modelers planning to build either one of these battleships, and to naval historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for
this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero Books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Scharnhorst was a German capital ship, alternatively described as a battleship or battlecruiser, of Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine. She was the lead ship of her class, which included her sister ship Gneisenau. The ship was built at the Kriegsmarinewerft dockyard in Wilhelmshaven; she was laid down on 15 June 1935 and launched a year and four months later on 3 October 1936.
Completed in January 1939, the ship was armed with a main battery of nine 28 cm (11 in) C/34 guns in three triple turrets. Plans to replace these weapons with six 38 cm (15 in) SK C/34 guns in twin turrets were never carried out.
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau operated together for much of the early portion of World War II, including sorties into the Atlantic to raid British merchant shipping. During her first operation, Scharnhorst sank the armed merchant HMS Rawalpindi in a short engagement (November 1939). Scharnhorst and Gneisenau participated in Operation Weserübung (April–June 1940), the German invasion of Norway.
During operations off Norway, the two ships engaged the battlecruiser HMS Renown and sank the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious as well as her escort destroyers Acasta and Ardent. In that engagement Scharnhorst achieved one of the longest-range naval gunfire hits in history.
In early 1942, after repeated British bombing raids, the two ships made a daylight dash up the English Channel from occupied France to Germany. In early 1943, Scharnhorst joined the Bismarck-class battleship Tirpitz in Norway to interdict Allied convoys to the Soviet Union.
Scharnhorst and several destroyers sortied from Norway to attack a convoy, but British naval patrols intercepted the German force. During the Battle of the North Cape (26 December 1943), the Royal Navy battleship HMS Duke of York and her escorts sank Scharnhorst. Only 36 men survived, out of a crew of 1,968.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Scharnhorst
Builders:
Deutsche Werke: Kriegsmarinewerft Wilhelmshaven
Operators: Kriegsmarine
Preceded by: L 20e α-class battleship (planned)
Succeeded by: Bismarck-class battleship
Built: 1935–1939
In service: 1938–1943
Completed
Scharnhorst
Gneisenau
Lost: 2
General characteristics:
Type: Fast battleship/Battlecruiser
Displacement: Standard: 32,100 long tons (32,600 t)
Full load: 38,100 long tons (38,700 t)
Length: 235 meters (771 ft), overall, 226 meters (741 ft), waterline
Beam: 30 meters (98 ft)
Draft: 9.69 meters (31.8 ft) at 37,303 tons
Installed power: 12 × water-tube boilers of 151,893 PS (149,815 ihp; 111,717 kW)
Propulsion: 3 × steam turbines, 3 × screw propellers
Speed: 31 knots (57 km/h; 36 mph)
Range:
Scharnhorst: 7,100 nmi (13,100 km; 8,200 mi) at 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Gneisenau: 6,200 nmi (11,500 km; 7,100 mi) at 19 knots
Complement: 1,669 (56 officers, 1613 enlisted)
Armament: 8 × 28 cm/54.5 (11 inch) SK C/34, 12 × 15 cm/55 (5.9") SK C/28, 14 × 10.5 cm/65 (4.1 inch) SK C/33, 16 × 3.7 cm/L83 (1.5") SK C/30, 10 (later 16) × 2 cm/65 (0.79") C/30 or C/38
Armor: Belt: 350 mm (13.8 in)
Deck: 50 to 95 mm (2.0 to 3.7 in)
Turrets:200 to 360 mm (7.9 to 14.2 in)
Conning tower: 350 mm
Aircraft carried 3 × Arado Ar 196A-3
Aviation facilities: 1 × catapult
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is hard bound and like most of Kagero’s books comes in a self-sealing clear cello envelope.
The cover art shows a color head on bow view of the Gneisenau. It is in shade of grey and white, with a red water line on the bottom of the hull and is posed against an all black background.
The back cover has a color photo of the metal badge worn by battleship crewmen.
The book contains 344 pages in 8 ½” x 12” page format. (4 pages are blank). There are 61 black and white photos of the Gneisenau and 44 of the Scharnhorst. There is one map.
There are 365 color 3-dimensional illustrations split between the 2 battleships. They are walk around type mostly and illustrations of the launches and float planes.
These are viewed using a cardboard pair of glasses that have one blue lens and one red one. Unfortunately, for me, because I am partially color-blind, I cannot see the illustrations in 3-D with these glasses…sigh.
Also inserted into the book are 3 line-drawing blueprints. They are single sheets, printed on both sides.
Two are both 25” x 18” folded 4 times each to fit the book.
The 1st sheet shows the Gneisenau as it appeared on March 6, 1941. A stern view and starboard view in 1/200th scale are shown.
The reverse side shows the Gneisenau port side and deck, also in 1/200th Scale.
The 2nd sheet, on the face side, shows the front view and starboard view of the Scharnhorst in 1/200th scale with a line drawing of its framework included.
The reverse side shows its port side and deck, also in 1/200th scale.
The 3rd line-drawing blueprint is 16” x 11 12” format, it is folded twice to fit the book.
The face side shows 6 line-drawings of the Arado Ar-196A-2. The top, bottom, port side, starboard side, front and rear, in 1/72nd scale.
The reverse side shows a 4-view line-drawing of the Arado Ar-196A-1. The port side, starboard side, top and front views, in 1/72nd scale.
A 2-view of the post and starboard sides of the Arado Ar-196A-2 and port side view of an Ar-196A-5, in 1/72nd scale also.
The first book I got by Kagero to review was printed in 3D and included the paper glasses. The cover art said 3D in large letters. However, later books
still kept the 3D on their covers but they were not printed in 3D or had the glasses included. I told them to drop that logo on the covers as it was very
miss-leading. However, they left it…sigh.
This book will be of great interest to modelers planning to build either one of these battleships, and to naval historians alike.
I sincerely wish to thank Casemate Publishers for
this review sample. Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero Books and all Kagero titles can be viewed on Casemate’s website at:
Highly recommended.