Book Review of The German Armoured Cruiser SMS Blucher
Super Drawings in 3D No. 16065
Authors: Marsden Samuel & Wolfgang Bohlayer
Kagero Publications
ISBN: 978-83-951575-7-8
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $36.95
ISBN: 978-83-951575-7-8
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $36.95
HISTORY:
SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser built by the German Empire. She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British Invincible-class battle cruisers.
Blücher was larger than preceding armored cruisers and carried more heavy guns, but was unable to match the size and armament of the battle cruisers which replaced armored cruisers in the British Royal Navy and German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine).
The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, the commander of Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Blücher was built at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Kiel between 1907 and 1909, and commissioned on 1 October 1909.
The ship served in the I Scouting Group for most of her career, including the early portion of World War I. She took part in the operation to bombard Yarmouth and the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in 1914.
At the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, Blücher was slowed significantly after being hit by gunfire from the British battlecruiser squadron under the command of Vice Admiral David Beatty.
Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper, the commander of the German squadron, decided to abandon Blücher to the pursuing enemy ships in order to save his more valuable battle-cruisers.
Under heavy fire from the British ships, she was sunk, and British destroyers began recovering the survivors.
However, the destroyers withdrew when a German zeppelin began bombing them, mistaking the sinking Blücher for a British battle cruiser.
The number of casualties is unknown, with figures ranging from 747 to around 1,000. Blücher was the only warship lost during the battle.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Blücher
Namesake: Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel
Laid down: 21 February 1907
Launched: 11 April 1908
Commissioned: 1 October 1909
Fate: Sunk during the Battle of Dogger Bank, 24 January 1915
Class and type: Armored cruiser
Displacement: 15,842 t (15,592 long tons) (designed), 17,500 t (17,200 long tons) (full load)
Length: 161.8 m (530 ft 10 in) overall
Beam: 24.5 m (80 ft 5 in)
Draft: 8.84 m (29.0 ft)
Installed power: 31,562 ihp (23,536 kW)
Propulsion: 3 × 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines, 18 × marine-type boilers, 3 × screws
Speed: 25.4 knots (47.0 km/h; 29.2 mph)
Range: 6,600 nmi (12,200 km; 7,600 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), 3,350 nmi (6,200 km; 3,860 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement: 41 officers, 812 sailors, 1026 at Dogger Bank
Armament: 12 × 21 cm (8.3 in) SK L/45 guns (6×2), 8 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, 16 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK L/45 guns, 4 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor: 6–18 cm (2.4–7.1 in) belt, 14 cm (5.5 in) battery, 18 cm (7 in) barbettes, 6–18 cm (2.4–7.1 in) turret, 8–25 cm (3.1–9.8 in) conning tower
THE BOOK:
Kagaro is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 84 pages in 8 14" x 11 3/4" page format. It comes in a self-sealing clear envelope.
The cover art shows a color illustration of the SMS Blucher, head-on and from above with its anti-torpedo nets extended.
The back cover has a color illustration of the SMS Blucher as an above stern view.
The book contains 176 color 3D walk-around type illustrations, showing every inch of the Blucher's anatomy.
It contains a large 22 1/2" x 15 3/4" sheet, printed on both sides, with a cut-away type drawing of the Blucher and a top view in 1/350th scale.
On the reverse side there are 26 more line-drawings of compartment sections of the Blucher, also in 1/350th scale. The sheet is folded 4 times and then inserted into the book.
This book will be of great interest to modelers and naval historians alike.
Combrig Models brand makes a kit of the SMS Blucher in 1/350th scale. Copyright 2013.
This book is highly recommended.
I want to thank the folks at Casemate Publishing who sent me this sample and also Kagero.
Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books. All Kagero titles can be seen on Casemate's web site at:
SMS Blücher was the last armored cruiser built by the German Empire. She was designed to match what German intelligence incorrectly believed to be the specifications of the British Invincible-class battle cruisers.
Blücher was larger than preceding armored cruisers and carried more heavy guns, but was unable to match the size and armament of the battle cruisers which replaced armored cruisers in the British Royal Navy and German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine).
The ship was named after the Prussian Field Marshal Gebhard von Blücher, the commander of Prussian forces at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.
Blücher was built at the Kaiserliche Werft shipyard in Kiel between 1907 and 1909, and commissioned on 1 October 1909.
The ship served in the I Scouting Group for most of her career, including the early portion of World War I. She took part in the operation to bombard Yarmouth and the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby in 1914.
At the Battle of Dogger Bank on 24 January 1915, Blücher was slowed significantly after being hit by gunfire from the British battlecruiser squadron under the command of Vice Admiral David Beatty.
Rear Admiral Franz von Hipper, the commander of the German squadron, decided to abandon Blücher to the pursuing enemy ships in order to save his more valuable battle-cruisers.
Under heavy fire from the British ships, she was sunk, and British destroyers began recovering the survivors.
However, the destroyers withdrew when a German zeppelin began bombing them, mistaking the sinking Blücher for a British battle cruiser.
The number of casualties is unknown, with figures ranging from 747 to around 1,000. Blücher was the only warship lost during the battle.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Name: Blücher
Namesake: Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher
Builder: Kaiserliche Werft, Kiel
Laid down: 21 February 1907
Launched: 11 April 1908
Commissioned: 1 October 1909
Fate: Sunk during the Battle of Dogger Bank, 24 January 1915
Class and type: Armored cruiser
Displacement: 15,842 t (15,592 long tons) (designed), 17,500 t (17,200 long tons) (full load)
Length: 161.8 m (530 ft 10 in) overall
Beam: 24.5 m (80 ft 5 in)
Draft: 8.84 m (29.0 ft)
Installed power: 31,562 ihp (23,536 kW)
Propulsion: 3 × 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion engines, 18 × marine-type boilers, 3 × screws
Speed: 25.4 knots (47.0 km/h; 29.2 mph)
Range: 6,600 nmi (12,200 km; 7,600 mi) at 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), 3,350 nmi (6,200 km; 3,860 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Complement: 41 officers, 812 sailors, 1026 at Dogger Bank
Armament: 12 × 21 cm (8.3 in) SK L/45 guns (6×2), 8 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, 16 × 8.8 cm (3.46 in) SK L/45 guns, 4 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor: 6–18 cm (2.4–7.1 in) belt, 14 cm (5.5 in) battery, 18 cm (7 in) barbettes, 6–18 cm (2.4–7.1 in) turret, 8–25 cm (3.1–9.8 in) conning tower
THE BOOK:
Kagaro is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 84 pages in 8 14" x 11 3/4" page format. It comes in a self-sealing clear envelope.
The cover art shows a color illustration of the SMS Blucher, head-on and from above with its anti-torpedo nets extended.
The back cover has a color illustration of the SMS Blucher as an above stern view.
The book contains 176 color 3D walk-around type illustrations, showing every inch of the Blucher's anatomy.
It contains a large 22 1/2" x 15 3/4" sheet, printed on both sides, with a cut-away type drawing of the Blucher and a top view in 1/350th scale.
On the reverse side there are 26 more line-drawings of compartment sections of the Blucher, also in 1/350th scale. The sheet is folded 4 times and then inserted into the book.
This book will be of great interest to modelers and naval historians alike.
Combrig Models brand makes a kit of the SMS Blucher in 1/350th scale. Copyright 2013.
This book is highly recommended.
I want to thank the folks at Casemate Publishing who sent me this sample and also Kagero.
Casemate is the N. American distributor of Kagero books. All Kagero titles can be seen on Casemate's web site at: