Book Review of The German Battleship SMS Posen
Super Drawings in 3D No. 16053
Authors: Marsden Samuel & Gary Staff
Kagero Publications
ISBN 978-83-65437-53-2
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $36.95
ISBN 978-83-65437-53-2
By Ray Mehlberger
MSRP: $36.95
HISTORY:
SMS Posen was one of four battleships in the Nassau class, the first dreadnoughts built for the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). The ship was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel on 11 June 1907, launched on 13 December 1908, and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 31 May 1910. She was equipped with a main battery of twelve 28 cm (11 in) guns in six twin turrets in an unusual hexagonal arrangement.
The ship served with her three sister ships for the majority of World War I. She saw extensive service in the North Sea, where she took part in several fleet sorties. These culminated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, where Posen was heavily engaged in night-fighting against British light forces. In the confusion, the ship accidentally rammed the light cruiser SMS Elbing, which suffered serious damage and was scuttled later in the night.
The ship also conducted several deployments to the Baltic Sea against the Russian Navy. In the first of these, Posen supported a German naval assault in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. The ship was sent back to the Baltic in 1918 to support the White Finns in the Finnish Civil War. At the end of the war, Posen remained in Germany while the majority of the fleet was interned in Scapa Flow. In 1919, following the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow, she was ceded to the British as a replacement for the ships that had been sunk. She was then sent to ship-breakers in the Netherlands and scrapped in 1922.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Namesake: Province of Posen[1]
Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down: 11 June 1907
Launched: 13 December 1908
Commissioned: 31 May 1910
Fate: Scrapped 1922
Class and type: Nassau-class battleship
Designed: 18,873 t (18,575 long tons)
Full load: 20,535 t (20,210 long tons)
Length: 146.1 m (479 ft 4.0 in)
Beam: 26.9 m (88 ft 3.1 in)
Draft: 8.9 m (29 ft 2.4 in)
Propulsion: 3-shaft vertical triple expansion 22,000 PS (21,700 ihp; 16,180 kW)
Speed: 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Maximum: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range:
At 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph): 8,300 nmi (15,400 km; 9,600 mi)
Complement: Standard 40 officers, 968 men
Squadron flagship: 53 officers, 1,034 men
2nd command flagship: 42 officers, 991 men
Armament: 12 × 28 cm (11 in) SK L/45 guns, 12 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, 16 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns, 5 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor: Belt - 300 mm (11.8 in)
Turrets: 280 mm (11.0 in)
Deck: 80 mm (3.1 in)
Conning Tower: 400 mm (15.7 in)
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 82 pages in 8 1/4" x 11 3/4" page format.
The cover shows the SMS Posen in a head on above view with its anti-torpedo nets deployed against a dark blue background.
The book comes in self-sealing clear envelope.
It contains 152 color 3D illustrations showing every last inch of the SMS Posen's anatomy.
There are 4 illustrations of the FF33e Friedrichshafen biplane it carried on its catapult.
The book includes a pair of cardboard goggles, with one blue lens and one red one to use to view the 3D color illustrations.
There is a loose sheet in the book that is 22" x 15 1/2", printed on both sides with line drawings to 1/350th scale.
One side has a cut-away side view and a top view. The other side has 27 illustrations of cross sections of the ship.
These illustrations are by Marsden Samuel.
The last page of the book shows the cover arts of 53 other books in Kagero's 3D line. These are all ships.
This is a neat book and highly recommended to ship modelers and marine history enthusiasts.
I want to thank the folks at Casemate Publishing, the North American distributor of Kagero books, who sent me this sample, and the folks at Kagero
A full listing of Kagero books can be seen at:
SMS Posen was one of four battleships in the Nassau class, the first dreadnoughts built for the German Imperial Navy (Kaiserliche Marine). The ship was laid down at the Germaniawerft shipyard in Kiel on 11 June 1907, launched on 13 December 1908, and commissioned into the High Seas Fleet on 31 May 1910. She was equipped with a main battery of twelve 28 cm (11 in) guns in six twin turrets in an unusual hexagonal arrangement.
The ship served with her three sister ships for the majority of World War I. She saw extensive service in the North Sea, where she took part in several fleet sorties. These culminated in the Battle of Jutland on 31 May – 1 June 1916, where Posen was heavily engaged in night-fighting against British light forces. In the confusion, the ship accidentally rammed the light cruiser SMS Elbing, which suffered serious damage and was scuttled later in the night.
The ship also conducted several deployments to the Baltic Sea against the Russian Navy. In the first of these, Posen supported a German naval assault in the Battle of the Gulf of Riga. The ship was sent back to the Baltic in 1918 to support the White Finns in the Finnish Civil War. At the end of the war, Posen remained in Germany while the majority of the fleet was interned in Scapa Flow. In 1919, following the scuttling of the German fleet in Scapa Flow, she was ceded to the British as a replacement for the ships that had been sunk. She was then sent to ship-breakers in the Netherlands and scrapped in 1922.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Namesake: Province of Posen[1]
Builder: Germaniawerft, Kiel
Laid down: 11 June 1907
Launched: 13 December 1908
Commissioned: 31 May 1910
Fate: Scrapped 1922
Class and type: Nassau-class battleship
Designed: 18,873 t (18,575 long tons)
Full load: 20,535 t (20,210 long tons)
Length: 146.1 m (479 ft 4.0 in)
Beam: 26.9 m (88 ft 3.1 in)
Draft: 8.9 m (29 ft 2.4 in)
Propulsion: 3-shaft vertical triple expansion 22,000 PS (21,700 ihp; 16,180 kW)
Speed: 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Maximum: 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph)
Range:
At 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph): 8,300 nmi (15,400 km; 9,600 mi)
Complement: Standard 40 officers, 968 men
Squadron flagship: 53 officers, 1,034 men
2nd command flagship: 42 officers, 991 men
Armament: 12 × 28 cm (11 in) SK L/45 guns, 12 × 15 cm (5.9 in) SK L/45 guns, 16 × 8.8 cm (3.5 in) SK L/45 guns, 5 × 45 cm (17.7 in) torpedo tubes
Armor: Belt - 300 mm (11.8 in)
Turrets: 280 mm (11.0 in)
Deck: 80 mm (3.1 in)
Conning Tower: 400 mm (15.7 in)
THE BOOK:
Kagero is based in Lublin, Poland.
This book is soft-cover of 82 pages in 8 1/4" x 11 3/4" page format.
The cover shows the SMS Posen in a head on above view with its anti-torpedo nets deployed against a dark blue background.
The book comes in self-sealing clear envelope.
It contains 152 color 3D illustrations showing every last inch of the SMS Posen's anatomy.
There are 4 illustrations of the FF33e Friedrichshafen biplane it carried on its catapult.
The book includes a pair of cardboard goggles, with one blue lens and one red one to use to view the 3D color illustrations.
There is a loose sheet in the book that is 22" x 15 1/2", printed on both sides with line drawings to 1/350th scale.
One side has a cut-away side view and a top view. The other side has 27 illustrations of cross sections of the ship.
These illustrations are by Marsden Samuel.
The last page of the book shows the cover arts of 53 other books in Kagero's 3D line. These are all ships.
This is a neat book and highly recommended to ship modelers and marine history enthusiasts.
I want to thank the folks at Casemate Publishing, the North American distributor of Kagero books, who sent me this sample, and the folks at Kagero
A full listing of Kagero books can be seen at: