S-boats - Kriegsmarine: books - history and technology

Kriegsmarine Coastal Forces (Osprey)

Although often overlooked in favour of the U-boats or battleships, the vast majority of the Kriegsmarine was formed of the smaller vessels of the coastal forces. These ships and boats, which included minesweepers, torpedo boats, patrol boats, and blockade breakers, gave crucial service to Germany during the war, and many continued serving for decades after the surrender in such tasks as clearing minefields. Also included in these forces was Hitler's yacht, the Ostwind.

This book reveals the history of the vessels that formed the backbone of the Kriegsmarine, and combines fascinating anecdotes, detailed technical information, and full-colour artwork.

S-Boote - German E-boats in action 1939-1945

Too little has been written to date on Germany's "Schnellboote" in the Second World War. Known by the Allies as E-Boats (Enemy Boats) the S-Boote played havoc on Allied naval operations in the English Channel and elsewhere. Many of their captains were amongst the most decorated of any branch of the Kriegsmarine.

This highly detailed book examines all aspects of the S-Boote, from design to deployment and notes all the major engagements for which they are famous. As with all Histoire & Collections books, you are guaranteed a visual feast of excellent descriptive graphics and previously unseen photographs.

Schnellboote : A Complete Operational History

The Kriegsmarine's Schnellboote - fast attack boats or E-boats to the Allies - were the primary German naval attack units in coastal waters throughout the Second World War.
Operating close to their various bases they became a devastatingly effective weapon in nearly all the Kriegsmarine's theatres of war, from the Baltic to the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It was in the English Channel, however, that they scored their most notable successes, destroying some forty warships and more than one hundred merchant ships.

In addition to interception and attack, they were also used for minelaying, landing sabotage troops and general escort duties. There has been, to date, no comprehensive operational history of the S-boat service in all the theatres in which it saw service, but due to the relatively small number of units it is possible to recount the duties and fates of each individual craft and in this book the author examines the career of each in detail.
In addition, operations alongside the commando units of the Kleinkampfverbande are covered.

As the War progressed, S-boats suffered from the increased Allied mastery of the seas and skies but they were a formidable foe right to the end; this book is the first to do full justice to their record of success

German E-boats 1939-45 (Osprey)

By the outbreak of World War II, Germany had done much to replace the Kaiser's High Seas Fleet, which was scuttled following their surrender at the end of World War I. Forced to build anew, the Kriegsmarine possessed some of the most technically advanced warships in existence.
Although the heavy units of the fleet were too small in number to pose much of a threat, Germany was particularly well served by her Navy's smaller vessels, in particular the U-Boats and the S-Boats. Known to the allies as the E-Boats ('Enemy'), they performed sterling duties in the Black Sea and English Channel, where they became a particular scourge.

Contents: Introduction - Developmental Details - General Description - Armament- Powerplant - Colour Schemes - Radar - Organisation of the S-Bootwaffe - Operational use - Bibliography - Colour Plate Commentary - Index.

Schnellboot Type S-38 and S-100 (Super Drawings in 3D)

E-Boat Threat

While land based aircraft could carry out offshore operations by day and destroyers and cruisers patrolled deeper waters, the ideal craft for use in coastal waters were motor boats armed with torpedoes and light guns. But with the exception of Italy, none of the major powers had more than a handful of these boats operational at the outbreak of war.

From a small beginning, large fleets of highly maneuverable motor torpedo boats were built up, particularly by Britain, Germany and the USA. They operated mainly at night, because they were small enough to penetrate minefields and creep unseen to an enemy's coastline and fast enough to escape after firing their torpedoes.
They fought in every major theatre of war, but the first real threat came in the North Sea and English Channel from German E-boats, crossing to attack Britain's vital convoys. Ranged against them in the 'battle of the little ships' were British MTBs and MGBs and, later, American PT boats.
They often fought hand to hand at closer quarters than any other kind of warship in a unique conflict that lasted right to the end of the war.

"E-boat Threat" describes the development of these deadly little craft, the training of their crews who were usually volunteers and the gradual evolution of tactics in the light of wartime experience.
Methods of defence are also related, which included the use of aircraft and destroyers as well as motor gunboats, sometimes acting under a unified command.

Schnell- und Torpedoboote - Deutsche und alliierte Einheiten 1939-1945 (Typenkompass)

Schon vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg entwickelte die Royal Navy kleine Boote, die als Beiboote von Kreuzern zum Einsatzort an die Küste gebracht werden sollten. Während des Krieges sollten sie durch ihren geringen Tiefgang die Minenfelder vor der deutschen Küste überfahren können. Die Schiffseinheiten trugen so einen wesentlichen Teil des Kriegs zur See in küstennahen Gewässern bei.

Ingo Bauernfeind stellt in diesem Band deutsche wie alliierte Schnell- und Torpedoboote im Zweiten Weltkrieg vor. Kompakt aber detailliert, beschreibt er ihre Entwicklung, Einsatzgeschichte und technischen Besonderheiten.

E-boat vs MTB - The English Channel 1941-45 (Osprey)

During WWII, German E-Boats were so active in the English Channel that the narrow stretch of water became known as 'E-Boat Alley'. To counter the threat of these E-Boats, Britain brought its coastal forces to bear - flotillas of small Motor Torpedo and Gun Boats (MTBs and MGBs) and Motor Launches (MLs).
As the Germans sought to maintain their supremacy in Channel waters, they continued to develop their E-Boat designs to accommodate more armor and more firepower. Rather than matching the newer E-Boats for armament, the British developed several types to fulfill the varied roles for which the Kriegsmarine were attempting to use the E-Boat.

This book details this developing conflict, examining the evolution of the boats involved, and covering the their battles from fights in the Thames Estuary to the build-up for D-Day.

German S-Boats (ShipCraft)

The subject of this volume is the Second World War German Navy's motor torpedo boats called Schnellboote, known to the Allies as E-Boats. One of the most effective coastal attack craft of the time, the type was built in large numbers and constantly improved as the war progressed, giving many variants to interest modellers.

With its unparalleled level of visual information - paint schemes, models, line drawings and photographs - this is simply the best reference for any modelmaker setting out to build one of these famous boats.

The 'ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, highlighting differences between sister-ships and changes in their appearance over their careers. This includes paint schemes and camouflage, featuring colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings and scale plans.
The modelling section reviews the strengths and weaknesses of available kits, lists commercial accessory sets for super-detailing of the ships, and provides hints on modifying and improving the basic kit.
This is followed by an extensive photographic gallery of selected high-quality models in a variety of scales, and the book concludes with a section on research references - books, monographs, large-scale plans and relevant websites.

Schnellbootwaffe: Adolf Hitler's Guerrilla War at Sea - S-Boote 1939-45 - Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives (Images of War)

The Schnellbootwaffe was created in the early 1930s, before the Second World War, in concurrence with the regenerated Kriegsmarine, and young officers, most of whom learned their craft in the old Imperial Navy, would take responsibility for the operational use of these revolutionary vessels.
Working with the naval engineers of Lürssen Shipyard, the Germans designed combat weapons that were never surpassed by their opponents.

After the first series of Schnellboote were launched, constantly improved versions of these vessels would follow. The Schnellbootwaffe would achieve significant victories for the Kriegsmarine at the beginning of the war by using these vessels in high-level strategies, including a style of guerrilla warfare.
The British often call German torpedo boats E-boats, and these fast vessels were a genuine threat not only to coastal trade, but also to the movement of Allied ships after D-Day. Indeed, Admiral Rudolf Petersen's flotillas remained combat-ready until the very end, even after the balance of power was in favour of the Allies.

Allied air bombardment of German torpedo boat bases from 1944 onwards failed to destroy the offensive potential of the Schnellboote and their crews. The Allied disaster at Lyme Bay at the end of April 1944 shows how this guerrilla war at sea was still dangerous, even at this stage of the war. The Allied invasions plans were not yet known to the Germans, but Eisenhower learned a great deal from Lyme Bay and the Schnellbootwaffe was still potentially dangerous right until the end of the war.

This book tells the fascinating story about these special people, whose pirate spirit and guerrilla style of naval combat is reminiscent of the ancient pirates and their own way of warfare.