Category: Kriegsmarine: Major Surface Units

BENNETT, G. H. Hunting Tirpitz: Royal Naval Operations Against Bismarck's Sister Ship (Britannia Naval Histories of World War II). 296p., bibliog., illus., index. Plymouth: University of Plymouth Press, 2012. ISBN: 9781841023090.

A strong introduction is followed by three official Battle Summaries. No 12. (Operation Chariot) Describes the raid on St Nazaire, aimed at limiting her access to Atlantic ports; No 27 (Operation Tungsten) describes the major Fleet Air Arm attack on the ship in Norway; no 29 (Operation Source) describes the X-Craft attack. The Naval Staff History follows along with a few brief survivors' accounts and several photographs.

An extremely full account. An expanded edition entitled German Destroyers of World War Two was published in 1994.

Encyclopaedic coverage.

A design and operational history of impeccable detail.

These were small fast vessels of about 1000 tonnes numbered T1–T12 which saw much action in coastal waters. Gives operational details as well as plans.

An early history of this powerful ship. US title: The Tirpitz and the Battle for the North Atlantic.

The Tirpitz was a looming presence in Northern Europe. A fresh look at her impact.

BENNETT, G. H., BENNETT, R. & BENNETT, E. Bismarck: The Chase and Sinking of Hitler’s  Goliath (Britannia Naval Histories of World War II). 154, [6]p., illus. Plymouth: University of Plymouth Press, 2012. ISBN: 9781841023274.

Consists of the Admiralty’s Battle Summary No.5, along with the relevant sections of the   Fuhrer Conferences on Naval Affairs and two brief reminiscences from an Engine Room Artificer on Rodney and an Ordinary Seaman on Bismarck.

BISHOP, Patrick. Target Tirpitz: X-Craft, Agents and Dam-busters - The Epic Quest to Destroy Hitler's Mightiest Warship. xxvi, 390p., bibliog., illus., index. London: HarperPress, 2012. ISBN: 0007319231.

An excellent narrative account of the many attempts to sink what was regarded as a major threat. Published as The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship in the USA by Regnery in 2013 (ISBN: 9781621570035).

KOOP, Gerhard & SCHMOLKE, Klaus-Peter. Battleships of the Bismarck Class. Bismarck and Tirpitz: Culmination and Finale of German Battleship Construction. 159p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Greenhill; Annapolis: NIP, 1998. ISBN: 185367320X.

A heavily illustrated technical and operational account which was first published in Germany in 1990. Reprinted by Seaforth in 2014 (ISBN: 9781848321977).

KOOP, Gerhard, & SCHMOLKE, Klaus-Peter. Battleships of the Scharnhorst Class. The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau: The Backbone of the German Surface Forces at the Outbreak of War. 175p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Greenhill; Annapolis: NIP, 1999. ISBN: 185367365X.

An excellent heavily illustrated reference work, which combines detailed design description with operational histories and a critical analysis of design and performance. Reprinted by Seaforth in 2014 (ISBN: 9781848321922).

KOOP, Gerhard, & SCHMOLKE, Klaus-Peter. German Light Cruisers of World War II. 223p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Greenhill; Annapolis: NIP, 2002. ISBN: 1557503109.

A heavily illustrated history of the six light cruisers, published in Germany in 1983-94, which traces their building and wartime deployment, accompanied by much statistical material. Reprinted by Seaforth in 2014 (ISBN: 9781848321946).

KOOP, Gerhard, & SCHMOLKE, Klaus-Peter. German Destroyers of World War II. 225p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Greenhill; Annapolis: NIP, 2003. ISBN: 1853675407.

A detailed illustrated history, published in Germany in 1995, which traces the building and wartime deployment and includes many rare photographs. Reprinted by Seaforth in 2014 (ISBN. 9781848321939).

KOOP, Gerhard, & SCHMOLKE, Klaus-Peter. Heavy Cruisers of the Admiral Hipper Class. 208p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Greenhill; Annapolis: NIP, 2002. ISBN: 1853674346.

A heavily illustrated history of the five heavy cruisers of the class, profusely illustrated and which traces their building and wartime deployment, accompanied by much statistical material. Reprinted by Seaforth in 2014 (ISBN: 9781848321953).

KOOP, Gerhard, & SCHMOLKE, Klaus-Peter. Pocket Battleships of the Deutschland Class: Deutschland/Lützow, Admiral Scheer, Admiral Graf Spee.224p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Greenhill; Annapolis: NIP, 1999. ISBN: 1853674028.

A heavily illustrated technical and operational account which was first published in Germany.  Reprinted by Seaforth in 2014 (ISBN: 9781848321960).

Two well-known French naval historians describe the grand but finally tragic career of the ship.

FORSGREN, Jan. Sinking the Beast: The RAF 1944 Lancaster Raids Against Tirpitz. 160p. Stroud: Fonthill Media, 2014. ISBN: 1781553181.

Churchill dubbed her 'The Beast'. In late 1944 three RAF raids finally sank the battleship. A well researched account

KOOP, Gerhard, & SCHMOLKE, Klaus-Peter. Battleship Scharnhorst (Conway Maritime Modellers Series). 64p., bibliog., illus. London: Conway, 1998. ISBN: 0851777724.

A heavily illustrated and detailed description of the ship, with good plans.

KOOP, Gerhard, & SCHMOLKE, Klaus-Peter. Battleship Tirpitz (Conway Maritime Modellers Series). 56p., bibliog., illus. London: Conway, 1998. ISBN: 085177749X.

A heavily illustrated and detailed description of the ship, with good plans.

KNOWLES, Daniel. Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany’s Last Great Battleship. 315p., bibliog., illus., index. Stroud: Fonthill, 2018. ISBN:  9781781556696.

A fairly routine retelling of her story.

KONSTAM, Angus. Tirpitz in Norway: X-craft Midget Submarines Raid the Fjords, Operation Source 1943 (Raid 51). 80p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2019. ISBN: 9781472835857.

 A routine retelling of this heroic raid.

GARZKE, William H., DULIN, Robert O. & JURENS, William. Battleship Bismarck: a Design and Operational History. 610p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth; Annapolis, NIP, 2019. ISBN: 9781526759740.

Drawing on survivors' accounts and the authors' decades of experience in naval architecture, this offers a forensic analysis and engineering study of the design, operational career, and loss of the famous battleship.

IVESON, Tony & MILTON, Brian. The Lancaster and the Tirpitz 256p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Andre Deutsch, 2014. ISBN: 9780233004303

Written by a former Squadron Leader of the 617 'Dam Busters' Squadron, who took part in the Lancaster-bomber raid that finally sank the Tirpitz in November 1944, this was published to commemorate the raid's 70th anniversary. Full of first-hand memories that make this a very vivid account of the action.

KONSTAM, Angus. Sink the Tirpitz 1942–44: The RAF and Fleet Air Arm Duel with Germany's Mighty Battleship (Air Campaign, 7). 96p., bibliog., illus., index. Oxford: Osprey, 2018. ISBN: 9781472831590.

A succinct account of the various raids.

GREAT BRITAIN. Admiralty. German Capital Ships and Raiders in World War II. 2 vols., bibliog., illus., index. London: Frank Cass, 2002.

A compilation of battle reports prepared by the Admiralty in the 1940’s for internal use. Reprinted with an introduction by Eric Grove, these volumes include Battle Summaries 5, 11, 13, 24, 26, 27, 29., q.v.  ISBN: 0714652083 (Vol.1); 0714652830 (Vol. 2). They cover the Graf Spee and Bismarck actions, attacks on the Tirpitz, the sinking of the Scharnhorst and actions against armed merchant raiders.   

BALLANTYNE, Iain. Bismarck: 24 Hours to Doom. The Final Act in the Mission to Sink Bismarck. x, 102p., London: Ipso Books, 2016. ISBN: 9781911295464.

A good retelling of the story, which focuses on the final twenty-four hours of the Bismarck. Makes extensive use of transcripts of interviews with surviving veterans.

SANTARINI, Marco. Bismarck and Hood: The Battle of the Denmark Strait. A Technical Analysis for a New Perspective. 169p., bibliog., illus., index. Stroud: Fonthill, 2013. ISBN: 9781781552315.

An Italian Admiral and gunnery specialist has produced  a very dry technical account of the action replete with mathematical formulas and calculations of what happened.

JACKSON, Robert. The Bismarck. 96p., illus., index. Staplehurst: Spellmount, 2002. ISBN: 1862271739.

A detailed account of her development and construction, comparisons with other German capital ships and chapters on her brief career. Finally, there is an account of the building and career of the Tirpitz. Profusely illustrated, this is a slim volume but crammed with facts.

BUSCH, Fritz-Otto. The Drama of the Scharnhorst: A Factual Account from the German Viewpoint. 186p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Hale; New York: Rinehart, 1956.

A history of the German warship eventually sunk in 1943. US title: Holocaust at Sea. Reprinted several times. In 1974 printed in paperback by Futura Publications as The Sinking of the Scharnhorst: The German Account, (ISBN: 0860071308) then in 2004 by Cerberus  with the same title ISBN: 1841450383, one of the Fortunes of War series.         

A detailed account of all 22 British attacks on the Tirpitz by Bomber Command, Fleet Air Arm, and X-Craft.

A good selection of pictures.

The usual wide selection of photographs.

Mainly concerned with her fatal final cruise.

A popular history of the ship which rarely sailed, but whose existence dramatically affected the Royal Navy's dispositions.

A largely photographic examination of the ship.

A photographic account of the ship and her brief career.

A collection of photographs from private collections and obscure archives.

This is the story in 40 pages of text and over 100 pages of pictures of the "lone wolf of the north." Although she mainly lurked in Norwegian fiords, this tied down a disproportionate part of the Royal Navy. The British attacks are described.

A slight but readable and well researched account of one of the great might have beens.

An update of his earlier book, informed by the discovery of the wreck in 2006.

A well-illustrated but limited introduction.

A popular history of the German warship which was involved in the Bismarck chase and the Channel Dash. She survived the war and was used by the Americans for testing nuclear devices.

A well-illustrated record and itinerary of her career.

A profusely illustrated account of her last cruise coupled with the tale of her discovery by a deep sea underwater camera vehicle. Two remarkable tales.

The infamous "Salmon and Gluckstein" which so mortified the Royal Navy with the Channel Dash. Based on official records and personal accounts, this is a sound account of the famous pair.

A solid professional account of the careers and fate of Germany's seven major capital ships.

The story of the destruction of the Scharnhorst and the clandestine activities around the German naval base in northern Norway are interwoven with the author's personal account of how, after a search lasting many years, he finally succeeded in locating and filming the wreck of the battle cruiser.

Makes full use of the revelations on ULTRA, of particular value in the case of Tirpitz, whose presence in Norway dictated naval dispositions. US title: The Life and Death of the Tirpitz.

The then commander of the Scheer gives a popular account of her successful cruise in the winter of 1940–41. US title: Pocket Battleship.

Small technical pocketbooks. The first volume covers regular naval vessels and the second auxiliaries.

Describes sixty-nine surface actions involving the surface fleet in a mix of narrative and tabular material. An unusual and useful approach.

A technical and operational account of the elegant heavy cruisers.

A graphic and lively account of the various British attacks aimed at removing this major threat from the Norwegian fiords.

A mainly technical description of the two ships by a former gunnery officer.

A full description of the ship, with a brief history.

A full description and brief history.

The senior survivor of Bismarck, who served in her throughout her career, gives his view of the ship's story.