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(More customer reviews)This is a fascinating book, because it is essentially what the subtitle says - the British Royal Navy's recognition and intelligence guide to the Imperial German High Seas Fleet. Friedman write the introduction to this reprint of that work, and ties in the history of such guides through WWII and to intelligence today, which is a fascinating little essay of its own.
The main points of this book are the details - including some operational details - of the German warships. Some ships already lost at the time of this volume (1917) have negligible coverage, so if you want to know about SCHARNHORST and GNEISENAU do not look here. But the details on the extant ships of 1917 are surprisingly detailed, SEYDLITZ especially - it appears that the claim that the British had acquired her blueprints is true, based on the extremely thorough and accurate coverage of that vessel. There are also details such as the forward guns of German dreadnoughts not generally being fired at night (to avoid blinding the bridge crews in the days before flashless powder); how firing orders were transmitted to destroyer gun crews, and much more. Thus this is a most useful book for the serious student of the WWI German Navy even if the data is seen through a British filter.
Click Here to see more reviews about: German Warships of World War I: The Royal Navy's Official Guide to the Capital Ships, Cruisers, Destroyers, Submarines and Small Craft, 1914-1918
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