All naval forces have their impressive and headline catching capital ships. In the last century, it was the battleship, aircraft carrier or heavy cruiser that got all the press. But these types were often only a tiny portion of a country's navy, and due to the high cost of building, operating and manpower, were often not that many. If you look at the roster of vessels of any navy then and now, it will consist of many more smaller ships, whose job is just as important if not more so, than that of the capital vessels. This would be anywhere from minesweepers to small escort vessels to transports and even to accommodation ships and tenders.

This edition in Osprey's New Vanguard series has a look at these vessels which operated in the Kriegsmarine during and in several cases, long after WWII. It was with some of these smaller ships that a German sailor could have uninterrupted service from before WWII into the 1960s and 1970s. The most important of these types were the various minsweepers and mine-layers. These ships had a most important role of ensuring safe passage in and out of ports and also maintaining and sewing mine fields to prevent enemy ships from entering. It was with these vessels which were used post war by British controlled German flotillas that were busy sweeping mines from the various German controlled ports in the North Sea, Baltic and along the Norway coast.

Other types covered in the book are torpedo ships, transports, patrol ships, tenders, the state yacht and even training ships that operated under sail. It is these latter ships that have had the longest life with some still extant. A prime example is the ex-Horst Wessel that is operating as the Coast Guard's USS Eagle.

All of this and more are contained within the pages of this excellent reference book that is also a great read. It is one of those that your editor found to be particularly engaging and I give it my highest recommendation.

 January 2009

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