Konstam, Angus/Palmer, Ian British Battleship vs German Battleship: 1941-43

At the outbreak of World War II, the four key Capital German ships comprised the "Bismarck", "Tirpitz", "Scharnhorst" and "Gneisenau". Their primary threats where the Royal Navy's "King George V­"-class battleships, the most modern British battleships in commission during World War II and some of the Navy's most powerful vessels. Five ships of this class were built: HMS "King George V", "Prince of Wales", "Duke of York", "Howe" (late 1942) and "Anson" (late 1942). The powerful vessels in this class would clash with the pride of the Kriegsmarine in two major engagements: first, during the Battle of the Denmark Strait and subsequent pursuit of the Bismarck between 24 and 27 May 1941, and again at the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943. Alongside the "King George V"-class, the Royal Navy's two-­ship "Nelson"-­class ("Nelson" and "Rodney"), comprised Britain's only other battleships built in the interwar years. Both ships served extensively in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Indian oceans during the war, but their moment of fame came when "Rodney" (together with "King George V") chased down and bombarded the doomed "Bismarck" in May 1941. This superbly detailed addition to the Duel series compares and contrasts the design and development of these opposing capital ships, and describes the epic clashes on the high seas that ended with the destruction of the Kriegsmarine's major naval assets.

These mighty warships were to clash in a series of naval engagements between 1941 and 1943: 1. in May 1941, during the pursuit of the "Bismarck" by the British Home Fleet; 2. in December 1943, in the waters of the North Cape, in the hunt for the German battlecruiser "Scharnhorst". This detailed account compares and contrasts the design and development of these opposing capital ships and describes the epic clashes on the high seas that ended with the sinking of the Kriegsmarine's most prestigious units.