Warship Pictorial No. 15 - Kriegsmarine Schnellboote

By  Steve Wiper

2001 Classic Warships Pub. (Tucson, Arizona), oblong 11 x 8 1/4 inches tall stapled paperbound in glossy color pictorial covers, copiously illustrated with black-and-white and color photographs and drawings showing camouflage in color, 72 pp. The slightest bit of bumping to the lower tip of the front cover. Otherwise, a near fine copy - clean, bright and unmarked - of this uncommon, authoritative pictorial guide to the S Boats of the German Navy. 

Traces the German Navy's famed 'S Boat' torpedo boats through their careers, highlighting the numerous variants. An incredible collection of photographs clearly show the differences in the early boats with their open torpedo mounts and the later ones with their more streamlined appearance. The armament on these boats is well covered in detailed photos and drawings that show the many options they had. All the weapons from the machine gun to the torpedoes are well documented.

There are a number of sharp color photos showing not only the S-boats, but also the tenders and dock facilities. You get a sense of what life was like serving on the S-boats, as they shown in all types of operation. The centerfold consists of several color profiles showing many of the colorful camouflage patterns applied to these boats. A succinct but thorough review, with 171 black & white photos, 8 color photos, 20 sets of line drawings, 11 color illustrations, 4 pages of history, and 4 pages of statistics.