German Battleship Helgoland (Hardback)
As Detailed in the Original Builders' Plans
Series: As detailed in the original builders' plans
Pages: 144
ISBN: 9781526747594
Published: 12th March 2019
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Alongside its incomparable archive of British warship plans, the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich also holds a selection of drawings from foreign sources. Among the gems of this collection are a number of German warships dating from the First World War era. These are official plans, acquired by the Naval Inter-Allied Commission of Control as part of the peace treaty, and very similar in style, detail and draughtsmanship to Royal Navy ‘as fitted’ general arrangements, including the use of coloured line and washes.
The very best of these, in terms of the completeness of coverage and the visual impact of the drawings, relates to the battleship SMS Helgoland, launched in 1909. The name-ship of the second class of dreadnoughts designed by the Germans, she was a big advance over the earlier Westfalen class, having 12in guns that matched those of her British opponents. She served in the High Seas Fleet throughout the war, fought at Jutland, and was ceded to Britain as part of the peace terms – which is probably why the plans are at Greenwich – and was broken up in 1924.
This book is the latest in a series based entirely on original draughts which depict famous warships in an unprecedented degree of detail. Using the latest scanning technology to make digital copies of the highest quality, it reproduces complete sets in full colour, with many close-ups and enlargements that make every aspect clear and comprehensible. Extensive captions point the reader to important features to be found in the plans, and an introduction covers the background to the design. The result is a novel form of anatomy that will be a revelation to any warship enthusiast.
This book is an invaluable reference to students of German warships of the First World War and great value to any modellers of German dreadnoughts, especially the Helgoland Class.
IPMS Magazine, Issue 3 - 2021
As featured on Le Fauteuil de Colbert
Le Fauteuil de Colbert
Reviewed alongside The Last British Battleship
The Northern Mariner / Le marin du nord, XXIX, No. 2 (Summer 2019)
Despite their differences, both of these volumes should find their way into the libraries of battleship buffs and perhaps modelers as well.
Beautifully produced, it represents a significant piece of research by an author who is well versed in the subject, having authored an earlier book The Kaiser’s Battlefleet: German Capital Ships 1871-1918. The Introduction is well-written and informative, and I found, a little bit to my surprise, that I was both fascinated and intrigued by this detailed insight into the layout and construction of these powerful vessels. Very reasonably priced at £30 RRP, I suspect that most NR readers would be unable to resist picking the book up from a coffee table!
The Naval Review, print & online
Read the full review here
Personally, I would have liked to have seen more of the ship’s history but this is only a small criticism of an otherwise excellent book.
Warship World, September/October
This book has tonnes of detailed information to go with the beautifully detailed original plans. Recommended reference material for all modellers with an eye for detail.
Vintage Airfix
Read the full review here
Featured in
Model Boats, August 2019
Modelers, historians, ship aficionados, and anyone with a vague interest in battleships will love this book. I certainly do, and eagerly await further volumes in the series.
John's Machines
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In German Battleship Helgoland, Adrian Dodson takes an unusual look at this German World War I battleship through the lens of technical warship plans maintained by the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich. The result is a quite mesmerising coffee-table book in a growing Seaforth Publishing series of similar volumes for other warships.
Wargames Illustrated, Neil Smith, German Battleship Helgoland, 2019
‘German Battleship’ Helgoland’ is another excellent book for anyone interested in maritime affairs. As with many of the books in this series it opens one’s eyes to much more than is visible on the original plans. It is hard to put down.
Australian Naval Institute
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Impressive. Another great example of zeal for historical preservation.
Miniaturas JM
Read the full Spanish review here
Every model builder who is interested in detailed information about the imperial German large ships will enjoy this book.
Model Ship World
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The print quality and the number and detail of the schematic draughts used here are all very high... I'd say this is an excellent book.
A Question Of Scale, Seb Palmer
Read the full review here
Through the book, plans are supported by captions and annotation. There are also extended captions and very informative introduction. This book is likely to become collectable as a valuable addition to any serious naval history library or modeller's library.
Firetrench
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A beautiful and accurate book.
Old Barbed Wire Blog
Read the full Italian review here
This book should be considered an absolute must-buy for anybody wishing to build a detailed model of SMS Helgoland or her sister ships. I would also recommend this book to anybody who has more than a passing interest in either WWI Maritime subjects or technical drawings in general.
Great War IPMS
As featured in
The Bookseller Buyers Guide
About Aidan Dodson
Aidan Dodson is Hon Professor of Egyptology in the Department of Anthropology & Archaeology at the University of Bristol, where he has taught since 1996. He has also maintained parallel research interests in naval history, and worked as a civil servant in defence procurement for 25 years, including project leader for the offshore patrol vessel HMS Clyde. He is the author of more than 300 articles and reviews, plus some twenty books, including The Kaiser’s Battlefleet: German capital ships 1871–1918 ,Before the Battlecruiser: the big cruiser in the world’s navies 1865–1910 and Spoils of War: the fates of the ex-enemy fleets after the two World Wars, with Serena Cant, all published by Seaforth.
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