Auxiliary minesweepers (Sperrbrechers) of the Kriegsmarine Germany 1939 - 1945
Remembering the horrors of the mined blockade of Germany in the First World War¸ the leadership of the German fleet on the eve of the new world war began to develop a plan for the conversion of mercantile transport vessels into auxiliary minesweepers (sperrbrecher). Preference was given to a diesel-powered ships. During the conversion¸ it was planned to strengthen the ship's hull¸ increase unsinkability¸ install weapons¸ and equip it with the necessary equipment to destroy all types of sea mines using the "self-blasting" method. In this reference book¸ the reader will get acquainted with the auxiliary minesweepers of the German fleet of the Second World War. A brief technical description¸ combat career¸ fate and illustrations are given for each ship. The reference data on 112 ships¸ more than 140 black-and-white photographs of ships from the author's personal archive are posted. This book gives a complete picture of the auxiliary minesweepers of the German fleet¸ it will be interesting for both experts and amateurs of military history and will take its rightful place in the collection of books on naval history.