Fully illustrated, this study examines World War II''s most dramatic single-ship action, in which Stephen Hopkins fought a heavily armed German auxiliary cruiser, Stier . When the United States entered World War II, the Battle of the Atlantic was already raging. The so-called ''Liberty Ships'', built at breakneck speed and in huge numbers during 1941-45, were crucial to the Allied war effort. While the greatest successes of Germany''s auxiliary cruisers occurred in 1939-41, this book describes how one of these ingenious warships, Stier , confronted the Liberty Ship Stephen Hopkins in an epic single-ship duel on September 27, 1942. Stephen Hopkins carried one 4in gun, two 37mm cannon and six machine guns, all primarily intended for antisubmarine and antiaircraft purposes. Stier had six 150mm, one 75mm, one twin 37mm, four single 20mm and four 533mm torpedo tubes. At the end of this grossly uneven fight, Stier had sunk Stephen Hopkins , but was so badly damaged it had to be scuttled. While this battle has garnered much attention, Mark Lardas explores other clashes between the German surface raiders and their Liberty Ship quarry during 1942. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside archive photographs, this lively study investigates the important role both ship types played as the Battle of the Atlantic reached its climax.

Autorentext

Mark Lardas has always been fascinated by things related to the sea and sky. From building models of ships and aircraft as a teen, he then studied Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, but his interest in aviation led him to take a job on the then-new Space Shuttle program, where he worked for the next 30 years as a navigation engineer. Currently he develops commercial aircraft systems as a quality assurance manager. He has written numerous books on military, naval or maritime history.

Klappentext

Fully illustrated, this study examines World War II's most dramatic single-ship action, in which Stephen Hopkins fought a heavily armed German auxiliary cruiser, Stier.

When the United States entered World War II, the Battle of the Atlantic was already raging. The so-called 'Liberty Ships', built at breakneck speed and in huge numbers during 1941-45, were crucial to the Allied war effort. While the greatest successes of Germany's auxiliary cruisers occurred in 1939-41, this book describes how one of these ingenious warships, Stier, confronted the Liberty Ship Stephen Hopkins in an epic single-ship duel on September 27, 1942.

Stephen Hopkins carried one 4in gun, two 37mm cannon and six machine guns, all primarily intended for antisubmarine and antiaircraft purposes. Stier had six 150mm, one 75mm, one twin 37mm, four single 20mm and four 533mm torpedo tubes. At the end of this grossly uneven fight, Stier had sunk Stephen Hopkins, but was so badly damaged it had to be scuttled.

While this battle has garnered much attention, Mark Lardas explores other clashes between the German surface raiders and their Liberty Ship quarry during 1942. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and mapping alongside archive photographs, this lively study investigates the important role both ship types played as the Battle of the Atlantic reached its climax.

Inhalt

Introduction
Chronology
Design and Development
The Strategic Situation
Technical Specifications
The Combatants
Combat
Statistics and Analysis
Aftermath
Further Reading
Index