This addition to the Images of War series concentrates on the Schnellbootwaffe from its inception through its use during WWII. Little has really been understood about its operations and the service was fairly successful. These boats were called 'E-boats' (Enemy boats) by the Allies and operated like British MTBs and US PT boats. They were armed with at least two reloadable torpedo tubes along with a variety of guns from standard machine guns up to 40mm cannon.

We are provided a full history of the development of these boats as well as operations of all the various flotillas. This is the strong point of this book. Unlike others I have read in this series, this is not as photo intensive, being mostly a history of these boats. Though there are a fair number of WWII era photos, there are very few of the S-boats themselves. These images are mostly in in the initial history of the type and of those boats that were surrendered at the end of the war.

In all, this does make for an excellent read. Not so much for the number of period photos of the boats, but it may also be that there isn't that much out there from which to choose. In all, it depends on what you want. If it is a well done history, this is a good choice. If it is for photos, perhaps not as much.

January 2022

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