Product details
- ISBN 9781472859334
- Weight: 167g
- Dimensions: 182 x 246mm
- Publication Date: 28 Mar 2024
- Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Paperback
- Language: English
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A history of the Soviet Navy's cruisers, from the opening shots of the October Revolution through to the combat they saw during World War II.
The Soviet Navy of World War II boasted a cruiser fleet that was among the most eclectic to see service. In this book, noted military historian and Soviet specialist Alexander Hill explains the role of cruisers in the Soviet Navy from the dramatic days of the October Revolution of 1917 through to the struggle they fought with Nazi Germany during World War II.
Illustrated throughout with rare photos and original artwork, including a cutaway of Aurora, famous for its role in the Bolshevik October Revolution, and with profiles of the key classes, this book outlines the Soviets' development of a cruiser force. Having inherited a number of cruisers from the Imperial Russian Navy, the new Soviet Navy went on to complete two unfinished Tsarist light cruisers during the 1920s. In the late 1930s, the Soviets built their first large warships, the Kirov class, and in 1940 Nazi Germany sold the unfinished heavy cruiser Lützow to the USSR. The final cruiser-sized warship to see action was the former Imperial royal yacht Shtandart, renamed Marti and armed as a minelayer, which was used in the defence of Leningrad.
Researched in the main from Russian-language sources, this study explores the cruiser fleet that saw considerable action in World War II, particularly in support of the Red Army.
Alexander Hill is an associate professor in military history at the University of Calgary in Canada, and specialises in Soviet military history from 1917 to 1945. He has published a range of books and articles that cover not only the Red Army at war but also the Soviet navy and Soviet partisan movement.
