Except for the strength of the U-boat fleet at the height of the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Navy, or Kriegsmarine, was never a match for the Royal Navy, even though the latter was overstretched and fighting in the Atlantic, Pacific, the Mediterranean and the Arctic. It was not meant to be that way. Hitler and his naval staff had a vision for a large and well-balanced fleet, including aircraft carriers. PLAN Z was the name given for the massive fleet that Germany intended to build, However the Plan relied on the outbreak of the war not occurring at least until 1942. This book examines the way in which such a fleet could have influenced the major battles between the Royal Navy and the Germans. Plan Z starts by looking at Germany's history and ambitions as a maritime power. The relationships between the three armed forces and between them and the Fuhrer are also examined, along with the country's economic and industrial position. SALES A fascinating expose of Hitler's plans to challenge the Royal Navy's mastery of the seas Little is known of the ambitions Kriegs marine expansion programme Groundbreaking research by one of the UK's leading naval historians Had PLAN Z come to fruition the course of the war may well have been changed AUTHOR David Wragg is the author of 25 books on aviation and naval history Nine have been published abroad and others translated. Among those published by Pen & Sword are Malta: The Last Great Siege (2003), Sacrifice for Stalin (2005), The Escort Carrier in World War II (2005) and At War with Our Ally (2006).

Author Biography

David Wragg has published several highly praised books on railway history, and he produced a textbook for the old Chartered Institute of Transport. He has also written on railways for the Sunday Telegraph, The Spectator, The Scotsman, and the Yorkshire Post. His Wartime on the Railways was reviewed by Rail as 'very readable' and by Railways Illustrated as 'as a fascinating insight and also an important record', and Railways Illustrated chose his Southern Railway Handbook as 'Book of the Month'. One of his most recent publications is The Historical Dictionary of Railways in the British Isles. He is also well known as a writer of military history and provide the British, Australian, Canadian and New Zealand material for On Seas Contested- The Seven Great Navies of the Second World War, published in 2010 by the Naval Institute Press in the United States and which won the Stonebooks award for "The Best Non-Fiction book on World War II" to have been published that year.'