Kaiserliches Marine – The Real Thing

Continuing on our exploration of the fleets of WW1, WW2 and the cold war, here is an overview of arguably the second or third ranked fleet on earth in 1914, and certainly the largest fleet on Continental Europe, and biggest navy Germany ever had in its history. Neither the Prussian Navy, Kriegsmarine, or Bundesmarine ever came close. This project started in February 2022 on the path of the previous 2019 WW1 British Royal Navy. The “Real Thing” concept posters is about displaying individual vessels in service with their own livery and different eras if needed.
-For modellers it’s a unique collection of references, all in the same sight. For Historians and amateurs, it is the concrete visualization of naval power.

Not only this imposes to add known camo patterns, ship by ship but modifications over time, to really give something else than a copy-paste. Each of these posters is a considerable undertaking, in statistics, data records and pictures/photos. On the long run, each of the major fleets of WW2 will be covered that way, knowing that minor fleets already are covered with each new page on the matter on naval encyclopedia. On the long run, this poster started 5 years ago will be updated with new HD illustrations of many ships, destroyers indeed will come next after submarines between 2025 and 2026. If you note anything out of place, ring me up !

The Kaiserliches Marine (Emperor’s own Navy) and its extension, the Hochseeflotte (High Seas Fleet) was a quite potent force in 1914. This was the superlative German “super navy”, a mighty asset in the hands of the Emperor Wilhelm II.
Built in particular Admiral Franz Von Hipper, it rose from insignificance in the 1870s and the Unification of the Empire, to the world’s second largest, only to the Royal Navy.
It was only for the personal Emperor’s will’s to rival his Cousin, King Georges, but also a tool to help create and maintain Germany’s future Colonial Empire. What started in 1906 was a naval race, which ended in 1914.
Unfortunately, from the mostly Indecisive match of Jutland in May 1916, the German fleet was mostly inactive (apart for submarines, the feared U-Boats) until its demise in Scapa Flow in 1919. Now seen by contemporary German Historians as “a waste of money” this still represented the largest Navy Germany ever had, and for this reason, still the subject of fascination, documentaries, book or studies today.
This poster will also be found on the poster’s page, as well as in the Kaiserliches Marine page itself. It is free to download, share, transform at the scale it is presented. It can be printed as well, contact me for this.