HMS Duke of York was the third of the King George V class battleships to be built after a lull in battleship design and construction following the signing of the Washington Naval Treaty. The battleship was laid down on May 5, 1937 at John Brown & Company Limited, Shipbuilding & Engineering Works in Clydebank, Scotland. She was commissioned four and a half years later, on November 4, 1941.

The battleship USS Alabama is one of the very few "big ones" that saw service in World War II and survive to this day as museum ships.

The first of two volumes which tell the stories of and illustrate all the German battleships that were in Kriegsmarine service during WWII, complete with full technical specifications.

The second and final volume which tells the stories of, and illustrates, all the German battleships that were in Kriegsmarine service during WWII.