The Kriegsmarine was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war Reichsmarine (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The Kriegsmarine was one of three official branches, along with the Heer and the Luftwaffe, of the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces from 1935 to 1945.
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic-warfare role and enforcing a naval blockade against enemy shipping. The primary targets of the U-boat campaigns in both wars were the merchant convoys bringing supplies from Canada and other parts of the British Empire, and from the United States, to the United Kingdom and to the Soviet Union and the Allied territories in the Mediterranean. German submarines also targeted Brazilian merchant ships during both World Wars and, twice over, precipitated Brazil's decision to give up its neutral stance and declare war on Germany.
The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allied naval blockade of Germany, announced the day after the declaration of war, and Germany's subsequent counter-blockade. The campaign peaked from mid-1940 through to the end of 1943.
Silent Hunter is a World War II submarine combat simulation for MS-DOS, developed by Aeon Electronic Entertainment and published by Strategic Simulations in 1996. The game takes place in the Pacific War during World War II, the player commanding a submarine of the United States Navy. Most contemporary US submarines and Japanese warships are featured along with some generic merchant ships.
A submarine simulator is usually a computer game in which the player commands a submarine. The usual form of the game is to go on a series of missions, each of which features a number of encounters where the goal is to sink surface ships and to survive counterattacks by destroyers. Submarine simulators are notable for the highly-variable pace of the game; it may take hours of simulated time to get into position to attack a well-defended convoy, and sub simulators typically include an option for players to adjust the ratio of real time to simulated time up and down as desired.
Red Baron is a combat flight simulation video game for MS-DOS created by Damon Slye at Dynamix. It was published by Sierra On-Line in 1990.
Star Wars: X-Wing is a space simulation video game, the first of the X-Wing combat flight simulation games series. The player's character flies starfighters, including the eponymous X-wing, for the Rebel Alliance as part of a narrative that precedes and parallels the events of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
Ace of Aces is a combat flight simulation video game developed by Artech Digital Entertainment and published in 1986 by Accolade in North America and U.S. Gold in Europe. It was released for the Amstrad CPC, Atari 8-bit family, Atari 7800, Commodore 64, MSX, MS-DOS, Master System, and ZX Spectrum. Set in World War II, the player flies a RAF Mosquito long range fighter-bomber equipped with rockets, bombs and a cannon. Missions include destroying German fighter planes, bombers, V-1 flying bombs, U-boats, and trains. In 1988 Atari Corporation released a version on cartridge styled for the then-new Atari XEGS.
Aces of the Pacific is a combat flight simulation game developed by Dynamix for MS-DOS compatible operating systems and published by Sierra On-Line in 1992. The game takes place during World War II. Players can choose a single mission or a career path in United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, United States Marines, Imperial Japanese Army, or Imperial Japanese Navy. Dynamix followed-up the game with Aces Over Europe in 1993.
Friedrich Krupp Germaniawerft was a German shipbuilding company, located in the harbour at Kiel, and one of the largest and most important builders of U-boats for the Kaiserliche Marine in World War I and the Kriegsmarine in World War II. The original company was founded in 1867 but went bankrupt and was bought out by Friedrich Krupp. Krupp was very interested in building warships and in the time before the First World War built a number of battleships for the Kaiserliche Marine, including SMS Posen, SMS Prinzregent Luitpold, SMS Kronprinz, and SMS Sachsen. A total of 84 U-boats were built in the shipyard during the war. After the war it returned to the normal production of yachts and transports.
Steel Horizon is a turn-based strategy game developed by British studio Climax Group and published by Konami for the Sony PlayStation Portable and Nintendo DS. It was released in March 2007 in the United States for the Nintendo DS, with a later release for the PlayStation Portable in July 2007.
Wolfpack is a World War II submarine simulator published by Broderbund in the 1990s, for Amiga, Atari ST, DOS, and Macintosh. It simulates combat actions between wolf packs of German U-boats and convoys of Allied destroyers and merchant vessels in the Battle of the Atlantic.
Jane's Combat Simulations Fighters Anthology is a compilation of combat flight simulators which includes U.S. Navy Fighters, U.S. Navy Fighters - Marine Fighters, Advanced Tactical Fighters, Advanced Tactical Fighters - Nato Fighters, U.S. Navy Fighters '97, and Advanced Tactical Fighters Gold integrated into one game.
Kurogane no Houkou 2: Warship Commander is a 2002 vehicle simulation game computer game for Microsoft Windows. It was ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2004; this port was localized and titled Naval Ops: Commander.
Super Battleship is a naval simulator video game released for the Genesis and Super NES in 1993. The game is strictly single-player and is primarily a strategy game with some real-time elements. It is based on the Battleship board game by the Milton Bradley Company.
P.T.O. IV, released as Teitoku no Ketsudan IV (提督の決断IV) in Japan, is a World War II-themed strategy for the PlayStation 2 and PC produced by Koei. It focuses on naval combat in the maritime theaters of World War II, encompassing the Pacific Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, with the option of playing as one of four major maritime powers of the time: Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, or the United States. P.T.O. IV is the latest game in Koei's P.T.O. series.
Star Wars: X-Wing is a series of space flight simulator video games based in the Star Wars media franchise that attempts to simulate the fictional experience of starfighter combat, while remaining faithful to the movies. The player took the role of a pilot of the Rebel Alliance, and, in later games, the Galactic Empire. To complete the games, players must complete missions such as simple dogfights with opposition starfighters, reconnaissance and inspection tasks, escort duty for freighters or capital ships, or attacks on larger opposition ships. In addition to dogfighting designed to resemble the free-wheeling duels of World War I, the games also offered the challenge of managing power resources and wingmen, and using weapons effectively.
Das Boot: German U-boat Simulation is a submarine simulator game designed by Paul Butler & Rick Banks and published in 1990 for Amiga and MS-DOS systems by Three-Sixty Pacific. It was inspired by the 1973 novel of the same name and its film adaptation.
A type commander in the Kriegsmarine was a permanently assigned administrative officer in the organization of the Kriegsmarine which oversaw the development, deployment, and in some cases operational activities of the various classes of German naval vessels. Due to cross jurisdiction with the Navy group commanders, who tactically commanded all vessels at sea, some type commanders were little more than ceremonial officers who held a title with little authority. Others, such as Karl Dönitz who commanded the German U-boat force, exercised near total independence and held enormous authority, both operationally and administrative.
