Products of Germany's race to rearm in the late 1930s, heavy cruisers of the Admiral Hipper class were, for their time, among the world's most formidable and revolutionary warships. In World War II they participated in the battle for Norway and Operation Cerberus, and were part of anti-convoy operations and Baltic patrols. This valuable reference book traces the development and building of ships in the class and presents the career history of each vessel, drawn from ships' logs and official battle reports. Lavishly illustrated, the narrative is accompanied by technical plans, camouflage drawings, and hundreds of previously unpublished photographs, many of them from the private collections of former crewmen. Following the popular Battleships of the Scharnhorst Class and Battleships of the Deutschland Class, this volume will be a welcome addition to any naval history bookshelf.