Gary Staff has had a life-long passion for the history of the German Imperial Navy and has translated many contemporary and original documents on the subject. He contibuted to a Channel 4 documentary on Jutland, exploring the Imperial Navy's experience of the battle. He grew up in Australia and currently lives on the island of Palau.

Paul Wright has painted ships of all kinds for most of his career, specialising in steel and steam warships from the late 19th century to the present day. Paul's art has illustrated the works of Patrick O'Brien, Dudley Pope and C.S. Forester amongst others, and hangs in many corporate and private collections all over the world. A Member of the Royal Society of Marine Artists, Paul lives and works in Surrey.

Supported by official documents, personal accounts, official drawings and specially commissioned artwork, this volume is an informative history of the key classes Kaiser, König and Bayern that formed the backbone of the German Imperial Navy throughout World War I, detailing the technological revolution that had taken place to enable the building of these large dreadnought classes.