ABSTRACT
It is the intention of this volume to describe the development and discussions about the strategy of the Soviet Navy and her shipbuilding programmes, so no operational history of the ‘Great Patriotic War’ and especially the naval war in the Baltic, the Black Sea and the Arctic can be given here. There are now many more recent publications in English, German and Russian, which are based on the now accessible sources of both sides, to be consulted for detailed information about the operations at sea. 2 Here the events of the war are only mentioned in connection with the actual strength of the Soviet Fleets at selected dates, the situation of the bases and shipbuilding yards, and decisions about changes in the shipbuilding programmes and the development of the ship and submarine designs and shipbuilding during the war.
