Recently published English language booksThere are all the English language books found in the system that have been published from 2000 to this day. If you think we are missing some please let us know.  | by - Ed Offley
How a Small Band of Allied Sailors Defeated the U-boats and Won the Battle of the Atlantic
2011, Basic Books
ISBN 046501397X
Hardcover, 512 pages
The United States experienced its most harrowing military disaster of World War II not in 1941 at Pearl Harbor but in the period from 1942 to 1943, in Atlantic coastal waters from Newfoundland to the Caribbean. Sinking merchant ships with impunity, German U-boats threatened the lifeline between the United States and Britain, very nearly denying the Allies their springboard onto the European Continent--a loss that would have effectively cost the Allies the war.
In Turning the Tide, author Ed Offley tells the gripping story of how, during a twelve-week period in the spring of 1943, a handful of battle-hardened American, British, and Canadian sailors turned the tide in the Atlantic. Using extensive archival research and interviews with key survivors, Offley places the reader at the heart of the most decisive maritime battle of World War II. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - John Peterson
U-482 and the Sinking of Empire Heritage 1944
2011, The History Press
ISBN 0752458833
Paperback, 192 pages
In the autumn of 1944 the Second World War was coming to an end. In the Atlantic the U-boats had been beaten back through a massive programme of Allied shipbuilding combined with tactical, technological and intelligence improvements. The threat to Allied shipping had diminished. But it had not disappeared, and a lone U-boat on its first active patrol slipped into the North Channel; in just a few days five ships lay broken on the seabed including the Empire Heritage, one of the largest Allied ships lost in the entire war. Also lost was the Jacksonville, an American tanker sailing out of New York. Many of those lost burned to death in the sea. The massive convoy itself, HX-305, of which these vessels formed a part, is fascinating In Darkest Before Dawn John Peterson presents the story for the first time of how U-482 managed to slip undetected into the busy shipping lanes of the North Channel and carry out the last great U-boat patrol of the war. It is the story of the attack, the aftermath and the men involved, including the aristocratic U-boat commander von Matushka, who was present when the Bismarck was sunk earlier in the war - was he driven by revenge to torpedo the Pinto, a rescue ship trying to pick up survivors - an act that some claimed to be a war crime? Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Peter Dornan
The Story of Captain George Hunt and the Ultor
2011, Pen and Sword
ISBN 1848843216
Hardcover, 192 pages
Diving Stations is the inspiring story of Captain George Hunt's career. Born in Uganda and then educated in Glasgow, he was determined to join the Navy and at 13 years old he entered HMS Conway.
His prewar years saw him serving worldwide. In 1939, on the outbreak of war he was already serving in submarines. Over the next six years he was rammed twice, sunk once and had hundred of depth charges dropped around him. He gave more than he got! While in command of the Unity Class Submarine Ultor - mainly in the Mediterranean - he and his crew accounted for an astonishing 20 enemy vessels sunk by torpedo and 8 by gunfire as well as damaging another 4 ships. His fifteenth mission was described by the Admiralty as 'unsurpassed in the Annals of the Mediterranean Submarine Flotilla'.
After the War George continued his distinguished naval career becoming Senior Naval Officer West Indies (SNOWI). He emigrated to Australia where he lives today. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Koerver, Hans Joachim
2010, LIS Reinisch
ISBN 3902433795
786 pages
The book is completely based on British Admiralty WWI sources from the National Archives, Kew, UK: prisoner statements, Intelligence analysis, deciphered W/T, reports of sunken ships.
It offers an incredible amount of detail about German Submarine Warfare 1914-1918: the technical design of the German submarines, their officers and men, their tactics, their cruises, their victims and their opponents.
Everything you need to know about the first submarine war and its theatres of war spreading from the US East Coast to the Mediterranean and from the Arctic to West Africa, about food and life on board, the careers of ordinary sailors, petty officers and officers, about aces like von Arnauld de la Periere with 500.000 BRT of ships sunk, about the German submarine construction program and the training of the crews. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Ron Young and Pamela Armstrong
Submarine Wrecks of the United Kingdom: Volume Two
2009, The History Press
ISBN 0752447890
Paperback, 352 pages
Volume 2 of Ron Young and Pamela Armstrong’s informative trilogy on submarine wrecks of the British Isles focuses on the South Coast, from Beachey Head in Sussex down to the Isles of Scilly. More than 150 British submarine and U-boat wrecks in British coastal waters, specifically those in the English Channel, are described in detail, including information on the vessel’s type and technical specifications, its voyage history, how it was sunk, a list of crew at the time of loss, details of the wreck site, and the current state of the wreck. Huddled with a knot of shivering boatmates, we endure the anguish of young Rudy Wieser as his stricken boat, U 1195, slowly fills with freezing water and chlorine gas, and 19-year-old Franz Neumayr, who survived the sinking of U 1063 with 16 colleagues. Then there is the tragic quintet of British boats lost in these waters. We read of the last patrols of L24, M2, and M1, and, perhaps most poignantly, of HMS Swordfish. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Ron Young and Pamela Armstrong
Submarine Wrecks of the United Kingdom Vol 3: Wales and the West
2011, The History Press
ISBN 0752455427
Paperback, 224 pages
This is the story of the submarines which failed to come home in both war and peace. In both wars submarine warfare transformed the coastline into a pitiless arena where a life or death struggle was played out between U-boats attempting to close the sea-lanes and Allied ships striving to keep them open. Combining years of international archival research and expert analysis, this series describes how these submarine wrecks came to be here. In Volume 3 Ron Young and Pamela Armstrong recount the submarines lost along the North Cornwall coast to the Isle of Man. Authoritative and meticulously sourced, wherever possible accounts are told in the words of those who were present, relating miraculous escapes from stricken submarines, relentless pursuit and merciless attack. Most poignantly of all, the book re-evaluates one of the darkest episodes of British maritime history, the loss of HMS Thetis in Liverpool Bay, June 1939, revealing crucial new information on this disaster. Purchase information: (info)
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| by - David M. Hird
2010, Whittles Publishing
ISBN 1904445322
Paperback, 160 pages
The surrender of the German U-boat fleet at the end of World War II was perhaps the principal event in the war's endgame which signified to the British people that peace really had arrived. It is little known that the majority of the surrenders of U-boats on active west-European sea patrols in May 1945 were supervised in Loch Eriboll, an isolated sea loch on Scotland's far north-westernmost coast. The U-boats were part of Hitler's plan to starve the British Isles of food, raw materials and equipment vital for the prosecution of the war - a plan that failed. With an estimated 160 U-boats on active patrol at the end of the war, it was imperative that these boats were made aware of the capitulation of German armed forces, that they accepted the surrender arrangements and then proceeded, surfaced, to designated British ports. Loch Eriboll's attraction as the reception port was its isolation and its safe, deep-water anchorage - ideal for the arrival of armed U-boats that might still be intent on one last show of defiance. News of the momentous event was heavily censored - nothing appeared in the local press. Thirty-three U-boats, their officers and men surrendered between 10th and 22nd May 1945. The boats were arrested, boarded and disarmed; in some cases this vital exercise was completed by the simple expedient of lobbing ammunition, explosives and torpedo pistols overboard! Each U-boat has been positively identified and detailed information provided including contemporary photographs, boat or flotilla emblem, together with the coordinates of where each boat was eventually destroyed in the north Atlantic. However, not all were destroyed by the Allies, some were retained by the British, American, Russian or French navies as spoils of war but the vast majority were lost accidentally or scrapped with the passage of time. The Grey Wolves of Eriboll includes a wealth of historical insights including the German Surrender Document; detailed descriptions of the construction, service careers and circumstances of each surrendered U-boat; details of the frigates that supervised the surrenders; Operation Deadlight (a hasty plan to ensure the U-boats could not again be used aggressively) and contemporary newspaper reports. The pivotal role played by Loch Eriboll in ending the U-boat menace is little-known and lesser celebrated - this book rights that wrong. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Lawrence Burr
The Iowa Class (New Vanguard)
2010, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846035112
Paperback, 48 pages
In 1938, the United States abandoned the constraints imposed by the Washington Treaty and began work on a new class of super-battleships. This book covers the design, construction, and employment of the four Iowa-class battleships, the largest in the American fleet. During World War II, they served as guards for the aircraft carriers and their bombardments provided cover for the numerous landings in the Pacific. At the war's end, the Japanese signed their surrender on the decks of an Iowa-class battleship, the USS Missouri. After World War II, the ships continued to serve, providing support during Korea, Vietnam, and even the first Gulf War. This book tells the full story of the greatest of the American battleships. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Robert Forczyk
2010, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846039185
Paperback, 80 pages
During World War II, the Kriegsmarine armed a number of merchant vessels with concealed guns and torpedo tubes for surprise attacks against Allied shipping. To counter this deadly threat, the Royal Navy employed cruisers and their intelligence-gathering apparatus to find and destroy the disguised German commerce raiders. This Duel title covers the deadly game of cat and mouse, fought by these surface vessels during World War II. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Dave McComb
Wartime classes (New Vanguard)
2010, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846034442
Paperback, 48 pages
Few if any 20th century warships were more justly acclaimed than the destroyers of the US Navy's Fletcher class. Admired as they were for their advanced and rakish design, it was their record as workhorses of the Pacific War that placed them among the most battle-tested and successful fighting ships of all time. This title describes the Fletchers and their Allen M. Sumner- and Gearing-class derivatives, their machinery, armament, and construction, with a listing of all 343 ships by hull number and builder. It features an operational history of the 287 ships commissioned during World War II, which traces the evolution of night surface action tactics in the Solomon Islands and the parallel development of the Combat Information Center; the drive across the Pacific and liberation of the Philippines with tables showing the rapid introduction of new squadrons; and the radar pickets' climactic stand against kamikaze aircraft at Okinawa. With summaries of losses and decorations and specially commissioned artwork, this is a definitive book on the wartime US destroyer classes. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Mark Stille
Guadacanal 1942 (Duel)
2009, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846034663
Paperback, 80 pages
Although the war in the Pacific is usually considered a carrier war, it was the cruisers that dominated the early fighting. This thrilling duel presents the cruiser clashes during the crucial battles for Guadacanal in 1942, highlighting the Battle of Savo Island on the August 9 and the Battle of Cape Esperance October 11-12th , 1942. The first was an overwhelming Japanese victory that resulted in the loss of four Allied cruisers. However, in the latter, the Americans managed to successfully turn the tables despite the fact that the was fought through the night under dangerous conditions. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Dave McComb
Pre-war classes (New Vanguard)
2010, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846034434
Paperback, 48 pages
o conform to the 1930 London Naval Treaty, plus the successor 1,570-ton Sims class and the first-commissioned 1,620- and 1,630-tonners of the Benson and Gleaves classes. Collectively, these destroyers carried the Navy through the war’s first year when the outcome was in doubt: while most 1,500-tonners and leaders were assigned to front line duty in the Pacific before being relegated to secondary assignments, the later Bensons and Gleaves became the standard destroyers for Atlantic and Mediterranean operations and remained prominent in the Pacific throughout the war. This volume describes the fascinating design story behind these developmental classes – from the constraints of peacetime treaties to advances in propulsion engineering and wartime modifications. With an operational overview of their service and tables listing all 169 ships by class, builder, and initial squadron, this is a definitive guide to the pre-war US destroyer classes. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Russell Syndnor Crenshaw
2010, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 159114146X
Paperback, 228 pages
The Battle of Tassafaronga, fought November 30, 1942, was the fifth and last major night surface action of the Guadalcanal campaign. In it, a powerful American task force intercepted eight Japanese destroyers on a mission to deliver supplies to troops ashore but, in a stunning reversal, lost three heavy cruisers damaged and one sunk to enemy torpedoes. Lacking the facts needed to understand what had happened, American commanders criticized only their own destroyers before returning their focus to the war ahead. Not until more than half a century later did the author, the destroyer Maury's gunnery officer during the battle, undertake a detailed analysis and critique. This book is his report: a revelation of complex factors that under other circumstances might have led to an even more devastating defeat. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Jonathan Sutherland
Defending England's North Sea Coast in World War II
2010, Pen and Sword
ISBN 1848841531
Hardcover, 208 pages
The Battle of Britain and the Atlantic and the Blitz are invariably the focus of books and perceptions of the air war over and around Britain during the Second World War. Yet, it was Britain's more exposed eastern flank, from the South Foreland in the south to Bridlington in the north that faced nearly six years of unrelenting attacks by the Luftwaffe, the Kriegsmarine and, amazingly, the Corpo Aereo Italiano based in Belgium. The Italians alone launched some 150 raids on England hitting Great Yarmouth, Clacton, Harwich, Deal, Ramsgate and a host of other targets.
This book chronicles the air war around the east coast as its principle focus but also incorporate the joint operations mounted by both the Allies and the Axis forces. It looks at the preparations for invasion, the defense of vital convoys, the air defenses, the coastal blitz, ship and crew rescue and crucial docks and shipyards. With so much attention paid to the south coast, the air war over the east coast was often fought on a shoestring although it was the coast that lay closest to Germany. It was not a war of vast fleets of warships and submarines, it was conflict staged by aircraft and smaller raiding craft. It also saw the biggest mine-laying campaign in history and the largest battle fought between Axis E Boats and Allied Motor Torpedo Boats. As the tide turned in Britain's favor, the east coast became the staging post of the great bomber offensives against enemy occupied Europe and Germany itself. Yet the raiding and attacks on the east coast continued culminating in air-launched V1 attacks and finally V2 strikes. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Vincent O'Hara
The Seven Great Navies of the Second World War
2010, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591146461
Hardcover, 336 pages
An international team of naval historians and scholars, including John Jordan (France), Peter Schenk with Karsten Klein, Dr. Axel Niestle, Dieter Thomaier and Berndt R. Wenzel (Germany), David Wragg (Great Britain), Enrico Cernuschi and Vincent O'Hara (Italy) Mark Peattie (Japan), Trent Hone (United States) and Stephen McLaughliln (USSR) has pooled their expertise for this definitive reference on how the great navies of World War II were organized and how they trained, operated, and fought. They provide a point-by-point evaluation on the inner workings of the navies of the United States, the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, and the Soviet Union. Each navy has its own chapter, which covers such key features as weaponry, training, logistics, and doctrine. In bringing together data buried in specialized works in various languages, the authors deliver a fresh, multinational view of the naval war. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Peter Sasgen
The Epic Story of World War II's Most Daring Submarine Raid
2010, NAL Hardcover
ISBN 0451231368
Hardcover, 336 pages
In 1945-with no knowledge of the development of the atomic bomb- American submarine commanders, desperate to avoid an invasion of the home islands, believed that if the Japanese merchant fleet was sunk, the enemy would be forced to surrender. The problem: the ships were protected in the Sea of Japan from American submarines by a seemingly impenetrable barrier of deadly minefields.
For the first time, Peter Sasgen tells the gripping story of Operation Barney, a suicide mission in which nine submarines, nicknamed Hellcats, were tasked with the impossible-get through the underwater mines and decimate the enemy fleet. Success would hinge on a new experimental sonar system that would-with luck-guide American submarines safely past the mines.
Drawing on original documents and the poignant personal letters of one doomed Hellcat commander, Sasgen crafts a classic naval tale of the heroic submariners and one of World War II's most ambitious and dangerous missions. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Van Treuren, Richard G.
2009, Atlantis Productions
ISBN 978098209972
Soft cover, 434 pages, photos
comprehensive investigation in airship operations against U-boats, but has extensive coverage of WWI as well. Highly detailes analysis of known airship vs. U-boat encounters, many never before acknowledged. |
 | by - Dillon, Peter
A Story of the Western Seaboard
2009, Kenilworth & Collins
ISBN 0956118909
Paperback. 432 pages. Long section of Type XXI U-boat
Novel
When Jack Duggan descends to the ocean floor to enter the World War II U-boat he has discovered off the west coast of Ireland, he thinks his only problem will be decompression sickness.
He is wrong.
Jack is unaware that his every move is being monitored by MI5; that the U-boat is at the very centre of a high-risk undercover operation.
And that his past is about to catch up with him in the form of an IRA hardliner with nothing but vengeance in mind.
Jack’s in more than deep water.
He’s in deep trouble… Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Moore, Robert J. and Rodgaard, John A.
The story of HMS Venomous
2010, Holywell House Publishing
ISBN 978-0-9559382-0-7
234x156 mm with 320 pp, 170 photographs and 12 maps and plans.
HMS Venomous was a destroyer of the V & W Class, the most advanced in the world when built and arguably the most successful ever. Sixty-six were built at the end of the Great War. By the end of World War II they had all been sunk or scrapped but during those thirty years thousands of men served on them.
This is possibly the most detailed study yet of the contribution made by a typical “old warrior” of this class to winning the war with end notes and citations plus a list of all its officers from 1919-46 and a list of known ratings. It begins with a comparative survey of the world’s destroyers in 1919 and ends with a list of all the V & Ws giving date of construction and ultimate fate.
However, this story is about her officers and crew as told by them. It is illustrated with 170 of their unique photographs taken in the heat of the action plus paintings, drawings and maps.
The authors
Their accounts are linked together and set in context by Robert J Moore, the former CO of TS Venomous, and Capt. John Rodgaard USN (Naval History “author of the year”, 2000). |
 | by - Wayne Scarpaci
An Illustrated Technical Reference
2009, CreateSpace
ISBN 1448626072
Paperback, 100 pages
This volume is a complete, technical reference which covers all French Battleship types, of the Prewar, World War II, and Early Cold War eras of 1933-1970. The book is illustrated 32 full color original paintings, 58 new line drawings, and 237 photographs. Featured are a Chronology of WWII, illustrated sections on Radar and Fire Control, Aviation, and Camouflage. This book includes sections on Courbet through Richelieu class ships. It has fully illustrated sections on the Normandie and Lyon class ships of 1914 ( Including the aircraft carrier conversion Bearn). As well as the Gascogne and Alsace class ships of 1940. The information contained within this volume has hereto, only been available across a wide spectrum of reference sources. It is now available for the first time, under one set of book covers. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Wayne Scarpaci
An Illustrated Technical Reference
2009, Art by Wayne
ISBN 1442121092
Paperback, 78 pages
This volume is a complete, technical reference which covers all Italian Battleship types, of the Prewar, World War II, and Early Cold War eras of 1928-1957. The book is illustrated with 19 full color original paintings, 38 new line drawings, and 137 photographs.
Featured are a Chronology of WWII, illustrated sections on Radar and Fire Control, Aviation, and Camouflage. This book includes sections on Alighieri through Littorio class ships. It has fully illustrated sections on the Caracciolo class ships of 1914 (including the proposed aircraft carrier conversion), and the Livorno class battlecruisers of 1928. class. The information contained within this volume has hereto, only been available across a wide spectrum of reference sources. It is now available for the first time, under one set of book covers. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Wayne Scarpaci
An Illustrated Technical Reference
2009, Art by wayne
ISBN 1438257449
Paperback, 140 pages
This volume is a complete, technical reference which covers all USN Battleship types, of the World War II and Early Cold War eras of 1941-1963. The book is illustrated with 52 full color original paintings, 86 new line drawings, and 350 photographs,. Featured are a Chronology of WWII, illustrated sections on Radar and Fire Control, Aviation, and Camouflage. This book includes sections on Arkansas BB33 thru Louisiana BB71. It has fully illustrated sections on Gunnery Ships, Utah AG16, Wyoming AG17, and Mississippi AG128. A section on the 'as designed and ordered' 14" armed North Carolina class. Sections on the cancelled South Dakota BB49 and Lexington CC1 class ships. Coverage extends to the Battlecruisers of the Alaska CB1 class. The information contained within this volume has hereto, only been available across a wide spectrum of reference sources. It is now available for the first time, under one set of book covers. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - David Huffman
A Novel in History
2009, CreateSpace
ISBN 1449909078
Paperback, 266 pages
Novel
World War Two is about to begin and a German Naval Officer is going to war. Again. Oskar Keppler, a U-boat veteran of the Great War, takes command of the Type VII submarine U-115. Based on the actual War Diary of a German U-boat at the outset of World War II, this novel presents the U-boat experience from the perspective of those who lived it. Vivid descriptions of life in a diesel-electric powered submarine: day after day of mundane drilling, horrendous smells and ever deteriorating food are punctuated by moments of action, elation, terror and dread. In perhaps the most important single patrol of the first half of the Battle of the Atlantic, a handful of men will change the balance of power, and strategic capabilities of their adversary, for years to come. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Duffy, James P.
Disaster in the Mid-Atlantic
2009, Praeger
ISBN 0275993647
Hardcover, 129 pages
Duffy discusses in rich detail the dire and dramatic true story of the sinking of the British Liner Laconia by the dreaded U-Boat 156, a vessel crowded with 1800 Italian POWs, 103 Polish soldiers, and 463 officers and crew. As Laconia went down, U-156 surfaced and sent a signal that brought two other U-boats, an Italian submarine, and three Vichy French warships to assist with rescue operations. But on the morning of September 16, a U.S. bomber flew over U-156, now packed with several hundred Laconia survivors. The crew unfurled a large Red Cross flag. Nevertheless, the submarine was attacked. The Laconia survivors were ordered over the side into lifeboats. Damaged, U-156 left the area as other U-boats commenced rescue operations.
In the wake of the incident, German Admiral Karl Donitz issued the Laconia Order demanding that all attempts to rescue Allied survivors of merchant ships be ended. The order provoked an international outcry against inhumane treatment of survivors stranded at sea. In the aftermath of the war, Donitz was charged and acquitted of war crimes in connection with this order. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Paterson, Lawrence
The Surrender of Germany's U-Boat Forces
2009, Zenith Press
ISBN 0760337543
Hardcover, 192 pages
On the eve of Germany's surrender in May 1945, Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz commanded thousands of loyal and active men of the U-boat service. Still fully armed and unbroken in morale, enclaves of these men occupied bases stretching from Norway to France, where cadres of U-boat men fought on in ports that defied besieging Allied troops to the last. At sea U-boats still operated on a war footing around Britain, the coasts of the United States and as far as Malaya.
Following the agreement to surrender, these large formations needed to be disarmed – often by markedly inferior forces – and the boats at sea located and escorted into the harbours of their erstwhile enemies. Neither side knew entirely what to expect, and many of the encounters were tense; in some cases there were unsavoury incidents, and stories of worse. For many Allied personnel it was their first glimpse of the dreaded U-boat menace and both sides were forced to exercise considerable restraint to avoid compromising the terms of Germany's surrender.
One of the last but most dramatic acts of the naval war, the story of how the surrender was handled has never been treated at length before. This book uncovers much new material about the process itself and the ruthless aftermath for both the crews and their boats. Purchase information: (info)
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| by - Pawle, Gerald
The Inside Story of Clandestine Weapon Development in World War II
2009, Seaforth Publishing
ISBN 1848320264
Paperback, 304 pages
This is the fascinating story of the Admiralty's Department of Miscellaneous Weapon Development, the so-called 'Wheezers and Dodgers', and the many ingenious weapons and devices it invented, improved or perfected.
The author was one of a group of officers with engineering or scientific backgrounds who were charged with the task of winning the struggle for scientific mastery between the Allies and the Germans in what Churchill enthusiastically called 'the wizard war'. Their work ranged from early stop-gap weapons like the steam-powered Holman projector, via great success stories like the Hedgehog anti-submarine mortar, to futuristic experiments with rockets, a minefield that could be sown in the sky, and the spectacularly dangerous Great Panjandrum, a giant explosive Catherine-wheel intended to storm enemy beaches.
The development of these and many other extraordinary inventions, their triumphs and disasters, is told with panache and humour, and a diverse group of highly imaginative and eccentric figures emerge from the pages. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Innes McCartney
2006, Osprey Publishing
ISBN 1846030072
Paperback, 48 pages
The submarine was as formidable a weapon for the Royal Navy in World War II as for the other main combatant nations. The first half of this book explores the conception, design, development and subsequent evolution of the three major classes: the "S", "T", and "U".
The "S" Class submarine was originally conceived in the 1920s, specifically for deployment in narrow seas. As the war progressed the submarine was modified to increase its diving capability and fuel-carrying capacity, and radar and many other features were added. The "S" Class served in all theaters from the North Atlantic to the Pacific with notable success, in many cases surviving very severe damage.
The "T" Class submarine was originally conceived for operations in the Far East, thus was one of the largest types to be built and serve in World War II. The development of the "T" Class during the war was sometimes at the expense of its underwater stability and in the Mediterranean theater half of the submarines that were deployed sunk.
The "U" Class include Upholder, the most successful British submarine of World War II.
The second half of the book surveys the major submarine actions of the war, including the Norwegian Campaign, operations to save Malta and many other engagements in all theaters involving British submarines, German U-Boats and the Japanese. The author has accessed many previously unpublished sources and draws on his own extensive underwater research to give a highly detailed and informed account of the British submarine. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Norman Friedman
The Second World War and After
2006, Greenhill Books
ISBN 1861761376
Hardcover, 288 pages Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Michael Sturma
Death and Survival on a World War II Submarine
2008, The University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 0813124816
Hardcover, 232 pages
The fate of the USS Flier is one of the most astonishing stories of the Second World War. On August 13, 1944, the submarine struck a mine and sank to the bottom of the Sulu Sea in less than one minute, leaving only fourteen of its crew of eighty-six hands alive. After enduring eighteen hours in the water, eight remaining survivors swam to a remote island controlled by the Japanese. Deep behind enemy lines and without food or drinking water, the crewmen realized that their struggle for survival had just begun.
On its first war patrol, the unlucky Flier made it from Pearl Harbor to Midway where it ran aground on a reef. After extensive repairs and a formal military inquiry, the Flier set out once again, this time completing a distinguished patrol from Pearl Harbor to Fremantle, Western Australia. Though the Flier's next mission would be its final one, that mission is important for several reasons: the story of the Flier's sinking illuminates the nature of World War II underwater warfare and naval protocol and demonstrates the high degree of cooperation that existed among submariners, coast watchers, and guerrillas in the Philippines.
The eight sailors who survived the disaster became the first Americans of the Pacific war to escape from a sunken submarine and return safely to the United States. Their story of persistence and survival has all the elements of a classic World War II tale: sudden disaster, physical deprivation, a ruthless enemy, and a dramatic escape from behind enemy lines.
In The USS Flier: Death and Survival on a World War II Submarine, noted historian Michael Sturma vividly recounts a harrowing story of brave men who lived to return to the service of their country. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Jonathan J. McCullough
An Untold Story of World War II, Two Sister Ships, and Extraordinary Heroism
2009, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 0446178403
Paperback, 304 pages
On November 19, 1943, the submarine USS Sculpin, under attack by the Japanese, slid below the waves for the last time in what would become one of the most remarkable stories in U.S. Naval history. Not only did several crewmembers survive the sinking - an extremely rare event in World War II submarine warfare - but several were aboard a Japanese aircraft carrier enroute to a POW camp when it was in turn torpedoed and sunk by the Sculpin's sister ship, the USS Sailfish.
At the end of World War II, several unlikely survivors would tell a tale of endurance against these amazing reversals of fortune. For one officer in particular, who knew that being captured could have meant losing the war for the allies, his struggle was not in surviving, but in sealing his own fate in a heartbreaking act of heroism which culminated in the nation's highest tribute, the Medal of Honor.
Sculpin Lt. Commander John Phillip Cromwell was one of the few who knew that American Naval Intelligence had succeeded in cracking Japan's top-secret codes. Cromwell also knew that if the Japanese confirmed this by torturing him, it would force Naval Intelligence to change their encryption, which would potentially change the course of the war. This is Cromwell's story as well.
The incredible interconnection of the Sculpin and the Sailfish has been thoroughly researched by Jonathan McCullough. Through access to the few living survivors, scores of oral histories, never-before translated Japanese war documents, and interviews with Navy veterans, McCullough delivers a gripping and, intimate account for the reader. Purchase information: (info)
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| by - Charles McCain
2009, Grand Central Publishing
ISBN 0446538981
Hardcover, 384 pages
Novel
When World War II begins, Max Brekendorf, a proud young German naval officer, fights for his country with honor and courage. With the unstoppable German war machine overrunning Europe, Max looks ahead to a bright future with his fiancée, Mareth.
But as the war progresses, their future together becomes less and less certain. German victories begin to fade. In the North Atlantic, Max must face the increasing strength of the Allies on ever more harrowing missions. Berlin itself is savaged by bombing, making life for Mareth increasingly dangerous and desperate. And as the Third Reich steadily crumbles, Nazi loyalists begin to infiltrate Max's crew and turn their terror on Germany's own armed forces.
Recognizing what his nation has become, Max is forced to make a choice between his own sense of morality, and his duty to the Reich. With its stirring, rarely seen glimpse of the German home front during WWII, vivid characters, and evocation of the drama and terror of war at sea, An Honorable German is a suspense-filled story of adventure, of love and loss, and of honor and redemption. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Pete Nelson
A Young Man's Search for Justice for the USS Indianapolis
2003, Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN 0385730918
Paperback, 201 pages
Just after midnight on July 30, 1945, the USS Indianapolis was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. The ship sank in 14 minutes. More than 1,000 men were thrown into shark-infested waters. Those who survived the fiery sinking—some injured, many without life jackets—struggled to stay afloat in shark-infested waters as they waited for rescue. But the United States Navy did not even know they were missing. The Navy needed a scapegoat for this disaster. So it court-martialed the captain for “hazarding” his ship. The survivors of the Indianapolis knew that their captain was not to blame. For 50 years they worked to clear his name, even after his untimely death. But the navy would not budge—until an 11-year-old boy named Hunter Scott entered the picture. His history fair project on the Indianapolis soon became a crusade to restore the captain’s good name and the honor of the men who served under him. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Barrett Tillman
The True Story of the Marianas Turkey Shoot of World War II
2006, NAL Trade
ISBN 0451219562
Paperback, 368 pages
The true story of one of the greatest and most decisive conflicts in the history of naval warfare-from an award-winning author.
In June, 1944, American and Japanese carrier fleets made their way through the Philippine Sea, both hoping to take control of the vital Marianas Islands. When they met, they embarked upon a naval engagement that escalated into the most spectacular aircraft carrier battle in history. Here is the true account of the battle, told from both sides-by those who were there. Drawing upon numerous interviews as well as official sources, Clash of the Carriers is an unforgettable testimonial to the bravery of those who fought and those who died in a battle that will never be forgotten. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Russell Sydnor Crenshaw Jr.
The Battle for the Solomons from Savo Island to Vella Gulf
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591141435
Paperback, 304 pages
Russell Crenshaw's riveting account of the savage night battle for the Solomon Islands in early 1943 offers readers a unique insider's perspective from the decks of one of the destroyers that bore the brunt of the struggle. Drawing on his experience as a gunnery officer in the USS Maury, his vivid, balanced, and detailed narrative includes the Battle of Tassafaronga in November 1942 and Vella Gulf in August 1943, actions that earned his warship a Presidential Unit Citation and sixteen battle stars. Crenshaw also discusses the impact of radar and voice radio, the shortcomings of U.S. torpedoes and gunfire, and the devastating effectiveness of Japan's super torpedo. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Hornfischer, James D.
The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour
2005, Bantam
ISBN 0553381482
Paperback, 512 pages
One of the finest WWII naval action narratives in recent years, this book follows in the footsteps of Flags of Our Fathers, creating a microcosm of the war's American Navy destroyers. Hornfischer, a writer and literary agent in Austin, Tex., covers the battle off Samar, the Philippines, in October 1944, in which a force of American escort carriers and destroyers fought off a Japanese force many times its strength, and the larger battle of Leyte Gulf, the opening of the American liberation of the Philippines, which might have suffered a major setback if the Japanese had attacked the transports. He presents the men who crewed the destroyer Taffy 3, most of whom had never seen salt water before the war but who fought, flew, kept the crippled ship afloat, and doomed ships fighting almost literally to the last shell. Finally, Hornfischer provides a perspective on the Japanese approach to the battle, somewhat (and justifiably) modifying the traditional view of the Japanese Admiral Kurita as a fumbler or even a coward-while exalting American sailors and pilots as they richly deserve. (American admirals don't get off so easily.) Not entirely free of glitches in research, the book still reads like a very good action novel, indicated by its selection as a dual split main selection of the BOMC and History Book Club alternate.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Robert Schultz
A Torpedoman's Pacific War
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591147786
Hardcover, 212 pages
A sailor's extraordinary experiences on an American submarine in the Pacific are candidly reported in this eyewitness account of war from a torpedoman's perspective. Robert Hunt managed to survive twelve consecutive war patrols on the submarine USS Tambor. During the course of the war, Hunt was everywhere that mattered in the Pacific. He stood on the bow of the Tambor as it cruised into Pearl Harbor just days after the devastation of the Japanese air raid, peered through binoculars as his boat shadowed Japanese cruisers at the Battle of Midway, ferried guns and supplies to American guerilla fighters in the Philippines, fired torpedoes that sank vital Japanese shipping, and survived a near-fatal, seventeen-hour depth-charge attack. For exceptional skill and proficiency at his battle station Hunt received a commendation from Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. This WWII torpedoman's account of the war offers the rare perspective of an enlisted seaman that is not available in the more common officer accounts. To capture and recount the progress of the Pacific War through Hunt's eyes coauthors Robert Schultz and James Shell examined the young submariner's war diary, as well as crew letters, photographs, and captains' reports, and they also conducted hours of interviews. Their vivid descriptions of the ways in which sailors dealt with the stress of war while at sea or on liberty show a side of the war that is rarely reported. The fact that Hunt's submarine was the first of a new fleet of World War II boats and the namesake of a significant class adds further value to his remarkable story. Purchase information: (info)
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| | by - Rene D. Egle
2006, Llumina Press
ISBN 978159526698
472 pages, Paperback & Hardcover
Novel
November 1944.
Germany is losing World War II. In a last, desperate attempt to turn the tide, German High Command send a U-boat loaded with the latest in weapons technology and uranium to meet with the Japanese in the Philippine Sea. U-1706 also carries highly sensitive documents.
November 2004
High in the mountains of the Black Forest at the Freiberg Institute, two young scientists make a revolutionary breakthrough during a routine experiment. Instead of a test cube, they transport an entire submarine from the past to the future.
Stranded in the 21st century, U-1706 with all its crew is soon sighted in Southeast Asia, drawing the attention of American Intelligence. The two German scientists must race U.S. operatives to find the boat and make contact, to prevent the worst.
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| | by - Trojca, Waldemar
2004, Model Hobby
ISBN 83-9192215-8-1
HB, 598pages
Extensive coverage with color profiles. |
| | by - Grant, David Renwick
The brief life of HMS Trooper
2006, Periscope Publishing
ISBN 1-904381-33-2
Softcover, 128 pages, 19 illustrations
Monograph detailing all that is known about the Trooper from launch to loss. Much detailed information from official sources and many contributions from private ones. |
| | by - Hardy Clare
The Untold Story
2006, Central Publishing Ltd
ISBN 978-1904908647
Paperback, 572 pages
Presents the history of the White Star Liner, SS Ceramic (subsequently Shaw Savill & Albion), with emphasis on the circumstances of the ship's sinking and the story of the sole survivor, Eric Munday. |
 | by - Zetterling, Niklas
A Minute by Minute Account of the Final Hours of Germany's Greatest Battleship
2009, Casemate
ISBN 1935149040
Hardcover, 320 pages
The sinking of the German battleship Bismarck-a masterpiece of engineering, well-armored with a main artillery of eight 15-inch guns-was one of the most dramatic events of World War II. She left the port of Gotenhafen for her first operation on the night of 18 May 1941, yet was almost immediately discovered by Norwegian resistance and Allied air reconnaissance. British battlecruiser Hood was quickly dispatched from Scapa Flow to intercept the Bismarck, together with new battleship Prince of Wales. They were ordered to find the ship quickly because, on their way from the USA, several large convoys were heading for Britain.
On 24 May, Bismarck was found off the coast of Greenland, but the ensuing battle was disastrous for the British. The Hood was totally destroyed within minutes (only 3 crewmen surviving), and Prince of Wales was badly damaged. The chase resumed until the German behemoth was finally caught, this time by four British capital ships supported by torpedo-bombers from the carrier Ark Royal. The icy North Atlantic roiled from the crash of shellfire and bursting explosions until finally the Bismarck collapsed, sending nearly 2,000 German sailors to a watery grave.
Tamelander and Zetterling's work rests on stories from survivors and the latest historical discoveries. The book starts with a thorough account of maritime developments from 1871 up to the era of the giant battleship, and ends with a vivid account, hour by hour, of the dramatic and fateful hunt for the mighty Bismarck, Nazi-Germany's last hope to pose a powerful surface threat to Allied convoys. NIKLAS ZETTERLING, a researcher at the Swedish Defense College, is most recently co-author of The Korsun Pocket: The Encirclement and Breakout of a German Army in the East, 1944. Together with MICHAEL TAMELANDER, a part-time military author, they have written books about the battleship Tirpitz, the D-Day landings and the 1940 campaign in Norway. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Turner, John Frayn
The siege of the Malta Force submarines
2009, Pen and Sword
ISBN 1844157245
Hardcover, 224 pages
The Malta Force submarines had the vital task of interrupting German and Italian convoys crossing the Mediterranean to resupply Rommel and his Army in North Africa. The outcome of the Desert War depended on this. Operations from the beleaguered island were hazardous both at sea and in port. The Naval Base was under constant air attack. Due to the courage and tenacity of the crews by the time the Malta-based submarines were at full strength a staggering 50% of Axis shipping bound for Africa failed to arrive at its destination. The submarines sank some 75 enemy vessels totaling 400,000 tons.Periscope Patrol picks out the highlights of their actions and sets them against the bombed-out background of Malta, the island awarded the George Cross for its single handed stand. This is a hugely readable and informative account of submarine warfare at its toughest and roughest.Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - O'Hara, Vincent P.
The Great Navies at War in the Mediterranean Theater, 1940-1945
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591146488
Hardcover, 352 pages
The Mediterranean Sea was the most intensely contested body of water in World War II. As the maritime crossroads where Europe, Asia, and Africa meet, more major naval actions were fought in the Mediterranean than in the Atlantic or Pacific. Despite its importance, remarkably little has been written about the subject, and what exists is largely one-sided and outdated. This fresh study of the naval war in the Mediterranean analyzes the actions and performances of the five major navies British, Italian, French, German, and American during the entire five-year campaign and objectively examines the national imperatives that drove each nation s maritime strategy. The Struggle for the Middle Sea sidesteps the myths that haunt this campaign, such as Great Britain enjoying a moral advantage over Italy, or the French being Germany s puppet, or the North African campaign significantly contributing to the eventual Allied victory. The book documents how the British Royal Navy, despite brilliant victories, was bled white in a campaign with questionable strategic goals; how Italy followed its own coherent naval strategy, much to the frustration of its German ally; and how the Marine Nationale was the strength of the independent French state and how it fought the Allies--and rejected the Axis--to maintain that independence. Most World War II histories tell the story of the Mediterranean War from a limited national point of view. Other works also end the story in 1943. Struggle for the Middle Sea provides a complete history of the entire campaign from all perspectives and covers Germany s largely unknown and remarkably successful struggle to employ sea power in the Mediterranean after the Italian armistice. The book s perspective and depth of detail is unmatched by other works, and its fresh viewpoints, supported by extensive research in Italian and French sources, are certain to provoke controversy. Its lessons about coastal warfare, the use of the sea, and the difficulty of gaining command of the sea in wartime provide insight into the role naval strategy played in Word War II. Purchase information: (info)
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 | by - Brown, J.D.
2009, Naval Institute Press
ISBN 1591141087
Hardcover, 320 pages
The Royal Navy s Fleet Air Arm grew from a small force into a powerful strategic weapon during World War II, with British carrier-based aircraft fighting throughout the world. This complete history describes their activities in the Home, Mediterranean, Eastern, and British Pacific Fleets, together with forces created for specific operations, and lists aircraft and units embarked during the various phases. The author also covers carrier operations in the Pacific between 1941 and 1945, noting that both the U.S. Navy and Imperial Japanese Navy watched the Royal Navy s early carrier operations in the European Theatre and benefited from the lessons. This work combines material from two earlier studies by J. D. Brown and adds information the author was compiling for a third volume at the time of his death. Purchase information: (info)
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