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War Beneath the Sea: Submarine Conflict During World War II Paperback – March 1, 1998
Purchase options and add-ons
- Print length608 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateMarch 1, 1998
- Dimensions6.12 x 1.55 x 9.23 inches
- ISBN-100471249459
- ISBN-13978-0471249450
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"I am truly filled with awe and admiration...fascinating and a great contribution to the entire lore of submarines.... I wish I had written the book." —Capt. Edward L. Beach, USN (Ret.) author of Run Silent, Run Deep
"Peter Padfield is the best British naval historian of his generation now working. [His] book...will now become the standard work on the subject." —Daily Telegraph (London)
"Peter Padfield has produced by far the best and most complete critical history of the submarine operations of all the combatants in the Second World War, at the same time providing vivid narrative accounts of particular actions and events." —Lloyd's List (London)
"An excellent account of submarine warfare in 1939-45... [it] recreates the tribulations and horrors of that especially brutal form of warfare within a sturdily analytical and often critical framework." —The Economist
"[A] marvelously complete and detailed study of World War II submarine warfare...an interesting, serious, and timely book." —Houston Chronicle
"A brilliant submarine warfare study." —Military Review
From the Back Cover
Beginning with a vivid re-creation of the sinking of the passenger liner Athenia by a German U-boat in September 1939, Padfield's compelling narrative casts an unflinching eye on the devastating consequences of maritime warfare. The often harrowing encounters unfold with urgency and power, balanced by a master historian's keen sense of objectivity and perspective.
The submariners belonged to an elite corps, young men attracted by new technology, less formal discipline, and prospects of early promotion. For crew members, life aboard a sub was both an emotional and a physical challenge. The extraordinary hardships they endured—as well as their courage—come across with tremendous force.
Exploring the full spectrum of the submarine and antisubmarine warfare experience, this brilliantly detailed account pulls no punches. Facts and figures that stagger the imagination (e.g., between 1939 and 1945, 40,000 men were trained for U-boat service—30,000 perished) are revealed in starkly human terms. Here is the shocking truth behind the failure of U.S. torpedo missions during the war's early years, along with startling accounts of the shooting of defenseless warriors in the water. Here, too, is new information about the capture of the famed Enigma cipher machine (including previously unpublished photographs), and its impact on the war effort. Until this decisive moment, Britain stood within a hairbreadth of defeat by Germany.
Disturbing questions abound: Did the inflexible attitudes of the Japanese and American military leaders prolong the war in the Pacific? Could the war have been ended before Hiroshima and Nagasaki? Padfield addresses these controversial issues with candor and insight. The result is not only an impressive achievement, but a milestone work in the history of the twentieth century.
Praise for War Beneath the Sea
"I am truly filled with awe and admiration...fascinating and a great contribution to the entire lore of submarines.... I wish I had written the book." —Capt. Edward L. Beach, USN (Ret.) author of Run Silent, Run Deep
"Peter Padfield is the best British naval historian of his generation now working. [His] book...will now become the standard work on the subject." —Daily Telegraph (London)
"Peter Padfield has produced by far the best and most complete critical history of the submarine operations of all the combatants in the Second World War, at the same time providing vivid narrative accounts of particular actions and events." —Lloyd's List (London)
About the Author
Product details
- Publisher : Trade Paper Press; 1st edition (March 1, 1998)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 608 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0471249459
- ISBN-13 : 978-0471249450
- Item Weight : 1.8 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.12 x 1.55 x 9.23 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #550,733 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #487 in History of Technology
- #1,100 in Naval Military History
- #4,874 in World War II History (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Peter Padfield was born in British India before the Second World War, but returned to England aged seven on the death of his father. Immediately plunged into the boarding school experience of that era, he emerged with a love of cricket and a desire to go to sea - unfortunately mutually incompatible. He served some years as an officer in the P & O line, but in 1957 gained a place in the crew of the replica pilgrim bark 'Mayflower II' on her transatlantic voyage to Plymouth, Massachusetts, where she remains to this day. It was a life-changing experience. Shortly afterwards he left the sea, married and began a writing career specialising in maritime and naval history, extended later to biographies of Nazi leaders. In 2003 he was awarded the Mountbatten Maritime Prize; more recently Professor James R. Holmes of the U.S. Naval War College listed his book 'Maritime Supremacy' in the all-time top ten books about the sea, an accolade he could never have imagined when he began writing.
Recently, his account of Mayflower II’s voyage, The Sea is a Magic Carpet, has been re-issued by Thistle Publishing as an e-book for Kindle; the originals of the sketches he made during the voyage can be seen on his website. More recently he has published the diary he kept during the Mayflower's voyage, incorporating his sketches and photographs and stills from a cine film he also made on the voyage, as 'Mayflower II Diary: Sketches from a Lost Age'.
His fiction has also been re-issued in e-book form. For those who may feel the Great War was fought solely in the trenches, he suggests exposure to the naval battles in his family saga, Salt and Steel.
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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The author asked and answered some compelling issues about the Naval high command from all the Nations involved before start of hostilities and what they were thinking (tactics)----especially of the Nazi Admiral that perhaps may shed a different outlook from an arm chair reader prospective or history buff---like what if--why didn't this happen? The author got some key facts wrong like has been pointed out by another reviewer of this book but overall he informed those reading this book about the men that manned these "iron coffins" and the various suffering like lack of air conditioning in the tropics, constant bombardment of "ash cans" (depth charges) they encountered while manning these subs out on patrol. His opinions on the various high commands ( Admirals) made on both sides of the ocean during the war made for interesting introspection and character analysis,.. I was somewhat disappointed in one regard, since the USS Barb was only mentioned once and glazed over their exceptional war patrols and the damaged they inflicted to the enemy. The author did include the exceptional war experiences of the British Navy in more favorable terms but that was to be expected coming from a Britisher. (lol)
In the Appendixes there are some excellent cutaway views of various boats (subs) that were fought in the war but not in great detail------could have been more detailed pictorial illustrations. There are many good references and notes at the end of the book for those interested in deeper research of these subjects---no pun intended!.
All in all, it was an informative book on undersea warfare during the second world war for those of us who did not live during those times and/or have to endure these trails and tribulations of those undersea warriors!!!
Top reviews from other countries
the chaps beneath the waves had to suffer. I now have a very deep understanding and respect for what my relatives had to endure.
Here are some examples of content:
For Germany Dönitz favoured all-out attack on convoys, based mainly on his so-called U-boat 'wolf packs'. Dönitz intended to cut vital supplies to the UK - which he saw as a war-winning strategy. He maintained this position throughout the war, but he was never given a sufficient number of U-boats to do the job.
His U-boats were designed for night surface attack - crew comfort came nowhere. Conditions for his crews were appalling (as they were in most submarines). The crews got their rewards through being presented to the public as an elite - with very generous on-shore privileges. Eventually, Padfield says, Dönitz's U-boats became obsolete in the face of new technologies such as RADAR and ASDIC. It is significant that the Germans were slow to develop RADAR, and their RADAR when it arrived, was much inferior to Allied equipment. However, German U-boat optics and torpedo control were superb.
America was slow off the mark with submarines. Padfield explains that had they attacked Japanese merchant fleets carrying oil and vital supplies to Japan the war could have been shortened and at much lower human cost than eventually took place. Curiously Japan did not protect its merchant fleet: their warrior creed saw the defence of merchant ships as low status. America suffered blinkered vision here, and favoured set-piece naval battles.
However, their air-conditioned submarines proved effective. Air-conditioning was not a luxury: at temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius inside submarines in the Pacific, crews without air-conditioned very soon lost efficiency.
Britain was also slow off the mark with submarines. In fact in 1922, 1932 & 1935 Britain made unsuccessful attempts to get submarines banned. There was no systematic examination of U-boat campaigns: the service was averse to cerebral activity. Padfield says in 1939 Britain was criminally unprepared for the battle of the Atlantic.
British T class submarines were simple, reliable and easy to maintain - but British submarine night-sights were crude by comparison with German optics. Britain put much more effort into anti-submarine technologies such as ASDIC and RADAR, and convoy strategies, which by 1943 rendered U-boats obsolete. British submarines performed usefully in the Mediterranean but weakly in support of the USA in the Pacific.
American submarines were much superior to British T class submarines in torpedo control, making use of their TDC or torpedo data computer. However. American submarines were inferior to U-boats in optics, diesels and deep diving capability. Initially, also, American CO training was too passive and many older COs had to be sacked.
Japan had very different priorities, Padfield says. Knowing they would lose a war of attrition against the industrial might of the USA they opted instead to defeat the US navy in set-piece naval battles. Their submarines were given a rather passive role in this strategy. But the main Japanese weakness was a lack of RADAR for most of the war. Their submarines were blind: they could not see Allied forces at night, but they could be seen at night and at considerable distances at any time by US ships and aircraft using RADAR. It was an unequal struggle. Even when the Japanese got RADAR later in the war it was of poor quality.
Japanese submarines were designed for action against capital ships. Japanese torpedoes were reliable (unlike some American and German torpedoes). However, poor fleet training in naval gunnery and fire control ruled out success. Submarines were intended to support set-piece battles, but tactics were often over-complicated. Perhaps Japan's greatest weakness was its overwhelming belief in its military tradition - where success was expected.
Padfield provides a wide-ranging account, full of fascinating detail. I hope I have shown something of the character of the content. I can recommended this book strongly, both for general readers and for those particularly interested in naval and submarine histories.
A factual account of WW2 submarine history, illuminated by first hand accounts of the boats' Commanding Officers and their responsible strategists.
Highly detailed in its presentation, like the submarine operations themselves, occasionally it can appear to be repetitive, but totally absorbing and thoroughly recommended.