At one time submarines were nicknamed “Iron Coffins” and with good reason. For a whole host of reasons they often sank in unforgiving seas, far from the safety of home. Despite such unfortunate realities submarines were widely used during World War II, and played a critical role for all for combatants involved.

For example, the term “U-Boat” probably struck fear into any convoy crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the early 1940s. And the US and Japan played quite a game of cat and mouse with these underwater boats in the Pacific Theater.

In the book Submarines of World War II some well known submarines of the World War II era are presented and described. While far from exhaustive, this book provides at least a summary of information that is easily readable and not as cumbersome to handle like an encyclopedic format.

There are about 90 submarines presented and they are listed in order of the country of origin, as follows: France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Poland, United States, and USSR. There is one submarine per each page, and the name of the sub is prominently noted at the top of the page. The country of origin is listed on every other page.

A black and white photograph of each submarine is shown, accompanied by the vessel’s specifications and a brief (about 200 word) synopsis of the sub’s history. There is also an Index of all the submarines at the end of the book.

The qualities of the photographs vary considerably and most are rather mediocre overall. Some show the full sub, while others only show the conning tower. A few have sailors standing nearby or on top, while others are photographed while at sea. In many cases there is no way to tell for certain if the photograph is accurate – you just see a blurry blob of steel floating on the water.

The specifications shown are pretty much the sub's size, speed (surface and submerged), engine type, armaments, crew size, and launch date. There is no mention of how deep the sub can dive or how long it can be at sea.

The discussion of each submarines history is quite brief and is easy to read – there is not much technical jargon. In general the book makes note of why the ship was produced and any special battles or accolades that were earned.

It was very interesting to read how some subs were designed for a specific purpose, such as surveillance or attacking the enemy. For example, the attack-oriented German U-47 sank nearly 30 vessels, including a 29,000-ton battleship Royal Oak, before being sunk in 1941.

I was surprised to read that some subs had design flaws or did not perform as expected. My guess is that the rapid design and manufacturing process omitted some “get the bugs out” quality control testing. On the other hand, some subs were so well made that they served for another 20 years following the end of the war.

The fate of each sub is mentioned in most of the discussions, and ranges from being scrapped, used for training, now a museum, lost at sea, and in a few cases scuttled by the crew. Some vessels were scarcely used since the war ended before they were needed. For example, hundreds of Kaiten Japanese subs were built and ready for use in 1944-45. Many of these had and no escape hatch (used essentially suicide missions) and just one or two torpedoes. However, their primary intended use against an invasion of the Japanese homeland never occurred.

Some of the most interesting submarines presented are the American USS Drum and The German U-110. The former had many successful missions in the Pacific Ocean, while the latter was the sub that yielded Germany’s enigma machine to British intelligence.

Submarines of World War II is a bit difficult to rate. The information presented is very interesting, but there is not much of it. The photographs are just OK in quality. Also the book lacks any Introduction, Forward, or Summary sections. Overall I’ll rate this as 3 Stars and recommend it for anyone interested in the topic or submarine history in general.

Other reviews that may interest you:

USS New Jersey – The last of the old battleships
http://www.epinions.com/content_211626462852

The World at War – Complete 26 episodes series
http://www.epinions.com/content_212893208196

© trailhound. 2005.

Recommended: Yes

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