[Subnuts]

Anatomy of the Ship: The Submarine Alliance
John Lambert
1986

I think it's fair to say we here on Subsim tend to take submarines for granted. We order a new depth, the chief nods and talks to the control room bulkhead, the pump guy turns a few valves, and god willing, the boat levels off within two meters of the ordered depth. However, if one were to peel away the layers of any submarine built since the 1930s, one would find a bewilderingly sophisticated machine whose complexity rivaled a manned spacecraft. Take the Amphion-class, a class of 16 diesel-electric attack submarines built in the UK under the 1943 Emergency War Programme. Among the bewildering array of systems aboard these boats were two massive diesel engines, ten torpedo tubes, 224 lead-acid batteries weighing a half ton each, dozens of ballast, lubricating oil, fuel, and trimming tanks, and high and low-pressure compressed air tanks and lines. Besides that, every corner of these boats were crammed with hand-wheels, valves, and gauges, along with dozens of auxiliary machines.

Up until this title, the "Anatomy of the Ship" series had relied mostly on traditional deck plans and cross-sections, with the occasional perspective view thrown in. Submarines are a different beast, however, and when dealing with a 16-foot wide, 220-foot long metal pipe, John Lambert had to take a different tack. The result is one of the finest books in the series, and a must-own for any serious submarine buff. The introduction describes Alliance's construction, machinery, armament, and post-war refits, accompanied by several tables detailing various particulars of the Amphion-class, including trial results and machinery details. There are 21 photographs in total, showing various 'A' boats from 1945 to the mid 70s, giving a decent idea of the class's evolution through the years.

While The Submarine Alliance includes the same type of General Arrangement drawings found in the rest of the series, they certainly aren't the meat of the book. Instead, this book is packed with hundreds of exploded and perspective-view schematics, depicting the boat's propulsion systems, machinery, and armament in unprecedented detail. The drawings section opens with 12 1/384 scale profile views showing various 'A' boats from 1945 through 1970, showing the evolving appearance of the class's exterior. Section B includes full set of General Arrangement plans, showing the top and side of the boat, plans of each deck, and a longitudinal and nine transverse sections of the hull. This section also includes 1/96 scale midships sections of three different 'A's, a perspective cutaway of a generic 'A', and a set of plans depicting Alliance's appearance after her 1960 refit, along with the layout of her external and internal tanks and their associated fittings. Section 'C', "Casing and Superstructure," features 1/96 scale plans depicting the internal and external arrangement of Auriga's bridge as completed, and Alliance's after her 1961 refit. This section also includes three pages of scrap views showing Alliance in her present condition, focusing on the sail and deck fittings.

Section D, "Internal Arrangements," covers many of the systems required for the everyday operation of a late-war diesel submarine. The first three pages alone depict the arrangement of external and internal tanks, the high and low-pressure air systems, the layout of the bathrooms and water closets, and the auxiliary circulating water and fresh water systems. The control room is detailed in a series of 1/60th scale plans, showing elevations of both sides of the compartment and 12 sections through it, the drawing key noting items as obscure as the "24v DC M/G for radio and radar" and "12in TO vent valve No 3 main tank." The rest of the chapter includes drawings of the anchor gear, forward and after hydroplane arrangements, steering gear, main valves, the snort induction system, both periscopes, and the ACO Mk II projector binnacle, an interesting device which allowed the helmsman in the control room to view a projected image of the compass card.

Section E, "Machinery," focuses on the propulsion systems of the A-class, and is even more detailed than the preceding section. It opens with seven pages of perspective views of the Admiralty-pattern diesels fitted on board six of the A-class, showing the engine framework, air start, lubricating oil, and circulating water systems, cylinder heads, fuel pumps and injectors, engine controls, supercharger, and valve gears. The Vickers diesels fitted on board the remaining "A" boats receive similar treatment, as do the electric motors, batteries, and propeller shafts. The rest of the section covers auxiliary machinery, including evaporators, the air conditioning plant, air compressors, the low pressure blower, ballast pump, and refrigerating plant.

The final section looks at the weapons used by the A-class. It opens with schematics of the boat's internal and external torpedo tubes, showing the arrangements of pipe connections, firing gear, and some of the important torpedo tube fittings. The Mk VIII torpedo is detailed with dimensioned drawings and perspective views of the interior components, such as the main reducing valve, igniter firing gear, and gyro angling gear. The book concludes with views of both types of 4-inch guns used by the A-class, and the famous 20mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft gun.

How would I best describe this book? Obsessive. Fantastically detailed. A labor of love for serious submarine buffs and anyone interested in naval architecture. The Submarine Alliance contains the most detailed technical drawings of a submarine I've ever seen, and it's the most detailed book in this series by far. Finding decent technical data on submarines has always been a frustrating experience - even the Fleet Boat manuals available for free online never really satiated my desire. Despite it's small size, this book is a treasure trove of detail, even if it will only appeal to serious submarine geeks.

My only real complaint lies in the lack of schematics depicting the hull structure, which is paid some lip service in the introduction but is otherwise glossed over. In several instances, items on the plans are pointed to, but the number associated with the drawing key simply isn't there. In one severe example a drawing showing the crankshaft of the Vickers diesel, a key is included but the actual drawing doesn't have any annotations! Those quibbles aside, this is one of my three favorite Anatomies, and it's a real shame that it was never revised and reprinted.

Final rating: 9.25/10