Recommended reading

[Jace11]

One book I picked up a while ago before I was into submarines etc is:-

Donitz and the Wolfpacks. The U-boats at war

by Bernard Edwards, published by Cassell Military Classics.

I have books by Clay Blair and Robert C. Stern, but this is still the best I own. Its small enough to take it on the train or wherever without looking a geek. Probably read 3 or 4 times. It describes 17 seperate convoy battles in great detail. Well written, it flows seemlessly unlike Blair's books for example. It includes maps of convoy routes and patrol lines, sinkings and massed attacks. Everything occurs in cronological order. It includes plenty of viewpoints, merchantmen, escorts, U-boat crew.

Lots of interesting stuff, like the "alleged" deliberate sacrifice of SL125.

I would say it is pretty cheap as its only a small paperback... probably about 5 squid..

Get it...

I recommend it for hardcore and beginners alike. Frankly I wouldn't buy Blairs book, it reads like an index.

Of the books mentioned so far, the one I may buy is "U-boat killer"

[irishred]

My list of books:

Hitler's U-Boat War : The Hunters, 1939-1942 - Clay Blair
Hitler's U-Boat War: The Hunted, 1942-1945 - Clay Blair
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War, volume 2: U511 - UIT25 - Kenneth Wynn
U-Boat Operations of the Second World War, volume 1: U1 - U510 - Kenneth Wynn
U-Boat Command and the Battle of the Atlantic - Showell, Jak P. Mallman
U-Boats under the Swastika - Showell, Jak P. Mallman
Iron Coffins - Herbert A. Werner
Uboattwaffe, Marine - Kleinfampfverbaende 1939-1945 - Waldemar Trojca
The U-boat Wars - Edwin P. Hoyt
The Uboat War: The German Submarine service and the Battle of the Atlantic - David Westwood
Axis Submarine Sucesses of World War II - Jurgen Rohwer.
Memoirs: Ten years and Twenty days - Adm. Karl Doenitz
U-boat War in the Atlantic: 1939-1945 - H.M. Ministry of Defence (G. Hessler Ed.)
Business in Great Waters - John Terraine
The Battle of the Atlantic - Terry Hughes and John Costello

[KL Seestern]

Operation Drumbeat by Michael Gannon The sometimes incredible story about how the USN was humbled by the U-Boats. The allies lost half of their big tankers in a few weeks.

Michael Gannon also wrote Black May, a good account of the 'turning of the tide' in May 1943.

[MLF]

Another Place, Another Time: A U-Boat Officer's Wartime Album by Werner Hirschmann.

An Engineers view of the late war years and surrender to Canadian Navy of U190

MLF[/img]

[Shadow9216]

Don't forget Cremer's autobiography. I forget the title but it's a great read- he's one lucky man!

My copies of Blair's works are starting to get worn out, I've read them so much. Very informative and enough interesting anecdotes to keep it from being too dry.

There's another book called War Beneath the Sea which details German, British and American submarine operations. Quite a bit of coverage for the Med.

[Laffertytig]

anyone know of any good online material

[CobraCommander]

You can start here:
http://uboat.net/index.html

[Glock_17]

What no place for Harry Potter?

[FullFathomFive]

First post; hello all! Terrence Robertson's Walker book is online here:

http://www.mikekemble.com/ww2/walkerbook1.html Cheers!

[nervouspete]

Anybody read 'The Cruel Sea' by Nicholas Monseraat? A brilliant book about the terror and drudgery of convoy duty. Semi-autobiographical as well, though Monseraat did a fully autobiographic one... which I can't quite remember. Gagh.

But 'The Cruel Sea' is a real classic. Also see 'The Good Shepard' by C S Forester, about an American convoy escort.

I haven't really read any U-Boat stuff, though, but I'll check out some of your suggestions! The Doenitz autobiog sounds pretty damn interesting.

Cheers.

Pete

[Tombomsee]

Don't forget Cremer's autobiography. I forget the title but it's a great read- he's one lucky man!



Its
U333 : the story of a U-boat ace
By: Peter Erich Cremer; Fritz Brustat-Naval

Really a great read, and a great man indeed. I have had the honour
to meet him back in 1981(?) in Hamburg.

[PapaNours]

A good book from the Destroyer side: "Relentless Pursuit". Originally appeared under the title "Walker's Groups in the Western Approaches".
The story of Captain FJ Walker, the greatest hunter & destroyer of U-boats in WW II.
By Commander DEG Wemyss. He was Walker's second in command and took over the Group when Walker died of a stroke in 1944.
There is a Foreword by Admiral Sir Max Horton.

As there are a lot of people around who are new to both Subsims and the history of the Battle of the Atlantic, I thought I would post this here. It's not complete by any meens but if you are interested in the subject beyond simply playing the game, you can't go wrong with any of these books.

And before anyone points it out, I know the U-boat Commander's handbook isn't on it...I, erm, forgot... :rotfl:

Happy reading!

General

Clay Blair.
Hitlers U-boat war: The Hunters 1939-1942
Hitlers U-boat war: The Hunted 1942-1945
Various Publishers and Editions. In print.

Huge, stupidly detailed and stunningly thourough, Blair's two headed opus is a brilliant study of the U-boat war from its inception to the bitter end. A great starting point for newcommers or fantastic reference for those who already know there way around the subject. Altogether, at nearly 2000 pages, this is a must read book!

Herbert A Wener.
Iron Coffins: A U-boat Commanders war, 1939-1945.
Cassel Military Paperback. In print. ISBN: 0304353302

Probably as famous as Das Boot amongst sub fans. Werner's account of life beneath the waves in the service of the Reich retains a constant feeling of claustrophobia and danger throughout. Enjoyable and interesting although not without its controversy. Great read.

Robert C Stern.
Battle Beneath the Waves.
Cassel military paperback. In print. ISBN: 030436228X

A collection of several U-boat stories and ancedotes covering the war. A lthough a bit hit and miss the collection is worth it for the section detailing Prien's little shindig at Scapa Flow.

Terrence Robertson
The Golden Horseshoe: The wartime career of Otto Kretschmer.
Greenhill books. Hardback. In print. ISBN: 185367558X Other editions available.

Biography of Germany's most sucessful WW2 U-boat ace from his first patrols through to his capture. Written by a veteran of Allied convoys, this is a fascinating book.

Gunther Prien
U-boat Commander.
Various publishers and editions. May no longer be in print but available second hand.

The man himself in his own words. Written before he was lost in 41 (Obviously, Very Happy ) This book discusses his greatest success in Scapa Flow and many other aspects of the U-boat War. Seen by many people now as propoganda it remains a fascinating read. Shouldn't be too hard to track down.

Karl Donitz
Memoirs: Ten years and Twenty Days.
Cassel military paperbacks. ISBN: 0304356867 Other editions available.

Donitz on himself. From the early days right up to his Ascension to Fuhrer on Hitler's death. An important book and one that should be read.

Wolfgang Hirschfeld
The Secret Diary of a U-boat
Cassel. ISBN: 0304354988 Other editons availabe. In print.

Hirschfeld was a radio operator in the U-boats and kept these secret and very verboten diaries throughout the war. Although not as detailed as other, similar books it still retains it's importance especially as it sees the war in slightly different light.

U-boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Lüth
Jordan Vause
Various editions. In print.

Biography of another Knights Cross winner covering his career up until his controversial end. great book.

Terry Hughes & John Costello
The Battle of the Atlantic
The Dial Press/James Wade.ISBN 0-8037-6454-2. In print.

Merten says: Highly readable account of the war in the Atlantic 1939-1945, including actions by U-boats and engagements by surface vessels. Loads of excellent pictures.

Andrew Williams
The Battle of the Atlantic
BBC Books. ISBN: 0563488638. Also Basic Books (2003)ISBN 0-465-09153-9 In print.

Accompanying book to the excellent BBC documentary series about the U-boat war. If you can get the DVD please do. Worth it for the recreations of Prien's Scapa Flow adventures.



Fiction

Lothar-Gunther Buchheim
Das Boot
Various Editions. About as in print as you can get.

What can you say? One of the most famous - and best - war novels ever written. It has everything; humour, horror, boredom, Exhuastion and more. If you don't already own this, what on earth are you doing here? Very Happy

Operations
Lawrence Patterson.
Hitler's Grey Wolves: U-boats in the Indian Ocean.
Publisher: Greenhill Books. ISBN: 1853676152. In print.[/b]

Interesting book which details an almost forgotten side of the U-boat war - the campaign in the far east. The book covers operations in the Indian ocean and the Pacific and discusses the U-boat-Waffes links with the Japanese.

Michael L. Hadley
U-boats Against Canada: German Submarines in Canadian Waters.
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN: 0773508015. In print.

Many of the Convoys that helped Britain fight the Nazi menace left from Canadian waters. This book covers an element of the war that was perhaps one of the most important of all.

Edwin P. Hoyt
U-Boats Offshore; When Hitler Struck America
Stein & Day (1978) ISBN 0-8128-2505-5. Probably Second hand

Merten says: An account of U-boat operations in U.S. waters in 1942-1943.




Construction and Engineering

Eberhard Rossler, Harold Erenberg
The U-boat: The Evolution and Technical History of German Submarines.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicholson military.ISBN: 0304361208. In print.

Pretty comprehensive of the technical side of things. Also covers the development of the German Submarine pregram from WW1 onwards.


Allied ASW and Surface

Donald Macintyre

U-Boat Killer.
Publisher: Cassell. ISBN: 0304352357. In print. Other editions available.

One of my personal favourates. Donald Macintyre was a Destroyer skipper who became one of the Royal Navys leading ASW specialists of WW2 after serving with the likes of Johnny Walker. What can you say about a man who took care of both Schepke and 'Silent' Otto Kretschmer in one night during one of his first patrols as a CO?. Brilliant, brilliant book. Buy it now.

Terence Robertson
Walker, RN: Story of Captain Frederick John Walker
ISBN: 0330105183. Second hand.

The leading U-boat Killer of World War 2 is given a wonderful biography here that details everything from his early problems with Navy discipline to the awesome tactics that made him such a feared and deadly enemy. Walker died in '44 on the cusp of Allied victory in Europe from an aneurism. 'Johnny' Walker is one of the true heroes of the Royal Navy and this biography will more than reward the effort spent in tracking down a second hand copy.

[Bill Nichols]

Don't forget Cremer's autobiography. I forget the title but it's a great read- he's one lucky man!



Its
U333 : the story of a U-boat ace
By: Peter Erich Cremer; Fritz Brustat-Naval

Really a great read, and a great man indeed. I have had the honour
to meet him back in 1981(?) in Hamburg.


Also, U-Boat Commander: A Periscope View of the Battle of the Atlantic by Peter Cremer -- Another excellent read.

"Clear the Bridge" - Richard O'Kane, USS Tang in the Pacific during WWII, a very good read and some excellant photos

[Rotary Crewman]

I'm currently reading Lone Wolf: The Life and Death of U-Boat Ace Werner Henke by Timothy P. Mulligan. I'm only a few chapters in, but it's had lots of interesting stuff in it so far. Henke captained U-515, a Type IX C.

Been going through this list of books and attempting to get them cheap off amazon. But this one struck me down!

How much!? (http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0275936775/qid=1139431022/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_0_1/202-2804910-3650215)

[Rotary Crewman]

Heinz Schaeffer
U-Boat 977
WW Norton & Co (1952)
Bantam Paperback (1981)

Schaeffer started his war as a junior U-Boat officer in May 1941, and ended it by taking his Type VIIc from Norway to Argentina, arriving on August 17, 1945, after a 66-day voyage entirely under water, running on schnorkel. His highly readable book covers his career in as much detail as can be packed into 190 pages.

On your recommendation, ordered for £1.25

[STEED]

Siegfried Breyer - GERMAN U-BOAT TYPE XXI :up:

[Rotary Crewman]

Almost finished U977, excellent book. Like it said in the review, not too much details but very good.

Ordered the golden horseshoe for 0.01p. Gotta love amazon and second hand books :)

[Bertgang]

My little contribution with some less known titles:

"Sharks and little fishes" - by Ott
Sad war tale about a small group of german sailors, since enlistment to last mission on an u-boot, passing trought their service on a minesweeper. To not miss.

"No survivors" and following books - by Gray
A four books saga around the career of a fictional german ace.
An enjoyable adventure, nearly disappeared from bookstores.

"A twist of sands" - by Jenkins
A mix between a spy story and a war tale, with interesting pages about submarines.
The main character is the captain of a british sub, who had to face lot of tactical and technical problems to hunt an experimental u-boat

"Un sommergibile non è tornato alla base" - by Maronari
If translated, the english title should sound like "A submarine never come back to base", or something similar
It's the war diary of an italian subsailor of the "Tazzoli", the tonnage leader of "Regia Marina" .
Interesting to read, even if the author wasn't a great writer.

"U-boot, secret menace" - by Mason
Short and cheap historical handbook about german WWII subs; simple but nearly exhaustive, it appeared about thirty years ago in pocket edition, and was translated in italian and spanish (an used copy of the spanish version was available past month in a nautical bookstore in Rome).
The english title given is my translation from "latin" versions.

[U-Dog]

Anything in English on Italian subs in WW2 ?

[2019]

For those who are more interested in WWI era.

Raiders of the Deep
Lowell Thomas
isbn: 1591148618

[Bertgang]

Anything in English on Italian subs in WW2 ?

I don't know for printed books, but something really interesting is available online:

http://www.subnetitalia.it/

and

http://www.regiamarina.net/

[Grayback]

Anybody read 'The Cruel Sea' by Nicholas Monseraat? A brilliant book about the terror and drudgery of convoy duty. Semi-autobiographical as well, though Monseraat did a fully autobiographic one... which I can't quite remember. Gagh.

How did the movie compare to the book?