Submarine Books

[AG124]

Someone on the official Ubisoft SH3 forum started a thread in which he asked for recommendations for good books on U-Boats. Since this information could be usefull for someone, I though I'd start a similar thread. Plus, maybe I'll find something here to have a look at myself.

There are many out there, here are a few of my recommendations.

U-Boat Novels:

Grey Wolf, Grey Sea - E. B. Gasaway. The story of U-124, the third most successful submarine of WW2. This book is now out of print.

Night Raider of the Atlantic - Terence Robertson. The story of Otto Kretchmer (U-99), Germany's top WW2 U-Boat Ace. This book is out of print too.

U-Boat 977 - Heinz Schaeffer. The story of U-977, the submarine rumoured to have carried Hitler to Argentina . OOP.

General U-Boat books:

Hitler's U-Boat War (v. 1 and 2) - Clay Blair. A very detailed history of the U-Boat war in the Atlantic.

General Warships:

There are many places to get information on surface warships of all nations, but here are a few recommendations.

Web Site - Warships of World War II. Most warships classes from most nations, along with photos and sketches, are available here. Occasionally, an ship (from a class) which was never completed (such as the French Joffre class carrier Panleve) is left out, but it's pretty much complete.

http://warships.web4u.cz/staty.php?language=E

Web Site - U-Boat.net. This one has been recommended by others many times, but I will recommend it again .

http://uboat.net/index.html

Encyclopedia - Weapons and Warfare. A 1970s era set of 24-25 encyclopedias that has fairly accurate and complete entries for almost all WW2 warships. I don't know if you can still get these, they are never listed online and may be out of print.

US Submarine Novels:

Just though I'd list a few, in case SH IV goes in this direction.

The Destroyer Killer - Edwin P. Hoyt. The story of Commander Sam Dealy and the USS Harder, a Gato class submarine. On one patrol, Dealy claimed to have sunk 5 Japanese destroyers, earning him the name "Destroyer Killer" (only 3 of these destroyers were confimed post war, including the IJN Tanikaze which helped escort the Pearl Harbour Attack Force). He also sank one other destroyer, two frigates, two armed trawlers, and a number of merchants before being sunk himself while trying to attack two other warships. It's out of print though, and kind of hard to find. I got a copy for 10 cents at my local library though. .

Bowfin - Edwin P. Hoyt. A novel on the story of the USS Bowfin, the most successful US submarine of WW2.

Pig Boats - Edwin P. Hoyt. An excellent novel on the US submarine war in the Pacific.

[kiwi_2005]

Hirschfeld: The secret diary of a U-Boat
Blind mans bluff: The untold story of cold war submarine espionage.
U-Boat far from home: The epic voyage of U-862 to australia and new zealand.

[Skubber]

My recommendation:

Iron Coffins - by Herbert A. Werner

Werner is one of the few U-boat captains to survive a lengthy career. He started as ensign and worked up to U-boat commander.

His descriptions of life on the boats, as well as life in-between patrols are particularly vivid. And his account of the slow disintegration of German society during the course of war is especially poignant.

This is just a great book, period – not merely a good book about u-boats.