U-Boot war history books?

[msalama]

S! all again. A slow day at work continues so here we go blathering still

Now I've seen the movie & read the story (talking 'bout L. G. Buchheim's magnificent Das Boot of course) and played SHIII like crazy for the last month or so, and in addition do possess a general jist of things U-Bootkrieg from my previous history readings. But regardless of that I now find myself in a situation of badly wanting to expand on that knowledge - AND FAST! - so can you please point out a book you'd reckon is the definitive work on the subject to me? I'm mainly interested in an all-encompassing analysis á la Alan Clark's "Barbarossa" if such a book exists, i.e. something I can really dig into.

Thanks for any pointers you care to share with me my fellow Kaleuns

[Sailor Steve]

You could do worse than to get Bucheim's 'other' book: U-Boat War; though it's pretty rare these days.

The books you want to start withe are Clay Blair's two books:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...rds=clay+blair

I would recommend Peter Padfield's War Beneath the Sea for an overview of the war from all sides, also getting rare. Get it used through Amazon for $15.00.

Then you can start here:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw...rds=u-boat+war

[Antiacus]

Is there a way to order that will benefit subsim.com?

Msalama, There are hundreds of books written about the u-boats, Battle of the Atlantic, and the Kriegsmarine. You can easily search Amazon and ebay to find many of them.

Books written by U-boat Commanders, Kriegsmarine Officers or U-boat inlisted men are my preference although I own many written by historians or Allied servicemen.

I recommend the first book that I read on u-boats: Iron Coffins by Herbert Werner. It's easy to find and relatively inexpensive, but very good.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Antiacus

Is there a way to order that will benefit subsim.com?

At the bottom of this page, click on 'Subsim'. This will take you to the main page. At the left, one of the list choices is 'Game Store'. At the top of that page is the Amazon link that will get Neal a kickback.

[UnterseeBoogeyMan]

I loved Das Boot in book form myself.

As for other ones;

U-Boat Killer by Captain Donald S. Macintyre
He was one of the subkilling aces of the Royal Navy. He talks about the night he participated in sinking Kretchsmer's boat, his capture and how Schepke was caught on the surface. He goes over the Allied technological advances he used (hedgehogs, better asdic, radar) and how the ASW tactics evolved. He has a unique perspective because he was there. He also talks about how the acoustic torpedo, the Gnat, gave them a headache. His usage of some of Walker's anti-sub's tactics are really fun to read too.

The U-Boat Peril by Bob Whinney
He's another British destroyer captain that sank 3 U-boats during the war.
His insights range beyond just the Battle of the Atlantic to the Royal from before the war, through the war to the end. He talks about the lowpay/low morale in the beginning, shortages through the war, and the politics that could wreck an officer's career in the Royal Navy. Its a good read too.

Convoy by Martin Middlebrook
He centers his book on the epic 1943 convoy battle where one convoy caught up with a slower convoy in the middle of ongoing U-boat pack attacks. He charts from end to beginning of the battle, the strategies of Doenitz vs. the British Admiralty, the tactics of the u-boats and the ASW of the British. What's surprising, is so much as the turn of a rudder would give away a U-boat. He does a good job of showing how convoy escorts were laid out, how uboats were set in a line and how they shadowed.

The U-boat War by David Westwood
I am reading it now, just started. As far as I can make out, it covers the U-boat war more from a strategic/logistical viewpoint. What standsout so far, is the Z-Plan (Raeder's goal for having a balanced Navy by 1944, 47 at the latest) had to be shelved because the war started in '39 and Hitkler promised him 44 or 45. It covers how the Germans were able to train crews and develope the submarine technology under the tight leash of the Versailles treaty. A private firm would build the boat for the Finns, not Germany, but have German sailors train on it. That is how Prien an Shepke were trained up.

This last one isn't U-boats, it's sub, but a great read if you enjoyed Das Boot.
Run Silent Run Deep by Edward Beach
Thee film doesnt do it justice. The book is muich better and the movie would have been better has the film-makers stuck to the book. Lots of cat-and mouse action going on here.

[deepboat]

Just started reading Clay Blair's "Hitler's U-Boat War- The Hunters Vol 1" which has been an excellant read so far.

[msalama]

Thank you for your recommendations everyone, top stuff Hit a downtown bookstore yesterday and the first thing I saw was Werner's Iron Coffins - bought it of course and started reading right away! Some of the episodes he reports of are just

Westwood's U-Boat War is another must I think, because the strategic dimension is indeed something I need to research more. Or, in other words, I do have a clue as to the dots themselves, but the lines connecting them need to be drawn with a stronger crayon still so to speak.

Hell, gotta buy them all and make the wife happy - leastways after seeing the credit card bill

S! all and thanks again guys.

[Uncle Goose]

must have of course is "Ten years and Twenty days" by Karl Dönitz and "The Golden Horseshoe" (forgot the author but it deals about Kretschmer his career).

Originally Posted by Uncle Goose

must have of course is "Ten years and Twenty days" by Karl Dönitz and "The Golden Horseshoe" (forgot the author but it deals about Kretschmer his career).

Terence Robertson wrote Night Raider of the Atlantic and The Golden Horseshoe. Both books are the same; IIRC, the original book was published in the UK as the Golden Horseshoe and then it was released in the US as the Night Raider of the Atlantic. There is a recent Fortunes of War paperback edition titled The Golden Horseshoe but it is rather scarce and more expensive. The earlier released paperback editions of Night Raider of the Atlantic would most likely be cheaper.

Another recomendation: Danile V. Gallery's Twenty Million Tons Under the Sea (in paperback it was titled: U-505) Gallery commanded the Hunter Killer Group that captured U-505 and he was instrumental in bring the 505 to the museum in Chicago after the war. This is a very good read, well written and has a lot of background on u-boat warfare.

[Puster Bill]

Another good one would be "Seizing the Enigma: The race to break the German U-boat codes" by David Kahn. It's an excellent book on that little slice of the Battle of the Atlantic.

Other than the previously mentioned "Iron Coffins", another good book written by an actual U-boat commander is "U-Boat Commander" by Peter Cremer. I don't think it's still in print, but you should be able to find a used copy somewhere.

Of course, for the comprehensive overview of the whole U-boat campaign, there is nothing that compares to "Hitler's U-boat War", volumes 1 and 2, by Clay Blair. If you can only get two books, get those two.

[msalama]

Thanks again guys, valuable tips all

"Hitler's U-boat War", volumes 1 and 2, by Clay Blair.

Yup, THIS looks like the job. Memoirs are highly interesting and contain lots of priceless 1st-hand information from people who "walked the walk", but should still be read in conjunction with broader studies about the subject in question IMHO. And not only because of needing to put things into context, but because of memories getting hasty as time passes, etc. So yeah, this pair is something I definitely have to get!

...in addition of everything else mentioned here, that is

S!

[NightCrawler]

Bought a book called "Wolf-pack" it's a general information about u-boot, story about the crew, officers, and some tactic information how to attack convoys, and how to sneak out the convoy without being cought... by a Destroyer or an escort...

Bought a book by "Books N Million".... here in New Port Richey on US19...

[jpm1]

U-boat aces : the story of Wolfgang Luth by Jordan Vause with anecdots that go beyond the imagination of the best Hollywood scenarists like when he's depth charged by four destroyers he spends 21 hours on the bottom of the ocean with a damage list that doesn't end anymore , he surfaces in the night he sees the shadow of a destroyer at 300 m despite that he manages to go back to the port . it seems that the book's available only in english but it's not a complicated english it's easy to read

[Sailor Steve]

jpm1, could you post a full-size version of your avatar? That looks like a cool picture.