Everything wrong with Haynes' U-Boat Owner's Workshop Manual - A Review

[Subnuts]

Normally, when discussing a book I either loved or hated, I would sit down and write an honest-to-goodness review of it. I'd go over it's basic premise, the contents, a little bit about the author, the pros and cons, how I think it could have been better - you get the drill. However, I've finally found a book so fundamentally flawed that the standard review format just won't cut it. This time, I'm taking the nitpicky route, and listing everything in the book that I could find that was simply wrong.

I seriously love Haynes' faux "workshop manuals" on historical vehicles. Granted, none of them are actually based on complete strip-downs and rebuilds, and they won't tell you how many ft-lbs of torque needed to remove the bolts holding the Space Shuttle's engines in place. Then again, how many of us have an Avro Lancaster or an Lunar Rover in our garage? Where the series (usually) excels is in the fascinating technical material, detailed diagrams, and maintenance information included in most of the books. Looking for diagrams of the oxygen lines in an Apollo spacecraft, step-by-step procedures on how to start up the engines on a Lancaster bomber, or photos of a Twin Wasp's disassembled crankcase? You'll find it in these books.

So, having purchased a number of excellent Haynes books on iconic World War II vehicles, I eagerly anticipated the release of their U-Boat Owner's Workshop Manual. My excitement turned to disappointment after quickly leafing through the book, and discovering that it contained very little of the in-depth technical details found in other Haynes books. The book largely focuses on the history of German submarine design after World War I, a basic history of the Battle of the Atlantic, and what it was like to live and work aboard a U-boat. There is a single section, optimistically titled "Anatomy of the Type VII class," which consists mainly of a photographic walk-through of U-995 complemented by some very basic tech specs. The only diagrams in this section consist of a couple of basic overview plans freely available on uboatarchive.net.

My disappointment turned to irritation and ultimately frustration as I read through the book, noticing how many basic errors of fact, contradictory statements, humorous typos, and bizarre historical errors managed to leak their way into the finished text. I can't remember the last time I was so disappointed by such a promising title. So, without further ado, here's a list of every mistake I could find in this book. Keep in mind this book is only 156 pages long, and has photographs on almost every page. Any corrections are welcome.

Page 10: The Type VII is described as being originally developed during the First World War by the "Germany Imperial Navy." The Type VII design was inspired by the WWI Type UB-III, but it's a bit of a stretch to suggest that it was a direct descendent of it.

Page 14: A picture of a Type II with it's distinctive three-tube bow is captioned as being of a Type VIIA undergoing maintenance.

Page 16: U-1 is described as being the first U-boat to serve in the Battle of the Atlantic, even though she didn't begin her first war patrol until March 15, 1940.

Page 19: The date of Donitz's succession to Reichsprasident is given as October 30, 1945, more than six months after Germany surrendered to the Allies.

Page 20: 500 ton coastal mine-layers are listed among the types of submarines being built by Germany at the beginning of the war. The Type XB mine-layers actually displaced more than 1,700 tons surfaced, while the Type VIID boats, first laid down in late 1940, displaced nearly 1,000 tons.

Page 25: It is stated that Donitz issued a formal order prohibiting the deployment of schnorchel-equipped boats into the Atlantic sometime late in the war. I couldn't find anything about such an order while searching through the translated BdU war diary at uboatarchive.net. Current Order No. 2, issued in November 1944, is actually very enthusiastic about the use of the schnorchel and says that it "proved very effective and through it operations were again possible in areas heavily patrolled from the air."

Page 26: The Type VII is described as a "double hull" submarine. They were actually a single-hull type, with saddles tanks and internal pressure hull framing.

Page 26: A photo of a Type XXI under construction captioned as a "Type VII nearing completion."

Page 26: The Type VII is described as being able to carry 22 TMA (Target Motion Analysis) mines. Really?

Page 27: The Type VIIA is described as having single propellers, rudders, and hydroplanes. All of the Type VII variants had dual propellers and hydroplanes; only the VIIA had a single rudder.

Page 27: The Type IX is described as having a 182-knot maximum surface speed.

Page 28: The Type IX is described as carrying 10 additional torpedoes in five external tubes. They had 10 external tubes, each of which hold one torpedo at a time.

Page 29-30: U-505 is mentioned as the first warship captured by the US Navy since the "1812 Anglo-American War of Independence." This seems to be an amalgamation of the War of 1812 and the American War of Independence.

Page 37: The Type XXI and XXIII are said to have been "in use in various formats up until 2011." Wilhelm Bauer (the ex-U-2540, the last surviving Type XXI) was decommissioned in 1980. The Type XXIII U-2367 was raised in 1956, recommissioned into the German Federal Navy, and stricken in 1968.

Page 40-41: A photo of a Type XIV "milchkuh" is captioned as being of a Type VIIC.

Page 41: The total number of U-boat crewmen lost during the war is given as 38,000. The actual figure was closer to 29,000.

Page 44: HMS Courageous is referred to as both a battlecruiser and an aircraft carrier at the time of her sinking, in the same caption.

Page 46: Stated that Type IXC boats were sent to positions off Spain and Gibraltar at the beginning of the war. The first Type IXCs were not launched until late 1940.

Page 49: "Prien ordered more torpedoes to be fired from the U-47's stern tubes." Type VIIs only had a single stern tube.

Page 50: Stated that Gunther Prien received the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves after the attack on Scapa Flow. He did not actually receive the award until October 1940.

Page 60: The Type XIV is described as a "modified version of the Type IXD." The two types were completely different designs.

Page 70-71: "Average dimensions" of the Type VII are listed, although it is not stated which variant of the Type VII the dimensions are actually of.

Page 71: The length of the Type VIIC/41 is given as 50.5 meters. They were actually 67.1 meters long.

Page 77: The crush depth for the Type VIIC/41 is alternately described as 250 meters, 300 meters, and "twice as deep" as the VIIC on the same page.

Page 78: The cutaway of a "Type VIID" on this page is actually a conceptualization from a wartime British newspaper, and only bares a vague resemblance to the actual Type VIID.

Page 79: Stated, once again, that the Type VII was a double-hull design, with ballast tanks between the inner and outer hulls. Except for the buoyancy tanks at the bow and the stern, all of the boat's ballast tanks were either inside the pressure hull or in side-mounted saddle tanks.

Page 80: A photo of a Type XXI hull section is captioned as the center section of a Type VIIC.

Page 80: The tensile strength of the boat's hull is given as "52-61kg/33-39 tons per square inch."

Page 83: Stated that the 1st Watch Officer operated the Torpedo Data Computer. This was actually the responsibility of the Bosun (Oberbootsmann).

Page 90-91: The plan and profile view of the boat are squished horizontally at least 15%

Page 95: A photo of an engine order telegraph is captioned as being a rudder position indicator.

Page 95: The dimensions of the hatch between the electric and diesel engine rooms are given as "6.7m wide by 17.37m high."

Page 100: The search periscope's magnification levels are listed as 1x and 6x. They were actually 1.5x and 6.1x.

Page 103: The radio and sonar rooms are described as having doors fitted with glass windows. These were added to U-995 when she was converted to a museum ship, and were not there while the boat was still in service.

Page 107: The VIIC is described as carrying five torpedoes in tubes, and seven spares. This figure seems to ignore the two external reserves.

Page 113: The 8.8cm deck gun is described as a "flak gun." The gun could only be elevated to 30 degrees, and was never supplied with AA shells, making it useless as an anti-aircraft weapon.

Page 116: It is mentioned that later Type VIIs were fitted with 105mm deck guns. Most Type VIIs had their deck guns removed by 1943, and none were fitted with 105mm guns.

Page 116: Stated that several Allied aircraft were shot down by 8.8cm deck guns, although no examples are given.

Page 124: Walter Gerhold's rank is given as "private first-class sailor," which is not an actual Kriegsmarine rank.

Page 126: "Private First Class" again used as a naval rank.

Page 126: "Vaterland" (Fatherland) is mistranslated as "Waterland."

Page 129: The forward torpedo room is described as having seven bunks. It had 12, although half of them would be folded up until at least two spare torpedoes had been loaded into their tubes.

Page 129: The wardroom and warrant officer's berthing are described as having been separated by a non-watertight bulkhead. They were actually separated by a curtain.

Page 130: The location of the forward head is given as the port side of the forward torpedo room bulkhead. It was actually on the other side of the bulkhead, in the Chief Petty Officer's quarters.

Page 134: The red goggles worn by the crew before going on watch at night are described as "infrared night-vision goggles." The lenses were just red-tinted glass; night vision technology was in it's infancy during the war, and while primitive night-vision sniper scopes and tank optics were used experimentally by the Germans, wearable goggles did not exist until years after the war.

Page 136: U-70 is described as having been captured off the Iceland coast in 1941. U-570 was captured off the Iceland coast in 1941, while U-70 was sunk off Iceland the same year.

Page 142: The periscope depth of the Type VII is listed as 9 meters. It was closer to 13 or 14 meters in reality.

Page 145: Rigging out the bow planes is listed as part of the diving procedure. The bow planes on a Type VII were permanently rigged out and could not be folded against the hull.

Page 148: It's stated that convoys traveled "lit up and clearly outlined against the night sky." No convoy commander would ever allow ships under his charge to proceed through u-boat infested waters with their lights turned on.

Page 149: The United States Navy is described as being in a fortunate position in December 1941, and was operating at full capacity at the time. This is far from the truth.

Page 151: The author states that German people today fondly remember U-boat aces with pride and admiration. If anything, the current German attitude towards surviving World War II veterans is extremely conflicted, and as a whole they are not praised publicly and are frequently mistrusted.

In conclusion, this book is a serious mess. Haynes has been milking it's brand name for all it's worth recently, and I think my honeymoon period is finally coming to an end. Their website lists a number of promising upcoming titles, but I think I'll remain skeptical of anything published by Haynes for quite some time.

[Sailor Steve]

Cool. A book to stay away from. Thanks for the warning.

I do have one quibble:

Page 100: The search periscope's magnification levels are listed as 1x and 6x. They were actually 1x and 4x.

According to the report submitted to the Royal Navy, U-570's observation ("sky", "search" or "watchkeeping") periscope had magnifications of 1.5rx and 6.1x. I believe there was no German periscope with a magnification of 4x.
http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-570BritishReport.htm Page 32.

[Subnuts]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Cool. A book to stay away from. Thanks for the warning.

I do have one quibble:

According to the report submitted to the Royal Navy, U-570's observation ("sky", "search" or "watchkeeping") periscope had magnifications of 1.5rx and 6.1x. I believe there was no German periscope with a magnification of 4x.
http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-570BritishReport.htm Page 32.

That's interesting. Every other source I've come cross lists the search periscope magnifications as 1x and 4x, or say that the search periscope had a wider FOV than the attack scope. Then again, it's amazing how much of what we "know" about U-boats is based on myths, half-truths, and misstatements...

[Sailor Steve]

Most of the research, as far as Subsim is concerned, was done several years ago by Hitman when he made his Optical mod for SH3.

[Subnuts]

I'm stuck on another point: some sources show a curtain between the officer's mess and CPO's quarters, while others show a bulkhead and watertight door. Which is correct?

[Sailor Steve]

The technical drawings for U-570 show the main watertight bulkhead from the control room forward and then the bulkhead from "officer country" to the forward torpedo room, and nothing in between. Since the "officers mess" is a table beside the LI's bunk, I would guess it's open except for wooden walls and curtains. I've scoured ever source I could find and was unable to come up with a single really good photograph of that detail.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

I'm stuck on another point: some sources show a curtain between the officer's mess and CPO's quarters, while others show a bulkhead and watertight door. Which is correct?

http://www.uboataces.com/u995.shtml Have you seen this? I don't know how legit it is but it looks kool! Apparently has click and drag walk around features for a U-995. I'm always suspicious of any thing that urges me to 'order today!" all I find for periscopes is 1.5 and 6x magnification on the 'observation scope'. But I learned something NEW which always makes my day ...there any mods for this gizmo? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thetis_(decoy) Several U-boats carried several of these each (12 or more) and actually deployed them "The first time the Allies knew about the "Thetis" was in a coded radio message to all U-boats transmitted on 11 January 1944. "Thetis" was introduced in January, when large numbers were released into the Bay of Biscay in July to simulate U-boat patrols during the Battle of Normandy." Some assembly was required in the conning tower! I just gotta have a Thetis!

[STEED]

Originally Posted by Subnuts

Page 19: The date of Donitz's succession to chancellor is given as October 30, 1945, more than six months after Germany surrendered to the Allies.

Classic

Hang on that is two things wrong.....

In order to provide the German people with a government of honorable men who will fulfill the task of continuing the war will all the means at their disposal, I, as Fuhrer of the nation, appoint the following members of the new cabinet:
President of the Reich: Donitz
Chancellor of the Reich: Dr Goebbels

[Subnuts]

To be fair, the book does get the position right (Reichsprasident), but manages to list the date as both April 30 and October 30 within the same two page spread!

I still like the idea that nobody told Donitz the war was over, and was installed as President as part of a cruel Oktoberfest prank.

[Sailor Steve]

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Sorry, couldn't resist.

Heil Döenitz! Actually having lost two sons and seen his theory of naval war fail... He must have groaned inwardly at the promotion but realized he was having a better day than Rommel or Canaris

[Subnuts]

I'm not usually one to toot my own horn, but reading the most recent reviews of this book on Amazon UK makes me feel oddly vindicated.


Don't say I didn't warn you...

[Herr-Berbunch]

On the up-side, Haynes clearly didn't plagiarise Rossler's book.

Thanks for the warning.

[Alfred Keitzer]

Wow! Sounds like Haynes’ Amateur Hour – a total lack of research.This author could have written a more accurate book by just watched The History Channel.I strongly agree, a book like this, with so many blatant errors, should never have been published and I hope you intend to send your findings to the publisher.

[Subnuts]

On a side note, I just got my copy of Haynes' new manual on the Type 45 destroyer, and it's actually really good! It's written by an experienced naval architect who worked on the Type 45 design team and helped integrate the Sea Viper missile system into the finished design. A nice stripped-down presentation without all the fluff the U-boat manual had, just lots of technical stuff, diagrams and photos of the inner workings, some insight into the design, development and operation of the ship, and data on the different sensors and weapons. It's a heck of a lot more detailed than I'd expect; there's whole sections devoted to the ship's ventilation and waste water systems, diagrams of the propulsion plant, details on how the electronic warfare systems work - you get the picture. It's pretty much what I hoped for from the U-boat manual, instead of the embarrassing mess we got.