Best book on U-Boats

[GibClaret1980]

I'm currently reading Wolf U-Boat Commanders in World War 2 by Jordan Vause and its excellent just wondering what other good U-Boat books people have read ?

[Dowly]

Can't go wrong with Herbert Werner's Iron Coffins:
https://www.amazon.com/Iron-Coffins-.../dp/030681160X

[GibClaret1980]

Thank you mate sure me dad has that. Will ask him for it.

[Aktungbby]

The best book on WWII's Uboat war is Clay Blair's two-volume: Hitler's U-boat War: no imho about it! Get this scholarly duo under your belt and you've done your homework!

[GibClaret1980]

Hahaha thanks very much will take alook

[Dowly]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

The best book on WWII's Uboat war is Clay Blair's two-volume: Hitler's U-boat War: no imho about it! Get this scholarly duo under your belt and you've done your homework!

Blair's book is not without some serious flaws:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Blair#Criticism

[GibClaret1980]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Blair's book is not without some serious flaws:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Blair#Criticism

Thanks for this. Most U-boat books have some flaws in them haha.

This 1 has just come out

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/15267187...v_ov_lig_dp_it

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Blair's book is not without some serious flaws:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Blair#Criticism

Just mindless nit picky criticism because Clay correctly pointed out that the U-boats were never a real threat.

Clay Blair's two volume set which I have read twice over and have used countless times as a reference is hands down the best on the subject.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Dowly

Blair's book is not without some serious flaws:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Blair#Criticism

Originally Posted by GibClaret1980

Thanks for this. Most U-boat books have some flaws in them haha.

INDEED! ALL HISTORIES STARTING WITH PLATO(ALLEGORIC TALE OF ATLANTIS) INCLUDING WINSTON CHURCHILL'S 6 VOL. HISTORY OF WWII HAVE FLAWS-GENERALLY BEING A PERSONAL AGENDA OF THE AUTHOR INFLICTED ON THE READER-I MEAN REALLY, WINSTON WAS THE ONLY ONE OF THE 'BIG THREE' WHO WROTE....PRESUMABLY WITH THE INSIGHT OF A PARTICIPANT. MOST HISTORIES ARE TRITE, SUGARCOATED, FOR PROFIT, BUT OCCASIONALLY AS WITH DAS BOOT MAKE A GOOD FLICK. MR. BLAIR, ON SEVERAL LEVELS IS THE LEAST WORST OF THESE:

The first volume of Clay Blair's magisterial, highly praised narrative history of the German submarine war against Allied shipping in World War II, The Hunters, 1939-1942, described the Battle of the Atlantic waged first against the British Empire and then against the Americas. This second and concluding volume, The Hunted, 1942-1945, covers the period when the fortunes of the German Navy were completely reversed, and it suffered perhaps the most devastating defeat of any of the German forces.

In unprecedented detail and drawing on sources never used before, Clay Blair continues the dramatic and authoritative story of the failures and fortunes of the German U-boat campaign against the United States and Great Britain. All the major patrols and sorties made by the Germans are described in detail and with considerable human interest: the Peleus and Laconia affairs; the capture at sea of U-505; the crisis of German command; the futile operations against the Americas; and the mounting and devastating losses that, in effect, entirely destroyed the German submarine service....military historian Blair, who served on an American submarine in the Pacific against Japan, postulates that the German U-boat peril in the Atlantic has been "vastly overblown" in previously published histories and memoirs of that naval struggle, as well as in films. As a consequence, Blair writes, a false mythology about the effectiveness of U-boats has taken root, and in order to clearly and fully understand World War II, one must put the U-boat threat into proper perspective.

Although neither volume is intended to be "technical" in nature, Blair does not neglect the scientific developments of the U-boat war. These include radar and radar detectors, active and passive sonar, Axis encoding machines and exotic Allied decoding machines, high-frequency direction finding (Huff Duff), Hedgehogs, depth charges, and sophisticated U-boat torpedoes. He describes how these devices worked and how they influenced the course of the naval battle.

AS A B.A. IN HISTORY MYSELF, RULE 1 IS ALWAYS: READER BEWARE; WITH MR BLAIR WE GET A VETERAN WWII SUBMARINER WHO HAS COMPETENTLY WRITTEN SEVERAL MILTARY HISTORIES AND DOES NOT SUGARCOAT. IN FACT HE DE- MYTHOLOGIZES THE EFFICACY OF DOENITZ'S ULTIMATELY MISERABLE ATLANTIC BATTLE STRATEGY AND FOR THAT ALONE IT IS 'REQUIRED READING' FOR ANY TRUE STUDENT OF THE U-BOAT WAR. HIS UNAVOIDABLE CONCLUSION (PG 707):

"FROM SEPTEMBER 1942 TO MAY 1945...THE ALLIES SAILED 953 CONVOYS EAST AND WEST...43,926 MERCHANT VESSELS...OF THESE 272 WERE SUNK BY U-BOATS...99.4% OF ALL MERCHANT SHIPS MADE IT..." TURNING ON ITS EAR THE ACCEPTED WISDOM THAT THE U-BOATS EVER CAME CLOSE TO CUTTING THE STRATEGIC SUPPLY LINE...'

I PREFER COLD STATISTICS TO ROMANTIC SUGAR COATING! BOTTOM LINE: THE U-BOAT WAR WAS A HOPELESS WASTE OF TEUTONIC-ARYAN RESOURCES IN THE PURSUIT OF GLOBAL LEBENSRAUM; BUT ALL THE GAMES SURE R FUN. EDIT:

Originally Posted by BILGE_RAT

Clay Blair's two volume set which I have read twice over and have used countless times as a reference is hands down the best on the subject.

YOU'VE READ APPROX 1800 PAGES TWICE!!! "YER A BETTER MAN THAN I, GUNGA DIN!"

[Bilge_Rat]

Originally Posted by Aktungbby

YOU'VE READ APPROX 1800 PAGES TWICE!!! "YER A BETTER MAN THAN I, GUNGA DIN!"

well that was over a long period of time and truth be told, I did read them all the way through once and then re-read selected sections depending what I was looking for, the 1st volume more than the 2nd. The 1942-45 volume is interesting, but a depressing read for the U-Boats.

but yes, highly recommended. The sections on Enigma, allied code breaking and German countermeasures alone would make a book on its own. The movie "The Imitation Game" tells the story superficially, but here it is really fleshed out, especially how the Allies would use the info to save ships while making sure the Germans would not catch on.

[Threadfin]

Originally Posted by Bilge_Rat

Just mindless nit picky criticism because Clay correctly pointed out that the U-boats were never a real threat.

Clay Blair's two volume set which I have read twice over and have used countless times as a reference is hands down the best on the subject.

Agreed. The points mentioned in that wiki link are opinion. Valid? Perhaps, depends on the reader. For me, this is an essential work. Worth your time and then you can decide if the criticism is valid. Same goes for his book on American subs. Weir is a respected historian, but I agree with Bilge Rat that this is a little nit-picky for such a substantial piece of work.

Werner's book isn't without criticism either. Some call it fiction. While that is going too far in my opinion -- he was on the boat -- careful analysis of dates and locations shows it is less than accurate. In some ways I see Iron Coffins in the same light as Sajer's Forgotten Soldier. Books that have too many inconsistencies to be considered serious factual accounts.

[Platapus]

Trying to identify the best U-Boat book is like identifying the most beautiful woman.



Is there some specific aspect of U-boats that you are interested in?
Design?
Operations in which theater
Which war
Anti Uboat operations?


There are a ton of Uboat books out there, I have read a lot of them and own a lot of them. None of them could I call the one best.

[GibClaret1980]

Originally Posted by Platapus

Trying to identify the best U-Boat book is like identifying the most beautiful woman.



Is there some specific aspect of U-boats that you are interested in?
Design?
Operations in which theater
Which war
Anti Uboat operations?


There are a ton of Uboat books out there, I have read a lot of them and own a lot of them. None of them could I call the one best.

Design not fused
Mainly Atalantic/North Sea No fused on pacific
WW2
No

Thanks

[Jimbuna]

I've all the above mentioned books but the best IMHO especially if you're interested in U-boat history and development is The U-Boat: The Evolution and Technical History of German Submarines by Eberhard Rössler.

Not cheap but well worth the price. I sent a copy to Kpt Lehmann one Christmas years back.

https://www.amazon.com/U-Boat-Evolut.../dp/0304361208

[GibClaret1980]

Costs even more in the UK haha

https://www.amazon.co.uk/U-boat-evol.../dp/0304361208