Submarines, even if tied to the pier 2025: Current reads

New year, new thread! This is a current reading list for anyone interested in sharing their submarine reads ...

Began this year's naval history reading with Clear the Bridge!: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang, Richard H. O'Kane, (hardbound and Audible) 480 pages (18h, 50m, but then you'd miss out on the photos and maps)

This is an account of the USS Tang's five WW2 war patrols by the commanding officer. There is a lot of interest beyond the obvious WW2, naval, or technological history presented in this book. There are project management lessons galore, from change control issues to problem-solving at its finest. There are even a few small sea stories for entertainment. It's a rather unique story and no matter how many times I hear it, especially with the detail this book includes, I don't get tired of it. A nice view into the mind of a submarine commander, too - even if it's his thoughts on the radio shack still.

Began The Submarine Six last year but finally sat down this past weekend and finished the back half. This book covers the life and naval careers of the 6 namesakes of the Australian Navy's Collins class of submarines. Each namesake served during WW2, and as this was a period where the Australian Navy was truly becoming independent of Britain (once the Pacific war began), there is a lot of interesting information about the before, during, and after. The author thoughtfully included a glossary and explanation of things such as rates/rank, making the subject much easier "to dive into" (couldn't help myself there). A very informative book for those interested in Pacific naval history of the second World War, certainly, but also for those wishing to understand the Australian's history and participation in keeping the seas open to all.

Finished More Sub Tales, the audiobook by Charles Hood and Frank Hood, surprisingly quickly despite its length. The sea stories were very engaging and entertaining, and even the tragedies described were done so with an intent to inform and pay tribute to the lost heroes. I very much appreciate the brother authors' capture of so very many stories and will definitely continue in the future with this series (this is just the 2nd of 5 books in this series).

Personally, I didn't know anything about Simon Lake's submarine development initiatives, despite having had some small level of focus on this branch of the USN's history for the past couple of years. The Hoods treated the subject very thoroughly, as in many of their chapters in this book, provided a lot of information that dovetails so well with other literature out there about the topics covered. There is a breadth of coverage in this book as this book contains stories from early submarine development in the late 19th c. until the early 21st c. And plenty of humor along the way to keep the reader eager to read more.

Realized, a bit late, that I meant to include this enticing little nugget from The Submarine Six in my description of the book, so here it goes (p. 167):

His ship-handling, as has been noted, could be violent, and Waller was certainly an aggressive commander. Stuart (HMAS Stuart) under his command had the reputation for dropping more depth charges than any other ship in the Med:

One day, when the battle fleet was at sea and Cunningham was conferring with his staff in his cabin, the familiar woomph woomph woomph of depth charges came from the distance. Without looking up from his papers, A.B.C. (Adm. Andrew B. Cunningham) said, 'Ah, I see Waller's rejoined the fleet.'

It was a trait Signalman Clifford noted too: 'Stuart immediately increased speed and dropped a few depth charges on the position indicated. Captain Waller was always quick to act and did not take chances with any underwater object that might be a U-boat'.

'Hard-Over Hec' - Captain Hector Waller is the sixth naval hero discussed in the book.

Sink 'Em All by Adm. Charles A. Lockwood is both a review of submarine action during WW2 and a listing of Who's Who that Lockwood wishes to acknowledge. It would seem that part of the intent of this book was to have the sub service more widely recognized for their accomplishments and sacrifices during WW2.

I appreciated getting a brief, straight-forward account of the torpedo issues and how they were resolved. While Lockwood is generally given credit for pushing through to a resolution for the problem, in this book he provides a very diplomatic description of the problems that the sub service encountered to have the problem acknowledged and correctly resolved, and again shares the credit around to the various other USN service members who assisted in resolving the problem. No wonder so many under his command really liked him ...

Came across Sub Culture in the University of Chicago Press sale catalogue.

Across six chapters, an in-depth (hah) dive (hah hah) into the world of submarines. The author is clearly most comfortable discussing subs in culture, especially movies. Analyzing US submarine performance in the Pacific War by by the cheesy home front movies of the 40s is a choice, but not a good one.

Same with politics, the Cold War was won before Tom Clancy quit selling insurance. There are several glaring errors just from my limited field of knowledge all those years ago.

Still, an enjoyable read. Submarine as Fantasy was a terrific chapter.

>7 kcshankd: I'd seen that come up somewhere (unsure where). Submarine as Fantasy?? Is this "Operation Petticoat" or "We All Live in a Yellow Submarine" type thinking? Actually looks like a bit fun - I'll keep an eye out for it!

Finished two others so far this month:
- The Silent Service in World War II: The Story of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force in the Words of the Men Who Lived It
This is a collection of short, firsthand accounts of life, duty, and action with a few sea stories thrown in for good measure. The accounts are from mostly enlisted WW2 submariners, and the book as a whole was strong in presenting a picture of life aboard. Not the 99% boredom part, of course: that wouldn't make much of a story. I want to note that there were stories from many boats I hadn't read much about before, too.
- The Taking of K-129
Interesting and enjoyable! I'd seen the Azorian documentary a few years ago, but this book is really strong in describing how problems in engineering and secret keeping were solved to realize this fantastical project. The author skillfully navigated the technical nature of mountains of documentation, news clippings, and interviews to present a very readable narrative.

Lastly, I'm slowly - on purpose - making my way through Lockwood's Hellcats of the Sea. Partly because I'm savoring it, and partly because I want to understand. Lockwood has often been credited with being the drive behind getting the US WW2 torpedo problems solved, but he himself shared that credit around in Sink ‘Em All: Submarine Warfare in the Pacific (1951). I haven't really gotten far enough into this book to see what he says about the torpedoes, but early on in this work (1955) he discusses what he did to acquire the 11 sets of FM Sonar that were originally to go to the minesweepers, despite being unwanted by that group. That certainly reinforces the idea that he's the perfect person for his role, managing the demands of the role while solving the problems of the boat crews so they can do their job. I'm enjoying looking up stuff on the web to understand the tech a little deeper, or know more about the careers of the people he mentions in the book - and always with Google Earth at hand.

Operation: Snare Drum and Leviathan Rising (USS Bullshark series)

Okay, I succumbed to the temptation of reading submarine fiction about WW2, and not sure I'm better for the experience. I was hoping for a Tom Clancy type experience I guess, but from now on I'll stick with primary source memoirs for WW2. Trying not to "diss" the author's fun attempt, he totally acknowledges the fantasy aspects and that does help one accept a lot of it, but personally the addition of snorkels long before they were available (historically) changes the capabilities of the subs so much that the whole plot goes off for me, and that is such a small part. I know, I know ... what a grump I am! ... I DID try though, reading TWO of the series, as the 2nd one appeared in a "top sub books" list. And the second in the series was better than the first: I acknowledge that the way some historical characters were worked into the story wasn't bad at all. All I can say is, not my cup of Joe: I'm an outlier on this, as the books get 4+ stars on a lot of reviews.

Hellcats of the Sea, Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood

This is Admiral Lockwood's 1955 retelling of the people, technology, and events that lead to the success of Operation Barney by 9 US submarines of the Pacific fleet in June, 1945 when he was COMSUBPAC. Previous attempts to hunt enemy shipping there under the resource starvation campaign waged by the Allies had ended in the disastrous loss of entire submarines like the Wahoo (USS 238). This operation was possible with the addition of FMS (Frequency Modulated Sonar) to detect enemy mines planted where seacraft would access the Sea of Japan. Admiral Lockwood, in his role as COMSUBPAC, determined that the FMS could be used by his submarine forces to detect the mines and then oversaw or resolved the issues preventing its adaption, including a hefty amount of convincing the submarine commanders and crews that they could rely on the equipment.

In this book Lockwood states that he was motivated by feelings of revenge for the Wahoo and its CO Mush Morton as much as a desire to protect his submarine crews. Operation Barney occurred so near the end of the war but I think Lockwood is correct in asserting that the continued pressure the submarine force placed on Japanese supply lines greatly contributed to the Imperial Japanese being primed to end the war once the atomic bombs were detonated in August, 1945, just 6-7 weeks after Operation Barney's sinking of 27 ships and 1 submarine - more than 50,000 tons in shipping. One can't help but appreciate Lockwood's project management skills, but his insight about the technology and creativity in problem solving are actually pretty impressive.

No Ordinary Joes, Larry Colton

This collection of WW2 memoirs/biographies didn't go where I expected it to. The book was organized into brief chapters with a segment of each of the 4 subject enlisted sailors' lives, beginning with childhood and following through to their old age. Although some had served in other areas of the Navy or on different submarines initially, they all ended up on the USS Grenadier (SS-210) on its final patrol before being scuttled on April 22, 1943 after a grueling ordeal trying to save the ship and its crew. The stories continue through capture, a brutal incarceration, repatriation after Japanese surrender, and their lives that followed. It was an interesting compilation of biographical and historical stories.

Collapse Depth: Danny Jabo, Book 1

Included for a brief time on Audible, I thought I'd give this work of fiction a try. It is set up as a thriller and was fast-paced/well-written. There are lots of technical and submarine-life details to make it feel just possible. An enjoyable listen (audiobook), so I'll keep going on the series.

I just finished Craig L. Symonds' World War II at Sea: A Global History, which is a high level history of the naval war in WW2: quite difficult to do, when you think about covering all the combattants and their doings. It's organized roughly chronologically, but Symonds presents one event/theater at a time and then makes references to it when simultaneous events occur later in the book. It works well enough, and short of a day-by-day or hour-by-hour listing of decisions and unfolding events, I think this makes the book very readable.

However, there's barely anything about submarines! I mean, okay, he does talk about them a bit, but not much ... but to his credit, he does discuss the submarines of non-US navies a bit, and that's something. In comparison to Ian Toll's WW2 series, which, to be fair, focuses on the Pacific and is 3 volumes, Symonds really overlooks submarines in the Pacific, both Japanese and Allied.

So, yes, I came here just to complain. But really, it's a fine book that does manage to cram the whole naval war into one volume. There's more about the German navy in the Norwegian and Baltic seas than I'd previously read elsewhere, as an example (without having read a book dedicated to this subject, in other words). So it was worth the hours (it's a chunkster at just under 800 pages or 26 hours) and it'd be hard not to learn something new along the way.

I'll mention The Imperial Japanese Navy in the Pacific War here, as this book has a catalogue of Japanese warships of WW2. The 2nd to last chapter is about Japanese subs. The book details some of the technological additions or deficiencies of the various groups of subs and does its best to describe their missions and ultimate fate. There is a fair amount of high-level analysis as to the mis-use, or rather, inadequate use, of submarine operational capabilities: the author asserts that the single-purpose designs were a big part of that mistake. Compounding the mission problem is the extremely conservative operational activities of the captains and crews contributing to their lack of usefulness to the Japanese war effort (in the view of the author). Taken within the context of the author's view that the IJN's biggest error was in holding to the doctrine of the one decisive battle to decide the war, one can easily conclude how submarines were not viewed as important to that goal. The adaptation of the Kaiten "guided torpedoes" in the last years of the war would be consistent.

This is the first time I've really read about the Japanese subs of WW2 as individual boats, however briefly, and I found the information interesting but recognize that reading a catalogue of boats is not to everyone's taste!

Anyways, the book has me dragging out Jane's Submarines: War Beneath the Waves from 1776 to the Present Day and reading up about the early Japanese submarine force, beginning with the Holland boats (1904-1922, 5 of which were constructed by Electric Boat and 2 in Japan), and the KD6 class (1930s-WW2), and Sen Toku seaplane carriers (1943-WW2). The Pearl Harbor submarine museum has a mini-sub on display (I want to say the museum at Groton does too, but I can't remember clearly), but Jane's doesn't catalogue them.

I've listened to a few "included" memoirs on Audible in the last few months:
- Super Nuke! by Charles Cranston Jett about the USS Ray
- Heroes Beneath the Waves by Mary Nida Smith which includes many short memoirs of submariners, almost all WW2 era
- Submerged: Life on a Fast Attack Submarine in the Last Days of the Cold War by Henry Rausch about a NUPOC officer's experiences as a JO in the submarine force

I'll also mention Evan Thomas' Road to Surrender here, although it barely mentions submarines in the Pacific (a major flaw, imo, as it does not sufficiently credit the submarine force for the resource problems of Japan). It presents some of the personal thinking of leaders in the final days of WW2 that lead to Japan's decision to surrender, and with a definite knowledge base in Pacific aviation.