The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War: An Operational History of the American-Built Destroyer Escorts Serving Under the White Ensign from [Hardcover]

Donald Collingwood (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1999

The Captain-class frigates included seventy-eight sturdy destroyer escorts built in the United States and leased to Great Britain in 1943. This engaging narrative of their operations was written by a crewmember who describes the close teamwork and comradeship that existed within the Captains escort groups as they faced the lethal submarine threat. It is a story of vigilance, determination, and fortitude combined with high skill and unfailing courage.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press (April 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557501955
• ISBN-13: 978-1557501950
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,414,817 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Two dramatic WW2 stories in one book, April 7, 2001

By 

J. Foss "Joel Foss" (Lakewood, California USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Captain Class Frigates in the Second World War: An Operational History of the American-Built Destroyer Escorts Serving Under the White Ensign from (Hardcover)

This book presents a view of the Battle of the Atlantic that no other does; the view of the thousands of British sailors already accustomed to three years of war and food rationing, who were sent to American ports to pick up American-built DEs built for the Royal Navy. The author's account of a meal in the dining room of a US Navy dormitory for British sailors is both heartbreaking and hilarious. Also interesting is his assertion that the British soldier's and sailor's exposure to the relative abundance and egalitarianism of American life was part of the reason for the militance of demands for change in post-war Britain.

Also hilarious is the account of the accidental shelling of Boston Harbor during a shakedown cruise of one of the new DEs.

The rest of the book is a straightforward account of the Battle of the Atlantic, with it's patient hunt for German submarines in rough, freezing seas.