Death in the Doldrums: U-Cruiser Actions Off West Africa [Hardcover]

Bernard Edwards (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: US Naval Institute Press; First edition. edition (October 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591142032
• ISBN-13: 978-1591142034
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,337,456 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and well presented., June 3, 2008

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Death in the Doldrums: U-Cruiser Actions Off West Africa (Hardcover)

One of the more remarkable aspects of this book is the revelation of the way in which the Vichy French treated British sailors (which were accepted as being non-combatants) as prisoners of war. These being the sailors who had survived being sunk by the U Boats which feature in this book. War crimes, it seems, were not limited to the Germans and Japanese!

The U Cruiser was a type IX U Boat which was larger and had far greater range than the highly successful Type VII. Her design and features enabled the craft to operate further afield where they saw considerable success off the east coast of Africa and on the western side of the Atlantic. What started out as a nuisance operation - to become a thorn in the side of the British Admiralty in areas where, previously, Allied ships had sailed unhindered, U68 and U505 saw such success that the British soon had to completely rethink their strategy by organising convoys and defence systems for the ships which sailed these remote waters.

This author has received mixed reviews from me in the past with one of his books earning a well-justified 4 stars and another, an equally deserving one. On this occasion, however, he brings detailed and meticulous research to a subject which has, hitherto, been overlooked - possibly because of the more flamboyant exploits of those commanders who served in the Type VII U Boat (Prien, Kretschmer, Schepke & Co). In so doing, he has revealed an area of U Boat activity and operations from which many devotees of the subject will learn something new.

If I may be permitted one very minor criticism; In the German language, there never was a hyphen after the letter "U" in connection with U Boats. Consequently, U Boat, U68 and U505 are correct. U-Boat, U-68 and U-505 are incorrect. As I say, small point.

NM

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Well researched and well presented., June 3, 2008

By 

Ned Middleton (British professional underwater photo-journalist & author) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Death in the Doldrums (Hardcover)

One of the more remarkable aspects of this book is the revelation of the way in which the Vichy French treated British sailors (which were accepted as being non-combatants) as prisoners of war. These being the sailors who had survived being sunk by the U Boats which feature in this book. War crimes, it seems, were not limited to the Germans and Japanese!

The U Cruiser was a type IX U Boat which was larger and had far greater range than the highly successful Type VII. Her design and features enabled the craft to operate further afield where they saw considerable success off the east coast of Africa and on the western side of the Atlantic. What started out as a nuisance operation - to become a thorn in the side of the British Admiralty in areas where, previously, Allied ships had sailed unhindered, U68 and U505 saw such success that the British soon had to completely rethink their strategy by organising convoys and defence systems for the ships which sailed these remote waters.

This author has received mixed reviews from me in the past with one of his books earning a well-justified 4 stars and another, an equally deserving one. On this occasion, however, he brings detailed and meticulous research to a subject which has, hitherto, been overlooked - possibly because of the more flamboyant exploits of those commanders who served in the Type VII U Boat (Prien, Kretschmer, Schepke & Co). In so doing, he has revealed an area of U Boat activity and operations from which many devotees of the subject will learn something new.

If I may be permitted one very minor criticism; In the German language, there never was a hyphen after the letter "U" in connection with U Boats. Consequently, U Boat, U68 and U505 are correct. U-Boat, U-68 and U-505 are incorrect. As I say, small point.

NM

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Expensive -- Detailed but Little to Learn, March 13, 2009

By 

David M. Dougherty (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Death in the Doldrums: U-Cruiser Actions Off West Africa (Hardcover)

The subject of this book is the actions of primarily three UBoats off the coast of West Africa (the Doldrums), the U68, U505, and the Italian Leonardo da Vinci. The writing is satisfactory, but much of the content is taken up with the experiences of the survivors of the torpodoed ships and even their captivity under the Vichy French. These stories were wearying and added little except readily forgotten detail. In fact, the story is without impact being mainly focused on the hum-drum of limited activities in a remote theater. For students of the naval war of World War II, there is little to learn here, and really nothing of importance to the greater conflict.

About the only thing I learned was that the British allowed Vichy French ships to trade unmolested even though they were carrying cargos destined for use by the German Wehrmacht. On the other hand, British crews that fell into Vichy hands suffered imprisonment under harsh conditions until the Allies took North Africa.

The prose is supplemented with log records, reports and 1st person narratives, but in general these added little other than authenticity.

For someone collecting books covering all of the German naval actions, this work would be an addition to his library. Otherwise, one learns little about UBoat life, tactics, command structure and problems. The role of allied air cover is accurately depicted, especially in the Bay of Biscay. The actions of merchant ships and their survivors were monontous in their sameness, except that one should be reminded that it was safer to be in the US Navy in World War II than in the US Merchant Marine.

All in all, this was an average book of little importance. The treatment of the subject was scholarly and well-researched, but I suspect most readers will not find enough meat here to give the work a high rating. And at $35.00, the book is clearly over-priced -- the reader should wait until it is on the bargain list as it certainly will be given the minimal interest in the subject matter.