Customer Reviews

Submarine Diary: The Silent Stalking of Japan

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Corwin Mendenhall's book, "Submarine Diary: The Silent Stalking of Japan" gives the reader a unique look into the daily operations of a WWII Fleet submarine stalking Japanese ships in the Pacific. The insight is unique because although Mendenhall was an officer aboard the USS Sculpin and then the USS Pintado, he was "an enlisted man's officer" and he tells the story of his patrols aboard these submarines from that perspective. I enjoyed reading this book because at one moment it relates the daily grind of serving on a sub and the next moment, it explodes with action as an enemy ship is spotted and attacked. I recommend this book to anyone who is a WW II submarine junkie because it is an account of real men and real times.

From the inside of a submarine, the ocean passes you by. The input you have comes from sonar and the periscope. Rather than give us another tale of submarine exploits, Mendenhall provides us with a war perspective from the men in the machine. This is an interesting WWII narrative.

Rather than taking a retrospective look as an admiral (Mendenhall is a retired rear admiral), this narrative is taken from his diary from his submarine missions as a junior officer and an executive officer. He discusses the routines and the fighting, as well as gives the sailors' perspective. He also discusses the frustration felt by the crew as defective torpedoes missed easy targets.

Not only does he discuss the day-to-day life in the submarine, he also gives a tally of how the submarine did on each mission. This was enlightening. He also shares his concerns about his career and command in the Navy as the war was beginning to wind down.

I would recommend this book to WWII, Navy, and submarine buffs.

The only criticism I have of this book is it too short. It left me wanting more. But it appears to be an accurate depiction of the daily routine of a submarine in combat; plenty exciting with intermittent periods of boredom. A more fleshed out version would be even better.

Published in 1991, this book is from the diary of Corwin Mendenhall, who served aboard US Submarines from 1941-1945. This book was written after his retirement and accurately captures what life was like on board these subs during 11 different cruises.

The reader learns first hand of all of the difficulties faced - early in WW2, our torpedos did not work well. That took awhile to fix. Early subs could not dive deep enough, which meant danger during enemy depth charges. It took awhile to get agressive Officers to maximize sinking opportunities. Despite these difficulties, US Subs sank 55% of all Japanese shipping during WW2, even though they were only 2% of the naval personnel. And to highlight the dangers, over 20% of all submarines and their crew were lost at sea.

Mendenhall writes with a very understated style - he really puts you there in the sub, facing the day to day tedium, chores, administrative stuff that still had to get done. Reports, studying to pass tests for promotions. The fun that was had during rest breaks. The comraderie built up during the war. And of course, the action. Mendenhall says "the long stretches of tedium and waiting, interrupted occasionally by brief periods of excitement, terror and peril".

This book really hooks you. You can relate to everyone, you see the war through the eyes of a very humble, very honest man who reminds us of a time of great danger and sacrifice, the men who made those sacrifices and the victory that was so hard won. I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in WW2, naval operations, history buffs, those who want to be reminded or learn about the everyday heroes that won WW2.

Very exciting story. The author was extremely adventerous-more so than I personally would have cared to experience. The book is a great read.