Customer Reviews

Submarine: A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Submarine: A Guided Tour of a Nuclear Warship, first published in 1993 but recently updated, is the lead book in a seven-volume non-fiction series which examines many of the weapons systems and/or units that appear in Tom Clancy's fiction.

Written with the assistance of defense analyst John D. Gresham, Submarine is an interesting look at one of the most fascinating yet least seen warships in the United States Navy, the Improved Los Angeles-class nuclear attack submarine. While steering clear of revealing such closely guarded secrets as true maximum speed, diving depth, and the layout of the nuclear power plant, Clancy and Gresham manage to give the reader an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at "the boat," its weapons, and more importantly, its officers and crew. For, as Clancy has often pointed out in both his novels and op-ed columns, it's not the machine or weapon that determines success in battle; it's the operator and his/her training and morale that matter on the battlefield.

Supplementing the section on USS Miami -- the boat Clancy and Gresham closely examine -- is a section devoted to the Royal Navy's smaller but still-impressive nuclear sub force. Clancy examines not only the workings and weapons of HMS Triumph, a Trafalgar-class attack sub, but he also delves into the differences in training between American and British SSN skippers. His comments may raise eyebrows among some American readers unaccustomed to even constructive criticism of the U.S. Navy, but at least Clancy is honest and doesn't shy away from speaking his mind about a branch of our military that he is otherwise very fond of.

The new edition leaves the original text as it appeared in 1993: there are no updates on the featured officers (namely, the skippers and execs of USS Miami and HMS Triumph) and their subsequent careers. However, Submarine does have a new section covering the entry into service of two new classes of SSN into Navy service, and the section on Other People's Boats has also been updated.

A word about the quality of this book. I like it enough to have both editions, true. It's informative (up to a point), but it's not exactly impressive, either. As an introduction to the topic of nuclear attack subs, it works. But is it as good as Clancy's depictions of SSNs in his novels The Hunt for Red October and Red Storm Rising? Perhaps, perhaps not.

Actually I would give this book 3 and half stars. This book represents an effort to give a comprehensive introduction to modern nuclear attack submarine. This effort itself is respectful. But just like most other military technical books you find in an average bookstore, Clancy's work is filled with technical inacurracies. One obvious example: the side view of Kilo sub at the end of the book is totally out of proportion. And Clancy's USA-always-No.-1 arrogance is a bit annoying. In his tatical senarios, which are entertaining to read, he just assumes too little of the enemies' intelligence in blunt statement such as "the captain of the Russian boat tries the same evasion tactics as his American opponent, but they are probably not as effective." At another occasion he calls the Soviet Union a "babarian country."

In short, this book is adequate in providing amateur knowledge on attack submarine and is entertaining as a leisure reading. But maybe it's just not worth the money of serious collectors. The easily accessible accurate info. could be found in the menu of Jane's game 688I, Hunter/Killer (although it's quite dry to read), or US Submarines since 1945: an Illustrated Design History by Friedman and Chritley.

After reading about the submarine-launched cruise missiles used during Operation Desert Fox and hearing about the submarines, American and others, that have been commissioned and retired, I thought this book should be revised. The book has a copyright date of 1993 and much has taken place since then in terms of fleets, technology and weapons, for example. Clancy should also discuss Operation Desert Fox and other recent actions and exercises involving submarines. I also believe that this book could use an index to help submarine buffs such as myself find info on various topics pertaining to submarines. Even with all the errors that have been pointed out by the other reviewers and even with much of the information being out of date, Clancy's book is still a wonderful introduction to the silent service.

I encountered this book as I was trying to decide whether or not to join the US Navy as a submariner; one of the main things I was wrestling with was the fact that I knew virtually nothing about submarines. This book was an excellent introduction to a range of topics: the role of submarines in the Navy, the various types of submarines out there, a little bit about the weapons systems and sonar equipment, and most importantly for me, a glimpse of life aboard a submarine. I wasn't expecting a super-detailed report on every facet of submarines, but it delivered some interesting things that I didn't expect (particularly the parts about other people's navies and various combat scenarios). If you already know quite a bit about submarines, this would probably be rather boring, but as an intro book, it's an excellent choice. Heartily recommended for people considering joining the Navy, as well as civilians who want to know a little more about the lives of their submariner friends.

I'm not a historian, but I counted a dozen errors in fact and interpretation in the first four pages. Example? Robert Fulton did not demonstrate his Nautilus to the British in 1804, or ever. He built one Nautilus, and one only, which he scrapped in France. Nor did he "destroy a number of vessels in test runs," anywhere. My source is the "Navy Times book of Submarines," written by retired Navy Captain Brayton Harris. It's billed as a "Political, Social and Military History" and may be the most accurate overall history of the early years of submarine development . . . ever. The rest of Clancy's book? I found it a bit tedious.

This book took me back to the days of catnapping on the steel deck of the sonar equipment space (SES), eating cabbage and jello for a week straight (only food left on an extended and extended again op)and setting my personal best record of five days w/ no sleep on station!!!! I was a sonar tec. and this book was like falling asleep at the stack listening to whales or was it waking up w/ the common flooding nightmares. Either way, I feel the book may be a bit easier to understand if you spent six years on a pig, but it is a good insite into the world of the silent service. Some of the technical info may be a bit much to follow.

If you want detailed technical information about modern submarines, there are probably better sources--Janes, for example.

That is not how I would approach this book. We all know that Tom Clancy is a great historical novelist. This book (and how much he actually wrote is debatable) is like a little "hornbook"--giving you the kind of atmosphere and technical details you could use to start thinking about writing a story--a story about humans with their frailties and courage, with the sea and submarines as a backdrop.

Sure. there are inaccuracies, but that isn't the point. What is mostly correct is there, and in enough detail to give one a fundamental understanding of submarine warfare, and the nature of "going down to sea in ships." I used the book to help my father, an ex-naval ordnance designer, in recovery from a stroke. It served well.

After all, it IS important to know the difference between a Mark 14 and a Mark 10 torpedo, is it not?

A fun read, not to be read at one sitting, and will enhance your enjoyment of films such as "Hunt for Red October" and "U-571". And the Janes series, while technically flawless, won't do that. You'll understand why Clancy has cornered this genre.

Tom Clancy, the author of many great military novels, is the author is the of "Submarine". "Submarine" takes a decisive look into the design and tactics of modern submarines and warfare. John Gresham aids Clancy in virtual tours of the U.S.S. Miami and the H.M.S. Eagle. Gresham paints a portrait in your mind of what the insides of a modern nuclear powered sub, where only a handful roam. "Submarine" also provides a good understandig of crew life aboard the Miami and the Eagle. Overa, I think this book gives a good image of submarines in the real world. This book is good for those interested in submarines and have a basic understanding of submarine terminology and equipment.

This effort from Tom Clancy was an entertaining book to read, but it lacked the drama of Blind Man's Bluff for its daring and newly revealed details,or of Big Red for the day to day life aspects of submarine life.

The book did offer a different format, though, describing the training of the U.S. and Royal Navies, as well as offering some scenarios that could be how submarines are used in war for the next quarter century. Included were some of the details of the development of the modern nuclear navies, and the operations they have engaged in and the men who operated them.

My chief enjoyment from the book came from its simplicity, and lack of technical jargon that allowed me to cruise through each page easily. Having read a bit about submarines, I was able to pick up on the occasional new item, but if someone wanting a lot of details about what it takes to be in the silent service, then I would look elsewhere.

Despite these detractions, it will occupy a spot on my bookshelf and be loaned to friends if they are seeking an interesting book on today's submarines.

I have read a lot of different types of submarine stories over the past few years like Blind Man's Bluff, The Silent War and the most recent biography of Rickover. I wanted some background information on exactly how these machines work.
Well this book does more than supply that. The first section of the book tells about all the systems on a Los Angles class attack sub. It explains all the systems that are used on the craft with the exception of the nuclear power plant. It also tells why the US Navy has had no reactor accidents.
The most interesting part I found out was when they launch Torpedoes that have a wire attached to them that is almost 2 miles long that they can send messages correcting the guidance to the target. I had never heard of this before or ever seen it in a movie. I suppose they could use them like sonar buoys too. There were other things that surprised me too but I don't want to tell too much.

The next part talks about a United Kingdom Trafalgar class attack submarine. It was smaller but quieter than the US boats because instead of having a screw in the back for propulsion it used a pump jet which was the wave of the future. It also explained the differences between the US and UK's programs in the US Navy engineer skills are more important whereas in the UK it is command skills that are emphasis. The other thing is the UK brings along more beer with them mostly because of tradition.

The next part, which I thought was the best, was the mission section of the book. This was broken up into six sections describing the different kinds of roles nuclear submarines could be used for. There were some true life scenarios along with what we could have done in various situations. The emphasis here is stealth; the tomahawk mission and the mining mission of North Korean ports show the best example of this. The weapons are much more sophisticated than I had thought.

The final section on the other nations with submarines surprised me. I would have never thought that Italy and Norway would have a submarine force and that France had no nuclear submarines at all just diesels.

This was very interesting material to someone who is interesting in how nuclear submarines work and the kind of men who run them along with their possible missions. Some of it will amaze you.