23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Scattershot Account of Two Subs at War!, August 26, 2008
The intertwined histories of two USN WWII submarines - USS Sculpin and USS Sailfish - are supposedly the subject of this 2008 book from Grand Central Publishing. I say supposedly because the book is so poorly focused you wonder exactly what's in author Jonathan McCullough's periscope sights.
Sculpin (SS-191) and Sailfish (SS-192) had two tragic connections. In May 1939, SS-192, then named Squalus, sank; Sculpin aided in the rescue of her surviving crew. In November 1943 Sculpin was sunk by Japanese destroyers. Some of her survivors were put on board escort carrier IJN Chuyo to be ferried to Japan. Tragically Chuyo was then sunk by Sailfish/Squalus in December 1943. Only one of 21 Sculpin crewmen survived the sinking of the carrier.
Had McCullough told that story, he would have had a great book on his hands. Unfortunately he runs aground for several reasons. First, he devotes pages and pages of A TALE OF TWO SUBS to USN codebreaking operations in WWII. I don't understand why he introduced this totally unrelated element into the book. There isn't a large enough connection between the codebreaking efforts of Joe Rochefort, Jasper Holmes, etc. and the Sculpin/Sailfish story to justify the verbage. As a result, in reading the book, Sailfish often seems like a bit player in a book supposedly detailing its career! Second, the book's organization seems out-of-whack. Sailfish and Sculpin's first cosmic connection came in 1939 yet McCullough doesn't get to that until p. 182. Third, although both subs attacked Japanese shipping, McCullough doesn't include details of the damage they actually inflicted versus what they claimed; such information is readily available in standard sources on the Silent Service.
Sorry to say, I can't recommend A TALE OF TWO SUBS.
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Exciting Tale of Submarine Warfare, July 25, 2008
The Sculpin and Sailfish were two of the U.S. Navy's attack submarines. They, along with the other submarines of the U.S. fleet, were charged with "unrestricted" attacks on all types of Japanese shipping. The submariners carried this task out with cold efficiency. However, in the early days of the war, American submarines were plagued by faulty torpedoes which would "porpoise" or fail to explode upon striking an enemy vessel. Many Japanese ships escaped sure destruction as a result of these inferior weapons.
The Sailfish began its life as the USS Squalis. In the spring of 1939, the Squalis sank during a test dive off the Eastern coast of the United States. Over half of the crew was killed, but some managed to survive the sinking by moving toward the front of the boat, which was undamaged. In a remarkable feat of engineering, these surviving men were rescued from the doomed sub with a diving bell which could be attached to the sub's hull. The Squalis itself was raised from the ocean, repaired and refitted, and re-commissioned as the USS Sailfish. However, many considered the boat to be cursed due to its earlier sinking. Still, the Sailfish began its new service to the Navy.
The USS Sculpin, sister to the Squalis, had been insturmental in assisting with the rescue efforts. Now, the two subs were in service against the Japanese. On November 19, 1943, the Sculpin was attacked by a Japanese destroyer. Forced to surface due to the large amount of damage it received, the commander of the Sculpin decided to fight it out on the surface with the Japanese destroyer while making preparations to scuttle the sub. One of the men who perished aboard the Sculpin was Commander John P. Cromwell, who made the ultimate sacrifice rather than risk being captured and forced to reveal his knowledge that the Americans had broken the Japanese war code. The surviving Americans were taken aboard the Japanese destroyer, which headed for its base on Truk island. Upon reaching Truk, the prisoners were divided into two groups; one group was assigned to the Japanese aircraft carrier Unyo, while the other group was assigned to the carrier Chuyo. One group would live; one wouldn't.
Several days later, the USS Sailfish was patrolling in enemy waters. Acting on secret ULTRA information, the skipper knew that a Japanese convoy was due to pass by. Despite battling high seas and winds, the Sailfish managed to shoot its torpedoes at the enemy ships. Unknown to the crew of the Sailfish, the ship it targeted was the Chuyo, which carried survivors from the Sculpin. The group of survivors from the Unyo would ultimately reach Japan and serve out the remainder of the war as prisoners of the Japanese. These men endured barbaric treatment at the hands of their captors.
This is an exciting story. The lives of these two subs were forever intertwined. It was an unfortunate accident that the Sailfish torpedoed the enemy ship that was carrying survivors from the Sculpin.
I recommend this book highly. The author does a good job of describing the background of these two submarines as well as the code breaking efforts of the men at station HYPO. The book is written in a style that places the reader in the heat of battle. The chapters dealing with the Sculpin's battle with the Japanese destroyer are the best of the book.
Fans of submarine warfare will definitely want to read this book.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Flawed but ok, June 23, 2008
A Tale of Two Subs is a good attempt at historical writing however Mr. McCullough missed the mark on his title. In the title he promises to tie the story of the U.S.S. Sculpin and U.S.S. Sailfish (formerly U.S.S. Squalus). The two submarines are tied by fate and misfortune. In 1939 U.S.S. Squalus sank in a diving test in which 26 men lost their lives but the ship was salvaged and renamed as U.S.S Sailfish. In 1943 the U.S.S. Sculpin is sunk by a Japanese destroyer rescuing 42 men from the Sculpin. Some of the Sculpin crewmembers decided to stay onboard for a variety of reasons. The most important person deciding to stay onboard was Captain John Cromwell. This man and and his friendship with the Navy' top cryptographic officer in the Pacific is the heart of McCullough's book not the submarines as advertised in his title.
It was difficult to understand the topic of the second chapter in relation to the title and supposed focus of the book about submarines since the chapter focused on the code breaking effort before and during the war based on one man. This would be acceptable if the main focus of the book was not on the submarines but rather Jasper Holmes the commanding officer of the code breaking effort. McCullough kept on coming back to Holmes rather than focusing as the title promises two sister ships. The story is compelling but the submarine aspect of the book is secondary rather than primary as the title suggests. McCullough kept switching from the Sculpin to Holmes and often included the Sailfish as an after thought and in reality McCullough only discusses the Sailfish's history briefly and only when the Sailfish was something relevant to Holmes and the Sculpin.
McCullough's writing style made me reminding myself I wasn't grading this book or even editing it. McCullough's short biography states he has experience in editing books which this book needed. McCullough switches from first person to third person often and often uses vernacular in trying to describe facts. For example "We do not know where Lieutenant Commander Connaway or Lieutenant Defrees were at this point, only they did not die in the conning tower. Lieutenant George Brown succeeded to command" (page 243 A Tale of Two Subs). This passage is an example of McCullough not being able to maintain which person he is actually using. In future History classes I will use the passage as an example of how not to write History. On page 121 McCullough writes " The disagreements ignited in what could be called a 1940's flame war..." McCullough is depending that his reader will know what a flame war is when some of his readers might not. It was quite clear that McCullough started out interested in the submarines but found a more compelling story which is interesting.
The book is a good read if the reader isn't reading for any insights into the submarine war in the Pacific or expecting a book about two submarines with compelling stories. McCullough's book held the promise of telling some to be akin to Carl LaVo's Back From The Deep which has covered but never delivered to that promise. It is an interesting book about code breaking which is fascinating but not relating to the title. This book would not be disappointing if it were actually titled with something to do with McCullough's focus.
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