U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth (Bluejacket Books) [Paperback]

Jordan Vause (Author)

Book Description

Series: Bluejacket Books | Publication Date: December 1, 2001

An exceptional figure in the history of the German Navy, Wolfgang Luth was one of only seven men in the Wehrmacht to win Germany's highest combat decoration, the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. At one time or another he operated in almost every theater of the undersea war, from Norway to the Indian Ocean, and became the second most successful German U-boat ace in World War II, sinking more than 220,000 tons of merchant shipping. A master in the art of military leadership, Luth was the youngest man to be appointed to the rank of captain and the youngest to become commandant of the German Naval Academy. Nevertheless, his accomplishments were overshadowed by those of other great aces, such as Prien, Kretschmer, and Topp.

The publication of this book in hardcover in 1990 marked the first comprehensive study of Luth's life. Jordan Vause corrects the long neglect by providing an entertaining and authoritative biography that places the ace in the context of the war at sea. This new paperback edition includes corrections and additional information collected by the author over the past decade.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Jordan Vause, a 1978 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, currently works for an aerospace corporation in Gaithersburg, Maryland. He is also the author of Wolf: U-Boat Commanders in World War II.

Product Details

• Paperback: 235 pages
• Publisher: Naval Institute Press (December 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557508631
• ISBN-13: 978-1557508638
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,621 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 73 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Friends of mine who served with Kapitan Luth on U 181., December 29, 2001

By 

Carl Evans (Niether here nor there-USA.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

I have read this book and it is an excellently done story on Kapitan zur See, Wolfgang Luth. This man Took charge of the Uboat U 181 and had an excellent crew serving with him. This book is almost as good as "Shooting The War" by Otto Giese. It held my attention which was fully rivited to the pages as I read them, as Otto Giese's book did to me. This book is THAT well done, and I will buy several extra copies of it to send to all 8 of the surviving U 181 vets. Its a shame that Otto Giese, U 181's 2nd Watch officer under Luth, recently passed away as well as three other U 181 comrades. The living members of U 181 will absolutely love this book and will think of it as a work of art. As I do have the priviledge of knowing all the surviving vets, I know they will enjoy adding a copy of this book to their libraries as they have done so with Otto Giese's book. Soon to be another book on U 181 by vet/friend, Bernhard Trenn.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a worthwhile read, January 29, 2007

By 

Eliot Carter (California, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

This book is a great read. The writing style is concise, and it makes it easy to get involved with a facinating (and true) story. Wolfgang Luth went on long range patrols to Southern Africa, notched up many sinkings, and was popular with his men. What comes across with this book is the personality of Wolfgang Luth himself. He didn't have a large ego, and is not as well known as other U-boat aces, but through this book seems far more interesting than the others U Boat Captains, and was more successful. He could be laid back with his men, other times encouraging them to get married, or poke fun at himself, was utterly fearless, and other times shot hundreds of shells into ships without reason. The book makes one consider the morality of his actions, and yet also gives a front row seat to an interesting U Boat career, and tragic end. This is a good book.

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fast mooving and smooth., February 22, 2007

By 

Douglas E. Libert "howitt" (parkersburg wv) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

another u-boat captain book,Luth's u-boat survival of the war depended a great deal on his skill,but there are instances here where you realize there was some luck involved as well. An even better source of luck was that he was assigned a section of the south Atlantic,and African waters where his prey was not often as heavily protected as was were convoys in the North Atlantic.Luth's patrols were mainly "lone wolf" type guerilla attacks on isolated cargo ships,not the suicidal wolfpack attacks that were sure to bring on lots of task force boats.You can't help but draw from the book that the thirty year Luth was a by-product of the post WW1 Versailles Treaty outrage against Germany.His resentment as well as his crew run deep,methodically shinking ships like shooting mechanical ducks at a carnival.Not deliberately cruel but with a firm belief that it's either "us or them".When reading this book it would help to have a little knowledge of the "War Reparations"clause in the Versailles treaty,it would make for boring reading but,it will make the Luth story more enriching.