Customer Reviews

U-Boats (P)

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This book really surprised me. I actually bought it on in impulse with a gift certificate I had received for my birthday. I had seen "Das Boot" and "U-571" and since my interest was peaked by these movies, I thought I should buy a book about U-Boats to get the full story of their role in WWI and WWII.

This book did not disappoint! It is simply incredible considering how much information is between the covers as well as how many striking photographs are contained in this book. One could almost consider it an Encyclopedia on U-Boats. This book describes the full history of Deutschlands Unterseeboot Programe as well as a detailed history and explination of each type of boat. It also has a table listing every U-Boat made and a brief history about each ship. This book also does a fantastic job explaining the role of these vessels in WWII (and to a lesser extent, WWI). I can imagine with "U-571" in theaters and "Das Boot" on DVD, U-Boat interest has increased. I would suggest to anybody interested in U-Boats because of these movies or for any other reason to look no futher. "U-Boats : The Illustrated History of the Raiders of the Deep" is probably the best book presently available on this subject.

Many Books on subjects like U-boats go in and out of print and are sometimes even collectors items! If this book ever goes out of print (which I hope it wont) it will be in the same category as U-boats under the Swatstika by j.p. Mallmann Showell, and U-boat War by Luthar Gunther Buchheim. This is a wonderful book for anyone that loves U-boats and their operations and likewise for the person who just 'thinks' they are interested! So if you think you have a little interest in U-boats get this book!

As its inside cover states, this oversized book is full of maps, technical drawings, tables, rare photos, and stories. So you see its more than just an informative factual textbook, it is also an easy to enjoy coffee table book, nicely bound on good paper (Brasseys Hardback ISBN: 1574882465).

One large table over many pages lists very nearly every U-Boat number and its type, builder, commisioned date, and its ultimate eding: fate, date, final captain, place, means, dead, and saved, e.g.

U-1229; Type IXC/40; built by Duetche; commisioned January 13,1944; Sunk; on August 20, 1944; Captained by Zinke, A; at SE of Newfoundland; by USN aircfaft: VC-42 (Bogue); 18 dead; ? # Saved.

More text than anything else, but also there's always some sort of graphics on every page, well maybe not at the index :)

If you need only one volume on U-Boats this might be the very best choice.

The book is heavily illustrated, with photographs or diagrams on nearly every page; there are many tables of technical and operational data. However, it is also very readable, filled with odd anecdotes, for example, poor Kapitanleutnant Rolf Mutzelberg, commanding U-203 south of the Azores, who decided to join his crew bathing in the ocean (U-boats got pretty smelly after weeks at sea), but "totally misjudged his dive off the bridge, hit the saddle-tank head first, broke his neck and died."

The book (like Gaul) is divided into three parts. Part 1 summarizes U-boat operations during the First World War and the interwar period.

Part 2 describes the various types of U-boats, from the early Type IA to the advanced Type XXI and XXVI, which served as the basis for several postwar US and Soviet submarine designs. I found the details of the construction program of the Type XXI surprisingly interesting -- it was built in sections at various steelworks. The sections were transported by canal and river to shipyards for assembly. Welding two sections together took about 8 hours, and in order to ensure a continuous weld, the workers could not stop even for bad weather or air raids.

Part 2 continues with descriptions of the torpedoes (some of which were programmed to follow patterns, while others used acoustic homing devices), mines, guns, and even rockets which the U-boats carried. Radar, sonar, electronic warfare, and the Enigma machine are treated next, followed by engines.

Part 3 gives a brief overview of U-boat operations during WWII, followed by sections on U-boat officers and crews; the (lack of) air support for U-boat operations; replenishment at sea by "milch cows"; weather-related missions to the Arctic; transports to the Far East; and the fate of the U-boats at the end of the war. An appendix lists all U-boats lost at sea.

All in all, this is an excellent resource for a military history buff. A general reader may not have much use for the technical details, but they help give a better understanding of the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest campaign of the war.

I collect and read books on U-Boats, and this illustrated history is an excellent addition to my library. A must for those who are World War II buffs!

i saw this book somewhere in the myriad of sub sites on the net and decided to give it a try,this book is outstanding,everytime a book is published about ww2 subs specially german it makes the super duper picky people go to work and i believe there will never be a perfect book out there but if you love subs and lots of pictures and technical stuff by all means buy this book,the main complaints people always have are patrol dates or if the type 7 had 200 gallons of oil or 201 etc etc, these things went out on hundreds of mission and destroyed thousands of tons of shipping and im sure it was hard keeping up with all the info on 900 plus boats built,relax and enjoy this book, i recommend it.

U-boats, David Miller

David Miller was editor of Jane's "Major Surface Warships" and a former British officer. He wrote more than thirty books on warfare. This book tells about the U-boats of the German Navy in WW II: their tactics, technology, and torpedoes that preyed upon Allied warships and merchantmen in order to sink the supplies that kept Great Britain alive in the war. U-boats operated against the Allies in almost all the world's oceans from the first to the last day of the war. The "Ubootwaffe" brought the war to Canada and the United States.

`Part One' covers the beginnings. The Imperial German Navy was the last of the major navies to build submarines. They operated in the North Sea and the North Atlantic mostly, but also in the Mediterranean. Imperial Germany turned to unrestricted warfare to win the war. This brought America into the war, the use of convoys protected by armed escorts reduced sinking. Anti-Submarine warfare used ramming, gunfire, and minefields. Electronic warfare played a significant part (p.13). The Reichsmarine planned for the next war (p.16).

`Part Two' documents the U-boats of WW II, their weapons and equipment. Increased defense capabilities caused problems (p.34). The schnorchel and the streamlined hull were two innovations (pp.60-61). Modular construction improved production by reducing man-hours by a third (p.62). These improvements were countered by shortages of material and labor, transportation problems, air attacks, and design problems (p.66). Post-production problems were found (p.68). The Type XXI was the best but came late in the war (p.69). The Type XXIII coastal U-boar was an improved design but had limitations (p.71). Professor Helmuth Walter had many good new ideas, but many new ideas required lengthy development time (p.78).

A number of submarines were obtained from foreign sources (p.82). The Dutch designed the schnorchel tube. A torpedo was "one of the most expensive and complicated weapons of its time" (p.86). The "FaT" allowed a torpedo to vary its run and do a ladder search for a target (p.88). Acoustic torpedoes were countered by a towed noisemakers as a decoy (p.89). The standard explosive was Hexanite improved with powdered aluminum. Pages 94-96 tell about the aiming procedure using analog computers. Mines were also used (pp.97-98). Surface guns had limitations (p.98). Anti-aircraft defense had drawbacks (p.100). Rockets and missiles were planned but not implemented (a V-2 attack on New York). Radar was used by the British against submarines (p.103).

British aircraft used radar to attack U-boats at night (p.108). Radar warning receivers warned the submarines, but this receiver could be detected by Allied aircraft (p.109). Anti-sonar coating ws tried (p.110); also radar absorbing coatings. Sonar and radar decoys were tried (pp.111-112). Radio was essential for communications but had drawbacks (p.113). Allied direction-finding could locate a transmission within 20 seconds. Germany broke the British Merchant Ships code, and its replacement (p.118). The British broke the Enigma code (p.119). Six-cylinder 4-stroke diesel engines were standard (p.120). Lead-acid batteries powered all electrical devices (p.121). Heat and humidity damaged them (p.122). Schnorchels allowed diesel engines to run while the submarine was below the surface (p.123).

`Part Three' lists the operations during the war. It tells about the officers and men, their training and living conditions, and their history during and after the war. This is the more interesting part. The average life expectancy of a U-boat was three cruises (p.138).

An excellent overview and history of the German's U-boat program from WW l through WW ll. Beautifully presented with lots of detail. As a former U.U. Navy submariner, I completely enjoyed it.

This book have a very informations about the U-Boat universe.

Very photos and texts.

I recomend. Best regards,

It's a nice book for those who are interested on German U-boats.
It also contain a brief introduction on Enigma (the German encryption machine).
Unfortunately it does not contain some engineering drawings such as those in Roessler books.But though useful.
Its historical coverage of german U-boats is also useful.
As a researcher on German U-boats ,I'd be glad to have other readers,writers comments on U-Boat articles.
Regards/mit freundlichem Gruess
M.Ranjbar ( mehranjbar@hotmail.com