Customer Reviews

The USS Puffer in World War II

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

 

 

This is the story of a submarine in WWII. But more than that, it's the story of the men who sailed in her, lived in her, and fought a war in her. And more than that, it's really the story of the submarine service - the silent service - and the enormous role it played in winning the war. The scope of the book is huge then, but McDonald wisely decides that the story of the Puffer is really a collection of personal stories. So he tells those, working from official War Patrol Reports of the day, letters home, diaries, and his own correspondence with the crew.

You'll learn, often from the crew's own words, what it was like to sit a couple hundred feet below the surface waiting for the next depth charge to rock the ship; what a lift to morale mail from home was; how the crew would thumb their nose at the nearness of death by living life to the fullest when on shore leave; how it felt to lose friends on other ships that weren't so lucky as the Puffer; and the enormity of the news of Japan's surrender and the thought of returning home to loved ones. Every aspect of submarine life is explored here, from the mundane everyday chores to the fear and thrill of battle.

The best books take you where you could not otherwise go. McDonald has done a superlative job of taking you inside a submarine in the South Pacific during WWII. It's an important story, wonderfully told.

I am a son of one of the sailors abord the Puffer. Comments made by the skipper and crew brought to life a segment of my fathers life that he himself would not talk about. You are there with each depth charge attack. Fearing attacks from the air . Enjoying R&R on recently captured South Seas islands. Well Done. Thanks

like the others, i was quite reluctant and hesitant to shell-out $45 for a softcover book. however having a lifelong penchant (and weakness) for written accounts on WW2 submarines i bit the proverbial torpedo and have now just finished reading this fine WW2 history of the USS PUFFER. FIVE STARS all the way and a successful war patrol (clean sweep! tie the broom to the periscope shears!)! the chapters are well-segmented from the construction inception, through each successive war patrol, to final de-commissioning and disposition. ironically the bulk of the text are not of the author's...but verbatim WAR PATROL REPORTS...and several inclusions of former PUFFER crewmember veteran's oral histories, anecdotes, and especially rather lengthy FPO letters home written by an PUFFER officer (to his wife during the war). besides the postwar memoirs (by actual veterans) and or history texts (by noted historians), books of this ilk, are usually the product of a baby boomer seeking to learn more of his/her father's past WW2 service. this work is no different, as the author attended several PUFFER reunions, interviewed PUFFER crewmembers, researched the archives, etc etc in his quest to understand his father's role in the Silent Service. having amassed reams of research material...a book was a natural outcome (otherwise his oral history interviews would have never come to light). what aspect i especially appreciated was the overall narrative of a WW2 boat that was not a headline glamor maru-killing ace sub, but rather an unsung workhorse representative of most of the WW2 submarines (it just happened his father served on her). all former PUFFER crewmembers including their WW2 USN serial numbers are listed which for me renders this work an invaluable resource index. the author's obsessive effort to disclaim the longheld notion that PUFFER's crew was completely disbursed after the horrifying first war patrol could have been abbreviated as well as the sections on physiologic & psychologic aspects of life aboard a diesel boat. one minor error: enlisted submarine personnel did not wear the silver TWIN DOLPHINS qualification badge during WW2 (it was instituted in 1956)...instead wore a TWIN DOLPHINS cuff striker on their liberty blues and or summer whites. during WW2 commissoned officers were the only ones authorized the wear the GOLD TWIN DOLPHINS quals badge. all submarine personnel, enlisted and officer, were allowed to wear the COMBAT PATROL PIN insignia (a combat battle star was added for each patrol deemed successful by the higher-ups). also interestingly enough, there is usually scant mention as to the real reason behind the (faulty) magnetic imploder (on the fishes)..as the author stated it was thought more effective to explode underneath the ship as to 'break the keel, ie., backbone'...when in truth it was devised to originally sink enemy man-of-wars which tend to have a thick armor belt which neutralized most contact exploders (that was the theory anyhow). for all WW2 submarine historians, aficionados, readers, etc...this book is a definite affirmative.

The USS Puffer was built in my hometown, Manitowoc, Wisconsin and that's what initially piqued my interest. I hesitated at first because the book seemed a bit pricey for a paperback but I assure you it's a bargain. The writing style draws the reader into the book and onto the submarine. You'll be given not only an excellent view of each engagement fought by PUFFER but also a glimpse into the personalities of the various men who served in her. You'll learn how the submarines were built and how the citizens of Manitowoc felt about the young sailors who came to town and sailed the boats off to war. The book is a great read and well worth your investment. It's a keeper.

In the 1950's I enlisted in the navy aboard the USS Puffer (SS-268) when she was a training boat in Seattle. Although she was secured fast alongside a pier, I spent many hours trying to learn as much as I could about the various systems aboard her before going on to submarine school and then on to an operational fleet boat in San Diego. Knowing the Puffer and knowing the Fleet Type Submarine drew me to McDonald's book.

McDonald's seven years of research into the life of the Puffer and her crew and his ability to condense his research into a comprehensive, well balanced, historically important and factual book may very well be unique for a civilian with no navy background. His use of submarine terminology alone would lead the knowledgeable reader to believe he personally served on the boats. I would venture a guess that no author has delved as deeply into the life of one submarine and her crew, and has written about it so well, as has McDonald.

It's difficult to highlight any one particular part of the book that interested me more than another, but I thought his discussion of the physiological and psychological aspects that submariners underwent during the war was excellent; something that needs to be understood and appreciated when trying to understand what life was like on one of the boats during the war.

McDonald's coverage of the first patrol of the Puffer including her being attacked and depth charged and having to remain submerged for 38 hours is historically important, as is his discussion about the disposition of her crew after returning to port. For anyone interested in well researched and unbiased facts, McDonald's book is for you.

The submariners during the war were special. Unfortunately for all of us they are a vanishing breed, which, with his personal interviews of surviving Puffer crewmembers makes McDonald's book all that more important. His book is without question one of the best books I've read about a United States Fleet Type Submarine and her crew during the war, and is a valuable must-have addition to any collection of books about the submarine service. Books like this don't come along very often.