Customer Reviews

United States Submarine Operations in World War II

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First published in the late 1940s, this book is the basic primer for those interested in the U.S. Navy's submarine war against the Japanese Empire in World War II. Based on war patrol reports, action reports, and other wartime classified information, it nonetheless contains many of the errors of the infamous, and faulted, JANAC Report, (issued by U.S. Army occupation forces in Japan after the conclusion of WWII), a blemish which is difficult to overcome. It is notable that at least three Chiefs of Naval Operations have stated that JANAC is flawed and should be revisited based on present day public information in the files of the National Archives and Records Administration. It is a fine read, but, sadly, it is not the most reliable source available to the serious researcher on U.S. Navy submarine operations in World War II.

This book was written shortly after World War II (1949) at the request of the Navy. The author had great access to official records of the submarine war. The book has the strengths and weaknesses you'd expect from that sort of sponsorship.

First, it is very thorough, and within constraints, very authentic. The author and editors had direct access to the people who'd run submarines against the Japanese. And this is very complete (within constraints, again). Maps, illustrations, and informative tables are included.

But there are those constraints I mentioned. This is the "party line" Navy history of the war. Everyone is a loyal sailor, tried and true, selflessly doing his job for Mom and apple pie. There's little hint of personnel problems, such as the near-mutiny of the officers of the BATFISH, or the political problems which lead to flaws US torpedos, and made it more difficult to identify and fix the problems. Because of wartime secrecy requirements, there's also little or no mention of US efforts to decode Japanese naval traffic. The USS Nautilus is given credit for sinking the carrier Soryu at the Battle of Midway, when it is pretty clear that the submarine contributed little or nothing to the sinking.

Despite my grousing, the book is readable, detailed, and invaluable for understanding the US submarine war. I just recommend that it be supplemented with less biased and more modern books...Clay Blair's SILENT VICTORY would be a good start.

The text is a well written and comprehensive history of WWII submarine activities during the war years. My feeling however, is that the text could well be improved with an update that includes information that has been both discovered and de-classified since the late 1940's.

Some war patrols are covered but coverage lacks comprehensive patrol information that was omitted. Notable is the omission is the probable events that lead to the loss of Wahoo and all hands. This is covered as an epilog in Commander O'Kane's book, WAHOO.

None-the-less, this is a good text and reference source, it is far more than a good read.

This is a "must have" for anyone interested in U.S. Navy submarine operations during World War 2. A very easily read reference work,well researched and illustrated with many operational photos,maps, and especially the great oil paintings by Fred Freeman,a naval officer who served in the Pacific during the war, of various subs during their various actions while on war patrol. Much like "Silent Victory", it tells the story of the war through the experiences of many different boats and their crews. Both books have formed the basic body of material for practically every other book on the subject that has followed them.In fact, I liked this book slightly more than "Silent Victory". Get your copy today !!!!!!!!!!

I started reading this book because my father was on several submarines during WWII. He would never speak much about his experiences and I wanted to know more about patrols he was on. Concurrently I obtained his Navy service records and this book allowed me to match at least 9 special missions that matched his War record assignments. Two of the Submarines he was assigned to, Narwhal and Nautilus, performed many special Ops apparently because of their larger displacements.
I would like to have seen more detailed information on these special missions but perhaps the info was still sensitive at the time of writing. I enjoyed the book and it gives anyone a solid understanding of Sub Ops during the War.

Probably the most comprehensive study of submarine operations of WWII short of Navy records. Destroyer operations by the same author is also a gem and both volumes although lengthy are easy and entertaining reads. I give it a 4.0

Excellent Amazon seller - book was in nearly perfect condition! I will be a repeat customer to this seller's store! Regards~SY

Roscoe's "United States Submarine Operations in World War II" is the definitive chronicle of The Silent Service. The author presents a well-researched history in an almost conversational tone; this book is a very easy read throughout its almost 500 pages. "United States Submarine Operations in World War II" contains many photos, maps, and charts - and features beautiful original drawings by Fred Freeman.

If you are interested in the hard facts of submarine operations in the Pacific during World War Two, this is the book. It contains excerpts of the War Patrol reports of the submarines, quotes from the Commanding Officers, as well as ships sunk and tonnage data of all the submarines. It was written for Submariners, by Submariners. Any serious look at this subject would be incomplete without this book.