A Tale of Two Subs: An Untold Story of World War II, Two Sister Ships, and Extraordinary Heroism (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

McCullough, an editor at Lyons Press, debuts as an author with this disappointing popular history of WWII submarine warfare. The USS Sculpin and USS Sailfish were built side by side at the Portsmouth Navy Yard. Both subs were assigned to the Pacific Fleet, where, in 1943, the Sculpin was sunk by the Japanese destroyer Yamagumo. The Japanese transferred 41 survivors to two aircraft carriers—the Unyo and the Chuyo—bound for Japan. Unaware of the Sculpin's fate and acting on intelligence from the naval code breakers, the Sailfish intercepted and sank the Chuyo; only one of the Sculpin's men on board survived. He and the Unyo's contingent of Americans spent the remainder of the war in Japanese captivity. Not only is the link between the two American subs tenuous, but the author tries with limited success to assimilate an account of the U.S. Navy's code-breaking operation that resulted in hot tips to the submarine command. The account of the Sculpin's sinking is harrowing, but it's the singular highlight in a tedious narrative weighed down with extraneous material. (May 13)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"A TALE OF TWO SUBS just goes to show you that the SEALs are not the only brave men in dark waters. I am always humbled by the actions of the men who fought before me, and will forever bow my head in respect to the unsung heroes of World War II. This is a must read for any patriot."
(Marcus Luttrell, New York Times Bestselling Author of LONE SURVIVOR )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446178403
• ISBN-13: 978-0446178402
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #47,283 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #34 in	Books > History > Military > World War II > Naval
  #49 in	Books > History > Military > Naval
  #66 in	Books > History > Asia > Japan

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Scattershot Account of Two Subs at War!, August 26, 2008

By	Michael OConnor "Wordsmith" (Wausau, WI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Tale of Two Subs: An Untold Story of World War II, Two Sister Ships, and Extraordinary Heroism (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Exciting Tale of Submarine Warfare, July 25, 2008

By	Jeffrey T. Munson (Dixon, IL) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Tale of Two Subs: An Untold Story of World War II, Two Sister Ships, and Extraordinary Heroism (Hardcover)

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.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative Page-Turner, May 19, 2008

By	Sundancer "Sundancer" (Utah) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Tale of Two Subs: An Untold Story of World War II, Two Sister Ships, and Extraordinary Heroism (Hardcover)

This book is a real page-turner. Its hard to put down, and meshes the various themes beautifully. Like most good books it takes a level of concentration andintelligence, plus some imagination. I hope the public has enough of both to appreciate a real gem of a history book. There are three basic themes - the pairing of the submarines, the code-breaking that was so essential to effective sub warfare, and the personal ties between submariners, even, in this case, between naval neighbors, much to the disadvantage of Cromwell - the knowledge would kill him. The personal touch - what was it like to face depth charges- makes the book real and the service more than admirable. As a child a knew a fearless diver who couldn't bring himself to go down into a sub in the Chicago River, such is the courage it takes to be a submariner. In the end, the fate of the Sculpin crew is sealed almost as a Greek tragedy. Classic stuff.