Crash Dive [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

~ Arthur P. Dickison (Author), (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

HMS Safari was one of the most successful British submarines of the Second World War, and between March 1942 and September 1943 she sailed some 31,312 nautical miles and spent 139 days submerged, in which time she had fought 58 actions against Axis shipping and had sunk 34 ships. Safari's captain was Commander Ben Bryant, one of the top-scoring Allied submarine aces of the war.

As the boat's leading telegraphist, Arthur Dickison had a privileged position in the crew, with access to all signals traffic and the navigation officer as his boss who gave him an insight into why they were doing what they did. Over 18 months of war patrols he kept a personal diary of life aboard Safari (strictly against the rules), recording daily events ranging from the tedium of long sea passages to stalking enemy convoys, crash dives and fighting it out on the surface, making a submerged attack with torpedoes and the fear of sitting it out on the sea bottom while depth charges rained down all around. And all the time there is the underlying fear that they might never see England again.

The whole range of the submariner's experience and of human emotion is here in this truly unique account. It is important for several reasons, the most important being that it was written by a rating and not an officer, and it was written at the time of the events described not when the author was safely home in port or in later years.

About the Author

Arthur Dickison joined HMS Safari on her first commission in March 1942 and remained with her for eighteen months of war patrols in the Mediterranean as the boat's leading telegraphist. He left the Royal Navy in 1949 and now lives in retirement in Devon.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 212 pages
• Publisher: Alan Sutton Publishing, Ltd.; illustrated edition edition (May 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750920890
• ISBN-13: 978-0750920896
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #4,860,081 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Crash Dive, July 27, 2000

By	Joe Sabella (Fairfield, CT United States) - See all my reviews

While the editorial description of this book sounded interesting, the book itself was an extremely boring disappointment. The bulk of this book deals with what the author ate and when he slept and how much he missed his wife. The actual battle descriptions are rushed through, sometimes in two or three sentences, while the author's personal daily routine goes on and on for pages. It is interesting to note that although the HMS Safari is touted as one of England's most deadly subs, the majority of it's sinkings were of small craft and schooners by gun action. Even enemy ships which ran themselves aground to escape being torpedoed are counted by the Brits as tonnage sunk! Overall, I couldn't wait for this book to end. BORING!

4.0 out of 5 stars Crash Dive a real experiance, February 23, 2002

By	NZ "kiwi" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews

I have read a number of books on submarines and submarine action. This book I found very moving, the author was a very young man when the experiances within the book occured. One can sense his very real fears and hopes within his words. The events within the book were recorded in real time as they were unfolding. The life on board a submarine in wartime was not all action and gunfighting. This is effectively conveyed through out the book. To summerize; a very real, true to life depiction of life on and off board a British sub at war.