The U Boat Commanders Handbook (Paperback)

by The High Command of the German Navy (Author), High Command of the German Army (Author), Kriegsmarine (Author), Wehrmacht (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Publications (PA) (October 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0939631210
• ISBN-13: 978-0939631216
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #91,116 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A U-Boat P.O.W. Interrogator's View, March 9, 2002

By	Angus MacLean Thuermer (Middleburg, VA USA) - See all my reviews

This book is for u-boat nuts and submariners. It is a "direct wartime translation by the U.S. Navy" from the 1943 SECRET edition issued to U-Boat commander by the Oberkommando der Kriegsmarine. Oddly, it is dedicated to Kapitaenleutnant Werner Henke, bearer of the Knight's Cross to The Iron Cross With Oak Leaves.He was the C.O. of U 515. He was killed while attempting to escape from the interrogation center at Fort Hunt and is buried at Fort Meade. There are photos of the inside of U-505, now up on blocks near the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.[I well remember when a fellow naval officer whispered to me, outside a P.O.W. cage near Brest, France , "they got the 505."] It was a great maritime triumph.
The book is paragraph after paragraph of such instructions as "Carrying Out the Night Surface Attack", and "How To Deal With Convoys." The photographs which have been added to the edition at hand (1989) add significantly to what could be an interesting but pretty dry instruction, manual.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A 'must have' u-boat historical document., September 15, 2002

By A Customer

For anyone seriously interested in WWII German U-Boats this is a must have book. Perhaps a little dry and technical to the light reader, it contains a wealth of information about the capabilities and tactics employed by German U-Boats from the best possible source - the BDU itself. The scholar will make many connections after a thorough study of this work, and it is well worth the cost for the layman as well. I also recommend that the serious student visit uboat.net for the single best source of information to complement the reading of this book that I have found.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Most interesting!, April 26, 2000

By	Frank Zappa (California) - See all my reviews

This is reported to be an exact english translation of the Handbook carried by U-Boat commanders. It is very interesting to see what the German Navy had learned during the war, as the book was updated several times during the war, and what the experienced u-boat commanders recommended as procedures for attack and defense to all new u-boat commanders.

I highly recommend it as background reading for those interested in all aspects of the U-boat war during WWII. Cant beat the price!