Category: Submarines

The story of Seraph, which had an American captain (for political purposes), at the same time as its British one, because of the clandestine political nature of some of its operations. The US edition includes a foreword by both captains.

Thetis sank on trials in June 1939, was salved and renamed Thunderbolt. Under this name she served in the war until sunk in action. US title: Only Four Escaped.

A pamphlet history of the base, with a few pages devoted to WWII.

A competent account of the operational service of this large class of small hard worked boats.

Covers the career of one of the most successful British submarines of WWII. After working up, she made nine operational patrols, all in the Malacca Straits, under the command of Ben Bennington. Very good in its account of the operational difficulties of these waters, it contains much other anecdotal material about British submarines at war. Reprinted by Crecy in 1994 (ISBN: 0947554394).

A good popular account of the main submarine actions.

Presents hundreds of well-captioned photographs, with WWII well- represented.

Shrimp Simpson's autobiography also covers his views, frequently critical, of submarine development. He commanded the famous 10th Flotilla at Malta in 1941–42.

A history by the wartime head of submarine escape training at HMS Dolphin. WWII is well-covered in this general account.

A comprehensive reference work which lists all attacks.

Wilde was a survivor of the sinking of the submarine Sahib and after various adventures in Italy saw action with a group of Italian partisans of which he became leader.

Some 30 anecdotes and poems, mainly from warrant officers and ratings, and many to do with sinkings.

A routine general history of submarines with a bias to the Anglo-German conflicts.

Annotated but lightly edited anecdotes with an extended set of pieces on the sinking of Perseus and its sole survivor John Capes.

Lots of short anecdotes following the style of the earlier volume.

Lots of short anecdotes and historical snippets following the style of the earlier volumes.

At the outbreak of war the author was Third Hand on Clyde based in Malta, then Freetown. On returning to the UK in mid-1940 he was appointed First Lieutenant of H 43, acting as a clockwork mouse out of Devonport. After a brief spell with Triumph he took his Submarine Command Course or "perisher" and was appointed to command H 43 now based at Rothesay, then Derry. In 1941 he went to Malta as spare CO and after a brief spell there and some illness returned to the UK to take command of the new Splendid in July 1942. She joined the 8th Flotilla at Gibraltar and later Algiers. After five patrols she was sunk in the Bay of Naples by a German destroyer in April 1943. The second half of the book records his imprisonment and ultimately successful efforts at a home run.

A short basic but well illustrated introduction.

A best selling account of the "immortal record" of the submarine service, clearly showing the constraints of wartime reporting. The third impression (1943) was revised and enlarged.

Records the author's career in command of Unbroken in the Mediterranean, mainly with the 10th Flotilla based at Malta.

STERN, Robert C. The Hunter Hunted: Submarine Versus Submarine Encounters From World War I to the Present. viii, 248p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Chatham, 2007. ISBN; 9781861762658.

Most of the encounters took place in WW2 and range from blue-on-blue sinkings to underwater encounters.

THODE, C. P. War Time Memoirs of C. P. (Con) Thode. 64p., illus. Auckland: author, 1994.

He was a New Zealand submarine Commander. No copy seen. Distribution was limited to family members.

KEMP, Ross. Warriors: British Fighting Heroes. viii, 328p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Century, 2010. ISBN: 9781846057991.

A personal tribute which provides eleven brief biographies of men of courage and their sacrifices. It covers all of the armed services. This includes “Blondie” Haslar from the Royal Marines who led the Cockleshell Heroes, Captain Edward Fegen of the completely outgunned Jervis Bay who saved his convoy when it was attacked by the Admiral Scheer, and Malcolm Wanklyn, the submariner captain of Upholder who was lost in action in the Mediterranean.

WARREN, C. E. T., & BENSON, James. Will Not We Fear: The Story of HM Submarine Seal and of Lieutenant-Commander Rupert Lonsdale. 228p., illus. London: Harrap, 1961; New York: Sloane, 1962.

The mine-laying submarine Seal was badly damaged and captured by the Germans in the Kattegat early in the war.  Republished by White Lion in 1973, ISBN: 0856171301.                           

FRIEDMAN, Norman. British Submarines in Two World Wars. 432p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Seaforth; Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2019. ISBN: 9781526738165.

Another excellent study from this major author. There are two introductory chapters on RN submarine organization and the basics of propulsion and hull structure, but the focus is on submarine design and development. Profusely illustrated with excellent plans and drawings, there is also a large number of appendices on everything from wireless telegraphy to midget submarines. 

HEZLET, Arthur. British and Allied Submarine Operations in World War II. 2. Vols., illus. Gosport, Royal Navy Submarine Museum, 2001.

A distinguished submariner gives possibly the definitive account of allied submarine warfare. The thirty-four chapters are arranged chronologically by theatre and are able to take account of the latest research and available wartime records. The first edition was limited to 200 copies, making this a rare work. Vol I has 393pp and Vol II has 198pp, illustrated with photographs, maps and diagrams throughout. Volume one is a full record of operations, volume two contains appendices, patrolgrams and maps.

STURMA, Michael. Fremantle's Submarines : How Allied Submariners and Western Australians Helped to Win the War in the Pacific. ix, 236p., bibliog., illus., index. Annapolis, Md. : Naval Institute Press, 2015. ISBN: 9781612518602.

This book by an Australian academic lovingly captures the spirit of the Allied base and the arduous work of the flotillas based there.

DETHICK, Janet Kinrade & CORKE, Anne M. Twixt the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: The Story of the Crew of HMS Saracen. 213, viip., bibliog., illus., index. [n.p., authors], 2016. ISBN: 9781326063207.

Briefly covers the career of Saracen until her loss in the Mediterranean in 1943. Mainly focuses on the fate of the crew and their tales of partisans, escapes, and concentration camps.

BRYANT, Ben. One Man Band: The Memoirs of a Submarine C.O. 238p., illus. London: Kimber, 1958.

The highly readable memoirs of one of Britain’s most successful submarine commanders of WWII who survived more wartime patrols than any other commander, first in Sealion, then in Safari. He sank 32 enemy ships and damaged many more. Reissued by Kimber as Submarine Command in 1975.

TESAPSIDES, Byron. Allied Submarine Operations in Greece 1941-1944. 416p., illus. Thessaloniki, author, 2012. ISBN: 9789609345057.

Essentially transcriptions of the patrol logs arranged alphabetically by country and name. While the vast majority are RN, the contribution of Dutch, Greek, French, Polish, and Italian boats are covered.

A sequel to Unbroken. The author resumes his account of his war when he is given command of Thule and sent to join the Eastern Fleet in Ceylon. It takes his story to the end of the war.

STERN, Robert C. The Hunter Hunted: Submarine Versus Submarine Encounters From World War I to the Present. viii, 248p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Chatham, 2007. ISBN; 9781861762658.

Most of the encounters took place in WW2 ad range from blue-on-blue sinkings to underwater encounters.

WINGFIELD, Mervyn. Wingfield at War (The British Navy at War and Peace, Volume 1). xi, 179p., illus., index. Dunbeath: Whittles, 2012. ISBN: 9781849950640.

The autobiography of a heroic but little known officer, originally written in 1982-3 for his family. About half covers his very active wartime career. He began the war in the Indian Ocean, returned to the UK to successfully take his Perisher course, then served in Umpire, Sturgeon and Taurus in the North Sea, Arctic, Mediterranean and was the first submariner to sink a Japanese submarine. An excellent tale well told.

SMITH, David J.B.  Being Silent They Speak: The Story of a World War II Submarine UNBEATEN. 225p., bibliog., illus. Plymouth: Stand-Easy, 2013. ISBN: 0957392508.

A carefully researched and detailed account of the career of the submarine and her loss in late 1942.

PREISLER, Jerome & SEWELL, Kenneth. Code Name Caesar: The Secret Hunt for U-Boat 864 During World War II. 304p., bibliog., illus. London: Souvenir Press, 2013: New York: Berkley, 2012. ISBN: 9780285642027.

Describes the undersea battle between U 864 and HMS Venturer off the Norwegian coast in February 1945, shortly after the Enigma code was uncovered, resulting in the only sinking of one submarine by another in underwater combat.

Generally regarded as one of the classics of the sea. The author served in submarines from the Arctic to the Far East, latterly in command of Storm. Issued in paperback as the thousandth Penguin. US title: Undersea Patrol.

Covers well-worn ground but contains several original tales and journal articles as well as excerpts from books.

A gripping tale, well-told of success, defeat, and ultimate triumph.

An account of the capture of the submarine. It then focuses on the experiences of the crew in captivity.

A fully illustrated directory arranged by country and class, with leading details.

Largely the story of his time in Untiring, mainly in the Mediterranean, although his later career is described. An enjoyable tale told with great relish.

HMS Trooper's operational life lasted from commissioning on 29th August 1942 to her loss in mid-October 1943. This book encapsulates the life of a wartime submarine. It includes photographs and diary entries, log extracts and sailing orders and exciting personal accounts. Written by a relative of one of the crew.

War memoirs of a young submariner from 1942 to 1945. He served mainly in the Mediterranean and Far East. A slightly self-conscious account, which originally appeared in Blackwood's Magazine. Republished by Tempus in 2000 with photographs and establishing the boat as Taurus.

She was sunk in 1941 with a single survivor. Mainly concerned with diving on the wreck. A bilingual text.

An excellent if grim chronological account of the losses, half of which relates to WWII. The final voyage of each submarine is described, causes of loss evaluated, and lengthy extracts from survivors and official reports given.

A popular account of the career of U 570. Captured in the Atlantic in 1940, she was commissioned into the Royal Navy and saw service operationally renamed Graph. After being damaged in drydock in 1943, she was towed north, but ran aground off Islay.

The biography of a hugely successful submariner with 32 war patrols, seventeen of them in Ultor. Unusually he was a merchant mariner who transferred to the RN in 1937 and volunteered for submarines. He served particularly in the Mediterranean.

Dickison was Leading Telegraphist on Safari during this period and this is his illegally kept diary edited for publication. She was in the thick of the action.

Memories of patrols in the Mediterranean and Far East.

A short technical description and operational history of one of the most famous British submarines of WWII. Also provides some general material on U Class submarines.

A guarded wartime account of the submarine service.

A potted history of British submarines. More than half is devoted to some of the better-known tales of WWII.

A lively warts and all account of the doings of the men of the submarine service.

The first commission of Torbay is described by her former First Lieutenant. She operated successfully in the Mediterranean, although the sinking of troop-carrying caiques without survivors by her commander Anthony Miers, has provoked controversy. The writing is of variable quality and can wander inconclusively, but the book has much of real interest.

After six years in the Royal Navy, Joel Blamey was conscripted into Britain's submarine service in 1926, aged 22. He went on to serve an unprecedented 28 years as a submariner, surviving peacetime accidents and World War II tribulations. This is his autobiography.

A look at life in British submarines and a popular account of the achievements of the RN and other Allied Navies.

A roll of honour. A simple chronological list of sinkings and the crewmen lost with them.

The author's autobiography. He began the war in Parthian, which soon moved to the Mediterranean. In 1941 he stood by Tempest. She was lost on her first patrol from Malta early in 1942 and he was made a POW, but later escaped.

The story of a near mythical figure who, in just over a year based at Malta, sank the highest tonnage of the war by a British submariner before being lost on patrol. A good account.

In this exhaustive study, a general account of how submarines have developed is followed by detailed chronological studies of each class, looking both at design and operational history. Foreign submarines taken over by the RN and submarine depot ships are included. There are clear line drawings and a wealth of information. Published in a limited edition of 500 copies.

A notably well-illustrated design and operational history of a class brought into service in 1937 which lasted well beyond war's end.

A wide-ranging and full account written by a participant in his own highly forthright and idiosyncratic manner.

Autobiography of a New Zealander.

The autobiography of a distinguished submariner. His war service was mainly in the Far East.

During both world wars the British submariner faced a one-in-three chance of death, a casualty ratio second only to the loss rate for the aircrews Bomber Command. Neither was he spared the perils during peacetime: until the 1940s submarine losses through misadventure averaged one boat per year. This is a social history charting the first half-century of the development of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. With much information taken from previously unpublished sources, it portrays their lives ashore and afloat.

A general history of the submarine, with the material on WWII largely confined to the revelations of Admiralty communiqués.

A history. Describes how submarines work and their development in Britain. Devotes 130 pages to a comprehensive chronological account of their notable feats and defeats in WWII. A second revised edition was published in 1979.

One of the series of small pocketbooks recording technical details.

Another of the very detailed technical studies, in this case of the submarine now preserved at Gosport.

The wartime autobiography of the only British submarine Commander to serve almost continuously in operational command for those six years. He served from Norway to the Far East in Snapper, Trusty,and Telemachus. A revised version was published in 1983 by Kimber, entitled Dive and Attack.

A propaganda photo-essay.

An excellent series of 117 annotated photographs.

A history by the Admiralty Archivist, half of it on WWII. Inevitably concentrates on the highlights.

Detailed accounts of the 14 cases in WWII where one submarine sank another.

The Captain of Seraph tells of his Mediterranean missions with General Mark Clark and General Giraud for which Seraph technically joined the USN. Continues with a description of more prosaic patrols.

The previously untold story of a controversial wartime submarine ace and VC winner. Includes a full investigation of the war crimes claim against him made by Ludovic Kennedy.

Trenchant commissioned early in 1944 and this is her Captain's memoir of a highly successful period in the Far East, notably sinking a Japanese cruiser. An excellent if brief tale.

A vivid reconstruction of the career of Lieutenant Commander Wanklyn, one of the most successful British submarine Commanders, and of his exploits in Upholder. It often borders on the lurid.

A stoker's view of submarines at war, mainly in Northern waters and the Mediterranean. He served in Triad, Truant,and Thrasher before being transferred back to general service in the new frigate Byard.