US Submarines 1941-45 (New Vanguard)

Jim Christley has written a short (48 pg) but masterful history of the submarines of WWII. Not intended as a comprehensive operational history, but rather a thumbnail sketch of the development and anatomy of these warships. After a chapter on the design and development leading up to the Gato class, the equipment section starts off with a review of weapons. Sections on torpedoes and gun outfitting offer succinct summaries of the offensive and defensive systems of the era. I found the section on guns to be particularly informative, stepping through the different deck gun models and the range & weight of the projectiles fired by each. The various periscope, sonar, and radar installations are covered next. Again, these are brief but well-written descriptions of each installation and the improvements made over the war. The next section introduces the Balao class boat as an illustrative example of the fleet submarine. This leads off with a description of paint schemes or measures, and covers Ms 9, 10, and the two variants of Ms 32. Next, the individual compartments and their functions in the boat are explored, followed by a discussion of submarine tactics. This includes informative diagrams of the approach and attack phase. The book ends with a brief operational history summary of submarines during WWII. In the limited space, Christley manages to condense as good deal of the high points of the submarine campaign against Japan.

The book is illustrated with both black & white photos and color plates. Christley spent time selecting the photos at the Submarine Force Museum & Library in Groton CT. The results are pictures that are largely unfamiliar and fresh, which complement the text. Christley wisely has included a photo of a key piece of submarine equipment-the coffee urn. The center section of the book has color plates by Tony Bryan. These include a nice scale comparison of an S-class boat, the large V-boat Argonaut, and a P class (Perch) boat. Another plate illustrates different paint measures, and a two-page plate that has a cut-through diagram of a Balao class boat. Other color plates cover examples of Gato & Balao conning tower fairwater modifications and variants. There are also beautiful color illustrations of Tang attacking on the surface and Sterlet at periscope depth. Overall, this slim volume packs an amazing amount of submarine information. Anyone contemplating building a fleet submarine model will not only learn more about the "hardware" from this book, but also will develop an appreciation of the fleet boat in naval history. This little book is a real gem, and you will want it in your collection, right alongside Alden's book on fleet submarines (The Fleet Submarine in the US Navy- John D. Alden).

Jim Christley, a retired US submariner, provides a synopsis of US submarines in the Second World War in Osprey's New Vanguard #118. Given that Osprey provided two volumes on U-Boats in WW2 in the NV series, just as they have for other `big topics' like WW1 artillery, it seems that the author was handicapped from the outset. Trying to discuss the development and operations of over 200 submarines in 14 different classes is a daunting, if not unrealistic task for a mere 37 pages of text. Furthermore, the author's ability to focus on what is important and pack information into this tight format was disappointing. What the reader gets is a "walk-around tour" of the chief's old boat, some notes on development and a series of snapshots about a few sub actions in WW2. Somehow, the author managed to ignore three of the top five US subs in the war (USS Rasher, Barb and Silversides) and barely includes the top-scoring USS Flasher. Even given the space limitations, to omit mentioning skippers like "Mush" Morton and boats like the USS Wahoo would be like writing about U-Boats and omitting Gunther Prien and the U-47.

The author begins with a brief discussion of the development of US submarines in the period from 1916 up to the 1930s. Given the format constraints, spending 5 of 37 pages on several classes that played little or no role in WW2 was a mistake. The section on weapons and equipment is decent, probably the best part of this volume. The "tour of the boat" was a bit tedious and descriptions of "the maneuvering room" provide too little detail to be useful to specialists but too much to interest general readers. The section on operations and tactics is rather uninformative and I wonder why the author chose to describe a `generic' attack instead of a real, historical attack with actual timelines. It seems like USS Archerfish's attack on the Shinano would have been a good one. Furthermore, there is little mention of surface vs. submerged attacks or the effectiveness of Japanese ASW against US subs.

The sections on operations consists primarily of two vignettes, one on the USS Harder's "destroyer-killing-spree" in June 1944 and the actions of the USS Darter and Dace in October 1944. The author also provide brief mention of Richard O'Kane and the USS Tang in one of the color plates, plus brief mention of the early efforts by the Asiatic Fleet boats and life-guard duties. While Sam Dealy's patrols on the USS Harder were impressive, the author presents some wartime claims as fact without mentioning that some were later disputed by the US Navy. Also, the actions depicted were primarily against Japanese warships, while the bulk of US submarine actions were against Japanese merchant shipping. As noted, three of the top five fleet boats are ignored and the only mention of the top-scoring USS Flasher is about its paint scheme. Nowhere in the volume does the author list the tonnages scored by individual boats or top skippers and his brief synopsis of total tonnage sunk does not breakdown Japanese warship losses to US subs (incl. 1 battleship, 8 carriers and 11 cruisers). Failing to mention early stars like "Mush" Morton and the USS Wahoo, as well as superb combat teams like Eugene Fluckey on the USS Barb - Fluckey's excellent book Thunder Below! Is not even mentioned in the bibliography - is devastating for the credibility of this author. On the other hand, the less well-known USS Sterlet, on which the author served in the 1960s, graces both the cover and one full color page. OK chief, you covered your old boat, but what about the rest of the sub force?

The author does provide a table listing the number of boats by class in service each year (good) and a list of subs lost, but there is no mention of what caused the loss of these boats or any real attempt at analysis. Nor is there any effort to discuss squadron organization nor any mention of the US submarine force that served in the Atlantic. One look at the bibliography - no Roscoe, no O'Kane, no Fluckey, etc - should warn the reader what kind of research effort went into this volume. Overall, this volume was a disappointment.

The US submarine fleet is nicknamed "the Silent Service" for good reason--they don't brag about their successes like the Air Force or Marine Corps. Jim Christley's "US Submarines 1941-45" fills in a historical void that is almost as good as a trip to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum and Park at Pearl Harbor--and a whole lot cheaper (unless you already live on Ohau).

I did note some information that was different from what I learned through other sources, but that's history! Besides, even today some of the special submarine operations of World War Two remain classified because they involve relations with foreign governments. The silent service was credited with sinking the majority of the Japanese merchant fleet and a good chunk of the Imperial Japanese Navy--despite starting the war with ineffective torpedoes and risk-adverse skippers. A lot of these sinkings was achieved through the use of sea mines--a post-war problem that took years to undo through dangerous de-mining. Naval mines are deliberately made difficult and dangerous to neutralize. More secret were intelligence missions--whether dropping scouts or spies or coast watchers in enemy waters, photographing shorelines and ports through the periscope, or picking up floating trash or stray radio signals. The Makin Raid was possible only because of two large submarines--surface ships would have been detected. All of this was achieved with a total manpower of less than 17,000 submariners and 230 submarines...

Tony Bryan's full-color cutaway painting of the Balao-class submarine is useful; I wish I had it when I toured the BowFin in 1998. The simplified explaination of submarine tactics and mission profile was illuminating. A sidebar listing submarine classes is a handy guide for us amateur historians. I really liked the detail on weapons, radar, and sonar--it took me much research to get the little information I had, and this book has more. All 52 lost US submarines are listed. I like having a bibliography and index so that I can conduct further research or look up something rapidly. The bibliography in this volume is spare, but then, this is about the silent service! Images include line drawings, vintage photos, and excellent color plates. I think that "US Submarines 1941-45" is a worthwhile addition to my naval and World War Two libraries.

Jim Christley is the recognized expert on U.S. Submarines and his expertise shines in this nice reference book on US fleetboats. A must for every submarine model builder too.