Submarine - An Anthology of
the first-hand accounts of the war under the sea 1939-1945
Edition: HB
Author: Jean Hood
|
ISBN: 9781844860463 |
Publishers: Conway (Anova)
Price: £20
Publication Date: 15th
Oct 2007
Publisher’s Title Information
The Foreword has been written by a submariner from the present
era: the Royal Navy’s Rear Admiral D J Cooke MBE, Rear Admiral Submarines,
Commander (Operations),
COMSUBNORTH.
Submarine is almost certainly the first book to bring together
eye-witness accounts from almost every navy that deployed submarines in WW2,
and it is far more than an account of WW2 missions. With self-deprecating
modesty, humour, pride, sadness and sometimes bitterness, submariners from
Britain, Germany, the USA, Italy, France, the former USSR and Yugoslavia,
Norway, Greece, Poland, the Netherlands and Japan describe every facet of
operational submarine life, from firing torpedoes, the illicit distillation of
alcohol, going to the toilet in heavy weather, rescuing a cat and how to treat
appendicitis, to the terrifying experiences of being depth-charged, disposing
of a bomb, escaping a doomed boat and planting charged beneath an enemy
warship.
Anyone who believes that the only task of a submarine was to torpedo enemy
vessels will have to think again. Submariners tell of daring missions to land
agents on Occupied coasts, run cargo, defend a convoy, gather intelligence,
supply other submarines, lay mines and even transport troops. They operated in
almost every sea from the Arctic and the Pacific to the Mediterranean and the
Atlantic. Special operations, including those of the human torpedoes and midget
submarines are fully represented, and all accounts are placed in historical and
strategic context by concise chapter introductions. Footnotes and glossaries explain
abbreviations, technical jargon, naval slang and regional slang.
The Author
Jean Hood was Information Officer at Lloyd's Registry of Shipping
in London for several years, answering enquiries from the international
community on modern and historical ships. It was there that she came across the
East Indiaman Winterton, whose final disastrous voyage she related in her first
book, Marked for Misfortune (2003). Her other published titles with Conway
include Trafalgar Square (2005) and Come Hell or High Water (2006).
Foreword
By Rear
Admiral D J Cooke, MBE
Rear Admiral Submarines, Commander (Operations) and
COMSUBNORTH
I feel very privileged to
have been invited to contribute the foreword to this anthology of wartime
submariners' stories. These stories represent a wealth of experience drawn from
the majority of the submarine-operating nations of the Second World War, and
certainly from all of the major participants. There has been a considerable
amount written, particularly in recent years, about the technical aspects of
submarines in that war, and understanding the technology is a key element in
understanding the operational successes and failures of the submarine conflict.
An equally critical element, however, is the human factor, without which the
technology is to no avail. It is in painting a vivid human picture,
particularly of the sea-goers, that Jean Hood's book has been so successful and
has struck a chord with me that I believe will be echoed with my fellow
submariners of all nationalities.
I joined my first submarine, HMS Oberon, just over thirty years after the end of the Second World War. During the next twenty years I served in both conventional and nuclear-powered submarines, being fortunate enough to command one of each type. I am now equally fortunate to be Head of the Royal Navy's Submarine Service, and the NATO Commander Submarines
North. Throughout my career, in whatever capacity I have been serving, I have
felt strongly that one of the most important single factors that distinguishes
submariners from other seafarers is the knowledge that he (or indeed she, in
many navies now) is a member of a very special family. It is not just a
national family either, but very much an international community with
instinctive bonds based, not only on professionalism and training, but on
common experiences of living in one of the most challenging environments in
which man chooses to operate - underwater. It has rightly been said that it is
only as a team that submariners can successfully survive these challenges,
because however good the rest of the ship's company may be it only takes one of
them to sink a submarine; there is no margin for complacency or error, and that
is before you throw
in the best efforts of the enemy to further complicate your life.
The conventional submarines in which I served were very
similar in many ways to the later wartime boats, with the notable exception of
not being on the receiving end of determined anti-submarine attacks with deadly
weapons. Nuclear submarines are bigger, faster and deeper-diving but still
surprisingly cramped, and their patrol endurance is ultimately limited by the
amount of food
carried and the stamina of the crew; there are striking examples of their
wartime forebears enduring patrol lengths, in far greater discomfort, that
rival or exceed those of modern nuclear boats. Regardless of the period or of
the type of submarine, what does not seem to have changed much about
submariners is their characters and personalities. The excerpts in this book
are taken from a very broad cross-section of submariners, from those who are
among the best-known and most successful commanding officers to those who were
relatively unsung and best-known only to their shipmates but who were
fundamental to the safe and successful operation of their submarines. What
shines through, regardless of nationality, victor or vanquished, is their
professionalism, good humour, sheer competence often under the most demanding
of circumstances, and above all their sense of belonging to this unique international
family.
The
submarine community is a great club, into which no one can buy his way.
Membership can only be earned, and once a submariner you are always a
submariner. I derive great pride from being part of that club, and I believe
that every other member, young or old, shares that sentiment. Jean Hood's book
illustrates better than many why we are so proud of belonging to the submarine
family. We never forget that we share a common heritage based on what our
predecessors of all nationalities accomplished, and she brings that heritage
vividly to life.
Finally,
let no one forget the price that submariners paid for their achievements in
the Second World War; to give only a few examples, in their respective
submarine services the Royal Navy suffered 38% casualties (the equivalent
figure for the whole of the RN was just under 8%, exceeded only by the 43%
casualties of Bomber Command), the US Navy suffered 22%, and the German Navy a
staggering 85%. The vast majority of those casualties were deaths, rather than
losses as prisoners of war.
This book
is testimony to their remarkable and courageous achievements, and I commend it
to you.
In his Foreword Rear Admiral
DJ Cooke MBE (Rear Admiral Submarines) states, 'the submarine community is a
great club into which no-one can buy his way.
Membership can only be earned and once a Submariner always a
Submariner'. Does having once dived in
an 'S' Class submarine (1958) and been the Barge Coxswain to Flag Officer
Submarines at HMS Dolphin (1964) qualify me? I doubt it, but it was still a
privilege to know many of them.
Being an anthology, regular
readers of Naval non-fiction will recognise many of the well-known
authors. However, this volume dips very
deeply and wide in its search for material, all of which blends together to
make up a fine collection of memories.
There are stories from the
better-known such as Lieutenant Commander Alastair C G Mars, DSO DSC* RN of HM
Submarines Thule and Unbroken 
(Author of book
'Thule Intercepts' and others,) and Commander Edward Young
DSO DSC RNV(S)R, but also from those we may not have heard of eg Stoker George
Woodward of HMS Thule, who tells us that Alastair Mars was known to them as
'Mars Bars' or 'Marvellous', a good Skipper who said "Even I can make a
mistake". He also always picked up
survivors.
Mustering the crew of Unbroken the
first time, Alastair Mars, left them in no doubt of
what he expected of them. "We have two jobs - to be successful and to
survive. To achieve these I need every ounce of loyalty and strength you can
give me. Remember that I am the arbiter of what is good for you, and my orders
are to be obeyed implicitly you may expect work, work and more work. If any of
you joined submarines to get away from discipline, you are in for shocks. You
will learn more discipline me than you dreamed of - the proper sort of
discipline - self-discipline ... One final thing. What was good enough in other
submarines will not be enough here. Nothing is 'good enough' for me. I'm going
to have the best and only the best - and you're going to give it to me ...'
Later, when walking through the ship, I noticed that in every mess had been
pinned up copies of a newspaper advertisement for Mars Bars. It said, as I
remember: 'Nothing but the best is good enough for Mars.'"
There are stories of heroism
and also moments which bring the reality of it all very close, such as 'there
but the grace' where Jack Casemore explains how when HM Submarine Union did not
return from patrol, he was given the task of breaking into their lockers at the
Base and seeing all their personal belongings - letters, photographs, etc. (HM Submarine Union, Lt R M Galloway RN 10th Flotilla, Malta. Reported
sunk 25 miles SW of Pantelleria island in Strait of Sicily - by Italian torpedo
boat Circe. Attacking Italian convoy and presumed lost
in counter-attack. Reported overdue on 22 July 1941. )
How did Submariners pass the
time? George Woodward tells us that he
did embroidery. They made models and sang songs such as 'Underneath the
Surface' to the tune of 'Underneath the Arches' - "Underneath the Surface we
dream our dreams away".
I have selected items
relating to the Royal Navy. However the
book covers, inter alia, USA, German, Dutch, Italian and French. One young French Mid when reporting on board
his first boat, all fully dressed was told, "You can stick your respects up
your arse Mid, along with your equipment, your trunk, your sword and your white
gloves. You can keep one uniform. Stuff your kit in that drawer and Harbour
Stations is in twenty minutes".
This is a book that one need
not necessarily read all in one sitting since the chapters are so varied and
cover different nationalities throughout the whole war.
Rob Jerrard
References
HMS Dolphin
http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/dolphin/dolphin.htm
HM Submarine Splendid
http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/splendid/splendid.html
HMS Maidstone
http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/maid/maid.htm
HMS Thule Intercepts
http://www.rjerrard.co.uk/royalnavy/outofprint/outofprint.html
Ship Steward's
Handbook
Edition: 2007
Authors: E C Plumb and J J Traynor
ISBN: 9781844860566
Publishers:
Conway
Price: £6.99
Publication
Date: 10th Oct 2007
Publisher’s Title Information
This charming little handbook
was first published in the 1950s as an aid for stewards entering the Merchant
Navy. It contained notes on the necessary etiquette and skills required to
serve passengers on the great ocean liners of the day, whether in first class
or the emerging tourist class.
Packed with all sorts of fascinating facts, tips and hints and supported by
diagrammatic drawings of table settings from breakfast to dinner, this will
appeal not only to former ship stewards reminiscing on days gone by, but also
to anyone who is part of the burgeoning cruise industry, where people can still
enjoy this level of service. Cookery historians will also find much of interest
in the menus of the time that are listed together with the handy glossary of
French terms at the back of the book.
Finally, this is also the book for anyone who ever wondered how to get a
drinking glass clean and smudge free: 'Glasses should be washed in warm water,
rinsed in cold, dried with a linen cloth (linen does not leave fluff on the
glass in the same way as cotton).' or correctly uncork and serve a bottle of
champagne. Its nostalgic impact is further reinforced by the inclusion of the
adverts that appeared in the first edition, from Sun-Pat peanuts to Old Charlie
Rum.
The Authors
E C Plumb and J J Traynor
were teachers at the National Sea Training School at Gravesend. In their own
words, 'The aims are that these notes will guide young stewards setting out on
their careers afloat...'.