[Egan]

As there are a lot of people around who are new to both Subsims and the history of the Battle of the Atlantic, I thought I would post this here. It's not complete by any meens but if you are interested in the subject beyond simply playing the game, you can't go wrong with any of these books.

And before anyone points it out, I know the U-boat Commander's handbook isn't on it...I, erm, forgot...

Happy reading!

General

Clay Blair.
Hitlers U-boat war: The Hunters 1939-1942
Hitlers U-boat war: The Hunted 1942-1945
Various Publishers and Editions. In print.

Huge, stupidly detailed and stunningly thourough, Blair's two headed opus is a brilliant study of the U-boat war from its inception to the bitter end. A great starting point for newcommers or fantastic reference for those who already know there way around the subject. Altogether, at nearly 2000 pages, this is a must read book!

Herbert A Wener.
Iron Coffins: A U-boat Commanders war, 1939-1945.
Cassel Military Paperback. In print. ISBN: 0304353302

Probably as famous as Das Boot amongst sub fans. Werner's account of life beneath the waves in the service of the Reich retains a constant feeling of claustrophobia and danger throughout. Enjoyable and interesting although not without its controversy. Great read.

Robert C Stern.
Battle Beneath the Waves.
Cassel military paperback. In print. ISBN: 030436228X

A collection of several U-boat stories and ancedotes covering the war. A lthough a bit hit and miss the collection is worth it for the section detailing Prien's little shindig at Scapa Flow.

Terrence Robertson
The Golden Horseshoe: The wartime career of Otto Kretschmer.
Greenhill books. Hardback. In print. ISBN: 185367558X Other editions available.

Biography of Germany's most sucessful WW2 U-boat ace from his first patrols through to his capture. Written by a veteran of Allied convoys, this is a fascinating book.

Gunther Prien
U-boat Commander.
Various publishers and editions. May no longer be in print but available second hand.

The man himself in his own words. Written before he was lost in 41 (Obviously, Very Happy ) This book discusses his greatest success in Scapa Flow and many other aspects of the U-boat War. Seen by many people now as propoganda it remains a fascinating read. Shouldn't be too hard to track down.

Karl Donitz
Memoirs: Ten years and Twenty Days.
Cassel military paperbacks. ISBN: 0304356867 Other editions available.

Donitz on himself. From the early days right up to his Ascension to Fuhrer on Hitler's death. An important book and one that should be read.

Wolfgang Hirschfeld
The Secret Diary of a U-boat
Cassel. ISBN: 0304354988 Other editons availabe. In print.

Hirschfeld was a radio operator in the U-boats and kept these secret and very verboten diaries throughout the war. Although not as detailed as other, similar books it still retains it's importance especially as it sees the war in slightly different light.

U-boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Lüth
Jordan Vause
Various editions. In print.

Biography of another Knights Cross winner covering his career up until his controversial end. great book.

Terry Hughes & John Costello
The Battle of the Atlantic
The Dial Press/James Wade.ISBN 0-8037-6454-2. In print.

Merten says: Highly readable account of the war in the Atlantic 1939-1945, including actions by U-boats and engagements by surface vessels. Loads of excellent pictures.

Andrew Williams
The Battle of the Atlantic
BBC Books. ISBN: 0563488638. Also Basic Books (2003)ISBN 0-465-09153-9 In print.

Accompanying book to the excellent BBC documentary series about the U-boat war. If you can get the DVD please do. Worth it for the recreations of Prien's Scapa Flow adventures.



Fiction

Lothar-Gunther Buchheim
Das Boot
Various Editions. About as in print as you can get.

What can you say? One of the most famous - and best - war novels ever written. It has everything; humour, horror, boredom, Exhuastion and more. If you don't already own this, what on earth are you doing here? Very Happy

Operations
Lawrence Patterson.
Hitler's Grey Wolves: U-boats in the Indian Ocean.
Publisher: Greenhill Books. ISBN: 1853676152. In print.[/b]

Interesting book which details an almost forgotten side of the U-boat war - the campaign in the far east. The book covers operations in the Indian ocean and the Pacific and discusses the U-boat-Waffes links with the Japanese.

Michael L. Hadley
U-boats Against Canada: German Submarines in Canadian Waters.
Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN: 0773508015. In print.

Many of the Convoys that helped Britain fight the Nazi menace left from Canadian waters. This book covers an element of the war that was perhaps one of the most important of all.

Edwin P. Hoyt
U-Boats Offshore; When Hitler Struck America
Stein & Day (1978) ISBN 0-8128-2505-5. Probably Second hand

Merten says: An account of U-boat operations in U.S. waters in 1942-1943.




Construction and Engineering

Eberhard Rossler, Harold Erenberg
The U-boat: The Evolution and Technical History of German Submarines.
Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicholson military.ISBN: 0304361208. In print.

Pretty comprehensive of the technical side of things. Also covers the development of the German Submarine pregram from WW1 onwards.


Allied ASW and Surface

Donald Macintyre

U-Boat Killer.
Publisher: Cassell. ISBN: 0304352357. In print. Other editions available.

One of my personal favourates. Donald Macintyre was a Destroyer skipper who became one of the Royal Navys leading ASW specialists of WW2 after serving with the likes of Johnny Walker. What can you say about a man who took care of both Schepke and 'Silent' Otto Kretschmer in one night during one of his first patrols as a CO?. Brilliant, brilliant book. Buy it now.

Terence Robertson
Walker, RN: Story of Captain Frederick John Walker
ISBN: 0330105183. Second hand.

The leading U-boat Killer of World War 2 is given a wonderful biography here that details everything from his early problems with Navy discipline to the awesome tactics that made him such a feared and deadly enemy. Walker died in '44 on the cusp of Allied victory in Europe from an aneurism. 'Johnny' Walker is one of the true heroes of the Royal Navy and this biography will more than reward the effort spent in tracking down a second hand copy.

[Tori]

[Egan]

[Donner]

"Mein Weg nach Scapa Flow" = "U-boat Commander"

"U-boat Commander" is the English translation of the famous German book.

[Gairith]

Thank you kindly for this list!

[Egan]

[Soviet_Warlord]

I found this book very good, (yes, I know that it has pictorial in it's name, but it contains a very well written account of the entire second world war for the German kriegsmarine.


Von der Porten, Edward P
Pictorial History of the German Navy in World War II
1976 Hardcover (sorry- don't have the publisher. It's out of print. Recently I took it out of my old school library 4 times )

The book hadn't been signed out since 1986, and before that 1977. Jeez, for me to be reading this book I must really be a nerd. But I still think it's an excellent book \

[CobraCommander]

I liked Hirschfeld`s book, as there is some 'Bordleben' in it.

And to add one title, Teddy Suhren`s 'Nasses Eichenlaub' (T.S. was FdU Nord at the end) is also a fair read.

And another one I got my hands onto last week: 'U-Boottyp XXI' by Eberhard Rössler. More a technical description with good pix. I`ll study it and then go to Bremerhaven and take a trip with the Wilhelm Bauer... :ahoy:

[Kaleun]

Hi,

Can i also add to the list (a fine list if i may add, having read a few of the aforementioned titles) a new (to the UK that is!) book.

It was bought for me by my housemate who has endured drinking alone in the local pub because, i was waiting for that convoy to pass my intercept point and even a pint was not enough to drag me away, and understands my love of subs.

Wolfpack (The story of the U-boat in World War II)
Osprey
Gordon Williamson
ISBN 1 84176 872 3

It is an excellant book covering all aspects of the U-boat - to such a detail that U-boat.net didn't have some of the info (example U-boat.net has 1 u-boat as having no emblem whereas the book shows a photograph of the conning tower with it's emblem.)

A blessed and thoughtful present to me, but a joy i'm sure to the rest of you WWII sub-nuts!

[Egan]

Keep em coming!

[Sailor Steve]

Heinz Schaeffer
U-Boat 977
WW Norton & Co (1952)
Bantam Paperback (1981)

Schaeffer started his war as a junior U-Boat officer in May 1941, and ended it by taking his Type VIIc from Norway to Argentina, arriving on August 17, 1945, after a 66-day voyage entirely under water, running on schnorkel. His highly readable book covers his career in as much detail as can be packed into 190 pages.

[KL Seestern]

Here's another one that might make a good addition to the list:

John Terraine, Business in Great Waters: The U-Boat Wars, 1916-1945. Originally published by Leo Cooper Ltd, London, 1989; reprinted in 1999 in the nicely-priced Wordsworth Military Library paperback series.

It's a hefty book (700+ pages!), covering both wars, and including lots of good discussion of the courses of the campaigns, strategies, technological developments, etc.

[HMCS]

Convoy by Martin Middlebrook The well-written account of the battle of SC-122 and HX 229.

U-Boats Under The Swastika by J.P. Mallmann-Showell Jak Showell started out researching his father's fate (disappeared on U-337) and ended up writing the definitive book on the U-Boats. This one is out of print, so if you find it in a used-book store, grab it.

Operation Drumbeat by Michael Gannon The sometimes incredible story about how the USN was humbled by the U-Boats. The allies lost half of their big tankers in a few weeks.

[Sawdust]

I'm currently reading Lone Wolf: The Life and Death of U-Boat Ace Werner Henke by Timothy P. Mulligan. I'm only a few chapters in, but it's had lots of interesting stuff in it so far. Henke captained U-515, a Type IX C.

[badger_ken]

A recent excellent non-fiction book about some divers diving a U-boat wreck off the new jersey coast, the divers become extremely engaged in U-boat lore, contacting families, learning about the crew and its missions, etc.:

"Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson