Author: Jak P. Mallmann Showell Publisher: ISBN: 9780750945554 Category : Navy-yards and naval stations Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
This book provides a concise historical background to the rise of the Nazi U-boat fleet, and the part it played in the Second World War. The author examines in detail how and why each of the bases in France, Germany and Norway were designed and built, and how they were defended against attack, while listing which boats were based where and when.
Author: Lawrence Paterson Publisher: Seaforth Publishing ISBN: 184832037X Category : History Languages : en Pages : 208
Book Description
On the eve of Germany's surrender in May 1945, Grossadmiral Karl Dönitz commanded thousands of loyal and active men of the U-boat service. Still fully armed and unbroken in morale, enclaves of these men occupied bases stretching from Norway to France, where cadres of U-boat men fought on in ports that defied besieging Allied troops to the last. At sea U-boats still operated on a war footing around Britain, the coasts of the United States and as far as Malaya. Following the agreement to surrender, these large formations needed to be disarmed - often by markedly inferior forces - and the boats at sea located and escorted into the harbours of their erstwhile enemies. Neither side knew entirely what to expect, and many of the encounters were tense; in some cases there were unsavoury incidents, and stories of worse. For many Allied personnel it was their first glimpse of the dreaded U-boat menace and both sides were forced to exercise considerable restraint to avoid compromising the terms of Germany's surrender. One of the last but most dramatic acts of the naval war, the story of how the surrender was handled has never been treated at length before. This book uncovers much new material about the process itself and the ruthless aftermath for both the crews and their boats.
Author: Randolph Bradham Publisher: Praeger ISBN: 0275981339 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
"Despite their extensive efforts - and those of the Americans who joined them in 1942 - the fortresses would survive, surrounded by the decimated French towns and countryside. This is the story of what was, perhaps, the longest ongoing battle in Europe during the Second World War, seen through the eyes of someone who experienced much of it firsthand."--Jacket.
Author: Jordan Vause Publisher: Naval Institute Press ISBN: 1612513808 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 224
Book Description
An exceptional figure in the history of the German Navy, Wolfgang Luth was one of only seven men in the Wehrmacht to win Germany's highest combat decoration, the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. At one time or another he operated in almost every theater of the undersea war, from Norway to the Indian Ocean, and became the second most successful German U-boat ace in World War II, sinking more than 220,000 tons of merchant shipping. A master in the art of military leadership, Luth was the youngest man to be appointed to the rank of captain and the youngest to become commandant of the German Naval Academy. Nevertheless, his accomplishments were overshadowed by those of other great aces, such as Prien, Kretschmer, and Topp. The publication of this book in hardcover in 1990 marked the first comprehensive study of Luth's life. Jordan Vause corrects the long neglect by providing an entertaining and authoritative biography that places the ace in the context of the war at sea. This new paperback edition includes corrections and additional information collected by the author over the past decade.
Author: Gordon Williamson Publisher: Frontline Books ISBN: 1526759055 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 192
Book Description
‘The only thing that ever really frightened me during the war was the U-boat peril,’ wrote Winston Churchill in his history of the Second World War. ‘I was even more anxious about this battle than I had been about the glorious air fight called the Battle of Britain.” In reality, the Kriegsmarine had been woefully unprepared for the war into which it was thrown. The Command-in-Chief of submarines, Karl Dönitz, himself a verteran U-boat captain from the First World War, felt that he could bring Britain to its knees with a fleet of 300 U-Boats. But when war broke out, he had just twenty-four available for operational use. Despite this, the U-Boat arm scored some incredible successes in the early part of the war, raising the status of the submarine commanders and crews to that of national heroes in the eyes of the German people. The ‘Grey Wolves’ had become super-stars. Small wonder then that the U-Boat war has fascinated students of military history ever since. This book, using a carefully selected range of both wartime images and colour images of surviving U-boat memorabilia from private collections, describes 100 iconic elements of the U-Boat service and its campaigns. The array of objects include important individuals and the major U-Boat types, through to the uniforms and insignias the men wore. The weapons, equipment and technology used are explored, as are the conditions in which the U-boat crews served, from cooking facilities and general hygiene down to the crude toilet facilities. Importantly, the enemy that they faced is also covered, examining the ship-borne and airborne anti-submarine weaponry utilised against the U-boats. The U-Boats began the war, though small in number, more than a match for the Allies and created carnage amongst merchant shipping as well as sinking several major warships. The pace of technological development, however, failed to match that of Allied anti-submarine warfare weaponry and the U-Bootwaffe was ultimately doomed to defeat but not before, at one point, coming close to bringing Britain to its knees.
Author: Gordon Williamson Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 1780963327 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 360
Book Description
In this comprehensive book, the wartime development of the U-Boat is traced along with the experiences of typical U-Boat crewmen, from recruitment to combat. Germany's World War II U-Boat fleet represented the elite of their naval personnel. In terms of technology, training, tactics and combat successes, the U-Boat Waffe was far superior to that of any other combatant nation. Gordon Williamson examines the operational tactics of the U-Boat fleet, as well as describing the massive bunkers that housed them. Wolf Pack contains material taken from Fortress 3: 'U-Boat Bases and Bunkers 1941-45', Warrior 36: 'Grey Wolf: U-Boat Crewman of World War II' and New Vanguards 51 and 55: 'Kriegsmarine U-Boat 1939-45 (1) and (2)', with the addition of a new section on wartime tactics.
Author: Barrett Tillman Publisher: Simon and Schuster ISBN: 1621572358 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 178
Book Description
November 1943—May 1945—The U.S. Army Air Forces waged an unprecedentedly dogged and violent campaign against Hitler’s vital oil production and industrial plants on the Third Reich’s southern flank. Flying from southern Italy, far from the limelight enjoyed by the Eighth Air Force in England, the Fifteenth Air Force engaged in high-risk missions spanning most of the European continent. The story of the Fifteenth Air Force deserves a prideful place in the annals of American gallantry. In his new book, Forgotten Fifteenth: The Daring Airmen Who Crippled Hitler’s War Machine, Tillman brings into focus a seldom-seen multinational cast of characters, including pilots from Axis nations Romania, Hungary, and Bulgaria and many more remarkable individuals. They were the first generation of fliers—few of them professionals—to conduct a strategic bombing campaign against a major industrial nation. They suffered steady attrition and occasionally spectacular losses. In so doing, they contributed to the end of the most destructive war in history. Forgotten Fifteenth is the first-ever detailed account of the Fifteenth Air Force in World War II and the brave men that the history books have abandoned until now. Tillman proves this book is a must-read for military history enthusiasts, veterans, and current servicemen.
Author: Gordon Williamson Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN: 184908002X Category : History Languages : en Pages : 66
Book Description
Few of the massive military structures built by Germany during World War II are as impressive as the U-Boat bases and bunkers in Germany, Norway and France. This title takes a close look at the formidable edifices on the French coast (Brest, Lorient, St Nazaire, La Pallice, Bordeaux) in Norway (Bergen, Trondheim) and Germany (Keil, Hamburg, Helgoland) and also focuses on the huge 'Valentin' factory complex at Bremen, which manufactured the new type XXI electro-boats. Bunker protective systems, such as camouflage, light and heavy flak installations and nearby air cover, are also examined as well as resident flotillas and the fate of the bases at war's end.
Author: Paterson Lawrence Publisher: Skyhorse ISBN: 9781510731639 Category : History Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
“Comprehensive and readable.”—The Naval Review Between September 1941 and May 1944, the Germans sent sixty-two U-boats into the Mediterranean. To get there, the boats had to pass through the Strait of Gibraltar, the British-held entry point, where nearly a third of them were sunk or forced to turn back. Of the submarines that made it into the clear, calm waters of the Mediterranean, not one of them ever made it back into the Atlantic: They were all either sunk in battle or scuttled by their own crews. In U-Boats in the Mediterranean, Lawrence Paterson puts the campaign into its strategic context, showing how it coordinated with Rommel's Afrika Korps in the Western Desert and the U-boat battle in the Atlantic. He describes the weapons and tactics the commanders used to try to overcome the difficulties of operating in the shallow waters and how increasing Allied dominance of the air took its heavy toll. Paterson details the U-boat triumphs such as the sinking of HMS Ark Royal, and the torpedoing of the battleship HMS Barham, which provided one of the best-known images of the Second World War at sea. Making full use of firsthand accounts by veterans, official German records, and Allied archives, the book puts a spotlight on a neglected aspect of the U-boat war and shows the courage and fortitude of the men on both sides of this savage conflict.
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Author: Jak P. Mallmann Showell
Author: Lawrence Paterson
Author: Randolph Bradham
Author: Jordan Vause
Author: Gordon Williamson
Author: Gordon Williamson
Author: Barrett Tillman
Author: Lawrence Paterson
Author: Gordon Williamson
Author: Paterson Lawrence