Description
This comprehensive reference book traces the hundred-year history of the German submarine from its modest beginnings in 1904, through the huge fleets of the two World Wars, to the commercially successful designs of the present day. Every class of U-boat is given a detailed data sheet, including individual fates, and the book is illustrated throughout with historic photographs and plans.Chapters devoted to special topics include midget submarines, the development of machinery down to modern air-independent systems, some of the most famous U-boat commanders, surviving boats in museums, and ancillary matters like U-tankers, bunkers and shelters. This genuinely encyclopedic work concludes with a wide-ranging survey of books and other sources.
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On the eve of World War I, the art of submarine warfare was barely a dozen years old; no nation had submarine-qualified officers serving at the senior staff level and no nation had developed any method for detecting submarines, or attacking them if found. Ancient prejudice against submarines remained: they did not "fit" in the classic, balanced structure of a navy - where battleships were king. However, by the end of WWI they had changed the face of naval warfare forever. This excellent and comprehensive reference book, translated for the first time in English, traces the remarkable history of the German U-Boat, meticulously recording all the different submarine classes and types developed from the U-1, launched in 1906, through the highly successful 30's series, to the Wolf pack of WWII and beyond. Type sheets provide information on the development, service record, range, crew strength and location for each entry. Special chapters are also devoted to the most successful and colourful German U-Boat commanders including Karl Donitz, Otto Kretschmer and Gunther Prien, and the boats of WWI War and submarine shelters that can be visited in museums today.
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