Anti-submarine Warfare: An Illustrated History
Product Description: The author of more than twenty books on scientific and historical subjects, David Owen presents an authoritative yet highly readable account of the ongoing battle between naval forces above and below the sea's surface. Without question, the submarine was the most potent purely naval weapon of the twentieth century, yet the fact that it was usually defeated is an important part of the story described in this book. With the support of nearly 200 illustrations, the author examines both the successful innovations and the inevitable counter-measures made by each side in their lethal struggle for supremacy. Known for picking just the right incident to illustrate a point, Owen fills his book with examples of individual heroism and devotion to duty along with accounts of the ingenuity, originality of tactical thought, and technological advances to provide a complete picture. He shows clearly that development was not a straight line--wrong ideas and assumptions sometimes led to defeat and disaster. Concluding the book is a survey of recent ASW developments carried out by teams of scientists, engineers, commanders and crews of ASW aircraft, ships, and other submarines working together to defeat the current threat of hostile raiders who hide in the ocean depths.
Subjects: History, History - Military / War, Military, Military - Naval, Military - World War II, History / Military History, Military - Other, Military - Weapons, Anti-submarine warfare,
Primarily about British Anti submarines ops in WWII
Like so many recent US Naval Institute books this book is written primarily to emphasize British Naval operations during WWII while minimize USN contributions......The book is largely an account of WWII British convoy operations/battles....Only overviews of ASW weapons systems are included....... Minimal technical data and illustrations of the ASW weapons systems are provided....I would have expected technical listings and data on the various World's ASW systems from such a book.....Post World War Two USN coverage is minimal at best and includes no mention of the primary USN MK114/MK116 surface ships ASW systems of the 1950's-1960's........Overall the book was just another deary "Battle of the Atlantic" book from the Royal Navy Perspective......
A reasonable overview of the subject.
Whilst this book does require some serious attention to detail as far as the overall layout is concerned, it does provide a reasonable overview of the subject. In addition, some of the illustrations - especially the photograph of the Hunley plaque from the Submarine Library in Connecticut, are below standard.
Nevertheless, for anyone interested in the threat of the submarine as a naval weapon - from the very earliest conceptions right up to the modern nuclear vessel, and the anti-submarine measures developed to counter that threat, this book will give that person a very good appreciation of the subject.
With initial chapters devoted to the early development of the submarine, WW1, post WW1 and pre-WW2 the reader will already have learned a great deal about the development of the submarine as the author divides the next 12 chapters into different aspects of WW2 and the various battles fought in different theatres of war. This was the period when both the submarine and anti-submarine measures came of age. With surviving German U Boats distributed amongst the victorious Allies, post-WW2 submarines were further developments of the German lead in this particular field.
Concluding with chapters on the "Nuclear Revolution" and the tactics of submarine hunting submarine, the book concludes with the author's appraisal of the threat posed by submarines in the 21st Century.
As I have said, altogether an excellent overview of the subject but attention to detail required as far as layout and certain illustrations are concerned.
NM
