SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - A Brief Introduction to the Pacific Submarine War

marklbailey · 05-21-13, 06:39 AM

I am a retired RAN type, currently conducting postgraduate research into the protection of maritime trade, through the Australian Defence Force Academy.

There is a work entitled Senji Yuso Sendan Shi (Wartime Transportation Convoys History), by Shinshichiro Komamiya, published by Shuppan Kyodosha, Tokyo, 1987. I believe it's pretty well known by some people here.

I, and a research librarian assisting me, have so far had no luck in locating a “published” translation.

We both agree that there is definitely “something” in existence, in the way of a translation.

There are a couple of published books which actually cite an English translation of the above.

It would appear that the person who did the translation was William G. Somerville and we have seen a lead that he is (or was) based in Lincolnshire, England.

I have been able to track a possible snail mail address for Mr Somerville, and have mailed him a letter (I can only hope I have the right fellow).

The research librarian has checked for any copy holdings on WorldCat and has found no copies. (WorldCat is a database reflecting the holdings of over 10,000 libraries worldwide.) No-one has this. I have been talking with David Lotz at USN Historical Command and they are also looking for it.

So the fact that he can find no record in WorldCat of any English translation tells him that the translated version of Komamiya’s book was never published (he's been a research librarian for the 28 years I have known him and he's very good at it!). He is now quite sure of that. Had it been published there would be a record with library holdings data in the WorldCat database, simply because a bunch of libraries (especially the American military academy libraries) would have acquired copies of the translated version.

So we think what has happened is that it has been translated and then distributed amongst a very small community of individual researchers, probably as a Word document (on cdrom)

Does anyone have any knowledge of this? Has anyone seen, or heard of, this?

I have seen some hints, traced to this board, indicating that it might have been done for subsim. (You have no idea how badly this torqued out my friend the research librarian, who had never considered that wargamers appreciate primary source material as much as researchers do. I pointed him at Fred T Jane's Naval wargame, and he called me rude names.)

I can be contacted on my home email, jalans12ATbigpondDOTcom

While I really need a copy for my research, I will also make sure that ADFA library, the RAN Seapower Centre and Dave Lotz get copies too. I believe it to be important to get a primary source like this into the research libraries.

I might add that I have been able to find a copy of Rollo Appleyard's CB 1515 (16) The Elements of Convoy Defence in Submarine Warfare (1919) thought lost since being withdrawn in 1939. Find of a lifetime, that, it only took 19 years.

Regards: Mark

05-21-13, 06:39 AM	#88
marklbailey Nub Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 3 Downloads: 0 Uploads: 0	Request for Assistance I am a retired RAN type, currently conducting postgraduate research into the protection of maritime trade, through the Australian Defence Force Academy. There is a work entitled Senji Yuso Sendan Shi (Wartime Transportation Convoys History), by Shinshichiro Komamiya, published by Shuppan Kyodosha, Tokyo, 1987. I believe it's pretty well known by some people here. I, and a research librarian assisting me, have so far had no luck in locating a “published” translation. We both agree that there is definitely “something” in existence, in the way of a translation. There are a couple of published books which actually cite an English translation of the above. It would appear that the person who did the translation was William G. Somerville and we have seen a lead that he is (or was) based in Lincolnshire, England. I have been able to track a possible snail mail address for Mr Somerville, and have mailed him a letter (I can only hope I have the right fellow). The research librarian has checked for any copy holdings on WorldCat and has found no copies. (WorldCat is a database reflecting the holdings of over 10,000 libraries worldwide.) No-one has this. I have been talking with David Lotz at USN Historical Command and they are also looking for it. So the fact that he can find no record in WorldCat of any English translation tells him that the translated version of Komamiya’s book was never published (he's been a research librarian for the 28 years I have known him and he's very good at it!). He is now quite sure of that. Had it been published there would be a record with library holdings data in the WorldCat database, simply because a bunch of libraries (especially the American military academy libraries) would have acquired copies of the translated version. So we think what has happened is that it has been translated and then distributed amongst a very small community of individual researchers, probably as a Word document (on cdrom) Does anyone have any knowledge of this? Has anyone seen, or heard of, this? I have seen some hints, traced to this board, indicating that it might have been done for subsim. (You have no idea how badly this torqued out my friend the research librarian, who had never considered that wargamers appreciate primary source material as much as researchers do. I pointed him at Fred T Jane's Naval wargame, and he called me rude names.) I can be contacted on my home email, jalans12ATbigpondDOTcom While I really need a copy for my research, I will also make sure that ADFA library, the RAN Seapower Centre and Dave Lotz get copies too. I believe it to be important to get a primary source like this into the research libraries. I might add that I have been able to find a copy of Rollo Appleyard's CB 1515 (16) The Elements of Convoy Defence in Submarine Warfare (1919) thought lost since being withdrawn in 1939. Find of a lifetime, that, it only took 19 years. Regards: Mark