Recommended reading

[Gisbod]

Having only just got into this Sim recently, it's really inspired me to read about the subject in more depth..

I've already read "Ace of Aces" - Teddy Suhren, "U-boat Ace" - Wolfgang Luth, "Iron Coffins" - Herbert Werner. All fantastic reads, highly recommended!!

I've also just ordered U-333 by Peter Cremer and of course - "Das Boot". But wondered if anyone had any other recommendations for me? Doesn't have to be about the U-Bootwaffe specifically, but that's probably my preference...

Thanks...

(note- double posted on UBI SH5 forum)

"Run Silent, Run Deep" by Cmdr Edward Beach. Good read!

[mcarlsonus]

"Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the USS Tang" - by her Captain, Richard O'Kane

Others will undoubtedly recommend "Thunder Below" by the Captain of the USS Barb, Eugene Fluckey. I HATED it (for what that's worth) Granted, Fluckey was a talented, innovative, and highly successful skipper, but his writing style and apparently over-the-top ego was simply grating! One would think he alone was responsible for the Allies winning the war in the Pacific! By the way, every quoted conversation in the book begins with the author addressing, or being addressed, by first name, as in, "Gene, I believe I'll go to the head." "Ralph, I think you should not forget to flush." "Gene, I've been to the head before and never forgotten to flush!" "Ralph, I suspect you're lieing to me and a, 'masting' will inevitably be the result. "Herb, assemble the men to witness punishment!" "Gene, aye aye!" ---- ad nauseum

"Fortunes of War: U-boat Commander" - Gunther Prien

[Jan Kyster]

since you're playing an U-Boat, it must be the "Unterseeboot Kommandanten Handbuch".

If you struggle with the german language
here's a link to the translated "THE SUBMARINE COMMANDER'S HANDBOOK": http://www.hnsa.org/doc/uboat/index.htm

[bigboywooly]

The Hidden Photographic Diary of U564 by Lawrence Patterson is a great read
Full of great photos

[the_belgian]

and to have a look at the other side;
the cruel sea by Nicholas Monsarrat

[mookiemookie]

Originally Posted by bigboywooly

The Hidden Photographic Diary of U564 by Lawrence Patterson is a great read
Full of great photos

Seconded. Also, I think Steel Boats Iron Hearts by Goebbler is far better and more accurate than Iron Coffins.

Like Hidden Photographic Diary, Showell's Wolfpacks At War is full of great pictures and a good read, too.

[Capt. Morgan]

For the U-Boat side of things...

U-Boats at War by Harald Busch. Out of print, but not hard to find. Contains a concise history of the U-Boat war, mixed with detailed stories of many notable patrols (Prein's Scapa raid, a Q-ship encounter, Erich Topp's patrol in U57 - a type II, etc.) Also has Wolfgang Luth's lecture Command of Men In a U-Boat. An amazing book.


Sharks and Little Fish . Since you're reading Das Boot, you might like the contrast that this book provides. It's also fiction, but it presents a far less romantic view of U-Boat life and operations.

During the war Buchheim was a professional propagandist whereas Ott was a submariner - a fact which I think accounts best for the difference in tone of these two books.

and this...

The Submarine: A History by Thomas Parrish. Title says it all. A very readable history of the submersible warship and the effect it had on naval warfare