U.S. Submarines Since 1945: An Illustrated Design History

by Norman Friedman, James L. Christley (Illustrator)

The role of U.S. submarines is currently the focus of an intense debate, and this book contributes to that discussion in the belief that an understanding of the past is necessary to make wise decisions about the future. In the tradition of his acclaimed warship design history series. Norman Friedman describes the forces technical, political, and operational that shaped a vital element of U.S. sea power. For example, he examines the evolution in missions, such as forward-based antisubmarine warfare and strategic deterrence, that transformed the submarine from its former subsidiary role to the center of national power. U.S. Submarines since 1945 is also the story of a technological first the emergence of fast diesel-electric craft, then the shock of nuclear power, followed by the appearance of submarine-launched strategic missiles. Nowhere else can a reader find so complete or sophisticated an account of the development of the U.S. submarine force, including not only the hulls but also the weapons and sensors they carry. The book details what submarines were ordered, what weapons and propulsion systems they had, how they performed, and what sonars and combat systems were developed.
This volume also publicly reveals for the first time several important proposals for unrealized and generally unknown submarine projects. Drawing heavily on interviews with members of the submarine community. Friedman examines a radically changing defense environment. His detailed and authoritative study also takes a look at the effects posed by the end of the Cold War on the role and construction of submarine fleets. The book explores the challenges involved in the often necessary reinvention of a submarine to meet current and projected needs. The author compares the technical requirements of submarines versus surface ships and discusses the importance of maintaining a submarine industrial base in the face of post-Cold War reductions.

Genres: History, Maritime, Technology, Military Fiction, Naval History, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Norman Friedman is a prominent naval analyst and the author of more than thirty books covering a range of naval subjects, from warship histories to contemporary defense issues.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough, generally well-written, an essential book on the topic but with some odd blemishes. A technical design history, and not a ‘page-turner’, but essential reading for anyone seriously interested in the development of US Submarines. The author has researched thoroughly, accessing primary documentation in archives, letters, and other material, to put together a thorough overview of the development of US submarines through to the end of the Second World War.

The book is well-illustrated with photographs and diagrams (drawn largely by Jim Christley). The photos are well-chosen, and give a good idea of key configurations – credit to the work for squeezing in a photo at the end of Appendix C as well, instead of leaving the second half of the page white space.

It’s not perfec though. There were relatively frequent typos – nothing that caused confusion as to what was said, but a little jarring. More concerningly, there were ‘disappearing footnotes’ – in a number of chapters, the footnotes ‘lost sync’, with an extra footnote reference clearly not having a matching footnote. In a book with so much interesting information in the footnotes this was a shame. The book is also very fast and loose with ranks – sometime it’s the rank at the time, sometimes it’s their final rank. “Admiral” is used interchangeably for full admirals and rear and vice-admirals, but Rear Admiral and Vice Admiral is also used (and it’s not the case that the full title is used first, and then just “Admiral” later) – and Adm. is also used for all ranks of admirals at times. And some of the figures in the text don’t match the figures in the tables (presumably due to slips when editing).

Some of the discussion could also be clearer – for example, when talking about “the successors” to a particular class, the actual name of the class being talked about isn’t used. The tables in the book can be referred to, to clearly understand the reference, but it wouldn’t take more than an extra word or two to add useful clarity to the narrative. This extends to the structure – some parts flow very naturally, but others seem to jump from subject-to-subject (particularly the chapters on WW1 and WW2) without clear links. The book also finishes somewhat abruptly – there’s no summary or conclusion, per se. A conclusion or summary isn’t necessary, but they can be useful ways of bringing together the broader points of a work to focus on key issues or developments, and it’s entirely absent in this work.

As well as the main work, there are two lengthy (10 and 18 pages) appendices on submarine propulsion and periscopes (interesting and useful, but would benefit from a diagram or two), a table detailing the laying-down, launching, commissioning and decommissioning date of each submarine of the period, another set of tables covering technical details, and extensive descriptive notes containing much interesting supplementary information that cover 55 pages in small type. There is also a list of abbreviations and an index, but no bibliography (references are mentioned, if inconsistently, in the notes).

All up, I found the book very interesting, if occasionally somewhat hard-going, and it deepened my knowledge of US submarine design history substantially. I expect it is an essential read for anyone interested in the development of US submarines through to the end of the Second World War, but it’s a shame that more attention to detail wasn’t given during the editing stages.

[Sean · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hard to understand how this gets less than a 5*. Is there something missing? I just see TONS of detail and description. Sketches, analysis, tables in the back with every sub's stats. Is there a better subs-through-1945 book out there?
I did not fully read the book, but just skimmed it. The reading I did showed the author dedicated a great deal of time and analysis. This book could almost be filed in the library with REF material.
I like the titles that SKIP using "encyclopedia of ..." because then the book gets filed in the library with REF - you can't check it out (must use in the library) and you don't stumble on it with other like-minded books, since it's buried on the REFERENCE shelves. This book is filed under 623 Military & nautical engineering.