Submarine Stories: Recollections from the Diesel Boats

by Paul Stillwell

Culled from many never-before-published narratives and oral histories conducted under the auspices of the U.S. Naval Institute, Submarine Stories presents nearly five dozen first-person accounts from men who were involved with gasoline- and diesel-powered submarines during the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The story of these boats, their technological evolution and tactical value, is also the story of the men who went to sea in them. The accounts illustrate the human aspects of serving in diesel the training, operations in peacetime and war, liberty exploits, humorous sidelights, and special feelings of bonding and camaraderie that grew among shipmates. Included here are some familiar names. Slade Cutter, who earned four Navy Crosses as a skipper in World War II, describes the process that made him a capable submariner. Dennis Wilkinson, first skipper of the nuclear-powered Nautilus in the 1950s, tells of being in the first missile-firing submarine in the 1940s. Robert McNitt recalls his experiences as executive officer to Medal of Honor skipper Gene Fluckey. Among the other submariners who present their personal memories are Jerry Beckley, contemplating the possibility of firing nuclear missiles during the 1962 Cuban crisis; Hosey Mays, describing what it was like to be a black man in a boat with a nearly all-white crew; Paul Foster, discussing the sinking a German U-boat in World War I; and Wayne Miller, explaining the enormous satisfaction he felt when he earned his silver dolphins.

Genres: World War II, History

295 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2007

Reviews

[Craig Schlossin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good personal stories of the war.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, every chapter is a self-contained story. They were all pretty good except the compiler includes one unfortunate chapter with an old sailor remembering visits to the red light districts on shore leave. In his guilt he (the storyteller) says that everybody (in the naval service) did it because they didn't know if they would be coming back alive from a patrol. If that were true (and it's most certainly not true), it would be a shame. I wish that the editor hadn't included the chapter in the book--it's a blemish on an otherwise very interesting compilation of diesel boat sub stories.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having read many books about the World War II diesel submarine fleet, I found this to be an important addition to the historical record. While reading the collection of first person accounts -> I wondered how representative the colorful narratives are of all those submariners who participated in this important era of the silent service? It seems history is always recorded by the minority who have access to the tools to write; leaving a void as to the experiences of the rest of us. Many seaman's careers were spent in the submarine bilges, and torpedo rooms rarely seeing the light of day during their patrols and never getting the opportunity to sight through the periscope.