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Hunt and Kill: U-505 and the U-Boat War in the Atlantic
One of WWIIs pivotal events was the capture ofU-505on June 4, 1944. The top secret seizure of this massive Type IX submarine provided the Allies with priceless information on German technology and innovation. After the war,U-505was transported to Chicago, where today several hundred thousand visitors a year pass through its well-preserved hull at theMuseum of Science and Industry.
290 pages, Paperback
First published June 19, 2004
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About the author
Theodore P. Savas
43 books24 followersSavas Beatie LLC is an El Dorado Hills-based book publishing company established in 2004. The company has published more than 100 military, general history, and sports history titles, many of which have won awards and been selected by national book clubs.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
February 12, 2015
When I picked up Hunt and Kill I was plesantly surprised by the book. Theodore Savas is the editor for a very well selected group of U-Boat Historians rather than the author. I was expecting a rather ordinary coverage of the U-505 instead this book was a well researched and well written account of the U-505.
Each Historian has one part of the U-505's "life" starting with a forward by the late Erich Topp (U-Boat ace, Captain of the U-522, Rear Admiral of the West German Navy and author of the excellent autobiography Odyssey of a U-Boat Commander) to the current Curator of the U-505 Keith Gill. Each chapter builds on the previous. Eric Rust (translator of Topp's autobiography) creates an overview of the Atlantic Campaign from the German perspective. The most enjoyable chapter was from Timothy Mulligan (who wrote an excellent biography of Werner Henke: Lone Wolf)who covered in real human terms and statistical data of the crew of the U-505. Mulligan made and gave convincing evidence that the U-505 was indeed a lucky boat rather than unlucky. Lawrence paterson (author of U-Boat War Patrol) gave an overview of the U-505's operational history. Then Mark Wise and Jak Showell gave a brief history of the US Navy's intelligence activities against the U-Boats in WWII. Jordan Vause has an essay discussing the decisions the U-505's captain and officers made during the attack by Task Group 22.3. Finally Keih Gill brings the book to a close by telling the U-505's story from the ed of the war to modern day.
The very best part of this book is how each author is critical of the decisions made by both sides. The only time a clear bias can be detected is by Keith Gill and this can be overlooked to a certain degree since he is writing about the institution he works for and an artifact (the U-505) that he clearly cares for. As someone who does maintance and restoration on a museum ship the artifact does become something akin to family and less like an artifact. Therefore Gill's bias is something I understand and can overlook.
Hunt and Kill is strongly recommended to better understand the U-Boat cmpaign in general but specfically to understand the motives of the men who crewed the U-Boats.
Each Historian has one part of the U-505's "life" starting with a forward by the late Erich Topp (U-Boat ace, Captain of the U-522, Rear Admiral of the West German Navy and author of the excellent autobiography Odyssey of a U-Boat Commander) to the current Curator of the U-505 Keith Gill. Each chapter builds on the previous. Eric Rust (translator of Topp's autobiography) creates an overview of the Atlantic Campaign from the German perspective. The most enjoyable chapter was from Timothy Mulligan (who wrote an excellent biography of Werner Henke: Lone Wolf)who covered in real human terms and statistical data of the crew of the U-505. Mulligan made and gave convincing evidence that the U-505 was indeed a lucky boat rather than unlucky. Lawrence paterson (author of U-Boat War Patrol) gave an overview of the U-505's operational history. Then Mark Wise and Jak Showell gave a brief history of the US Navy's intelligence activities against the U-Boats in WWII. Jordan Vause has an essay discussing the decisions the U-505's captain and officers made during the attack by Task Group 22.3. Finally Keih Gill brings the book to a close by telling the U-505's story from the ed of the war to modern day.
The very best part of this book is how each author is critical of the decisions made by both sides. The only time a clear bias can be detected is by Keith Gill and this can be overlooked to a certain degree since he is writing about the institution he works for and an artifact (the U-505) that he clearly cares for. As someone who does maintance and restoration on a museum ship the artifact does become something akin to family and less like an artifact. Therefore Gill's bias is something I understand and can overlook.
Hunt and Kill is strongly recommended to better understand the U-Boat cmpaign in general but specfically to understand the motives of the men who crewed the U-Boats.
February 9, 2008
An excellant history lesson of the U505 as told by the surviving crew
December 1, 2012
excellent book on the subject...u-505 was captured by us navy and is currently on display in Chicago
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews