What do you think?
Rate this book
The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan
“Beautifully researched and masterfully told” (Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of Escape from the Deep), this is the riveting story of the heroic and tragic US submarine force that helped win World War II in the Pacific.Focusing on the unique stories of three of the war’s top submarines—Silversides, Drum, and Tang—The War Below vividly re-creates the camaraderie, exhilaration, and fear of the brave volunteers who took the fight to the enemy’s coastline in World War II. Award-winning journalist James Scott recounts incredible feats of courage—from an emergency appendectomy performed with kitchen utensils to sailors’ desperate struggle to escape from a flooded submarine—as well as moments of unimaginable tragedy, including an attack on an unmarked enemy freighter carrying 1,800 American prisoners of war.The casualty rate among submariners topped that of all other military branches. The war claimed almost one out of every five submarines, and a submarine crewman was six times more likely to die than a sailor onboard a surface ship. But this valorous service accomplished its mission; Silversides, Drum, and Tang sank a combined sixty-two freighters, tankers, and transports. The Japanese were so ravaged from the loss of precious supplies that by the war’s end, pilots resorted to suicidal kamikaze missions and hungry civilians ate sawdust while warships had to drop anchor due to lack of fuel. In retaliation, the Japanese often beat, tortured, and starved captured submariners in the atrocious prisoner of war camps.Based on more than 100 interviews with submarine veterans and thousands of pages of previously unpublished letters and diaries, The War Below lets readers experience the battle for the Pacific as never before.
450 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 14, 2013
434 people are currently reading
1544 people want to read
About the author
James M. Scott
15 books130 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews
May 2, 2021
“[Mel] Enos and his party crowded inside the [submarine’s escape] chamber, just large enough for four men. The men squabbled over how to operate the chamber before successfully flooding it with water. The sailors opened the side door, but struggled to attach a rope to the buoy that would allow them to ascend hand over hand [180 feet] to the surface. Just below the chamber in the forward torpedo room, anxious sailors waited for the signal. Thirty minutes passed with no word. Inside the chamber, Enos grew frustrated. He gave up waiting on the buoy and dove out alone into the cold water. No one would ever see him again…”
- James Scott, The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines that Battled Japan
James Scott understands something very fundamental about submarines: their activities are inherently dramatic. Whether it is the skillful skulking in the shadows, as the sub angles for a shot; the David-versus-Goliath catharsis, as it unleashes its array of torpedoes at a much larger foe; the sudden transition as the sub switches from hunter to prey; or the tense silence as it waits out a depth charge attack, a submarine at war is a fascinating subject.
If you don’t believe me, watch a submarine move. Even the bad ones are pretty good. (With the possible exception of Kelsey Grammar’s Down Periscope).
In The War Below, Scott demonstrates his understanding by zeroing in on exactly those aspects that make submarine warfare so palm-sweating and heart-pounding. Instead of giving you a comprehensive, top-down overview of U.S. sub operations in World War II, which you might find in a standard history, Scott focuses on three individual submarines: the Silversides; the Drum; and most famous of all, the Tang. He uses these vessels almost as case-studies, a representative sample of the roughly 260 subs that made war patrols.
Scott structures The War Below quite simply, by progressing through World War II in alternating chapters set on each boat. I hasten to add that Scott does not completely ignore the larger course of events. He periodically cuts away from the three submarines to provide a bit of overarching context, or to share the adventures of other boats. This is helpful if you are not fully versed in the ebb and flow of the Pacific Theater. If you are, these sections serve mainly as a way to modulate the narrative’s rhythms.
(Brief aside: Scott mentions near the end, almost in passing, that the effect of U.S. submarines on Japanese shipping far surpassed that of the Army Air Force, especially in terms of cutting off Japan's supply of oil. It would have been interesting for him to have worked this into a more thorough argument for the role, impact, and efficiency of submarines relative to the role, impact, and efficiency of planes engaged in civilian-slaughtering area bombing).
For the most part, though, we are aboard the Silversides, Drum, and Tang. Though he does not come out and say it, I assume Scott picked these vessels because they had the most documentary information from which to draw. I say this because Scott writes in an immersive, novelistic fashion that requires a great deal of research in order to find the telling details. (Scott’s sources include interviews with surviving sailors, so he did his homework).
The hallmark of The War Below is Scott’s ability to recreate scenes with vivid tactility. There is, for instance, an emergency appendectomy on the Silversides that captures every movement of the scalpel, every bead of perspiration. Later in the book, we follow sailors in a doomed submarine as they attempt to escape to the surface using Momsen lungs. It is gripping storytelling, propelled by the fact that such an escape combines just about all of mankind’s most primal terrors. There is the darkness of course, and the claustrophobic confinement in a small space, and the knowledge that the weight of the sea is just overhead, and even as you dread the idea of plunging into the cold black sea, in an attempt to reach the surface without having an embolism, the very oxygen you are breathing is turning to poison. In moments like this, The War Below is a fine study of character in the face of bladder-loosening terror.
Unsurprisingly, Scott does an excellent job in recounting the experiences of each sub in battle. This includes a discussion about the faulty American torpedoes early in the war, an embarrassing black mark for a nation that prides itself on technological excellence in the military arts.
Frankly, I found that The War Below actually started to lag a bit when it got caught in a loop of fire-dive-repeat. Even high-level excitement becomes dull through repetition. (Interestingly, there are relatively few of those iconic scenes where the crew of a submarine waits in bated silence as they are pinged by the active sonar of a vengeful destroyer. This, I suppose, is a function of Japan’s poor antisubmarine tactics). For my money, The War Below could have used a bit more time spent on quotidian matters, the humdrum day-to-day, or unique non-martial incidents, such as the emergency surgery (performed by a pharmacist’s mate!) I mentioned above.
Every good story needs a solid center. Here, that role is performed by Richard O’Kane, America’s top submarine ace. While most sub officers and men rotated rather quickly through their tours of duty, O’Kane stuck with the Tang for nine months and destroyed twenty-four ships. O’Kane was a pure predator, fiercely driven, ruthlessly relentless, a Medal of Honor winner. Scott makes the right choice in sticking close to O’Kane, who effortlessly overshadows almost every other character in the book, regardless of those men’s accomplishments.
Perhaps the one thing that The War Below lacks is an answer to the question of what drove men like O’Kane. Indeed, it is a question that Scott doesn’t even pose.
Submariners are an elite breed. They hunted alone or in packs of two or three. They were far from the chain of command. They had a great deal of autonomy. If a submariner were so inclined, he could find a dozen ways to avoid lethal contact. Yet the Silent Service attracted stone-killers, men who were obsessed with finding ships, with sinking ships. Those who lacked the fatal instinct were weeded out quickly and replaced. It would have been thought-provoking to get some psychological insight into this warrior type.
Alas, while Scott is fantastic at taking us inside these submarines, he is not nearly as able to penetrate the minds of the men who drove them.
- James Scott, The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines that Battled Japan
James Scott understands something very fundamental about submarines: their activities are inherently dramatic. Whether it is the skillful skulking in the shadows, as the sub angles for a shot; the David-versus-Goliath catharsis, as it unleashes its array of torpedoes at a much larger foe; the sudden transition as the sub switches from hunter to prey; or the tense silence as it waits out a depth charge attack, a submarine at war is a fascinating subject.
If you don’t believe me, watch a submarine move. Even the bad ones are pretty good. (With the possible exception of Kelsey Grammar’s Down Periscope).
In The War Below, Scott demonstrates his understanding by zeroing in on exactly those aspects that make submarine warfare so palm-sweating and heart-pounding. Instead of giving you a comprehensive, top-down overview of U.S. sub operations in World War II, which you might find in a standard history, Scott focuses on three individual submarines: the Silversides; the Drum; and most famous of all, the Tang. He uses these vessels almost as case-studies, a representative sample of the roughly 260 subs that made war patrols.
Scott structures The War Below quite simply, by progressing through World War II in alternating chapters set on each boat. I hasten to add that Scott does not completely ignore the larger course of events. He periodically cuts away from the three submarines to provide a bit of overarching context, or to share the adventures of other boats. This is helpful if you are not fully versed in the ebb and flow of the Pacific Theater. If you are, these sections serve mainly as a way to modulate the narrative’s rhythms.
(Brief aside: Scott mentions near the end, almost in passing, that the effect of U.S. submarines on Japanese shipping far surpassed that of the Army Air Force, especially in terms of cutting off Japan's supply of oil. It would have been interesting for him to have worked this into a more thorough argument for the role, impact, and efficiency of submarines relative to the role, impact, and efficiency of planes engaged in civilian-slaughtering area bombing).
For the most part, though, we are aboard the Silversides, Drum, and Tang. Though he does not come out and say it, I assume Scott picked these vessels because they had the most documentary information from which to draw. I say this because Scott writes in an immersive, novelistic fashion that requires a great deal of research in order to find the telling details. (Scott’s sources include interviews with surviving sailors, so he did his homework).
The hallmark of The War Below is Scott’s ability to recreate scenes with vivid tactility. There is, for instance, an emergency appendectomy on the Silversides that captures every movement of the scalpel, every bead of perspiration. Later in the book, we follow sailors in a doomed submarine as they attempt to escape to the surface using Momsen lungs. It is gripping storytelling, propelled by the fact that such an escape combines just about all of mankind’s most primal terrors. There is the darkness of course, and the claustrophobic confinement in a small space, and the knowledge that the weight of the sea is just overhead, and even as you dread the idea of plunging into the cold black sea, in an attempt to reach the surface without having an embolism, the very oxygen you are breathing is turning to poison. In moments like this, The War Below is a fine study of character in the face of bladder-loosening terror.
Unsurprisingly, Scott does an excellent job in recounting the experiences of each sub in battle. This includes a discussion about the faulty American torpedoes early in the war, an embarrassing black mark for a nation that prides itself on technological excellence in the military arts.
Frankly, I found that The War Below actually started to lag a bit when it got caught in a loop of fire-dive-repeat. Even high-level excitement becomes dull through repetition. (Interestingly, there are relatively few of those iconic scenes where the crew of a submarine waits in bated silence as they are pinged by the active sonar of a vengeful destroyer. This, I suppose, is a function of Japan’s poor antisubmarine tactics). For my money, The War Below could have used a bit more time spent on quotidian matters, the humdrum day-to-day, or unique non-martial incidents, such as the emergency surgery (performed by a pharmacist’s mate!) I mentioned above.
Every good story needs a solid center. Here, that role is performed by Richard O’Kane, America’s top submarine ace. While most sub officers and men rotated rather quickly through their tours of duty, O’Kane stuck with the Tang for nine months and destroyed twenty-four ships. O’Kane was a pure predator, fiercely driven, ruthlessly relentless, a Medal of Honor winner. Scott makes the right choice in sticking close to O’Kane, who effortlessly overshadows almost every other character in the book, regardless of those men’s accomplishments.
Perhaps the one thing that The War Below lacks is an answer to the question of what drove men like O’Kane. Indeed, it is a question that Scott doesn’t even pose.
Submariners are an elite breed. They hunted alone or in packs of two or three. They were far from the chain of command. They had a great deal of autonomy. If a submariner were so inclined, he could find a dozen ways to avoid lethal contact. Yet the Silent Service attracted stone-killers, men who were obsessed with finding ships, with sinking ships. Those who lacked the fatal instinct were weeded out quickly and replaced. It would have been thought-provoking to get some psychological insight into this warrior type.
Alas, while Scott is fantastic at taking us inside these submarines, he is not nearly as able to penetrate the minds of the men who drove them.
January 11, 2017
The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan by James Scott does not provide much new on U.S. submarine operations versus Japan in WW II. He does take a deeper look at just three of the most successful boats: USS SILVERSIDES, USS DRUM and USS TANG. Scott isn't quite the stickler for detail. There are errors of fact (e.g., Nimitz took command of the Pacific Fleet in December 1941, not December 1942) and descriptions of sea actions or naval maneuvers in which the navigational details or specifics of geography don't add up (e.g., U.S. aircraft attacking HIRYU during the Battle of Midway were "hidden by the afternoon sun." The attack came in the afternoon, but from the east or east northeast. The Japanese carrier would have been hidden by the sun. The aircraft illuminated). I urge interested readers to go to Dick O'Kane's Clear the Bridge or Eugene Fluckey's Thunder Below!.
Scott's book almost made the Three-Star threshold.
Scott's book almost made the Three-Star threshold.
February 19, 2016
Having read Richard O'Kane's "Clear the Bridge", as well as having met him personally, I was very interested in reading more about the Tang during World War II. Combined with the stories of Drum and Silversides, this book gives a great overview of submarine warfare in the Pacific. At times the author's narrative gets a bit jumbled as he recounts the overall strategic picture on top of the submarine stories, but this only happens a few times. The personal accounts of life and action aboard all three submarines are excellent, and the tales of the survivors of Tang's sinking were fairly tough to read at times. Their POW experiences rivalled those in Nazi concentration camps to some degree and provide a fairly heartbreaking end to the book.
For the submarine enthusiast, this is a great book. Much of the historical information can be found in other books, but the personal accounts and stories make this one a cut above.
For the submarine enthusiast, this is a great book. Much of the historical information can be found in other books, but the personal accounts and stories make this one a cut above.
November 5, 2019
A thrilling, frequently incredible account of the experiences of the crews of three of the most successful American submarines during WWII. From an improvised appendectomy deep under the sea off the coast of Japan to endless depth charging and unimaginable cruelty endured by sailors who became prisoners of war on the Japanese "hell ships", the author takes the reader on a journey that spans years and thousands of miles and yet never fails to feel personal and intimate. You grow to know the several captains and some of their crew members and join them in their breathless expectation of another torpedo hit, another merciless beating in a POW camp, another attempt at salvaging some of their humanity in the dark pits of brutality. An unforgettable experience.
May 9, 2021
In the second volume of Ian Toll’s remarkable Pacific war trilogy, The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942–1944, the author shows how the preconceived notions and prejudices on both sides influenced planning and strategy, often leading to disastrous results. The Japanese, for example, assumed that the Americans were too soft and “too used to comfort” to be effective in battle; “not able to withstand the rigors of submarine service.” At the same time, Toll explains, the Japanese never developed “more than rudimentary capabilities in antisubmarine warfare.” Toll describes their thinking this way: “The samurai warrior culture esteemed offensive warfare more than defensive considerations, and no ambitious officer would waste his time specializing in the dreary and unglamorous business” of protecting merchant vessels carrying troops or food, fuel or other supplies. Their failure to address America’s growing submarine capabilities helped bring about the collapse of their far-flung empire.
Having recently finished Toll’s book, it seemed reasonable to follow it up with James Scott’s story about three of the most successful U.S. submarines in the Pacific theater: Silversides, Drum, and Tang. The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan did not disappoint. In telling the story of these three submarines, author James Scott focuses the reader’s attention on the enormous contribution of American submarines in the Pacific. These denizens of the deep were used extensively during the Pacific War and were a key contributor to the defeat of the Empire of Japan. After the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the US commander of the Pacific submarine fleet, Admiral Charles Lockwood, declared that since all Japanese merchantmen were indirectly aiding their country in its war effort; in the future, they were to be considered legitimate enemy targets. During the war, Allied submarines were responsible for 55 percent of Japan's merchant marine losses, virtually cutting off essential supplies to the island nation. Merchant shipping was the life blood of Japan's war effort, for she had few natural resources and was dependent upon imports of oil, coal, iron, bauxite, food and other materials for her war effort. The merchant ships not only distributed food, fuel, war materials and troops to the many scattered Japanese military outposts, they carried raw materials back to Japan. Cold statistics on the number of ships sunk cannot describe the plight of these Japanese outposts when guns, ammunition, fuel and food failed to arrive. Devastating, too, was the loss of thousands of troop reinforcements when they went down with the transports. These losses were serious, but a far more serious loss brought about by American submarines was the failure of the Japanese merchant marine to provide the Japanese home islands with critical war materials. By the end of the war, many Japanese warships were unable to sail due to lack of fuel. Simply put, the submarines strangled the Japanese economy.
Silversides, Drum, and Tang contributed significantly to Japanese losses. These three American subs sank a combined total of sixty-two freighters, tankers, and transports. While American submarines wreaked havoc on Japanese shipping, it came at a price. The casualty rate among submariners was the greatest of all military branches. The war claimed nearly one out of every five American submarines; a submarine crewman was six times more likely to die than a sailor onboard a surface ship. Nearly 3,500 American submariners were killed. Submarine warfare during World War 2 was beset with challenges. In addition to the dangers inherent in fighting underwater battles, American submarine crews were often young and hurriedly trained, torpedoes were often defective, and American subs only carried pharmacist’s mates—there were no doctors on board. Scott tells the story of one pharmacist’s mate who had to perform an emergency appendectomy with kitchen utensils!
The War Below provides biographies of the men who manned these submarines, technical details of submarine warfare, as well as descriptions of their patrols and engagements. The author moves back and forth amongst the three boats, describing the boredom of hunting ships in millions of square miles of ocean, the maneuvering for position when a target is identified, the anxiety experienced during depth charge attacks, the incredible disappointment when they fail to make a hit, and the exhilaration of a hit on the enemy. The book is well researched. Scott conducted hundreds of interviews with submarine veterans and used patrol reports, unpublished letters and diaries, as well as volumes of official records to reconstruct the stories of the three submarines. This is no dry presentation of the stories; the story is gripping and is skillfully told.
Having recently finished Toll’s book, it seemed reasonable to follow it up with James Scott’s story about three of the most successful U.S. submarines in the Pacific theater: Silversides, Drum, and Tang. The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan did not disappoint. In telling the story of these three submarines, author James Scott focuses the reader’s attention on the enormous contribution of American submarines in the Pacific. These denizens of the deep were used extensively during the Pacific War and were a key contributor to the defeat of the Empire of Japan. After the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the US commander of the Pacific submarine fleet, Admiral Charles Lockwood, declared that since all Japanese merchantmen were indirectly aiding their country in its war effort; in the future, they were to be considered legitimate enemy targets. During the war, Allied submarines were responsible for 55 percent of Japan's merchant marine losses, virtually cutting off essential supplies to the island nation. Merchant shipping was the life blood of Japan's war effort, for she had few natural resources and was dependent upon imports of oil, coal, iron, bauxite, food and other materials for her war effort. The merchant ships not only distributed food, fuel, war materials and troops to the many scattered Japanese military outposts, they carried raw materials back to Japan. Cold statistics on the number of ships sunk cannot describe the plight of these Japanese outposts when guns, ammunition, fuel and food failed to arrive. Devastating, too, was the loss of thousands of troop reinforcements when they went down with the transports. These losses were serious, but a far more serious loss brought about by American submarines was the failure of the Japanese merchant marine to provide the Japanese home islands with critical war materials. By the end of the war, many Japanese warships were unable to sail due to lack of fuel. Simply put, the submarines strangled the Japanese economy.
Silversides, Drum, and Tang contributed significantly to Japanese losses. These three American subs sank a combined total of sixty-two freighters, tankers, and transports. While American submarines wreaked havoc on Japanese shipping, it came at a price. The casualty rate among submariners was the greatest of all military branches. The war claimed nearly one out of every five American submarines; a submarine crewman was six times more likely to die than a sailor onboard a surface ship. Nearly 3,500 American submariners were killed. Submarine warfare during World War 2 was beset with challenges. In addition to the dangers inherent in fighting underwater battles, American submarine crews were often young and hurriedly trained, torpedoes were often defective, and American subs only carried pharmacist’s mates—there were no doctors on board. Scott tells the story of one pharmacist’s mate who had to perform an emergency appendectomy with kitchen utensils!
The War Below provides biographies of the men who manned these submarines, technical details of submarine warfare, as well as descriptions of their patrols and engagements. The author moves back and forth amongst the three boats, describing the boredom of hunting ships in millions of square miles of ocean, the maneuvering for position when a target is identified, the anxiety experienced during depth charge attacks, the incredible disappointment when they fail to make a hit, and the exhilaration of a hit on the enemy. The book is well researched. Scott conducted hundreds of interviews with submarine veterans and used patrol reports, unpublished letters and diaries, as well as volumes of official records to reconstruct the stories of the three submarines. This is no dry presentation of the stories; the story is gripping and is skillfully told.
May 24, 2019
Audiobook, reader pretty good.
I picked this up after a recent exchange about the fact my dad was on a submarine,the Ray, on which he was the cook in WWII.
At times it was a bit difficult to tell which boat he was referring to including those outside of the main three Silversides, Drum and Tang plus mentions of many others.
The book was focused a bit too much on the commanders, how many ships sunk and the tonnage, not much about lives lost except on the submarines. I had hoped for more detail about the day to day lives of the submariners. There were some nail biting sections of sailors escaping from the sinking Tang, capture and imprisonment. I did come away with a bit better understanding of the experience of being in a steel tube under water.
The sinking and escape made me think of my dad who recounted how when on leave he and another cook buddy were approached for new ships. They were offered to choose but when they couldn't decide the officer flipped a coin. My dad got the Ray, and his buddy the other boat (I have forgotten the name if he even said it) which was sunk and all crew lost.
I never questioned the accuracy or details of his story and spent many many childhood hours contemplating it and whether I would have been born and if so would I have still been me.
My dad died in 1970 but I think he would have enjoyed this book.
I picked this up after a recent exchange about the fact my dad was on a submarine,the Ray, on which he was the cook in WWII.
At times it was a bit difficult to tell which boat he was referring to including those outside of the main three Silversides, Drum and Tang plus mentions of many others.
The book was focused a bit too much on the commanders, how many ships sunk and the tonnage, not much about lives lost except on the submarines. I had hoped for more detail about the day to day lives of the submariners. There were some nail biting sections of sailors escaping from the sinking Tang, capture and imprisonment. I did come away with a bit better understanding of the experience of being in a steel tube under water.
The sinking and escape made me think of my dad who recounted how when on leave he and another cook buddy were approached for new ships. They were offered to choose but when they couldn't decide the officer flipped a coin. My dad got the Ray, and his buddy the other boat (I have forgotten the name if he even said it) which was sunk and all crew lost.
I never questioned the accuracy or details of his story and spent many many childhood hours contemplating it and whether I would have been born and if so would I have still been me.
My dad died in 1970 but I think he would have enjoyed this book.
May 10, 2013
“The War Below” Will Have You on the Edge of Your Seat!
“The War Below” is a thrilling, intimate and extremely readable account of three American submarines during WWII. While the subject is pure fact, James Scott pulls the book together like a fast-paced fiction thriller. The men of the submarine crews come to life on the page through quotes, anecdotes and Scott’s skillful narrative. The book focuses on the exploits of three subs, Tang, Silversides, and Drum, all assigned to the Pacific. “The War Below” had me calling people from other rooms with a “You’ve got to hear this” or laughing out loud at some of the lighter sides of submarine life. Mostly, though, it gave me a new appreciation of how America’s submarine force contributed to the victory in the Pacific.
Whether you are a history buff, a fan of action movies, a student in need of a book for a report, or just someone looking for a great read…I give “The War Below” my highest possible endorsement. This is literary non-fiction at its absolute best! “The War Below” is scheduled for release on May 14, 2013. Do yourself a favor and order it now.
This book was provided to me by Simon & Schuster for this review. The opinions, however, are entirely my own!
“The War Below” is a thrilling, intimate and extremely readable account of three American submarines during WWII. While the subject is pure fact, James Scott pulls the book together like a fast-paced fiction thriller. The men of the submarine crews come to life on the page through quotes, anecdotes and Scott’s skillful narrative. The book focuses on the exploits of three subs, Tang, Silversides, and Drum, all assigned to the Pacific. “The War Below” had me calling people from other rooms with a “You’ve got to hear this” or laughing out loud at some of the lighter sides of submarine life. Mostly, though, it gave me a new appreciation of how America’s submarine force contributed to the victory in the Pacific.
Whether you are a history buff, a fan of action movies, a student in need of a book for a report, or just someone looking for a great read…I give “The War Below” my highest possible endorsement. This is literary non-fiction at its absolute best! “The War Below” is scheduled for release on May 14, 2013. Do yourself a favor and order it now.
This book was provided to me by Simon & Schuster for this review. The opinions, however, are entirely my own!
July 23, 2021
Great account of submarine warfare in the Pacific during WWII. The detailed accounts of attacks on ships got a little tedious in the middle of the book, but overall it was very interesting. There was a lot of detail on attack tactics and strategy, as well as discussion of the impact of submarine warfare on the overall war, which was significant.
June 27, 2019
The story of defeating Japan in WWII usually covers naval victories, MacArthur's island-hopping campaign, or dropping the bomb. Rarely does it cover the submarine warfare that made defending a sea-based empire untenable - essentially defeating the Japanese from the inside. This book helps remedy that deficiency.
The author follows the stories of three submarines, covering most of the campaign from the early "lone wolf" stage when submarines hunted alone to the final "wolfpack" stage when the US had so many subs they could form a picket line across likely shipping lanes. The lone wolf stage involved a lot of guessing where the enemy would be and experimenting how best to use the problematic torpedoes. By the end of the war subs received regular communiques about convoy locations and had support from other subs.
But it was still a lonely business with scant chance of rescue if something went wrong. This is demonstrated by the Tang, which sank after its last torpedo tragically circled back and hit it, sinking it in 180 feet of water just months before the war's end. This story alone is worth reading the book.
As for those torpedoes: the success the US had in WWII is frequently attributed to our industrial capacity - the ability to out-produce all other combatants. However, do not delude yourself into thinking that the equipment was the best. That's right: many American lives were lost due to malfunctioning or poorly designed equipment. But that's the nature of war - men are expendable.
Perhaps that's why submarines have received so little press, because they so directly show the cruelties of war. Most Japanese freighters sank in two minutes or less, with few survivors. Some disintegrated on impact, sinking instantly. To be a sailor on a freighter was a virtual death sentence if an American sub spotted your smokestack.
Several times the book alludes to the inadequate preparation the Japanese made for fighting submarine warfare. This is highly ironic - surely the Japanese command staff was aware of how central submarine warfare was to the European wars, including WWI, fought 25 years earlier? This again demonstrates how decisions made 1000s of miles from the front result in the deaths of many men. Why are we so ready to go to war whenever a politician or bureaucrat demands it?
But perhaps the Japanese were unwitting victims of American propaganda. You don't have to read very much about WWI or II to come across political leaders condemning Germany for their attempts to control the Atlantic by using submarines. Surely the Americans, who so stridently condemned Germany for using submarines, wouldn't use them against Japan? I mean, that would be hypocritical! Which may be another reason why US submarine warfare hasn't received the credit it deserves for victory over Japan: we would have to acknowledge the hypocrisy of it.
Reading this book was enhanced by visiting the USS Clagamore, a WWII sub at Patriot's Point in Charleston Harbor. It gave me a small sense of what it would have been like to be in the sunken Tang in it's final hours. But get there soon! I understand the Clagamore is scheduled to be towed away and sunk, as it is obviously very deteriorated.
The author follows the stories of three submarines, covering most of the campaign from the early "lone wolf" stage when submarines hunted alone to the final "wolfpack" stage when the US had so many subs they could form a picket line across likely shipping lanes. The lone wolf stage involved a lot of guessing where the enemy would be and experimenting how best to use the problematic torpedoes. By the end of the war subs received regular communiques about convoy locations and had support from other subs.
But it was still a lonely business with scant chance of rescue if something went wrong. This is demonstrated by the Tang, which sank after its last torpedo tragically circled back and hit it, sinking it in 180 feet of water just months before the war's end. This story alone is worth reading the book.
As for those torpedoes: the success the US had in WWII is frequently attributed to our industrial capacity - the ability to out-produce all other combatants. However, do not delude yourself into thinking that the equipment was the best. That's right: many American lives were lost due to malfunctioning or poorly designed equipment. But that's the nature of war - men are expendable.
Perhaps that's why submarines have received so little press, because they so directly show the cruelties of war. Most Japanese freighters sank in two minutes or less, with few survivors. Some disintegrated on impact, sinking instantly. To be a sailor on a freighter was a virtual death sentence if an American sub spotted your smokestack.
Several times the book alludes to the inadequate preparation the Japanese made for fighting submarine warfare. This is highly ironic - surely the Japanese command staff was aware of how central submarine warfare was to the European wars, including WWI, fought 25 years earlier? This again demonstrates how decisions made 1000s of miles from the front result in the deaths of many men. Why are we so ready to go to war whenever a politician or bureaucrat demands it?
But perhaps the Japanese were unwitting victims of American propaganda. You don't have to read very much about WWI or II to come across political leaders condemning Germany for their attempts to control the Atlantic by using submarines. Surely the Americans, who so stridently condemned Germany for using submarines, wouldn't use them against Japan? I mean, that would be hypocritical! Which may be another reason why US submarine warfare hasn't received the credit it deserves for victory over Japan: we would have to acknowledge the hypocrisy of it.
Reading this book was enhanced by visiting the USS Clagamore, a WWII sub at Patriot's Point in Charleston Harbor. It gave me a small sense of what it would have been like to be in the sunken Tang in it's final hours. But get there soon! I understand the Clagamore is scheduled to be towed away and sunk, as it is obviously very deteriorated.
October 4, 2025
1,402 read. Submarinesssssssssssssssss 🚢. Good mix of overarching historical facts and narrative specific to the three boats described. Casualty rates of 1 in 5 who served in the submarine force is crazy. Also went down a rabbit hole to look at German casualty numbers and woah boy
April 8, 2020
Serving on a submarine had to be a very dangerous and frustrating line of duty. This book is interesting but certain parts of the book the author could have done away with. This book focuses on three WWII submarines used in warfare against Japan. Written in a casual narrative style with each submarines exploits were spread over a number of chapters. This is not rehashing of material from Wikipedia. This is based on talking to the last of the WWII survivors of those submarines and poring over endless naval records. What you get is engaging and times gripping account of submarine warfare against the Japanese. With that being said, there is also a fair amount of combat described in this book which takes you away from the main theme. The author insist in telling the reader the entire history of the war in the Pacific as well as the personal history of several submarine officers. This made the book twice as long. Much was made by the author about the central issue of malfunctioning torpedoes during this time and the author alluded it time and time again. A detailed chapter on how the problems were solved would have been great. How could American submarines have been ordered to sea with torpedoes that were never tested to see if they actually worked? Other then those two issues I just wished the author would have immersed the reader more into the emotions of what is was like to experience battle in a submarine. Instead what you get is up periscope lets see what we can blow up.
August 5, 2013
Has some grammatical errors. I'm surprised Simon and Shuster's editors didn't catch the errors. The story is about three subs. I wish the author had written all three as independent sub-stories. Instead he intertwined the three going back and forth to each other which caused confusion. He starts and ends his book with clear dates as to month and year. In the chapters in between, he mentions month and rarely mentions year that didn't help chronological flow.
I'm an ex-sailor and I know many nautical terms. This author referenced terms I don't know. I wish he'd taken the time to define what they all meant. Although I was not a submariner, I did enjoy reading what they experienced aboard their "boats."
I'm an ex-sailor and I know many nautical terms. This author referenced terms I don't know. I wish he'd taken the time to define what they all meant. Although I was not a submariner, I did enjoy reading what they experienced aboard their "boats."
January 24, 2023
Back in 1984, the father of a high school friend died. He was sixty. At the wake, my friend’s Dad was dressed in his U.S. Navy dress uniform and he was surrounded by mementos of his service. I learned then that he was a member of the submarine service in World War 2. Until I read this book I did not fully appreciate what that meant and what an important part the submariners played in bringing an end to the Empire of Japan. Before the end of the war, they had sunk three fourths of Japan’s merchant fleet, strangling the Empire’s industry. They also sent many important warships to the bottom.
The history is told through the story of three submarines, Silversides, Drum and Tang (USN submarines are named after fish). These particular submarines racked up an impressive score against the Japanese Empire. The accounts of their missions are are related in a way where you can really feel the suspense and terror of crews as they struggled against the elements and the enemy. The book is not for anyone who might suffer from claustrophobia.
Two episodes really hit home. One described an emergency surgery that was necessary when a crewman’s appendix became infected. Being a thousand miles away from a medical facility, this was a life-threatening illness. The pharmacy mate (not a physician but rather a crew member with a little medical training) realized he needed to remove the appendix or the crewman would die. The captain promised he would take the boat deep to provide a steady platform. The pharmacy mate assembled assistants to hold the patient down, laid out some tools, injected Novocain and got to work. He actually found the swollen appendix, tied it off and removed it. He was not a doctor, much less a surgeon! The surgery took longer than estimated so the Novocain wore off and they had to administer some chloroform to keep the patient still. But he survived!
The other episode was a real tear-jerker. Tang was sunk late on the war, but nine crew members survived and were captured by the Japanese. They ended up in one of the special camps the Japanese set up for ‘special’ prisoners. They were brutalized but survived. When the camp was liberated some of the prisoners were reduced to skin and bones and afflicted with tuberculosis, pellagra, beriberi and mental issues. The worse cases ended up being transferred to the US hospital ship Benevolence docked in Tokyo Bay. And this is the tear jerker part. They went from a prison camp where they were beaten and starved to, the next day, being on a new ship which had clean clothes, medical facilities, ice cream machines, steaks, eggs, pies, movies, books, phonographs, even a ‘mechanical cow’ that could dispense milk. It took years for some of them to physically recover and of course some would never be the same spiritually. One of the sailors found out his wife thought he was dead and had remarried (the Japanese had not reported the capture of these prisoners to the Red Cross).
Years ago, I visited a WW2 submarine, Pampanito, docked in San Francisco Bay. I could not appreciate everything I saw there until I read this book but now I mean to go back.
The history is told through the story of three submarines, Silversides, Drum and Tang (USN submarines are named after fish). These particular submarines racked up an impressive score against the Japanese Empire. The accounts of their missions are are related in a way where you can really feel the suspense and terror of crews as they struggled against the elements and the enemy. The book is not for anyone who might suffer from claustrophobia.
Two episodes really hit home. One described an emergency surgery that was necessary when a crewman’s appendix became infected. Being a thousand miles away from a medical facility, this was a life-threatening illness. The pharmacy mate (not a physician but rather a crew member with a little medical training) realized he needed to remove the appendix or the crewman would die. The captain promised he would take the boat deep to provide a steady platform. The pharmacy mate assembled assistants to hold the patient down, laid out some tools, injected Novocain and got to work. He actually found the swollen appendix, tied it off and removed it. He was not a doctor, much less a surgeon! The surgery took longer than estimated so the Novocain wore off and they had to administer some chloroform to keep the patient still. But he survived!
The other episode was a real tear-jerker. Tang was sunk late on the war, but nine crew members survived and were captured by the Japanese. They ended up in one of the special camps the Japanese set up for ‘special’ prisoners. They were brutalized but survived. When the camp was liberated some of the prisoners were reduced to skin and bones and afflicted with tuberculosis, pellagra, beriberi and mental issues. The worse cases ended up being transferred to the US hospital ship Benevolence docked in Tokyo Bay. And this is the tear jerker part. They went from a prison camp where they were beaten and starved to, the next day, being on a new ship which had clean clothes, medical facilities, ice cream machines, steaks, eggs, pies, movies, books, phonographs, even a ‘mechanical cow’ that could dispense milk. It took years for some of them to physically recover and of course some would never be the same spiritually. One of the sailors found out his wife thought he was dead and had remarried (the Japanese had not reported the capture of these prisoners to the Red Cross).
Years ago, I visited a WW2 submarine, Pampanito, docked in San Francisco Bay. I could not appreciate everything I saw there until I read this book but now I mean to go back.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 3, 2025
Prior to this book I knew little to nothing about submarine ware fare: especially the impact of submarines on dismantling the Japanese war machine. Reviews I found which led me to reading this book emphasized how the book delivers on both describing the dramatic nature of a submarine at war as well as providing the overall context of the Pacific theatre in which these submarines played such a crucial part. After reading, i can say that this book delivered on both of these fronts. The book goes into extraordinary detail, covering submarine operations from the layout of the vessel to the tactics involved in stalking, attacking, and ultimately fleeing from the enemy and their depth charge attacks. This is accomplished through telling the stories of three submarines: “drum”, “silversides”, and the ill-fated “tang”. Covered as well are detailed accounts of the brave Captains and their crew - accounts that are no doubt captured through meticulous research.
Aside from some of the perhaps more obvious aspects of the submarine warefare drama, what struck me most is the nocturnal nature of their operations. Quite naturally, it is most advantageous for submarines to attack an unsuspecting convey under the cover of darkness (e.g., in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning). This requires both captain and crew to essentially assume a nocturnal as they are required to maintain high alert for the oftentimes hours-long stalk and attack of the enemy. Warefare of any kind, especially in a submarine, even with ample rest and in the middle of the day I’m sure is taxing beyond imagination. Toss in having to perform at your absolute highest potential for prolonged periods at times that go against human nature left me in a state of great appreciation for what the men chronicled in this book endured.
In conclusion, I think this is a must-read for those interested in reading about submarines, ww2, or the type of leadership and bravery in general that can only come out of immense stress and adversity.
Aside from some of the perhaps more obvious aspects of the submarine warefare drama, what struck me most is the nocturnal nature of their operations. Quite naturally, it is most advantageous for submarines to attack an unsuspecting convey under the cover of darkness (e.g., in the middle of the night or wee hours of the morning). This requires both captain and crew to essentially assume a nocturnal as they are required to maintain high alert for the oftentimes hours-long stalk and attack of the enemy. Warefare of any kind, especially in a submarine, even with ample rest and in the middle of the day I’m sure is taxing beyond imagination. Toss in having to perform at your absolute highest potential for prolonged periods at times that go against human nature left me in a state of great appreciation for what the men chronicled in this book endured.
In conclusion, I think this is a must-read for those interested in reading about submarines, ww2, or the type of leadership and bravery in general that can only come out of immense stress and adversity.
May 21, 2024
The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan
By James M. Scott
The three submarines are Silversides, Drum, and Tang.
The book starts out with the usual stories of the personalities of the skippers who commanded the ships, their adventures and trepidation of going into enemy waters with the intention of sinking their large battleships, destroyers, carriers, and, most of all, supply ships. As the war goes on and the technology improves insofar as the torpedoes, the count of how many ships sunk increases. Thus, Japanese retaliation and defense does as well.
The book is interesting enough going into facts about tactics, limitations, and how, after much research, Japanese secret codes about convoy departure were eventually decoded and used against the fleet. However, the book becomes an absolutely harrowing experience when the aforementioned submarine Tang is killed by its own torpedo turning around and striking it. And that destruction is slow, and witnessed by the thirteen men who escaped. Seventy-eight men were lost to that destruction.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, the survivors are shipped off as POWs to a special camp where they do not receive POW status, and are kept secret. The torture is brutal to say the least.
The narrative moves on to the eye witness account of their eventual liberations, the fall out, and their journey home.
The book started out as a very interesting story of three vessels and their launch into the war, their trials and tribulations, victories and celebrations, but eventually tells a moving and disturbing story of prison camps. An excellent audiobook.
By James M. Scott
The three submarines are Silversides, Drum, and Tang.
The book starts out with the usual stories of the personalities of the skippers who commanded the ships, their adventures and trepidation of going into enemy waters with the intention of sinking their large battleships, destroyers, carriers, and, most of all, supply ships. As the war goes on and the technology improves insofar as the torpedoes, the count of how many ships sunk increases. Thus, Japanese retaliation and defense does as well.
The book is interesting enough going into facts about tactics, limitations, and how, after much research, Japanese secret codes about convoy departure were eventually decoded and used against the fleet. However, the book becomes an absolutely harrowing experience when the aforementioned submarine Tang is killed by its own torpedo turning around and striking it. And that destruction is slow, and witnessed by the thirteen men who escaped. Seventy-eight men were lost to that destruction.
And if that wasn’t bad enough, the survivors are shipped off as POWs to a special camp where they do not receive POW status, and are kept secret. The torture is brutal to say the least.
The narrative moves on to the eye witness account of their eventual liberations, the fall out, and their journey home.
The book started out as a very interesting story of three vessels and their launch into the war, their trials and tribulations, victories and celebrations, but eventually tells a moving and disturbing story of prison camps. An excellent audiobook.
July 2, 2023
Very skillfully written history of just a few of the US Navy submarines which distinguished themselves in the Pacific in WW2. Many personal vignettes from exhaustive interviews add immediacy and entertainment to the harrowing exploits of these submariners. After Japan bombed Pearl Harbor, it took an almost interminable 3 years 8 months to bring the Japanese to their knees. Japan suffered greatly from being infused with Samurai culture--prevalent until around 1900 and influential thereafter-- which was baked-in to their national identity & ethos--a pompous, warlike, cultural superiority complex that almost finished them off. Only that twisted national viewpoint could have led to Pearl Harbor in the first place. Even when the Emperor issued his "surrender" statement, he in his abundant foolishness could not admit defeat or apologize--he stunningly said that "things were not going Japan's way". This of course after his country had been reduced regrettably metaphorically to a burnt cinder. Alas, some vestiges of this corrosive influence survive to the present day in Japan.
April 27, 2019
A good book on the submarine war in the Pacific during WWII. It follows the Silverside, Drum, and Tang on its mission and gives a good overview of their missions and crew. It also follows the surviving members of the Tang through their horrible ordeal as POWs of the Japanese.
A book worth reading. My only complaint would be at times the author went on asides that had little or nothing to do with the submarine war. I didn't need to hear the story of the Midway, Guadalcanal, or the airwar since there was little or no sub involvement, besides this and the sometimes repetitive nature of some of the stories it was a good book.
A book worth reading. My only complaint would be at times the author went on asides that had little or nothing to do with the submarine war. I didn't need to hear the story of the Midway, Guadalcanal, or the airwar since there was little or no sub involvement, besides this and the sometimes repetitive nature of some of the stories it was a good book.
January 6, 2025
I'm not that familiar with US Submarine warfare, yet this book didn't quite fill me with new information about it. The book is about three submarines and some of their Captains, yet the book in its short span covers other topics too- These include other submarines, hellships, aerial warfare. So it feels like bunch of "great stories" crammed into a book, trying to catch all them in one book destroys the focus. Author describes how he had so and so many pages and interviews to use from and yet he writes about atomic bombing and Louis Zamperini's(B-24 bombardier) experiences of POW camp.
Also his focus on the captains makes the stories revolve quit a lot in the same area, looking through the periscope, ordering fire, then watching/listening the targeted ship go under and same again. It doesn't offer that much of the life inside the submarine. I also wondered a lot how many of those quotations he offered were real conversations and what was just an approximate of the conversation remembered afterwards. Sure it brings the story alive, but then again it will also make the book seem a bit too popular history.
Also his focus on the captains makes the stories revolve quit a lot in the same area, looking through the periscope, ordering fire, then watching/listening the targeted ship go under and same again. It doesn't offer that much of the life inside the submarine. I also wondered a lot how many of those quotations he offered were real conversations and what was just an approximate of the conversation remembered afterwards. Sure it brings the story alive, but then again it will also make the book seem a bit too popular history.
February 22, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
February 3, 2021
Great read on the Western front of WW2. Historically accurate (mostly), and would recommend 100%.
May 3, 2018
Very good submarine history book. Follows three boats and their crews from the beginning of the war, through their various captains, statistics, highlights (and lowlights), and their eventual captures or destruction, including their time in the Japanese POW camps.
In my opinion, this was very well rounded. Scott covered just about every aspect of the submariners lives, including: pasts, personalities, influences, battle stories, leave stories, anecdotes, survival, and life as a POW under savage captors, and eventually a brief follow-up of their lives after the war.
The author did a great job of covering such a wide field of info, while still making you feel like you were right there next them. He also tied in the lives and careers of these men to some more famous stories that happened to intersect those of the boats being followed (such as the men and camp from the movie Unbroken).
In my opinion, this was very well rounded. Scott covered just about every aspect of the submariners lives, including: pasts, personalities, influences, battle stories, leave stories, anecdotes, survival, and life as a POW under savage captors, and eventually a brief follow-up of their lives after the war.
The author did a great job of covering such a wide field of info, while still making you feel like you were right there next them. He also tied in the lives and careers of these men to some more famous stories that happened to intersect those of the boats being followed (such as the men and camp from the movie Unbroken).
May 8, 2017
I was looking forward at starting "The War Below". about the Japanese and the submarines during World War II, but it took me a while to finish the book because it was just boring. I've read my fair share of books on WWII and at this point I'm just fishing to read something new on this war because I've pretty much read them all. For some reason, I couldn't make myself finish this one in a timing fashion. I dozed off many times while I was reading this book. Reading the battle of the submarines and the torture of prisoners wasn't even compelling. I'm desensitize from reading so much on this subject, where everything that I read on WWII doesn't phase me anymore.
January 22, 2015
Engaging and at times gripping, and filled with more than a little material not directly related to the subject three submarines. Reads more like a novel than a non-fiction narrative - Scott clearly takes a lot of liberties with the story...dialogue impossible to know (i.e. what a skipper said during the course of an event), but admittedly not impossible to reason out.
Scott includes lots of very specific details, demonstrating good research in to the post-war records. A good book, but not one I'd recommend to a submarine enthusiast.
Scott includes lots of very specific details, demonstrating good research in to the post-war records. A good book, but not one I'd recommend to a submarine enthusiast.
November 29, 2020
After the latest installment of Dan Carlin’s podcast series on the war between the United States and Japan, I found myself interested in the submarine aspect and downloaded this title (currently free for members) from Audible.
After decrying Germany’s use of U-boats against merchant shipping during the First World War, the United States copied their technology and adopted the same strategy in the next conflict, aiming to weaken Japan’s warmaking capability by sinking transports carrying fuel, troops, raw material, and supplies, as well as commercial shipping and warships (aircraft carriers being the most valued prize). While not achieving the level of notoriety of Nazi Germany’s deadly U-boat wolf packs in the Atlantic, the US submarine service evolved into a formidable force and did plenty of damage to its enemy in the Pacific. Japanese planners, no doubt, came to regret not focusing more attention on subs and their facilities during the Pearl Harbor attack. More widely discussed in the history books is how the carriers escaped harm that day, but this missed opportunity would prove a headache for Japan, too.
The War Below tells the story of this particular theatre of World War Two by focusing on the operations of three submarines, the USS Silversides, the USS Drum, and the USS Tang. James Scott spends less time on big picture history and the engineering details of submarines, and concentrates more on the lives of the skippers and men aboard their boats, with an eye for the more dramatic moments. While the narrative could have done a better job keeping the stories of the three submarines separate, I found the details pretty interesting. The reader learns a lot about the process of stalking Japanese convoys and evading their counterattacks, the pressure on skippers to achieve results if they wanted to further their careers, the personalities of different captains (some were more aggressive, risk-taking “Kirk” types, others fit more into the careful, calculating “Picard” mode), and how this mode of warfare evolved, as peacetime training was reshaped by hard-learned combat experience. There are a few vivid, TV show-worthy scenes, such an emergency appendectomy by an inexperienced medic, followed by a gun duel with a Japanese picket ship that proves to be a more dangerous opponent than the still-green American captain expected. Apparently, the images of shattering pressure gauges and lightbulbs seen so often in movies during depth charge attacks aren’t just Hollywood; that really happened. I was also interested in how some of the newer technology of the time played into the story: radar was key to finding convoys, as well as a danger when the Japanese had it, and the malfunction-prone torpedoes the Americans had to work with caused no end of stress for the crews and no doubt plenty of rank curses aimed at the engineers back home.
The most riveting and tragic portion of the book occurs towards the end, when the USS Tang is sunk by one of its own faulty torpedoes. A harrowing sequence in which some men make an escape from the sunk boat from 150 feet below the surface (and many don’t) is followed by capture and imprisonment in a brutal Japanese POW camp. The Tang was assumed lost by the Navy, and only at the end of the war did America learn that some of the crew were still alive. Upsetting reading for sure, but it never ceases to amaze me what human beings can endure, with a will to survive and some luck. How much they looked forward to a resumption of normal life. Can relate to that a little right now.
----------------------------------
Quote:
“The Tang survivors understood the hostility. The bandaged tormentors were survivors of ships the Tang had destroyed; the Tang men had come face-to-face with their victims. ‘When we realized that our clubbings and kickings were being administered by the burned, mutilated survivors of our handiwork,’ O’Kane would later write, ‘we found we could take it with less prejudice.’”
After decrying Germany’s use of U-boats against merchant shipping during the First World War, the United States copied their technology and adopted the same strategy in the next conflict, aiming to weaken Japan’s warmaking capability by sinking transports carrying fuel, troops, raw material, and supplies, as well as commercial shipping and warships (aircraft carriers being the most valued prize). While not achieving the level of notoriety of Nazi Germany’s deadly U-boat wolf packs in the Atlantic, the US submarine service evolved into a formidable force and did plenty of damage to its enemy in the Pacific. Japanese planners, no doubt, came to regret not focusing more attention on subs and their facilities during the Pearl Harbor attack. More widely discussed in the history books is how the carriers escaped harm that day, but this missed opportunity would prove a headache for Japan, too.
The War Below tells the story of this particular theatre of World War Two by focusing on the operations of three submarines, the USS Silversides, the USS Drum, and the USS Tang. James Scott spends less time on big picture history and the engineering details of submarines, and concentrates more on the lives of the skippers and men aboard their boats, with an eye for the more dramatic moments. While the narrative could have done a better job keeping the stories of the three submarines separate, I found the details pretty interesting. The reader learns a lot about the process of stalking Japanese convoys and evading their counterattacks, the pressure on skippers to achieve results if they wanted to further their careers, the personalities of different captains (some were more aggressive, risk-taking “Kirk” types, others fit more into the careful, calculating “Picard” mode), and how this mode of warfare evolved, as peacetime training was reshaped by hard-learned combat experience. There are a few vivid, TV show-worthy scenes, such an emergency appendectomy by an inexperienced medic, followed by a gun duel with a Japanese picket ship that proves to be a more dangerous opponent than the still-green American captain expected. Apparently, the images of shattering pressure gauges and lightbulbs seen so often in movies during depth charge attacks aren’t just Hollywood; that really happened. I was also interested in how some of the newer technology of the time played into the story: radar was key to finding convoys, as well as a danger when the Japanese had it, and the malfunction-prone torpedoes the Americans had to work with caused no end of stress for the crews and no doubt plenty of rank curses aimed at the engineers back home.
The most riveting and tragic portion of the book occurs towards the end, when the USS Tang is sunk by one of its own faulty torpedoes. A harrowing sequence in which some men make an escape from the sunk boat from 150 feet below the surface (and many don’t) is followed by capture and imprisonment in a brutal Japanese POW camp. The Tang was assumed lost by the Navy, and only at the end of the war did America learn that some of the crew were still alive. Upsetting reading for sure, but it never ceases to amaze me what human beings can endure, with a will to survive and some luck. How much they looked forward to a resumption of normal life. Can relate to that a little right now.
----------------------------------
Quote:
“The Tang survivors understood the hostility. The bandaged tormentors were survivors of ships the Tang had destroyed; the Tang men had come face-to-face with their victims. ‘When we realized that our clubbings and kickings were being administered by the burned, mutilated survivors of our handiwork,’ O’Kane would later write, ‘we found we could take it with less prejudice.’”
February 7, 2019
I have read many books on the WWII in Europe but have read very few about the war in the Pacific. Therefore I have a lapse in my knowledge about the war against Japan. This book goes a long way in remedying that.
First let me say, I cannot imagine serving on a submarine yet there was never a shortage of sailors who volunteered for the duty. Admittedly I do not have the mental toughness required for such but I do have admiration for those who do.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, they made several mistakes. The first was in attacking in the first place for they did “awaken a sleeping giant.” Secondly that did not press the attack on to the west coast which was complete vulnerable at the time. If they had the result would have been catastrophic for our naval forces.
But the real serious mistake was this:
“But the enemy had made what would prove a fatal misstep in its infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. The bombers and fighters that Sunday morning, in the chaotic fury to destroy American battlewagons, had failed to target the submarine base, a compound that housed 2,5000 officers and crew along with a torpedo plant, machine shops, and repair installations to service the twenty-two Hawaii-based boats, as the subs were often called by those in the service. Likewise, nearby surface tanks filled with more than enough fuel to power ‘Silversides’ and the other submarines that now set off for the empire’s waters.” (3)
This is the story of three submarines that laid waste to Japan’s merchant shipping system.
Each submarine tour of duty lasted 90 days and because the duty was so stressful after 5 outings the commander was shipped stateside for a year doing something of a non-combative nature.
Along with the submarine war, the US navy began to turn things around on the surface. It certainly wasn’t the case at the beginning of the war:
“The Japanese navy not only outgunned American forces in the Pacific , but proved more powerful than the combined navies in that ocean of the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands.” (25)
Then came the Battle of Midway:
“Midway had cost America the ‘Yorktown,’ but the loss to Japan proved the greater; four of its best carriers and some 250 planes,” (67)
“The decisive June 1942 battle would halt Japan’s eastward expansion and helped tip the balance of power toward the United States…” (67)
Once the United States had naval and air superiority the war for Japan became a disaster:
“Victory at Guadalcanal had freed more American submarines to patrol empire waters—three times as many as in the first quarter of 1943. Engineers had finally begun to remedy the torpedo failures that had plagued the force, introducing electric fish. These battery-powered torpedoes ran slower, at twenty-nine knots—compared to forty-six knows for steam-powered weapons—but left no wake for enemy lookouts to spot. Engineers likewise swapped TNT for the more powerful explosive Torpex. Fifty new fleet boats would join the fight in the Pacific in 1943, bringing the total to 109 modern submarines—almost three times as many modern boats as America had when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Submarines in 1943 would fire 3,937 torpedoes—more than twice as many as the year before—to sink some 300 merchant ships and damage more than 200 others. Japan shipbuilders could no longer keep up with the losses.” (103)
This history is extremely well-written with the author providing personal details of the lives of the men who served on and commanded the submarine force.
The tales of heroism as well as that of tragedy provides not only a fascinating picture of the war in the Pacific but also a real insight into the Japanese thinking and military operations. The real element of their defeat was with them from the very beginning of the war.
This is a fine history and well worth a read.
First let me say, I cannot imagine serving on a submarine yet there was never a shortage of sailors who volunteered for the duty. Admittedly I do not have the mental toughness required for such but I do have admiration for those who do.
When Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, they made several mistakes. The first was in attacking in the first place for they did “awaken a sleeping giant.” Secondly that did not press the attack on to the west coast which was complete vulnerable at the time. If they had the result would have been catastrophic for our naval forces.
But the real serious mistake was this:
“But the enemy had made what would prove a fatal misstep in its infamous attack on Pearl Harbor. The bombers and fighters that Sunday morning, in the chaotic fury to destroy American battlewagons, had failed to target the submarine base, a compound that housed 2,5000 officers and crew along with a torpedo plant, machine shops, and repair installations to service the twenty-two Hawaii-based boats, as the subs were often called by those in the service. Likewise, nearby surface tanks filled with more than enough fuel to power ‘Silversides’ and the other submarines that now set off for the empire’s waters.” (3)
This is the story of three submarines that laid waste to Japan’s merchant shipping system.
Each submarine tour of duty lasted 90 days and because the duty was so stressful after 5 outings the commander was shipped stateside for a year doing something of a non-combative nature.
Along with the submarine war, the US navy began to turn things around on the surface. It certainly wasn’t the case at the beginning of the war:
“The Japanese navy not only outgunned American forces in the Pacific , but proved more powerful than the combined navies in that ocean of the United States, Great Britain, and the Netherlands.” (25)
Then came the Battle of Midway:
“Midway had cost America the ‘Yorktown,’ but the loss to Japan proved the greater; four of its best carriers and some 250 planes,” (67)
“The decisive June 1942 battle would halt Japan’s eastward expansion and helped tip the balance of power toward the United States…” (67)
Once the United States had naval and air superiority the war for Japan became a disaster:
“Victory at Guadalcanal had freed more American submarines to patrol empire waters—three times as many as in the first quarter of 1943. Engineers had finally begun to remedy the torpedo failures that had plagued the force, introducing electric fish. These battery-powered torpedoes ran slower, at twenty-nine knots—compared to forty-six knows for steam-powered weapons—but left no wake for enemy lookouts to spot. Engineers likewise swapped TNT for the more powerful explosive Torpex. Fifty new fleet boats would join the fight in the Pacific in 1943, bringing the total to 109 modern submarines—almost three times as many modern boats as America had when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Submarines in 1943 would fire 3,937 torpedoes—more than twice as many as the year before—to sink some 300 merchant ships and damage more than 200 others. Japan shipbuilders could no longer keep up with the losses.” (103)
This history is extremely well-written with the author providing personal details of the lives of the men who served on and commanded the submarine force.
The tales of heroism as well as that of tragedy provides not only a fascinating picture of the war in the Pacific but also a real insight into the Japanese thinking and military operations. The real element of their defeat was with them from the very beginning of the war.
This is a fine history and well worth a read.
September 26, 2023
An impressive, at times novelistic account of United States submarine warfare in the Pacific during World War II, primarily focusing on the wartime careers of three of the most successful submarines, USS Silversides, USS Tang, and USS Drum (though a fourth, USS Wahoo, figures prominently in part of the book). Author James Scott, using official documents, interviews, and unpublished sources such as diaries and letters depicts life aboard each of these submarines, their wartime career, the ships they sank (including using Japanese records to add details), humorous moments, exciting events like rescuing downed aviators or conducting emergency surgery, and in the case of the one of the submarines, the harrowing escape into the sea and gruesome captivity survivors endured as POWs when the submarine sank and the survivors were captured by the Japanese.
Though the book is mainly about the three submarines, the author covers a lot about overall U.S. submarine warfare in the Pacific, including such details as the infamously bad torpedoes that plagued early missions, Japanese escort and convoy tactics, and the career of Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, commander of Submarine Force Pacific Fleet, and providing an overall view of the war in the Pacific. Regarding the latter, sometimes it could be a good bit of writing that had relatively little to do with the submarine war, though most of the times it either did in the end touch upon submariners in unexpected ways (such as the career of famed Marine Corps aviator Gregory "Pappy" Boyington) or was just plain interesting (such as the shootdown of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto). In the end though, the submariners and the submarines were the star.
The book also was a series of mini-biographies of captains, executive officers, and occasional others that served aboard the three submarines (four really, counting USS Wahoo, the author discussing famed Lieutenant Commander Dudley Walker "Mush" Morton). Lots of people made an impression, though none I think more than Richard O’Kane, captain of the USS Tang.
The last section of the book spends a lot of time with the survivors of one of these submarines, the survivors held as prisoners of war in a number of places, giving the reader memorable glimpses of hellish prison ships and illegal camps on land (illegal as in they weren’t registered prisoner of war camps or places that adhered to international agreements on prisoners of war accommodations, food, medicine, notification, and torture). The time survivors spent as POWs around Tokyo also gave the readers memorable glimpses of the Allied bombing campaign, which was almost as gruesome a mental image as the POW treatments. Also, some time is spent on liberation of the camps following the surrender as well as war crimes trials, I think in truth the first thing I have ever read about Japan immediately after the surrender.
Though the book is mainly about the three submarines, the author covers a lot about overall U.S. submarine warfare in the Pacific, including such details as the infamously bad torpedoes that plagued early missions, Japanese escort and convoy tactics, and the career of Vice Admiral Charles A. Lockwood, commander of Submarine Force Pacific Fleet, and providing an overall view of the war in the Pacific. Regarding the latter, sometimes it could be a good bit of writing that had relatively little to do with the submarine war, though most of the times it either did in the end touch upon submariners in unexpected ways (such as the career of famed Marine Corps aviator Gregory "Pappy" Boyington) or was just plain interesting (such as the shootdown of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto). In the end though, the submariners and the submarines were the star.
The book also was a series of mini-biographies of captains, executive officers, and occasional others that served aboard the three submarines (four really, counting USS Wahoo, the author discussing famed Lieutenant Commander Dudley Walker "Mush" Morton). Lots of people made an impression, though none I think more than Richard O’Kane, captain of the USS Tang.
The last section of the book spends a lot of time with the survivors of one of these submarines, the survivors held as prisoners of war in a number of places, giving the reader memorable glimpses of hellish prison ships and illegal camps on land (illegal as in they weren’t registered prisoner of war camps or places that adhered to international agreements on prisoners of war accommodations, food, medicine, notification, and torture). The time survivors spent as POWs around Tokyo also gave the readers memorable glimpses of the Allied bombing campaign, which was almost as gruesome a mental image as the POW treatments. Also, some time is spent on liberation of the camps following the surrender as well as war crimes trials, I think in truth the first thing I have ever read about Japan immediately after the surrender.
November 12, 2017
It may seem farfetched to refer to a naval history book as "gripping," "nail-biting," and "edge-of-your-seat suspenseful," but not impossible as evidenced by James Scott's masterpiece, The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan.
Because that is what Scott created with this tour-de-force, a gripping, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat suspense history about three American submarines in the Pacific Theater during the latter years of World War II. The USS Drum (SS-228), the USS Silversides (SS-236), and the USS Tang (SS-306) are the main stars, as are the skippers and sailors that served aboard them.
And over the course of 300+ pages, we are onboard each of these boats as they chase down Japanese ships, destroying them in firestorms of torpedo explosions and gunfire, endure teeth-rattling depth charging and aerial bombing, rescue their downed aviation comrades-in-arms, and, yes, even go down themselves, taking most of their stalwart crews with them.
We are onboard the USS Drum when she sinks a Japanese sampan and takes two prisoners, one of whom becomes a treasured mascot for the war-weary crew. Just like we are with the USS Silversides when she risks all to penetrate Japanese convoys, often sinking two to three enemy vessels each time before the danger forces her to flee. And we are with the ecstatic crew of the USS Tang when she sets a tonnage record, and becomes one of the deadliest submarines in the Pacific War.
With each chapter written from the perspective of one submarine, we are also privy to the severe damage the USS Drum suffered during an attack on a convoy in November 1943. We are with the USS Silversides when she rushes to the aid of her fellow submarine, the USS Salmon (SS-182), which had been forced to surface in the middle of a Japanese convoy after depth charging caused uncontrolled flooding.
And we are with the USS Tang when the final torpedo she fired on her fifth patrol suddenly changed direction, striking the Tang instead of her intended target and causing the submarine to sink, taking 78 of her 87 crew to their deaths.
We get to know these crew members. Names like Dick O'Kane, Jack Coye, Creed Burlingame, and Maurice Rindskopf become close friends on our journeys aboard their boats, and their struggles feel all too real as they each fight the War in the Pacific in their own way.
So yes, I say you can call a naval history "gripping" and "nail-biting." Especially if that naval history is The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan. After all, I plowed through over 100 pages in one day because I simply couldn't put it down...
Because that is what Scott created with this tour-de-force, a gripping, nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat suspense history about three American submarines in the Pacific Theater during the latter years of World War II. The USS Drum (SS-228), the USS Silversides (SS-236), and the USS Tang (SS-306) are the main stars, as are the skippers and sailors that served aboard them.
And over the course of 300+ pages, we are onboard each of these boats as they chase down Japanese ships, destroying them in firestorms of torpedo explosions and gunfire, endure teeth-rattling depth charging and aerial bombing, rescue their downed aviation comrades-in-arms, and, yes, even go down themselves, taking most of their stalwart crews with them.
We are onboard the USS Drum when she sinks a Japanese sampan and takes two prisoners, one of whom becomes a treasured mascot for the war-weary crew. Just like we are with the USS Silversides when she risks all to penetrate Japanese convoys, often sinking two to three enemy vessels each time before the danger forces her to flee. And we are with the ecstatic crew of the USS Tang when she sets a tonnage record, and becomes one of the deadliest submarines in the Pacific War.
With each chapter written from the perspective of one submarine, we are also privy to the severe damage the USS Drum suffered during an attack on a convoy in November 1943. We are with the USS Silversides when she rushes to the aid of her fellow submarine, the USS Salmon (SS-182), which had been forced to surface in the middle of a Japanese convoy after depth charging caused uncontrolled flooding.
And we are with the USS Tang when the final torpedo she fired on her fifth patrol suddenly changed direction, striking the Tang instead of her intended target and causing the submarine to sink, taking 78 of her 87 crew to their deaths.
We get to know these crew members. Names like Dick O'Kane, Jack Coye, Creed Burlingame, and Maurice Rindskopf become close friends on our journeys aboard their boats, and their struggles feel all too real as they each fight the War in the Pacific in their own way.
So yes, I say you can call a naval history "gripping" and "nail-biting." Especially if that naval history is The War Below: The Story of Three Submarines That Battled Japan. After all, I plowed through over 100 pages in one day because I simply couldn't put it down...
September 26, 2021
Although the carnage of Pearl Harbor gave Japan a brief victory, they made a grave mistake. The Japanese neglected the submarine base and fuel farm. Four subs were tied up there as the attacks began at about 7:55 a.m. on that Sunday morning, the USS Narwhal, USS Dolphin, USS Tautog, and USS Cachalot. In addition, there were no U.S. aircraft carriers present during the attack. Japan’s naval aviators sank three U.S. battleships, crippling another five, blasted 188 U.S. warplanes ( most sitting on the ground), and killed 2,403 American service members. USS Silverside’s engagement with the Ebisu Maru No. 5 IMHO was a colossal misjudgment on Lieutenant Commander Creed C. Burlingame’s part. Burlingame had friends in high positions which probably accounts for this action not to show as an error on his part in many articles I’ve looked at. “The War Below” dramatically presents the combat experiences of three WWII submarine’s numerous patrols, from the early days after Pearl Harbor in ‘41 to the end of the war in 1945; USS Silversides (SS-236), USS Drum (SS-228), and USS Tang (SS-306). The actions of these three submarines are delivered in a wonderful story mode, not just a dull documentary. Throughout the war, their capture, and the prison camps are all given due notice and respect. The end of the war and their release from the camps are a joyous relief. This is an excellent account of the submarine forces during WWII and worthy of a high recommendation.
June 25, 2024
One of my favorite WWII books to date, Scott weaves together the stories of three of America’s most prolific submarines on the Pacific Front: Drum, Tang, and Silversides, as well as historic and strategic narratives of the naval and ground conflict unfolding between the Americans and Japanese.
I was interested in Japan's strategic mistakes early in the war: they were slow to adopt radar technology and focused on fleet actions and surface battles. They were enthralled primarily with sinking carriers despite America’s dismantling of their war machine from beneath them.
Americans, likely learning from the havoc wreaked by German U-boats in the Atlantic, focused their submarine missions on lone wolf patrols to hunt unprotected merchant fleets. Japan did not realize this mistake until it was too late: by 1945, they were outgunned, outmanned, and without the oil, rubber, iron, etc., to sustain a war. Nonetheless, they would fight to the bitter end.
The story of Tang’s sinking and the perseverance of several survivors was a harrowing reminder of the sacrifice made by this generation. I am eternally grateful.
I was interested in Japan's strategic mistakes early in the war: they were slow to adopt radar technology and focused on fleet actions and surface battles. They were enthralled primarily with sinking carriers despite America’s dismantling of their war machine from beneath them.
Americans, likely learning from the havoc wreaked by German U-boats in the Atlantic, focused their submarine missions on lone wolf patrols to hunt unprotected merchant fleets. Japan did not realize this mistake until it was too late: by 1945, they were outgunned, outmanned, and without the oil, rubber, iron, etc., to sustain a war. Nonetheless, they would fight to the bitter end.
The story of Tang’s sinking and the perseverance of several survivors was a harrowing reminder of the sacrifice made by this generation. I am eternally grateful.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 6, 2017
This was a fascinating account of three of the most effective subs in the Pacific theater, as commanded by their various captains. The author details for an inexperienced reader the tactics of submarine attack, which I found fascinating. The other most interesting topic was the maverick nature of submarine commanders. These boats often acted independently, and the success of a mission (measured in number of ships sunk) depended not just on sighting a convoy, but on the ruthless, sometimes reckless pursuit of the enemy. Commanders had different personal styles, but they shared the tenacity that led their crews to multiple victories.
The history wouldn't be complete without a discussion of the great problems caused by faulty torpedoes, including the disaster that destroyed one of the these boats. In addition, the major Pacific battles are related from a submariner's perspective.
This book was a great introduction to an aspect of the war that I knew little about. I listened to the audio book, and it kept my attention through a lot of hours on the road.
The history wouldn't be complete without a discussion of the great problems caused by faulty torpedoes, including the disaster that destroyed one of the these boats. In addition, the major Pacific battles are related from a submariner's perspective.
This book was a great introduction to an aspect of the war that I knew little about. I listened to the audio book, and it kept my attention through a lot of hours on the road.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 147 reviews