War Beneath The Sea

by Peter Padfield

War Beneath the Sea
This is the first book to cover all submarine and anti-submarine operations of the major powers, U.S., British, German, Japanese and Italian in the Second World War. The canvas is broad and deep, from the strategic perspective at the top to the cramped and claustrophobic life of the crews in their submersible steel tubes; from the feats of ‘ace’ commanders to the terrifying experiences of men under attack in this most pitiless form of warfare.

Peter Padfield describes the technical and tactical measures by which the Western Allies countered Admiral Karl Dönitz’s U-boat ‘pack’ attacks in the all-important North Atlantic battle; the fanatical zeal with which, even after defeat, Dönitz continued sacrificing his young crews in outmoded boats, dubbed by one veteran ‘iron coffins’; while in the Pacific the superiority of American fleet submarines and radar allowed the U.S. to isolate Japan from her overseas sources of supply.

Padfield argues that if this strategic potential had been realised earlier it could have saved thousands of lives in the bloody Pacific island campaigns, and even rendered the use of atomic bombs unnecessary.

‘Peter Padfield is the best British naval historian of his generation…His book…will now become the standard work on the subject.’
John Keegan, The Daily Telegraph

‘This looks set to become the definitive work on submarine warfare in the Second World War…’ Paul Hoxton, Military Illustrated

‘By far the best and most complete critical history of the submarine operations of all the combatants in the Second World War, at the same time providing vivid narrative accounts of particular actions…’
Alan Cameron, Lloyd’s List

‘Peter Padfield has written a superb history of a complex and controversial subject. It is a valuable addition to our body of history of World War II, and I recommend it highly.’
Vice Admiral James F. Calvert USN Rtd., U.S.N.I Proceedings

‘This monument to the submarine arms of the major belligerents tells the story of their triumphs and tragedies and comes from one of our ablest naval historians…’
Graham Rhys-Jones, R.U.S.I.Journal

‘…the book is very well written and enjoyable to read. The facts and statistics are mixed with well penned character studies and fast-moving descriptive narrative in a way that confirms the author’s stature as a leading military historian…’
The Naval Review

‘…a near flawless work of history that can be recommended both as a serious study and a compelling read.’
The Officer Magazine

‘Probably one of the most valuable books ever written on submarine operations and countermeasures for World War II history…in the ‘Bravo’ category.’
Canadian Military History Book Review Supplement

‘Padfield keeps an unwavering balance between providing the depth of history and maintaining an exciting narrative.’
The Times

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction, War, Military History, Naval History

653 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1995

Reviews

[Brian Eastwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never completed the book. It definitely had some interesting points and was definitely informative, but I found myself getting lost in the details of all the different types, modules, sub-types, etc. of the submarines described. Eventually I tired of trying to keep it all straight and the good information on submarine tactics and strategy was overwhelmed by minute detail.

[James Jr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Worth the Price of Admission

If you're looking for a single, comprehensive volume that covers the submarines of all sides in World War II, buy this book. It is actually a 4.5, with the .5 only coming off for a pedantic railing against the Strategic Bombing Offensive as well as repeated minor historical errors. However, if you're looking for a well-paced, accessible work on Workd War II underwater warfare this is your book.

[Michael Burnam-Fink · Rating 5 out of 5]

War Beneath the Sea is the comprehensive account of submarine conflict in the Second World War. Padfield covers all the major belligerents, going beyond the standard accounts of the Battle of the Atlantic and the 'clean sweep' patrols of Mush Morton in the Pacific to develop a systematic account of the submarines of Nazi Germany, the United States, Japan, Britain, and even Italy.

The submarine had made its significant debut as a weapon in the First World War, where unrestricted submarine warfare threatened the British empire and helped bring America into the war. The power of the submarine in commerce warfare was only systematically developed by the Nazis, and in particular Admiral Donitz, who combined high quality boats with a doctrine of aggressive surface night attacks. Nazi night optics were a cut above, and a clever binocular pedestal mount fed observations from the conning tower directly into the torpedo fire control center. By comparison, British boats were small and slow; their antisubmarine doctrine completely atrophied. American boats were the most impressive at the beginning of the war, with air conditioning for crew but were hindered by a cautious attack doctrine and the fatally flawed Mk 14 torpedo, with detonators that simply did not work. Japanese boats were large, but wedded to a doctrine of decisive fleet battle that reduce their flexibility.

As we all know, the Second World War started in 1939 with the invasion of Poland, and subsequent declaration of war by France and Britain against Nazi Germany. This was a problem for Donitz, since he had been promised that the war would start in 1942, when the U-boat building program would be completed and he'd have 300 U-boats. Instead he went to war with only a few dozen ready for action in the Atlantic. His forces ran wild in the First Happy Time against disorganized British defenses, but they lacked the numbers to be truly decisive.

The Battle of the Atlantic was one of the major campaigns of the war. Meanwhile, British submarines operating from Malta and Alexandria faced a miniature version of the shipping campaign against Axis transports to North Africa. The Maltese boats faced truly horrific conditions during the siege, but presented a perennial thorn in the Axis side.

Submarine actions depended on the courage and judgement of commanders, but it was also a technological war. It was in this area that the Allies succeeded, with development of centrimetric radar giving their submarines and escorts a major advantage. Convoy escort building, new weapons like the Hedgehog depth charge projector, and doctrine for pursuing U-boats tilted the submarine war towards the Allied side. The final days of both the Japanese and Nazi services were essentially suicide operations for little gain.

Padfield blends first-person accounts of actions with a synoptic view of the campaign. He has a generally positive view of the sailors who served, and isn't afraid to shy away from judgment of higher commanders. Donitz, though an avowed Nazi, understood the use of U-boats as a weapon. His failure to keep up with technological changes doomed his arm, and his men. On the allied side, their was a surprising lassitude at proper convoy tactics and aerial escorts. Britain forgot the lessons of the First World War, and the United States ignored what their Allies had learned months before, likely due to Earnest King's Anglophobia. The diversion of long range bombers and radars to the strategic bombing offensive, which delivered relatively few results early on, when as few as 100 planes could have tilted the balance in the Atlantic, is one area of folly. The obstinance of Pacific Command over the reliability of the Mk 14 is another area.

Having read quite a few of these naval histories, Padfield joins the top ranks of authors.

[Loukios Nousios · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like submarines, a must read.
Even if submarine warfare isn’t your thing, Peter Padfields gives an overall details account of the impact of submarines in WWII as well as the political, military and personal reasons behind certain decisions, military doctrines and innovations that shaped submarine warfare from WWI to WWII and even to today.

A great read.

[John Lomnicki, · Rating 5 out of 5]

Accurate and distinctive as well as enthralling

The author intersperses his own cogent opinions with individual stories as well as a running description of the war beginning to end. Italian, Polish and French involvement is here too. He answered my questions of German and Japanese involvement in invasions and how they were met.

[Neil Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical account with lots of strategy

The biggest takeaway is that none of the five submarine powers in WWII fully grasped what submarines should and could not accomplish, at least at first.

The Germans correctly focused on interdicting merchant traffic, and mastered pack hunting, but were unable to accept that their Enigma code traffic was cracked, and struggled with finding convicts which had been routed around their ordered locations. Later in the war, they failed to develop new technologies until it was too late.

The British and American boats tried to focus on capital ships, and were slow to realize that interdicting supplies to North Africa was the best use of submarine power. Additionally, their boats were inferior, and their torpedoes Purley designed and initially malfunctioned a lot. The Americans were similarly slow to recognize that the pacific war could be likely have been shortened by a real focus on the Japanese merchant supply lines.

The Japanese boats were outclassed, and focused on fighting as part of a fleet set piece that was conceived as the only way to beat the allied powers. Towards the end of the war, Kamikaze piloted torpedoes were tried, to little effect.

Andy the Italian boats were outclassed, and delivered little.

As the war progressed, British developed American produced radar was definitive in shifting the balance away from the German U boats to the allied powers, who were able to use radar in planes, ships, and defending submarines to detect attacking boats on the surface. Since the Germans were late to develop boats with a fast underwater speed, forcing them to submerge far away meant their attacks were far less effective.

But for all the mistakes, the story is ready a story of early German dominance gradually giving way to overwhelming allied power by the end of the war. It too is a story of daring crews and bold adventures, and the sad loss of life and resources on all sides that the war brought on all.

The prose is sometimes a bit labored, but not too a point of intruding on a good read.

[Robert Hepple · Rating 4 out of 5]

War Beneath the Sea tells the story of submarine conflict during the Second World War. Not surprisingly, much of the book is devoted to accounts of activities by German and US submarines, but the generous length of the book still allows a fairly decent coverage of activities by Britain, Italy and Japan. This is not a technical book, concentrating on narrative accounts of events in the various submarine campaigns, although inevitably some technical background detail is given – many of the events described evolved due to technological advances at the time, and some explanation is relevant to place this properly in context. The narrative is highly readable and very interesting, although sometimes when the author discusses non-naval matters he gets things a little bit wrong. The author is not afraid of a bit of myth-busting, yet still occasionally succeeds in perpetuating a few myths as well. Great!

[Charles P. Barnes Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting hindsight to the leadership on both sides of the actions at sea during the second world war.

If each generation could feel the pain of war through document such as this. We could learn that everyone looses in the end.

[Trevin Sandlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A solid overview, complicated by maddening and unsupported conclusions.

There is a lot in this book to like. When the author focuses on narrative stories of the war under/above the sea, it provides an exceptional overview of a complicated subject. He brings light to the lesser known Mediterranean theatre of submarine warfare and the contributions of British submarines in the war and his coverage of the German U-boat campaign is exceptional as well. He rightly concludes that Germany never truly got close to bringing Britain to the table and that the defeat of the U-boats was somewhat inevitable. There is probably a little too much hero worship of Doenitz himself, a dedicated Nazi who refused attempts to get him to renounce the war and Hitler. The coverage of Britain's role is wonderful and he rightly heaps scorn on RAF bomber command and Churchill for their focus on bombing German cities to be on "offense" instead of focusing on the defensive measures that inevitably made a difference in resolving the Battle of the Atlantic.

Narratively, his coverage of the American and Japanese side of the war is well done. However, having read a number of naval histories of the Pacific war, I find his conclusions to be maddening and unsupported by evidence. He carries a British historian's disdain of Admiral King, who has been a favorite whipping boy of British-focused historians for decades, but either ignores any of King's positives or misplaces blame to King for faults elsewhere. King has rightfully been pilloried for his slowness to adopt convoys in the Atlantic in early 1942 and this work does not shy away from that. However, Padfield blames King equally for the early failures of the American submarines in the Pacific - namely, the faulty torpedoes (clearly the fault of BUORD and Admirals like Thomas Withers) and "bad tactics." This of course, ignores King's valuable support of Nimitz and Spruance, his willingness to dismiss Admirals like Fletcher for being too cautious, and the important political role he played both between Nimitz and MacArthur as well as naval construction in the United States, championing the service and making certain that the Pacific War was not only not ignored, but that we would not be fighting to restore Britain's empire.

As far as tactical decisions, he blames the Americans for not having the hindsight that he is capable of, nor for not having the thoughts of Doenitz, which they didn't have access to. He blames the Americans for not sending submarines against the Tokyo Express, in spite of the likelihood that it would have made no difference and might have been a massacre of American subs. He complains about tactics in the theatre, ignoring that a large portion of early problems were also due to over caution by American sub commanders. He complains that a concentrated campaign against Japanese shipping would have made a major difference in ending the war quicker, but ignores the realities that Imperial Japan was never going to surrender without guarantees regarding the Emperor, which the Americans were never going to give. Indeed - the war ended only when Soviet entry made it clear that there was a distinct risk of the Japanese home islands being overrun by Soviet troops, plus the threat of atomic weapons. There is absolutely no evidence that the submarines could have forced a Japanese surrender - and he even actually says something close to that, contradicting himself.

And then he let his personal politics get in the way, spending a couple paragrahs ranting about British labor going on strike in shipyards. He sides with the British sailors who called them unpatriotic, ignoring the conditions in the shipyards and that labor was entitled to be paid fairly. This is the author's personal politics - they're on display on his website - and should have been ignored entirely. He also ignores the role submarines played in special forces operations in all theatres.

All of this makes it seem like I didn't like this. It isn't true. It is very good. It simply would have been better sticking to the narrative facts or better researching his conclusions.

[Charles · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chronology of the wartime patrols of the: German, British, American, Japanese, and Italian submarine services and the anti-submarine efforts taken during WWII.

My e-book version was 653 pages long. It had a 1995 UK copy write. This book included: notes, maps, diagrams, photographs, appendices, Index, and Bibliography.

Peter Padfield was a British naval historian and author of fiction. He wrote more than 20 books on naval history. He also wrote four novel-length books of fiction. This is the first book I’ve read by the author.

This is an intermediate-to-advanced level naval history of WWII. The reader needs to have, at least a high-level overview of that conflict. Further, a knowledge of naval engineering, particularly of the early 20th Century would be of great use.

Padfield’s prose was good. It was less technically dense than the militarily-authored works I’ve read on the subject. I did feel the author expended more effort on dramatizing the events of individual submarine patrols than on a polished academic analysis.

The German and American submarine services received the most attention. Very little that had not already been published was presented. The British submarine service, was well-covered. The author being a Brit and my unfamiliarity with their actions found these sections welcome. The Japanese and Italian services were scantily covered. The Italian service receiving the most attention of the two. Japanese submarine operations are sparsely documented in the literature. Very little was contributed here that wasn’t already available in English publication. Unfortunately, either receiving small notice or none whatsoever were: Dutch, French, and Russian submarine operations during WWII.

The author took a chronological approach to WWII submarine campaigns. WWII submarine strategy and tactics were secondary, to the: individual patrols, the patrolling boats, their commanders, and to a lesser extent the chain of command. However, the author’s historiography was more of the Guns, Smoke, Flags, and Bugles type. In places the book had more in common with an episode of Das Boot than a historical, non-fiction text.

This book was not what I expected. It was largely a repackaging of previous works.

Works like this are typically a description of: men, machines and organizations in contention. The primary object was the patrols, the officers who served, the decorations they received, and their relationship to each other, and their service during the period of conflict. The machines were well covered, although an unusual high-level of tech familiarity was assumed. The book was very uneven in the summary: description, evolution, and analysis of the different national services’: strategy, doctrine, technology and tactics. The German service were the best described, the Japanese were almost not at all. In general, by reading the patrol stories the reader was assumed to have derived the service’s operational practices and procedures. Readers would have been better served, had the author selected a very few patrols per service and provided an analysis of the basic principles of strategy, operations, technology and tactics involved. It also would have been a much shorter book.

[Daniel Cicero · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would be hard to find a subject more thoroughly documented than the submarine campaigns of the Second World War. I wondered, when I started this book, if anything new could be added. I chose the book based on my reading of Padfield's Maritime Supremacy and the Opening of the Western Mind: Naval Campaigns that Shaped the Modern World, 1588 - 1782. That book, also, on casual inspection, looked like a superficial overview of well-worn territitory. It wasn't. War Beneath the Sea isn't either.

Peter Padfield delivers, as he did in Maritime Supremacy, fresh thinking and a deep understanding of the subject. He compares and contrasts the technologies, strategies and tactics of the major submarine powers of WWII, clearly showing the advantages and disadvantages of each compared to their opponents. I was not familiar with the British submarine war in the Mediterranean and came away with a much greater appreciation for the Royal Navy's efforts. I was also surprised with the level of technical detail Padfield used to explain the limitations of the Royal Navy's boats. For example, to prevent interference with their magnetic compasses, Royal Navy submarine conning towers were made of bronze. Because bronze cannot withstand the same water pressure as steel, the boats operated at more shallow depths than their German, American or Japanese counterparts. That depth limitation made them vulnerable, particularly to air attack. It was a design choice made to address a technical requirement that created a problem elsewhere.

Even for those who've read their fair share of histories of submarine operations in WWII, this book is well worth reading.

[Mike O'Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on the submarine services of the various major combatants of WWII. Other than the Soviets, and given how difficult any information is/was to get out of the Soviet Union/Russia that’s not surprising, the book goes in depth on the doctrines of the various navies, advantages and disadvantages of the various submarines, the mechanical and environmental aspects aspects of life on a submarine, and even campaign histories.

There was a lot of new information to me including the difficulties that the Germans had, similar to the Americans, with their torpedoes, and aspects of the environment. I had not considered that submarines in the PTO would have problems with heat. After all they are submarines! But WWII submarines spent a lot of their time on the surface due to the need to recharge their batteries, refresh their air, and simply because a surfaced submarine was faster than a submarine under water.

I would highly recommend this book as a good general overview of submarine warfare in WWII.

[Jim D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely superb book about submarine warfare in World War Two. It is comprehensive yet totally readable. The author covers not just the submarine activities of the US and Germany, but the activities of the British, Dutch, Italian and Japanese submariners. This added immeasurably to my understanding of the different theaters of war. The author discussed many of the technological improvements of both hunter and hunted, as well as the many blunders of the leaders in all of the nations. What came out loud and clear though is the immense courage and sacrifice of all of the submariners on both sides . A must for any WW II naval reader.

[Terence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished it!

At first, I thought this was well researched and likely attempting to be the defacto book on the subject and therefore had significant detail, making it hard to read.

Upon completion, I have a different opinion. The book has no connective tissue and is poorly written with excessive details where the detail provides no value. It is almost as if the details are provided simply because they were available.

The book is painstaking to read, and I can't recommend it. It is also repetitive at times telling the same story over again.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book if you are looking for an overview of the submarine warfare in WW2. This deals with all the major Navies submarine corps. Everything from fleet boats, midgets, suiciders right to the giant Japanese I400’s. How antisub tactics caught up to and surpassed the German and Japanese boats. Of interest was the last iteration of Uboat were used as basis for post war subs if the US and Russians. A long read but covers a lot of ground.

[Steve Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

An easy to read combination of overview and detailed account of selected voyages and personalities. The author is critical of all how all the major powers deployed their submarine forces, but particularly damning of the UK for forgetting the lessons of WWI, and the USA for stonewalling on equipment shortcomings and failing to execute a commercial blockade of Japan that might have saved both time and lives (but wasn't the victory a surface Navy envisaged).

[Anthony Osborne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a very good book, there were a couple of factual issues in the book, could have overlooked them, but calling the first atomic bomb "thin boy" irked me.

A great read for anyone who is interested in the submarine conflict aspects of World War 2. Included a lot of information on the exploits of boats in the Mediterranean that have not been widely shared in the past and on Italian submarines.

Worth a read

[Crotusman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will leave it to others to determine how accurate this work is from a historical perspective, but as an amateur history buff I will say that this appears to have been an incredibly well researched undertaking. Unfortunately, that is the best I can say about this book if you are reading it for any reason other than academic research. Otherwise it reads (or listens in my case) as a hodgepodge of different encounters/patrols in which one submarine either sunk its target or got sunk by the enemy. In short, there was no overarching narrative to pull the book together or to keep the reader/listener truly engaged. It just seemed to go on and on regardless of the chapter or the phase of the war. Again, I have no doubt that those who have a need for truly intricate detail about submarine warfare will likely find some value here, but purely from an entertainment standpoint this ended up being a hard pass for me. (Off topic really, and again, I’m not well versed enough about the subject to agree or disagree with the author, but he seemed to take an overly critical view of the American and Japanese submarine services as opposed to their British and German counterparts.)

[P Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing account of submarines in WW2

This is a factual and very detailed account of the use of submarines in WW2, it is more amazing than any fiction, and shows how individuals and attitudes shape the course of history. In addition it shows how technology is often the deciding factor in any war, but that it's reliability is paramount!

[Tobias Wonderland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredibly deep comprehensive history of submarine warfare in WW2. It promises that it "covers all submarine and anti-submarine operations of the major powers" and it really does mean ALL. If you want to know what a bunch of submarines and submariners did minute-by-minute on a Wednesday evening in 1943 this is the book for you

[Griffin S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overall picture of sub-warfare in World War 2. With detailed battle results, the author includes compelling human stories that draw the reader into the high drama of great battles and complex campaigns.

Read the full review here: https://legendsofhistory.org/war-bene...

[MARTIN WITHERS · Rating 5 out of 5]

Magnificent book

This very readable account of submarine operations during WW2 is a brilliant book which goes into incredible detail and puts the reader into the submarine vessels on several missions.

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 3 out of 5]

More than I wanted to know

If you had served in a submarine, I am sure that you would be interested in this book. One who is into naval history or technology will also find it of interest.

[don watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gripping history

Well written, well researched. So much more content not previously covered in other writings, well worth keeping for another read in the near future.
I plan to follow this author.

[cynthia telage · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishing Detail and Depth

This book is a opportunity to experience as a reader the naval history of WWII including all belligerents but most notably all
actions of their submarine forces.

[Tim Clouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of few histories that looks at German, Japanese, US, and British submarine operations at the same time. Includes explanations for the variations in tactics, technology, and strategy. It also discusses some alternatives.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent look at submarine warfare during WWII!

Excellent book about submarine warfare during WWII! Hind sight is 20/20.This book tells the story after the end of the war from all available sources.
A great read.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Broad in scope - covering submarine warfare of all major nations. Focus was more on the Atlantic with good mix between Allied and German perspective. Less focus on the Pacific (though I suspect a lot of the Japanese sources did not survive the war).

[Ernest G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a well-written book. I enjoyed it. It was just a touch dry but did a great job of covering the submarine services of the major allies and axis countries throughout the war. Just a side comment: it had many awkward sentences that required I stop and reread them to get their meaning.

[Patricia Crumpler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was most pleased with this book!

Well written and well researched. The author has an in-depth understanding of the second world war and the machinations of the governments involved.