What do you think?
Rate this book
Dive!: Australian Submariners at War
Submariners are a special breed. Not for them a life on the ocean wave, the fresh air and sunshine of other naval sailors. With stealth and daring they go deep and dark, alone and unseen, in often dangerous waters. They sometimes call themselves the Silent Service, with good reason.
Australian submariners have done extraordinary deeds in the First and Second World Wars and, more recently, the Cold War. In April 1915 the Australian submarine AE2 penetrated the Dardanelles Strait to ‘run amuck’, a historic feat that was a turning point in the Gallipoli campaign. Eventually captured, her crew spent three harrowing years as prisoners-of-war in Turkey.
In the Second World War Australian naval volunteers made their name serving in midget submarines, attacking Hitler’s mightiest battleship, the Tirpitz, in the icy waters of a Norwegian fjord. Later, they fought the Japanese in the South China Sea.
And in the last half of the twentieth century, RAN submarines played a vital role tracking the Soviet navy in the Pacific Ocean. One wrong move could have led to outright war. The risks they ran, the perils they met and the intelligence they gathered are still classified Top Secret.
Submarines and the sailors who serve in them have been and remain the tip of the spear of Australia’s defences. For the first time, this is their unique story.
Australian submariners have done extraordinary deeds in the First and Second World Wars and, more recently, the Cold War. In April 1915 the Australian submarine AE2 penetrated the Dardanelles Strait to ‘run amuck’, a historic feat that was a turning point in the Gallipoli campaign. Eventually captured, her crew spent three harrowing years as prisoners-of-war in Turkey.
In the Second World War Australian naval volunteers made their name serving in midget submarines, attacking Hitler’s mightiest battleship, the Tirpitz, in the icy waters of a Norwegian fjord. Later, they fought the Japanese in the South China Sea.
And in the last half of the twentieth century, RAN submarines played a vital role tracking the Soviet navy in the Pacific Ocean. One wrong move could have led to outright war. The risks they ran, the perils they met and the intelligence they gathered are still classified Top Secret.
Submarines and the sailors who serve in them have been and remain the tip of the spear of Australia’s defences. For the first time, this is their unique story.
648 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 6, 2024
10 people are currently reading
40 people want to read
About the author
Mike Carlton
13 books8 followersMike Carlton is one of Australia's best-known broadcasters and journalists. In a 40-year career, he has been a radio and television news and current affairs reporter, foreign correspondent, radio host and newspaper columnist.
He was an ABC war correspondent in Vietnam in 1967 and 1970, and for three years was the ABC's Bureau Chief in Jakarta. He also reported for the ABC from London, New York and major Asian capitals. In television, he was one of the original reporters on the ABC's groundbreaking This Day Tonight in the 1970s. Mike turned to talk radio in 1980, first at Sydney's 2GB, and then for four years in London at Newstalk 97.3FM, where he won a coveted Sony Radio Academy award in 1993 for Britain's best talk breakfast program.
In television, he reported and hosted Indonesia: A Reporter Returns, a three-part documentary for SBS in 2008. He has recently retired from the Radio 2UE breakfast program in Sydney and has returned to writing a column for the Saturday edition of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mike has had a life-long passion for naval history.
He was an ABC war correspondent in Vietnam in 1967 and 1970, and for three years was the ABC's Bureau Chief in Jakarta. He also reported for the ABC from London, New York and major Asian capitals. In television, he was one of the original reporters on the ABC's groundbreaking This Day Tonight in the 1970s. Mike turned to talk radio in 1980, first at Sydney's 2GB, and then for four years in London at Newstalk 97.3FM, where he won a coveted Sony Radio Academy award in 1993 for Britain's best talk breakfast program.
In television, he reported and hosted Indonesia: A Reporter Returns, a three-part documentary for SBS in 2008. He has recently retired from the Radio 2UE breakfast program in Sydney and has returned to writing a column for the Saturday edition of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mike has had a life-long passion for naval history.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 7, 2024
No other writer can shape the facts of history into a veritable smorgasbord of storytelling that contemporaneously enriches and enlightens the mind—another brilliant book written by the erudite Mike Carlton.
February 7, 2025
Amazing History lesson. Great read
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews