U-BOAT VERSUS AIRCRAFT: The Dramatic Story Behind U-boat Claims in Gun Action with Aircraft in World War II

by Norman L.R. Franks, Eric Zimmerman

In this investigative study, respected military historians Norman Franks and Eric Zimmermann have matched up the claims of victories by the German U-boats during WWII and compared them with the lists of RAF losses. Here's the story behind each eye-opening claim, with the results not often following what has been previously reported.

During the war, Allied aircraft fought deadly battles with German U-boats in all quarters of the world's oceans. It was seemingly a cat-and-mouse game, hours of seeking out the German submarines, with perhaps only a few minutes of intense action when a sub was sighted. For the Germans, it was kill or be killed if they could not dive to safety, and they often stayed to fight, resulting in hundreds of Allied losses.

224 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1998

About the author

Norman Leslie Robert Franks was an English militaria writer who specialised in aviation topics. He focused on the pilots and squadrons of World Wars I and II.

Reviews

[Mike Pinter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very, very interesting book.
I'd not read about the airborne anti-submarine campaign that British, Canadian and American Coastal Commands fought during WWII against the German submarines.
So many lives lost to the cold, cold waters in moments after intense actions following endless hours of searching or following promising radar and radio intercepts. Valour and gallantry on both ends of the machine guns and anti-aircraft cannons. The survival stories are inspiring.
Most harrowing, those actions where nobody survived to tell the tale, both the submarine crew of 41 to 55 souls and the aircrews of 2 to 11 members all perishing.
The research involved, still ongoing, helps bring resolution to some of the remaining mysteries.