The Silent Service

by John Parker

One of the great untold stories of the British services is that of the Royal Navy Submarine Service which entered the fray in World War I with 100 underwater craft. Through World War II, where submariners' prospects of returning safely from a mission were only 50:50, the Falklands conflict and the sinking of the Belgrano, to present-day elite machines, the Silent Service has played an enormous part in British defence. John Parker's in-depth investigation is very much personality led with diaries from the early part of the century to substantial first-person testimony from survivors of wartime heroics (when many VCs were won).

Genres: Military Fiction, Nonfiction

416 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published September 1, 2001

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

John Parker is a former Fleet Street editor who has written many investigative books.

Reviews

[John Garlington · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book

For years I had looked for a book on Royal Navy submarines and their deployment and this well researched, comprehensive account really fitted the bill. Books on U boats are much easier to find. Perhaps someone will make a film of RN submarines' actions in the future.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read. My father was in submarines during WW2, so I had some knowledge about this era, but the chapters after that were a bit of a revelation.

Worth a read if you have an interest in the RN Submarines in particular and submarines in general.

Minor quibble, my father’s submarine was involved in one of the “famous” sinkings of WW2, unusually it barely got a mention.😏

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Submarines are horrible. They are cramped, isolated, and for a long time were very very dangerous. Parker has managed to transform these individual stories into a really fascinating collection. Occasionally, he assumes a greater knowledge of submarine construction than I actually add, but this is a minor niggle. Additionally, as British submarines have only been used in anger once since WWII, there are not many stories post-WWII. Although this is a bit unfair, because short of fermenting a horrible war, there really isn't much Parker can do about that. Grimly fascinating.

[Calum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A concise history of the Royal Nay's submarines. It could do with photographs - there are instances where it refers to photos that aren't in the book, which is frustrating.
As a "beginners guide" to RN submarines, there are probably few books to beat this.