As mentioned in my UK review of John Atkinson’s somewhat lamentable ‘Royal Navy Submarine Service Losses in WWII,’ my work involves meticulous research into ship and other wrecks found underwater and include British and German submarines from WW2. I only wish I could find a book with details of British and Commonwealth submarine losses from WW1 and WW2 to match this excellent work by Paul Kemp.
The layout is a list of U Boat losses in date order with each of the years 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 as separate chapters. The book then concludes with; Glossary, Bibliography, Index of U Boats, Index of Commanders and General Index. The way you use the book is then entirely up to you. If, for example, you know nothing at all, you will quickly find yourself involved with a compelling read. If, perhaps like myself, you are looking for information on specifics you can look up either the number of the U Boat or the name of its commander in the appropriate index and go to the required page. Personally, I started out by looking for specifics and immediately fell into the trap of not being able to put the book down until I had read just one more account (and then another and so on…).
Details for each loss are brief and commence with; Name (e.g. U47), date of launch and commission, name of CO, date of loss, location, cause, casualties, survivors and whether or not the vessel was salvaged. These are followed by a brief description of the events surrounding the loss - as far as they are known. What does stand out above all other figures and statistics is the number of lives lost. Account after account shows casualties of just over 50 and no survivors at all. This even more poignant in those instances when U Boat crewmen were seen to have survived the actual sinking itself.
Over many years I have studied the story of the final moments of HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow and was once fortunate enough to visit the remains of that wreck with a Royal Navy diving party. The exploits of Günther Prien and U47 were, therefore, well known to me and his was one of the first vessels I looked at in this work. Whereas I was less familiar with the exploits of Joachim Schepke and Otto Kretschmer (another two outstanding U Boat commanders), I had no idea that all three of their U Boats were lost within 10 days of each other in March 1941. A small point perhaps, but the reason for its inclusion is to underline the fact that even those who already know something about the subject will learn a great deal from studying this work.
As one who also appreciates the values of dedicated and painstaking research, I commend Paul Kemp for an excellent job of work.
In closing, I do not understand the comment by another reviewer (Amazon.co.uk) about ‘poor quality paper.’ There is nothing wrong with my copy of this book.
NM
Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer – no Kindle device required.
Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.
Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.
Popular titles by this author
Page 1 of 1 Start againPage 1 of 1
About the author
Top reviews from United Kingdom
There was a problem filtering reviews. Please reload the page.
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 February 2017
- Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 July 2001
Top reviews from other countries
- Terry MillerReviewed in the United States on 30 May 2012
A great reference delivered promptly
