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Hellions of the Deep: The Development of American Torpedoes in World War II Hardcover – May 9, 1996

by Robert Gannon (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 8 ratings
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Ultimately, World War II was the first war won by technology, but within only a few weeks after the war began, the U.S. Navy realized its torpedo program was a dismal failure. Submarine skippers reported that most of their torpedoes were either missing the targets or failing to explode if they did hit. The United States had to work fast if it expected to compete with the Japanese Long Lance, the biggest and fastest torpedo in the world, and Germany's electric and sonar models. Hellions of the Deep tells the dramatic story of how Navy planners threw aside the careful procedures of peacetime science and initiated "radical research": gathering together the nation's best scientists and engineers in huge research centers and giving them freedom of experimentation to create sophisticated weaponry with a single goal―winning the war.

The largest center for torpedo work was a requisitioned gymnasium at Harvard University, where the most famous names in science worked with the best graduate students from all around the country at the business of war. They had to produce tangible weapons, to consider production and supply tactics, to take orders from the military, and, in many cases, also to teach the military how to use the weapons they developed. World War II grew into a chess match played by scientists and physicists, and it became the only war in history to be won by weapons invented during the conflict.

For this book, Robert Gannon conducted numerous interviews over a twenty-year period with scientists, engineers, physicists, submarine skippers, and Navy bureaucrats, all involved in the development of the advanced weapons technology that won the war. While the search for new weapons was deadly serious, stretching imagination and resourcefulness to the limit each day, the need was obvious: American ships were being blown up daily just outside the Boston harbor. These oral histories reveal that, in retrospect, surprising even to those who went through it, the search for the "hellions of the deep" was, for many, the most exciting period of their lives.

Previous page
  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Penn State University Press
  4. Publication date
    May 9, 1996
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    027101508X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0271015088
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The U.S. Navy's failure to provide its submarines with effective torpedoes was one of the great near disasters of the Second World War. Gannon offers us a finely crafted, thoroughly informative study of the failure and the successful technical effort to develop winning weapons for the fleet.”

―Harvey M. Sapolsky,Massachusetts Institute of Technology

About the Author

Robert Gannon is Associate Professor of English at Penn State University. His articles have appeared in Popular Science, Reader's Digest, Science Digest, Science and Mechanics, Audubon, Oceans, and many other popular and specialized publications.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penn State University Press (May 9, 1996)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 027101508X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0271015088
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.39 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 8 ratings

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Robert Gannon

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Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
8 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

JT
5.0 out of 5 stars A suprisingly great read
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2018
Verified Purchase
The title of "Hellions" leads to surprise #1: this is not a thriller, but a detailed, almost academic study of torpedo development in the U.S., its excruciatingly troubled course in World War II, and more generally about the development of the military-industrial complex. It is generally known that if U.S. submariners had had torpedoes that actually worked, the Pacific war would have been shortened by at least a year, but this work fleshes out the story of that debacle. Surprise two is that, in spite of a high level of technical detail, this is so well written that it's almost a page-turner, with many entertaining sidebars, even hilarious tales of errant torpedoes chasing nosey snoopers. There is much irony in seeing how the defense industry first, in the early urgency of World War II, brilliantly supplanted the hidebound bureaucracy of military procurement, and then itself became just as hidebound and sclerotic, leading to disastrous white elephants like the Zumwalt destroyer. This book should be much more widely read, for both information and entertainment, and it's as timely as a multi-billion dollar stealth warship with no ammunition for its guns.
One person found this helpful
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R. Douglas Johnson
5.0 out of 5 stars A complete account!
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2007
Verified Purchase
This book is as complete a work on the development of USN torpedoes used in World War II as one is likely to find.

The work covers the topic in a clear, easy to understand format delving in to the development of these weapons systems. It covers the technical developments without becoming so technical as to make the text difficult to read.

This book will make any reader aware of this story and the tecnology/development of a weapons system that is often mentioned but rarel explained in any depth.
One person found this helpful
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Museum Man
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2016
Verified Purchase
Tells tale of American torpedo development and the embarrassment behind the mark XIV torpedo scandal.
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Michael M.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2015
Verified Purchase
great book
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Mr. A. Davies
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book regarding torpedo but with some flaws
Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2005
This book is an excellent reference source for anyone interested in the development of American torpedoes during WW2 and is highly recommended.

The reason for the four star rating is because the work contains some minor errors and is unclear in some more important areas. OK first the minor errors. Page 68 describes hydrogen peroxide as "H2O2O". Funny when I received my degree hydrogen peroxide was H2O2. Next the line drawing on page 42 illustrates what is known as a "steam" type torpedo and yet the illustration is labelled with an electric motor as being the propulsion unit even though the illustration contains no batteries. It does show the air and fuel flasks of a "steam" type torpedo and the description accompanying the drawing is consistent with a "steam" type torpedo. Actually, although small, the drawing shows what appears to be a turbine and bevel gear unit- again consistent with a "steam" type torpedo engine- even if they are labelled as an electric motor.

OK So much for the minor errors. I consider them unimportant as they in no way detract from the value of the book and any skilled reader can easily compensate.

The problem comes on page 48 where the Japanese "Long Lance" type 93 torpedo is described as being driven by "liquid hydrogen peroxide". Although not a US torpedo this book is so authoritative and well written that all its disclosures clearly carry weight. Given the state of the art in the 1930's I would tend to believe that compressed pure oxygen gas was used in the type 93(ie not H2O2) and indeed a number of web pages support this view. (search for yourself to check this out).

Unfortunately the author does not help matters as at page 135 he says "during the war the japanese skippers preferred the "oxygen" hydrogen peroxide torpedoes". Now although when hydrogen peroxide decomposes it does produce oxygen as well as high temperature steam it is a different chemical species to oxygen and within the naval world an "oxygen torpedo" is one that uses compressed O2 gas. A peroxide torpedo is a peroxide torpedo. I have been unable to track down the authors references for the peroxide Long Lance but from the book they do not appear to be primary sources. Given that the Japanese Long Lance had twice the speed and around five time the range of the best US torpedo and came as an almighty shock to the allies I would have preferred some more details from the author to support his views on the Long Lance.
11 people found this helpful
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E. RABOSO GARCIA-BAQUERO
5.0 out of 5 stars A great book about torpedo technology
Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2000
This is a magnificent book about the torpedo development in the US Navy. Mainly focused in the WWII period, the book details all the problems that plagued US torpedoes and the way they were solved. This is a great book. Every person interested in WW II naval technology, submarines or naval weaponry shall be delighted with it.
5 people found this helpful
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