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THE
WARDROOM
BOOKSHELF
Military History
Novels - Fiction
Novels about World War
II Submarines
in the Pacific and the Battle of the Atlantic
WWII Submarine
Warfare Novels
Below is a
collection of some of the finest fictionalized books
available regarding the military history of World War II
submarine warfare in both the Battle of the Atlantic and in
the war in the Pacific against Japan. Those
novels which are currently available and listed on these
pages are linked directly to
that title at Amazon.com.
Updated
06 January 2007
WW II Submarine
Fiction
Bacalao
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
By J.T. McDaniel
 Bacalao
may just be the best World War II submarine novel published in the
last 30 years. It is certainly the most technically accurate. From
diving procedures, to torpedo firing, to the way orders are given
and executed, everything is done right.
The technical stuff will certainly please the submariners. But what
about the other readers, who may not know a TDC from a growler phone
and just want interesting characters and realistic situations? You
get those, too. The main character, Lawrence Miller, is introduced
as a retired admiral arriving at a reunion, but by the third page
he's back in 1940 as a young lieutenant watching his new boat being
built in Connecticut.
Bacalao has just about everything you could want in a sub story. The
characters are believable, with even the minor players fully fleshed
out. The technical details are right on, and there's plenty of
action to keep the story moving. I read a lot of sub books, mostly
non-fiction, but I read my share of novels, too. This is one that
sets the standard others will have to meet.
Amazon.com review
Run Silent, Run Deep
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
by Edward Latimer Beach
 Edward
L. Beach, Jr. rolled aspects of several real Navy officers into
"Rich" Richardson, the central character in Run Silent, Run Deep,
including "Swede" Momsen, "Mush" Morton, Howard Gilmore, "Dusty"
Dornin, George Street and, of course, Beach himself. In the same
way, the three fleet boats Beach served in, Trigger, Tirante and
Piper, provided models for some scenes in the story.
If you've seen the movie, but never read the book, you're in for a
surprise. The book covers a much longer period, from late December
1941 until the end of the war. And, while Richardson has two wartime
commands in the book, just as in the movie, he is ashore nursing a
broken leg, and standing in for Momsen solving the torpedo exploder
problem, when Walrus is lost. The conflict with Bledsoe starts much
earlier, in the old S-16, when Richardson feels compelled to
withdraw his recommendation that Bledsoe get his own command after
Bledsoe fouls up and nearly gets the boat sunk during a
qualification test. The little detail that both of them are in love
with the same girl adds to the conflict. Of course, a major
difference is that Richardson survives, though that becomes fairly
obvious from the opening words of the novel, which is told in the
first person.
There are aspects of the undersea battle in the World War II Pacific
that get less attention than they might today. Richardson is telling
the story from his own viewpoint, so obviously he can't relate
anything he doesn't see. Also, these old fleet subs were still
primary fleet components when this book was first published in 1955,
and many of the details were still classified. Beach provides as
much detail as he can, but some processes remain deliberately
obscure.
Amazon.com review
Dust on the Sea
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
by Edward Latimer Beach
 Forget
the movie "Run Silent" from 1958 - "Dust" is a sequel to the very
original book, faithful to everything about it not kept in the film.
In the book (which follows Ed "Rich" Richardson throughout his
career in the early days of WWII, rather than on a single cruise),
Rich avenges himself on "Bungo Pete", a near-mythical IJN officer
whose mastery of the science of subhunting has dearly cost the USN.
one of the victims is Jim Bledsoe (played by Burt Lancaster in the
film, but otherwise sharing no resemblance to Beach's creation)
"Run" ends with Richardson executing the crew of Pete's ship -
presumbly including Pete himself, knowing that Pete will remain a
danger as long as he's alive. "Dust" opens where "Run" left off -
with Rich returning to Pearl, with conflicting emotions over the
morality of his act. It's the inner moral dilemma that haunts Rich
throughout the book, even as the story - which returns Rich to the
battle-waters of the South Pacific - has little to do with it.
Instead, in "Dust", Rich has his ship essentially commandeered by
his commodore and joined to others in an experiment in "wolfpacking"
the Japanese. Rich's superior quickly shows signs that he's got his
own problems, but Rich's demons (which also include a burgeoning
love for Jim Bledsoe's widow even as he romances another woman in
Hawaii, a lapse that will come back to Haunt Rich in "Cold is the
Sea".) prevent him from thinking or acting forcefully against the
commodore. There's a gratuitous subplot involving Rich's capture by
a brutal Japanese naval commander on a lower order than Bungo Pete -
it doesn't do much for the plot, while the character's unrelieved
meanness makes it clear that the story needed some idiot to kick
around. Getting back to the war, Beach artfully and magnificently
mixes on-board intrigue with the sea battle going on around Rich's
sub. Beach's flaws (characters are on the whole just decent people,
making the imperfect ones look unnneccessarily unlikable; rather
than dialog, Beach has his characters speak in large, unbroken
paragraphs, so instead of conversations, Beach's officers engage in
miniature briefings; that made sense in "Run" which had a first
person narrative, but doesn't work in "Dust" which reverts to 3rd
person) are outbalanced by his expertise, even for those unfamiliar
with the science of submarine warfare, and easily so for those who
know a thing or two.
Amazon.com review
Gunfish:
A Fleet Submarine Goes to War
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
By Claude M. Pearson
 Claude
Pearson's vivid portrayal of Charley Jason's experiences aboard
Gunfish in 1944 and 1945 brings submarine warfare to life. The
experience of being on a submarine in the Pacific, hunting Japanese
shipping, battling Kamikaze pilots, rescuing downed American flyers
in the water, and missing friends and lovers back home remains
remarkably palpable throughout the book. After getting my copy of
the novel, I read it straight through on transcontinental flight...
often finding myself turning the pages as fast I could to find out
what would happen next to Jason, Flowers, Carruther, Janet Blair,
and the rest of the characters. The funniest moments arise more
often than not in the pages of an illegal diary kept on board the
Gunfish and in the Gunfish Gargoyle. It has been a while since I
found myself so genuinely attached to a cast of characters and I was
happy to see Pearson remain true to his characters by resisting the
temptation to bring everything to a tidy conclusion.
Final Harbor
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
By Harry Homewood
Homewood's writing is fantastic, while reading his books you
literally become immersed and unable to put them down. After reading
Final Harbor I immediatley began searching for Silent Sea. Absolutly
the best author on this subject I have ever encountered. I still
periodically check to see if he has anything new published under
this name. Just wish I knew what name he is writing under now. I
have all 4 of his titles and will still dig them out and read them
again every so often. This is the highest praise I can give an
author.
Amazon.com review
Silent Sea
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
By Harry Homewood
Reading the "Silent Sea"
draws you into the murky and dangerous depths of the Pacific Ocean
during World War II in a historically accurate and compelling drama
of a US submarine and it's crew. The author writes in easy to read
prose and has a knack for keeping your interest on every page.
Amazon.com review
Pride Runs Deep
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
By R. Cameron Cooke
 "Pride
Runs Deep" is an outstanding first book by R. Cameron Cooke. Set in
the Pacific Theater during World War II, Lieutenant Commander Jack
Tremain is given the unenviable task of commanding the USS Mackerel
after the attack submarine's previous commander has been relieved
for cause. The crew is externalizing their poor performance as a
string of bad luck and Tremain must right the attitudes and actions
of the crew while leading them in enemy waters. After successfully
completing the objectives of his first and supposedly last mission
aboard the Mackerel, Tremain is ready to move on to a bigger command
assignment. However, before he could leave he is set up by his
leadership to stay on for one more mission; a mission that could
strike at the heart of the Japanese war machine but also one that
the Mackerel may very well not return from.
A very gripping piece of refreshing fiction, skillfully penned by a
submariner who makes you feel part of the Mackerel's crew. Within a
few chapters, his complex and flawed characters can sway your
emotions from outright disdain to sympathetic compassion. It is well
written, easy to understand, and paints a detailed picture of what
is happening on board the submarine and in the battles without being
overly technical. Geared to a military audience, it does not
discriminate if you enjoy fictional drama. A quick read you will not
want to put down. I recommend this book.
Amazon.com review
Up Periscope
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
By Robb White
 This
is WWII book that is based on a true story. It is about one of the
first navy frogmen, Ken. In the story the pilot of a Japanese plane
attacks the sub on which Ken is riding on. The captain of the sub is
the only one hit, thanks to his ability to do a crash dive. The sub
however, has a big hole in it. Ken then had to do go down and find
out the damage. The hole was huge! They had to make temporary
repairs before continuing. Then Ken went to complete his recon
mission on the island. I won't spoil the ending but let's just say
it's surprising! I'm a history buff who really likes learning about
WWII. So that's why I choose this book. Don't be put off by how
short this book is, it is factual but has a plot.
Amazon.com review
Battle Downunder
WWII Submarine Warfare: Pacific Theater
By Charles W. Rush
After the Japanese attack on
Pearl Harbor --December 7, 1941 -- American submarines loaded
torpedoes and set out for combat in the western Pacific. They sent
Japanese ships to the bottom of distant seas where all American and
Allied surface ships had been destroyed.
This is the story of one
submarine that fought its way across the vast Pacific, through the
East Indies, and down the Indian Ocean to Western Australia, the
land Downunder. Based there, joined by other subs, the submarine
STRIKER penetrated enemy strongholds in the Java and South China
Seas and decimated convoys of ships laden with invasion troops and
munitions.
Many submarines never
returned from their combat patrols. That did not diminish the
courage and determination of those who survived.
The Keeper's Son
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
By Homer Hickam
 A
gutsy Coast Guard officer battles German submarines and 17 years of
unfettered guilt on the North Carolina coast in 1941 and 1942 in
this high adventure yarn. Hickam, the author of the memoir Rocket
Boys (which was turned into the film October Sky), knows a great
deal about submarine warfare in WWII, as evidenced by his 1989
nonfiction naval history, Torpedo Junction. This is the first novel
of a planned series about rough and tumble Coast Guard Lt. Josh
Thurlow and his unusual patrol boat crew during WWII. Josh, 31, is a
career officer assigned to Killakeet Island, along North Carolina's
treacherous Outer Banks. Both he and his father-the keeper of the
Killakeet Lighthouse-are haunted by the loss at sea and presumed
death of Josh's two-year-old baby brother 17 years earlier. Shaken
from his brooding by the appearance of German U-boats, Josh must try
to protect the merchant ships torpedoed every night offshore. His
patrol boat is small and ill-equipped, and his crew is a wacky group
of casual islanders who aren't sure they really want to fight
anybody. A talented U-boat commander named Krebs becomes Josh's
honored enemy, but another U-boat skipper is a far more ruthless and
dangerous adversary. Josh must fight both, as well as his suspicions
that his little brother may not be dead after all; the reappearance
of a childhood sweetheart leavens the mix. Hickam provides a vivid
and convincing portrayal of life under the sea in a U-boat, as well
as on the surface in a fragile patrol boat. Well-crafted characters,
gripping naval warfare and colorful island life come.
Amazon.com review
With Honour in Battle
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
By J.T. McDaniel
 Okay,
if you are like me you only read non-fictional books about U-boats
and the naval history associated with them. The thought of reading a
fictional book just does not appeal to you and you would rather not
even waste your time. Well this book is different. Once I started
reading it was hard to put down. If you are a historian, profesional
or amateure you will start to see simularities of actual events that
took place during the war and the non-fictional events in this book.
This did not bother me at all in fact it actually helped me
visualize what I was reading about and the events that were taking
place. At times I felt as if I was actually there experienceing the
events. This book covers the broad spectrum of war and the emotions
associated with it from the military/governmental aspect, to battle
and the bound shared between men and even love and the will to
survive. Like the title of my review, Okay U-boat fans this is a
must read book and would even make a great movie in my opinion.The
book is about a young decorated U-boat commander who gets a new
assignment near wars end. This assignment is both a war mission and
experiment. The new boat is like no other and military officials
hope it is not to late to make a difference in delaying the end of
the war so better surrender conditions can be established for the
soldiers and people of Germany.
Amazon.com review
Das Boot: The Boat
WWII
U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
By Lothar Gunther Bucheim
 Das
Boot is one amazing book. From the grudges, toils, and rough world
of sailors, Herr Buchheim has produced a novel with gut wrenching
action and detailed sorrow. From the pre-cast off bar room orgies of
sailors, to the maddening world of depth charge bombing, Das Boot
will send you on one heck of a ride. The novel is able to capture
the emotions of its reader and fully allow them to experience the
drudgery performed by the U-Boat men of WW2. This book is written in
a personal memoir style and will not appeal to all people. However,
if one is interested in reading about the Battle of the Atlantic by
the sailors who fought in it, then this is your book. Undoubtedly
one of the best written descriptions of warfare that I have ever
read.
Amazon.com review
Sharks and Little Fish:
A Novel of German Submarine Warfare
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
By Wolfgang Ott
 Wonderfully
and skillfully written account of a German sailor in WWII that also
weaves parallels with Greek mythology to American classics.
Sometimes lighhearted, sometimes bewildering imagery, but always an
adventure that takes the hero to hell and back - several times. When
one wonders if Teidemann ever makes it back, one realizes that the
entire book is written in the first person and this somehow adds to
the value of the story. A wonderful examination of the very worst in
human nature and nature itself. You will never see seagulls quite
the same after this.
Amazon.com review
To Kill the Leopard
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
by Theodore Taylor
A high-impact
techno-thriller, this first adult novel by YA author Taylor ( The
Weirdo ) brings readers into the heart of WW II's Battle of the
Atlantic. American merchant marine officer Sully Jordan sails on oil
tankers. Kap i tan leut nant Horst Kammerer specializes in sinking
them, and the leopard insignia on the conning tower of his U-boat
symbolizes its commander's killer instinct. The men have their first
encounter in March 1941 in the north Atlantic, where Kammerer's
torpedoes turn Jordan's ship into a flaming torch. Then, a month
after Pearl Harbor, the German captain strikes again, sinking
Jordan's new tanker off the Virginia coast. The American takes
command of a Q-ship, a decoy tanker with concealed weapons, and goes
leopard hunting. The novel sustains interest from first page to last
with an exciting story line that climaxes in an enthralling final
duel between Jordan and Kammerer. Taylor draws his characters,
merchant sailors and U-boat crewmen alike, with vivid realism--the
portrait of Kammerer, in particular, captures the reckless spirit of
a successful U-boat commander--and accurately depicts such settings
as a U-boat base at Lorient in occupied France. A major subplot
cogently delineates the risks taken by the French underground and
the horrors of Gestapo interrogation. To Kill the Leopard is a
winner.
Amazon.com review
The Cruel Sea
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
by Nicholas Monsarrat
"The Cruel Sea" focuses
on the British naval experience during World War II--more
specifically, on the crew of a corvette during the first half of
the war and, to a lesser extent, of a frigate during its waning
years. Like most war stories, the plotting is at times
necessarily predictable (yet still thrilling), but Monsarrat's
epic is a cut above in both its human element (even in its
occasional depiction of Germans) and in its presentation of the
morally gray aspects of war. This is no ode to blind patriotism.
Instead, the novel is an elegy on the selfless bravery and
selfish survival instincts of a group of sailors whose reasons
for being in the war are as varied as the men themselves: the
stern but fair-minded Lieutenant-Commander Ericson, the indolent
and tyrannical (and somewhat comical) First Lieutenant Bennett,
the nervous and self-doubting Sub-Lieutenant Ferraby, the
level-headed and thoughtful Sub-Lieutenant Lockhart (who, I
would guess, is Monsarrat's alter ego), and a supporting cast of
dozens. There are some spine-chilling and devastating battle
scenes, but the book never once loses its focus: the men (and
women) who fought and endured the war. This novel is a neglected
classic and should be read by an audience far beyond the
aficionados of war novels.
Amazon.com review
U-859
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
By Arthur Baudzus
This is a great story,
told by someone who was actually there. You can tell that
certain characters are made up, such as the British lieutenant
who is a prisoner aboard U-859 on her long voyage to the Far
East. Yet even this clearly fictional character contributes,
providing a sounding board for the English-speaking German
sailors, who otherwise would never dare say some of the things
they need to say. And the German sailors, even with their names
changed, are very real. You won't be too far into the story
before you figure out which of them would go on to write this
book.
According to the back
cover the author, Arthur Baudzus, was aboard the real U-859
during this voyage. The scene in the after torpedo room, when
the U-boat has been torpedoed and is laying in two pieces on the
bottom of the Malakka Straits, is all the more authentic in that
it obviously speaks of what happened to the author. Here is a
man who has experienced something that killed thousands of his
fellow U-boat sailors, yet somehow managed to live to tell of
it. And though fact and fiction mingle in this novel, there is
plenty here to interest the U-boat history buff.
Amazon.com review
The Good Shepherd
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
By C.S. Forester
This is the story of an
American sea captain in charge of bringing a convoy of ships
from America to Britain during the early days of America's entry
into the Second World War. Confronted by a frightfully competent
adversary--the German U-Boat fleet, Captain Krause has a vital
mission indeed, as Britain's survival was dependent upon such
convoys. Krause is well aware that the outcome of the war at
that time was very much in doubt, and he must bring to bear all
of the skills he has learned in a career forged largely in
peacetime.
Forester always succeeds
when he sets out to write a novel of naval adventure, and this book
is no exception. This is a wonderful novel. I debated whether to
deprive it of the fifth star because I believe that the Hornblower
series, and "The Captain From Connecticut" are even better than this
novel. But in reality this book is among the very best tales of
naval adventure even if Forester has written even better ones, and
so five stars it will be.
Storm Warning
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
by Jack Higgins
 This
is a reprint of a novel originally published in 1976. The story is
set in August-September 1944. A group of German naval officers and
seamen, stranded in Brazil, steal the aged 3-masted barkentine
"Deutschland" and, using false Swedish papers, set out on a voyage
from Belem, Brazil, in an attempt to reach Germany. They have
unexpected passengers - a group of five German nuns from a nursing
order attempting to return home. Their biggest danger is the weather
as storms batter the sailing vessel (they neglected the fact that
September is the peak season for Atlantic hurricanes). The voyage
becomes an epic battle against the elements, and leads to heroism,
sacrifice, tragedy, and unexpected compassion. I personally believe
that this is one of Higgin's best novels, if not the best. There are
some intertwined plots as events come together to reach a final
climax to the story.
Amazon.com review
U-571 : A Novel
WWII U-Boats: Battle of the Atlantic
by Max Allen Collins
Their mission was a
audacious and daring as it was dangerous. A crew of American
sailors in a disguised submarine would rendezvous with U-571--a
crippled German U-boat in enemy waters--storm aboard, and
capture one of the Nazis' coveted Enigma encryption machines, a
device that would allow the Allies to decode secret German
transmissions. The planning was meticulous. The secrecy was
airtight. Every eventuality was prepared for. Except one.
Now, with their own sub
lying in pieces on the Atlantic floor, an unseasoned young U.S.
naval officer and a handful of his men are trapped in a limping
enemy boat trying to make its way across a thousand square-mile
killing zone. Suddenly they are the hunted prey of the Reich's
killer ships, and the target of Allied bombers. They have a
prize in their possession that can turn the tide of the savage
global conflict once and for all. And they have nowhere to run.
While on a secret mission targeting the Nazi "Enigma" encryption
device, a team of American sailors and marines poses as the
German rescue team for a crippled submarine. But before they can
grab the device and escape, the real rescue unit arrives and
destroys their American vessel. Now they are forced to secretly
navigate the malfunctioning submarine through enemy lines.
Amazon.com review
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