<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: Japanese WWII Submarine Captain
Review: Captain Zenji Orita was one of the most active Japanese submarine commanders to have survived WWII. In his book, I-BOAT CAPTAIN (Major Books, 1976), he details his experiences in hunting U.S. and British ships throughout the Pacific Ocean. He discusses how other Japanese submariners sank the Yorktown carrier and the Indianaplis cruiser. He details the different classifications of Hirohito's submarines. He notes how and which various Japanese submarines were sunk on their missions. He describes how his submarines attacked Sydney Harbor and shelled Santa Barbara, CA. He discusses how Japanese submarines conducted resupply missions throughout New Guinea and Guadalcanal, and the difficulties that they experienced. He is able to put a very human face on the stoic pilots of the Kaiten "one way" suicide submarines, and how their one- and two-man crews trained, and sometimes failed in horrible drowning accidents. He seems to be a little vexed in that he believes that the Japanese submarines sank a lot more Allied ships that what the Allied navies are willing to admit. Not an "exciting" battlefield suspenseful reading book, but a nice, well written view from a true seafarer who survived the worst that Davy Jones' sea locker had to offer.
Rating: 
Summary: Bursting with data
Review: This is a data-book, pure and simple. It contains details of each successful attack made by Axis submarines during the Second World War (as the title suggests). A successful attack in this context is one that is reported as causing damage.Information on each attack is: Date and time of first attack and of first hit (reported by submarine); Nationality of attacking submarine; Number or name of attacking submarine; Name of commanding officer of submarine; target type (as reported by the submarine, and actual); Convoy designation; Tonnage of target (reported and actual); Result of the attack (reported and actual); Weapon used in attack; Position of attack (as reported by submarine and as determined by the Allies); Nationality of attacked ship; Name of attacked ship. There are also short notes on many of the attacks, expanding on the raw data. The chapters are divided in to region (Atlantic, Pacific etc), and an index is provided of all submarines, commanding officers, convoys and attacked ships. This book is a must-have for those interested in the raw data. If you're after a narrative then this book is certainly not for you.
Rating:
Summary: Bursting with data
Review: This is a data-book, pure and simple. It contains details of each successful attack made by Axis submarines during the Second World War (as the title suggests). A successful attack in this context is one that is reported as causing damage. Information on each attack is: Date and time of first attack and of first hit (reported by submarine); Nationality of attacking submarine; Number or name of attacking submarine; Name of commanding officer of submarine; target type (as reported by the submarine, and actual); Convoy designation; Tonnage of target (reported and actual); Result of the attack (reported and actual); Weapon used in attack; Position of attack (as reported by submarine and as determined by the Allies); Nationality of attacked ship; Name of attacked ship. There are also short notes on many of the attacks, expanding on the raw data. The chapters are divided in to region (Atlantic, Pacific etc), and an index is provided of all submarines, commanding officers, convoys and attacked ships. This book is a must-have for those interested in the raw data. If you're after a narrative then this book is certainly not for you.
<< 1 >>
| 
