Recommended Reading

These are books on the subject of submarines, some fiction, some true stories, some documentaries.

To locate these books please check here:

If you have any suggestions for this list please let me know.

"Submarine!" by Commander Edward L. Beach, USN ----
The first of the submarine war patrol best sellers. This book broke through the complete silence about submarine operations imposed by the war. The first copyright is 1946. The first printing of the paperback (Signet) was 1953. Commander Beach became the commissioning captain of the new USS Trigger (SS564) which had a design based on the German U-boat concept placing the conning station (periscopes) on the control room deck level. He also was the commissioning captain of the USS Triton (SSN586).

"Run Silent, Run Deep" by Commander Edward L. Beach, USN ----
The novel from which came the movie. Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster have conflicts.

"Submarine Commander" by Captain Paul R. Schratz, USN (Ret.)----
Pocket Books paperback (1988) authentic accounts of the war patrols of the USS Scorpion (SS278). And his adventures as captain of the then new ultramodern GUPPY boat USS Pickerel.

"Take Her Deep" by Admiral I. J. Galantin, USN (Ret.) ----
Algonquin Books (1987) The war patrols of the USS Halibut (SS232).

"Wahoo, The Patrols of America's Most Famous WWII Submarine" ----
by Rear Admiral Richard H. O'Kane, USN (Ret.) ---- Presidio Press (1987) After serving as the executive officer on the Wahoo (SS238) under "Mush" Morton, "Killer" O'Kane moved on to captain the USS Tang (SS306).

"Clear the Bridge!" by Rear Admiral Richard H. O'Kane, USN (Ret.) ----
Presidio Press (1977) The war patrols of the USS Tang (SS306).

"Silent Running" by Vice Admiral James F. Calvert USN (Ret.) ----
My Years on a World War II Attack Submarine USS Haddo (SS255).

"Bowfin" by Edwin P. Hoyt ----
Burford Books (1983) The war patrols of the USS Bowfin (SS287). The Bowfin now serves as an exhibit at the submarine museum in Pearl Harbor.

"USS Pampanito, Killer-Angel" by Gregory F. Michno ----
The war patrols of the USS Pampanito (SS383). It now serves as a floating museum at Pier 39 in San Francisco.

"Nothing Friendly in the Vicinity" by Claude C. Conner ----
My Patrols on the Submarine USS Guardfish (SS217) During WWII

"Thunder Below" by Admiral Eugene B. Fluckey USN (Ret.)----
The USS Barb (SS220) Revolutionizes Submarine Warfare in WWII

"Striker's Men" by Captain Charles W. Rush USN (Ret.) ----
An authorative sea story of submarine operations out of Freemantle, Australia. (Courtesy of CMDR Bennett)

"Voyage of the Devilfish" by Michael DiMercurio (LT USN) ----
A novel about confrontation between nuclear forces from the perspective of a former nuclear propulsion officer.

"Threat Vector" by Michael DiMercurio ----

"Crash Dive" by Arthur P. Dickison ----
The war patrols and action of the British submarine HMS Safari.

"Wake of the Wahoo" by Forest J. Sterling ----
The heroic war story of America's most daring WWII submarine, by a surviving crewman.

"Submarine Grayback" by Rick Cline ----
The life and death of the WWII submarine USS Grayback (SS208).

"Surface at the Pole" by James E. Calvert VADM USN (Ret.) ----
The extraordinary voyages of the USS Skate (SSN578).

"Red Scorpion" by Peter T. Sasgen ----
The war patrols of the USS Rasher (SS269).

"Unrestricted Warfare" by James F. DeRose ----
How a new breed of officers led the submarine force to victory in WWII.

"Submarine Action" by ____ ----

"Around the World Submerged" by Edward L. Beach ----
Record breaking circumnavigation of the world on the nuclear powered submarine USS Triton (SSN586).

"Keepers of the Sea" by Fred J. Maron and Edward L. Beach ----
An all-Navy tome of modern sea power. The chapter titled "Submarines: Prowlers of the Deep" has marvelous large photographs of modern submarines.

"The Legend of Electric Boat" by Jeffrey L. Rodengen ----

"Submarine Diary" by Corwin Mendenhall & I. J. Galantin ----
The story behind the silent stalking of Japan by US submarines.

"The Terrible Hours" by Peter Maas ----
HarperCollins (1999) The effort to rescue the crew of the USS Squalus (SS192), and the work of LCDR Charles Momsen as the developer of the Momsen lung.

"Salt and Steel" by Captain Edward L. Beach USN (Ret.)----
Reflections of a submariner

"Submarine Warriors" by Edwyn Gray ----
Presidio Press (1988) A compendium of individual exploits from American, British, German, and Japanese submarine war stories.

"Lone Wolf, The Life and Death of U-Boat Ace Werner Henke" ----
by Timothy P. Mulligan ---- Preager Publishers (1993) A researched biography of the captain of the U-515. Includes war patrol information.

"Battle Beneath the Waves" by Robert C. Stern ----
The U-Boat war.

"Spy Sub, A Top Secret Mission" by Roger C. Dunham ----
The USS Halibut (SSN587) covertly invades Soviet waters to gather information.

"Submarine, A Guided Tour Inside a Nuclear Warship" by Tom Clancy ----
Berkley Books (1993) A glimpse inside several US and British Nuclear powered subs, including FBMs.

"The American Submarine" by Norman Polnar ----
An illustrated history of the evolution of American submarines, from the USS Holland to present.
The cover and an internal picture show the USS Nautilus being loaded with a torpedo.

"U-Boats" by Anthony Preston ----
An illustrated history of the use of the German U-boat during both WWI and WWII.

"War Under the Pacific" by Kieth Wheeler ----
World War II Time-Life Books pictorial compilation of submarine activities during WWII.

"Modern U.S. Navy Submarines" by ____ ----
Naval Institute Press.

"Ghost Fleet" by James P. D____ ----
The sunken ships of Bikini Atoll includes submarines.

"Hostile Waters, The Death of Soviet Sub K219" ----
by Captain Peter Huchthausen, USN (Ret.) et.al., ---- St Martin's Press (1997) Even before the Kursk tragedy there were others well hushed up by the Soviet Union. This event in 1986 could have been the basis for Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October."

"The Boat" by Lothar-Günther Buchheim ----
Alfred A. Knopf (1975) The book from which came the movie.

"Kilo Class" by Patrick Robinson ----
HarperCollins (1998) What would happen if the Chinese buy nuclear missile subs from the Russians?

"War Beneath the Sea" by Peter Padfield ----
Submarine Conflict During World War II

"Hell Above, Deep Water Below" by Dale Russell ----

"U.S.S Seawolf" ----
What happens when the Chinese capture one of our ultramodern nuclear attack subs.

"Dust on the Sea" by Edward L. Beach ---- ______
The captain of the USS Eel encounters a former UCLA student now a Japanese naval officer. (If I can find my copy I'll fill in the blanks)

"Cold is the Sea" by Edward L. Beach ----

There is a series of paperbacks by Dell Publishing Company by "J. Farragut Jones" called "The Silent Service Series." The books seem to be written by several authors since the copyrights are in various other names.

"Waters Dark and Deep" by J. Farragut Jones ----
Dell Publishing Co. (1980)

"Forty Fathoms Down" by J. Farragut Jones ----
Dell Publishing Co. (1981)

"Pearl Harbor Periscopes" by J. Farragut Jones ----
Dell Publishing Co. (1981)

"The Scourge of Scapa Flow" by J. Farragut Jones ----
Dell Publishing Co.

"Tracking the Wolfpack" by J. Farragut Jones ----
Dell Publishing Co.