Hellcats : The Epic Story of World War II's Most Daring Submarine Raid

''Sasgen vividly recounts the pulsating drama of the Hellcats.'' - Naval History In 1945, American sub force commanders believed that if the Japanese merchant fleet was sunk, the enemy would be forced to surrender. The problem: the ships were protected in the Sea of Japan by a barrier of deadly minefields. Here, Peter Sasgen tells the gripping story of Operation Barney, a daunting mission in which nine submarines, nicknamed Hellcats, were tasked with getting through the mines and decimating the enemy fleet. Drawing on original documents and the personal letters of one doomed Hellcat commander, Sasgen crafts a classic naval tale of the heroic submariners and one of World War II's most ambitious and dangerous underwater raids. A heart-stopping true tale of a submarine mission aimed at destroying Japan’s merchant marine lifeline and ending World War II. By 1945, the U.S. Navy's submarine force in the Pacific had sunk over a thousand enemy cargo ships and tankers supplying the food, weapons, and oil Japan needed to continue to fight. Yet this once mighty merchant fleet continued to thrive in the Sea of Japan, where, protected from American submarines by a seemingly impenetrable barrier of deadly minefields, they provided a tenuous lifeline for the Japanese. Senior American commanders believed that if these enemy ships were sunk, Japan would be forced to surrender. Here is the incredible story of Operation Barney, the daring plot to penetrate those minefields and decimate the enemy fleet. The brainchild of the dedicated sub commander Vice Admiral Charles Lockwood, the mission would hinge on a new experimental sonar system that would, with luck, guide American submarines safely past the mines and into the open sea. The nine submarines chosen, nicknamed Hellcats, were tasked with the impossible—the combined crews of 760 submariners all knew their chances of survival hinged on an unproven technology and their own nerve. Based on original documents and the poignant personal letters of one doomed Hellcat commander, Sasgen crafts a classic naval tale of one of World War II's most dangerous missions. Offers the incredible true story of nine Hellcat submarines assigned to penetrate deadly minefields with the aim of sinking a Japanese merchant fleet during the waning days of World War II. By the author of Stalking the Red Bear