Silent service : submarine warfare from World War II to the present : an illustrated and oral history

"From the ingenious but impractical designs of seventeenth-century inventors through the nuclear-powered submarines of today, this heavily illustrated volume traces the history of the silent force and the elite corps of men who fought and often died beneath the waves. Though fully describing the development of the submarine, this book's main focus is on the men who served from World War I through the Cold War. Drawing upon journals, memoirs, and interviews with submariners of the past and present, Philip Kaplan paints a vivid portrait of their lives and experiences. He describes the terrors of waiting for depth charges to explode and the triumph of a torpedo striking its target, as well as the fascinating world of day-to-day life on the sleek, modern boats. With nearly 250 photographs and dozens of interviews--and comprising part of an eight-book series exploring the history of tanks, bombers, and fighter planes--this oversized keepsake volume will appeal to anyone who has served in submarines or been fascinated by this unique service within a service"--;The Job -- The Vehicle -- The Diesels -- Das Boot -- In The Narrow Drum -- In Charge -- It Happens -- Submersibles And Submarines -- Those Left Behind -- The Goat Locker -- The Life. See the secret and dangerous world of submarine life and warfare like never before. From the ingenious but impractical designs of seventeenth-century inventors through the nuclear-powered submarines of today, this heavily illustrated volume traces the history of the silent force and the elite corps of men who fought and often died beneath the waves. Though fully describing the development of the submarine, this book's main focus is on the men who served from World War I through the Cold War. Drawing upon journals, memoirs, and interviews with submariners of the past and present, Philip Kaplan paints a vivid portrait of their lives and experiences. He describes the terrors of waiting for depth charges to explode and the triumph of a torpedo striking its target, as well as the fascinating world of day-to-day life on the sleek, modern boats. With nearly 250 photographs and dozens of interviews—and comprising part of an eight-book series exploring the history of tanks, bombers, and fighter planes—this oversized keepsake volume will appeal to anyone who has served in submarines or been fascinated by this unique service within a service. Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history—books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home. "From the ingenious but impractical designs of seventeenth-century inventors through the nuclear-powered submarines of today, this heavily illustrated volume traces the history of the silent force and the elite corps of men who fought and often died beneath the waves. Though fully describing the development of the submarine, this book's main focus is on the men who served from World War I through the Cold War. Drawing upon journals, memoirs, and interviews with submariners of the past and present, Philip Kaplan paints a vivid portrait of their lives and experiences. He describes the terrors of waiting for depth charges to explode and the triumph of a torpedo striking its target, as well as the fascinating world of day-to-day life on the sleek, modern boats. With nearly 250 photographs and dozens of interviews--and comprising part of an eight-book series exploring the history of tanks, bombers, and fighter planes--this oversized keepsake volume will appeal to anyone who has served in submarines or been fascinated by this unique service within a service"-- Provided by publisher From those first primitive ingenious and hopelessly impractical early designs of the seventeenth-century inventors of Europe, through to today's modern nuclear-powered submersibles, this well illustrated history traces the life of the submariner in both war and peace while also charting the Submarines design and development for Scientific exploration and as one of humanity's most lethal weapons platforms. Naval Author and Photographer Philip Kaplan examines the development of the submersible and explores the experiences of those men and women who designed, built and sailed in them. This history mainly concentrates on both World Wars and the Cold War and its supporting text is based on journals, memoirs, and interviews with submariners from the past and present.