Recommended reading on the U-Boats

Discussions on all (non-biographical) aspects of the submarine forces of the Kriegsmarine.
alvis48
Member
Posts: 4
Joined: 01 May 2016, 14:29
Location: europe

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#31

Post by alvis48 » 02 May 2016, 20:00

I have an interesting propaganda magazine called "Wölfe der Meere" from 1942. It contains interesting photographs and articles about successes up to that date.

De Havilland
Member
Posts: 2
Joined: 12 May 2016, 09:02
Location: South England

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#32

Post by De Havilland » 12 May 2016, 10:02

Definitely 'Iron Coffins' by Herbert Werner.

'Hirschfeld' by Wolfgang Hirschfeld is also good.

As a general reference book I recommend 'Wolfpack' by Phillip Caplan and Jack Currie. Very good detail and excellent photographs.

An alternative is 'Unbroken' by Alastair Mars which is a great little memoir of a Royal Navy submarine captain operating in the Mediterranean.

My copy is an original from the 1950's!


User avatar
Stug50
Member
Posts: 22
Joined: 14 Sep 2015, 21:36
Location: England

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#33

Post by Stug50 » 03 Aug 2016, 20:28

I have plenty of U-Boat Books, but the one that I enjoyed the most was 'U-Boat 977' The U-Boat That escaped to Argentina. Written by its Captain 'Heinz Schaeffer'. Brilliant book and if nothing else, it will let you know what life on a U-Boat was really like. Its also a great book if you are a bit of a conspiracy theorist.

User avatar
Stug50
Member
Posts: 22
Joined: 14 Sep 2015, 21:36
Location: England

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#34

Post by Stug50 » 03 Aug 2016, 20:39

I would highly recommend:


Kriegsmarine U-Boats..1939-1945.. Submarine Identification Guide. Chris Bishop
Wolf Pack..The U Boats at War...B. Carruthers
U-Boat Aces....G Jones
U-Boats Destroyed...Paul kemp
Wolf Pack...Gordon Williamson, Printed by Osprey
WOLFPACK..U-Boats at War 1939-1945...P.Kaplan & J Currie.

There are more as suggested by others but these are a few of my favourites.

If you are new to the U-Boat subject, I would take a look at this: http://uboat.net/

kenpat
Member
Posts: 3
Joined: 16 Feb 2017, 03:11
Location: Melbourne Australia

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#35

Post by kenpat » 17 Feb 2017, 08:43

German U-boat Commanders of WW11
A biographical Dictionary
By
Rainer Busch-Joachim Roll
(Anapolis Md. Naval Institute Press, London. Greenhill Books.)
To quote the translators note:"This is a biographical dictionary of the 1,411 officers of the German Kriegsmarine known to have commanded a U-boat between 28 June 1935, when U1 was commissioned with due ceremony at Kiel by Klaus Ewerth and August 1945 when Heinz Schaffer finally decided to surrender U 977 to Argentina."

jopower
Member
Posts: 6
Joined: 01 Jul 2009, 10:02

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#36

Post by jopower » 16 Jul 2017, 13:20

Anyone out there recommend books and info on the advanced U-Boats, like the Type XXI, that were just entering service at the end of WW2?

User avatar
lionfish
Member
Posts: 269
Joined: 15 Apr 2009, 15:46
Location: Bretagne

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#37

Post by lionfish » 16 Jul 2017, 16:33

Hello,

" Vom Original zum Modell: Uboottyp XXI " Marine-Rundschau Fritz Köhl Bernard&Graefe Verlag ISBN 3-7637-6000-8

" U 2540 Das U-Boot beim Deutschen Schiffahrtsmuseum in Bremerhaven " Eckard Wetzel Der legendäre deutsche U-Boottyp XXI ISBN-Nr. 3-9802065-0-5

I hope i'd give you a good help.
Best regards,
Lionfish.

User avatar
JustinG
Member
Posts: 9
Joined: 01 Mar 2014, 21:51
Location: Alaska United States

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#38

Post by JustinG » 19 Jul 2017, 05:30

After looking at the many recommendations by many others and now probably having a reading list for the next year chosen, I would like to include a book that wasn't listed.

"Ultra Versus Uboats: Enigma Decrypts in the National Archives" By Roy Conyers Nesbit ISBN 978 1 84415 786 0

It is interesting to see the original decription messages as received my naval command. It is a good resource and a good read as well.


Best Regards,
JustinG
Interested in Kriegsmarine ship, unit, station, Mützenbands and Wappen

RandJS
Member
Posts: 324
Joined: 04 Oct 2008, 12:36

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#39

Post by RandJS » 24 Jul 2017, 01:52

Hi,
"The U-Boat, The evolution and technical history of German submarines" Eberhard Rossler, Naval Institute Press ISBN 0-87021-966-9.

"The Type XXI U-Boat" Fritz Kohl and Eberhard Rossler, Naval Institute Press ISBN 1-55750-829-1.

Enjoy!
Rand

jopower
Member
Posts: 6
Joined: 01 Jul 2009, 10:02

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#40

Post by jopower » 13 Aug 2017, 13:10

Thank you! Going further, what post-WW2 navies got the XXI's or their plans? What classes are direct-indirect descendants of the XXI's? I'm sure USA and UK got this but don't know much beyond that as to the possibly wide linage they spawned.

snozzer
Member
Posts: 2
Joined: 29 Dec 2017, 04:38
Location: Slovakia

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#41

Post by snozzer » 29 Dec 2017, 04:42

Definitely 'Iron Coffins' by Herbert Werner.
I totally agree! In my county (Slovakia) is hard to get that book :)

User avatar
colt45
Member
Posts: 485
Joined: 02 Jun 2007, 17:44
Location: battleship, N J.

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#42

Post by colt45 » 30 Dec 2017, 15:15

My Friend Willie Brech said he would work 15 hrs. and have to sing for 1 hr, the bunk was full , he would lay on the steel floor to sleep even if it was bouncing, fumes were bad and food rotted after 2nd day out, they kept us busy, never saw sun light... dept charge made us cry,,, I joined because of the black uniforms in the parade, but sorry after that

AllenM
Member
Posts: 92
Joined: 18 Sep 2018, 05:01
Location: USA

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#43

Post by AllenM » 24 Oct 2019, 18:10

"For both East and West, the modern submarine originated in German U-boat designs obtained at the end of World War II."


Cold War Submarines: The Design and Construction of U.S. and Soviet Submarines, 1945-2001 by Norman Polmar and K.J. Moore

piet71
Member
Posts: 27
Joined: 06 Oct 2013, 21:36

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#44

Post by piet71 » 06 May 2020, 18:13

Any U boot book by Luc Brauer .

Sterny23
New member
Posts: 1
Joined: 20 Oct 2020, 20:43
Location: Cornwall

Re: Recommended reading on the U-Boats

#45

Post by Sterny23 » 20 Oct 2020, 21:04

I have recently finished reading Steel Boat,Iron Hearts by Hans Goebeler and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a fascinating insight into life aboard U-505 which was subsequently captured and is now on display at a museum in Chicago. It also goes into detail the suicide of his Captain Peter Zschech and the events leading up to his demise who I believe is still the only commander in history to kill himself in active duty whilst in charge of a naval vessel. Well worth a read!

Post Reply

Return to “U-Boats”