
The Silent Service in World War II
The Story of the U.S. Navy Submarine Force in the Words of the Men Who Lived It
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Narrated by:
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Tom Perkins
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Jo Anna Perrin
About this listen
When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the US Navy had a total of 111 submarines. However, this fleet was not nearly as impressive as the number suggests. It was mostly a collection of aging boats from the late teens and early twenties, with only a few of the newer, more modern Gato-class boats. Fortunately, with the war in Europe was already two years old and friction with Japan ever increasing, help from what would become known as the Silent Service in the Pacific was on the way: there were 73 of the new fleet submarines under construction.
The Silent Service in World War II tells the story of America's intrepid underwater warriors in the words of the men who lived the war in the Pacific against Japan. The enemy had already begun to deploy advanced boats, but the U.S. was soon able to match them. By 1943, the new Gato-class boats were making a difference, carrying the war not just to the Japanese Imperial Navy but to the vital merchant fleet that carried the vast array of materiel needed to keep the land of the Rising Sun afloat.
As the war progressed, American success in the Solomons, starting with Guadalcanal, began to constrict the Japanese sea lanes, and operating singly or in wolfpacks, they were able to press their attacks on convoys operating beyond the range of our airpower, making daring forays even into the home waters of Japan itself in the quest for ever more elusive targets. Also taking on Japanese warships, as well as rescuing downed airmen (such as the grateful first President Bush), US submarines made an enormous contribution to our war against Japan.
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- Narrated by: Christopher Douyard
- Length: 9 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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A detailed and comprehensive study of the carrier formations of the Pacific War, including their origins, development, and key battles from the Coral Sea, through Midway and Guadalcanal to the battle of the Philippine Sea.
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Great book, poor narration
- By Matt on 07-15-23
By: Mark E. Stille
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War Beneath the Sea
- Submarine Conflict During World War II
- By: Peter Padfield
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 25 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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This riveting chronicle of submarine warfare is the first to cover all the major submarine campaigns of the war, describing, in detail, the operations of the British, American, Japanese, Italian, and German submarine and anti-submarine forces. Beginning with a vivid re-creation of the sinking of the passenger liner Athenia by a German U-boat in September 1939, critically acclaimed military historian Peter Padfield's compelling narrative casts an unflinching eye on the devastating consequences of maritime warfare.
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Fills in the gaps of other submarine books
- By Ben on 05-19-21
By: Peter Padfield
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Undersea Warrior
- The World War II Story of "Mush" Morton and the USS Wahoo
- By: Don Keith
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Mush Morton was a warrior without peer. At the helm of the USS Wahoo he completely changed the way the submarines fought in the Pacific War. He would relentlessly attack the Japanese at every opportunity, burning through his supply of torpedoes in record time on every patrol. Over the course of only nine months and five patrols, Morton racked up an astounding list of achievements, including being the first American skipper to wipe out an entire enemy convoy single-handedly.
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Enter Text Here
- By Lady Pamela on 06-04-24
By: Don Keith
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The Bravest Man
- The Story of Richard O'Kane & U.S. Submariners in the Pacific War
- By: William Tuohy
- Narrated by: E.H. Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist William Tuohy follows Richard O'Kane, America's undersea ace of aces, and a few fearless submariners, during the U.S. submarine war in the Pacific. This grueling battle saw 10 million tons of Japanese shipping sunk by U.S. submarines, but the cost to the U.S. Navy was one in five of its boats, the highest casualty rate of the U.S. armed services.
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Great details of WWII Submarine Patrols
- By James B. Cookinham on 02-13-05
By: William Tuohy
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War Beneath the Waves
- A True Story of Courage and Leadership Aboard a World War II Submarine
- By: Don Keith
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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In November 1943, while on war patrol in the Makassar Strait, the USS Billfish submarine was spotted by the Japanese, who launched a vicious depth-charge attack. Explosions wracked the sub for 15 straight hours. With his senior officers incapacitated, diving officer Charlie Rush boldly assumed command and led key members of the crew in a heroic effort to keep their ship intact as they tried to escape.
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Interesting historical review
- By Rick on 04-25-10
By: Don Keith
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If You Survive
- From Normandy to the Battle of the Bulge to the End of World War II - One American Officer's Riveting True Story
- By: George Wilson
- Narrated by: Brian Keeler
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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George Wilson has garnered much acclaim for this shattering and enlightening memoir. Detailing his odyssey from July, 1944 until the following summer, If You Survive is a startling first-person account of the final year of World War II. Wilson was the only man from his original company to finish the war. As a Second Lieutenant, he went ashore at Utah Beach after the D-Day invasion amidst burned vehicles, sunken landing craft, and broken fortifications.
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the best story of the war in Europe I've read
- By David on 02-18-17
By: George Wilson
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Nimitz at War
- Command Leadership from Pearl Harbor to Tokyo Bay
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Only days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D. Roosevelt tapped Chester W. Nimitz to assume command of the Pacific Fleet. Nimitz transformed the devastated and dispirited Pacific fleet into the most powerful and commanding naval force in history. Facing demands from Washington to mount an early offensive, he had first to revive the depressed morale of the thousands of sailors, soldiers, and Marines who served under him. And of course, he also confronted a formidable and implacable enemy in the Imperial Japanese Navy.
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Great
- By Jean on 12-14-22
By: Craig L. Symonds
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Grey Wolf, Grey Sea
- Aboard the German Submarine U-124 in World War II
- By: E.B. Gasaway
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The history of one of World War II's most successful submarines, U-124, is chronicled in Grey Wolf, Grey Sea, from its few defeats to a legion of victories. Kapitanleutnant Jochen Mohr commanded his German submarine and navigated it through the treacherous waters of one of the most destructive, savage wars the world has known.
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excellent book
- By evan on 07-30-23
By: E.B. Gasaway
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Commanding the Pacific
- Marine Corps Generals in World War II
- By: Stephen R. Taaffe
- Narrated by: Asa Siegel
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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In Commanding the Pacific: Marine Corps Generals in World War II, Stephen R. Taaffe analyzes the 15 high-level Marine generals who led the Corps' six combat divisions and two corps in the conflict. He concludes that these leaders played an indispensable role in organizing, training, and leading their men to victory.
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World War II at Sea
- A Global History
- By: Craig L. Symonds
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 25 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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World War II at Sea offers a global perspective, focusing on the major engagements and personalities and revealing both their scale and their interconnection: the U-boat attack on Scapa Flow and the Battle of the Atlantic; the "miracle" evacuation from Dunkirk and the pitched battles for control of Norway fjords; Mussolini's Regia Marina - at the start of the war the fourth-largest navy in the world - and the dominance of the Kidö Butai and Japanese naval power in the Pacific; Pearl Harbor then Midway; and much more.
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Outstanding
- By Patrick on 02-14-19
By: Craig L. Symonds
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American Heritage History of World War II
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose, C. L. Sulzberger
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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In planes and foxholes, in deserts and jungles, on ships and beaches, Ambrose shines a light on the people involved - the leaders, the fighters, the victims. With chapters on the atrocities of the Holocaust and revelations about the secret war of espionage, Ambrose's analysis also offers insight into the events that precipitated the Cold War.
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Excellent overview of WWII
- By Laura Kernen on 11-15-18
By: Stephen E. Ambrose, and others
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Strong Men Armed
- The United States Marines Against Japan
- By: Robert Leckie
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 17 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Written by Robert Leckie, whose wartime exploits are featured in the Tom Hanks/Steven Spielberg HBO miniseries The Pacific, Strong Men Armed is the perennial bestselling classic account of the U.S. Marines' relentless drive through the Pacific during World War II.
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The best book on the subject
- By j on 12-10-13
By: Robert Leckie
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Victory at Sea
- Naval Power and the Transformation of the Global Order in World War II
- By: Paul Kennedy, Ian Marshall - illustrator
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 20 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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In this engaging narrative, historian Paul Kennedy grapples with the rise and fall of the Great Powers during World War II. Tracking the movements of the six major navies of the Second World War—the allied navies of Britain, France, and the United States and the Axis navies of Germany, Italy, and Japan—Kennedy tells a story of naval battles, maritime campaigns, convoys, amphibious landings, and strikes from the sea.
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No the defendant work on all navies fighting in World War II.
- By Kent Steen on 09-24-22
By: Paul Kennedy, and others
For the real story by real people (not historians)
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Great short stories.
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fantastic book covering a good number of accounts
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No chapters!
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hard to put down
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Nice coverage of the smaller events of WWII.
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Good
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great short stories
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Edward Monroe-Jones and Michael Greene have compiled 46 short accounts from actual submariners and a few others that they picked up along the way about their experiences on board in the war and, even when you discount the tales for our general tendency to exagerate what happens to us as the years go by, there are still some very harrowing accounts here. While all war is terrifying, there has to be a special kind of terror in being in a fragile metal tube underwater where even routine system failures could send you to depths that will crush that tube with no hope of escape or where any hull breach could also result in tons of water under pressure drowning you before you can escape.
And there are some stories that take you to the edge of either of those scenarios. One of the earlies was of a first training voyage just barely out of its Atlantic home port where the rickety old submarine lost control and went into an uncontrolled dive that resulted in rivets popping and water intrusion that with disaster barely avoided. Some are of routine mistakes that might just be hilarious but might also be disastrous. There is one of an accidental torpedo firing in a training exercise in Pearl Harbor. There was what seemed to be a minor grounding in shallow waters that eventually resulted in the loss of the submarine and a crew that did escape to a nearby island still needing rescue from enemy territory. There is one where a hull breach allowed water in that wrecked electrical control systems that left the crew unable to control the sub as it slowly began to sink to depths beyond its design depth. There was the sub that was damaged in a kamikaze attack. And, among the most frightful was the tale of one seaman who was inadvertently left on deck when they closed the hatches and began to dive. Someone had forgotten to take the count before closing the hatches and only discovered the mistake many minutes after they were many yards underwater. But, there were also stories like the submariner who kept seeing a rat that always disappeared when anyone else turned to look. After a couple of weeks where only he saw the rat, that his shipmates began to think that he might be developing psychological problems and eventually he began to wonder himself until finally in port, other crewmates saw the rat running out a deck hatch and down the gangplank.
The book is divided into an introductory section describing submarines of the day and especially the old rustbuckets that the US started the war with. Then there is an interesting chapter about the differences between how submarines and submarine life is picture in Hollywood as opposed to the real thing. The 46 personal accounts are of varying length but are arrange chronologically and divided into three parts, 1941-42, 1943, and 1944-45. This allows one to get a better picture of how the situation changed as the newer submarines began to arrive and tactics began to change. One really interesting one that I had never imagined was about the capture of a giant Japanese submarine near the end of the war that was at that time by far the largest submarine ever built, that was large enough to carry and launch sea-planes from its deck. It was originally built for taking the war to the American continent, but by the time it was completed, the war was already almost over and it was, in a sense, without a mission.
If I were to look for criticisms, I would say that it could have used better editing. There were many editing mistakes and there was nothing to connect the stories together. Still, it was very interesting reading and only made my respect for a submariner grow even more, especially for those old diesel electric subs, very different from the much larger and more technically advanced nuclear subs that are so common today. Those guys are true heroes and this book is an easy read that’s not easy to put down.
Heroes of the Deep
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Inside look
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